obxckw
Member
- Thread starter
- #1
It’s been about 60 days since I got my 2023 Lightning Platinum. While I think I’ve broken it well enough, I’m still learning. If any of you have a different opinion or found something great or annoying that I missed something, please pile on. In no particular order...
Overall – There are some things Ford needs to improve, but I can see why these Lightnings are so high in demand. This is my 3rd F-150, and I love it. Ford hit a home run by keeping the purists happy.
Buying Experience – It could’ve been better. I learned about a few features that were removed when I got my sticker (before I got the truck). It didn’t change my mind, but considering what I paid, I’d expect to be informed throughout the process itself.
Seats – The seats are comfortable, but they could be a lot more comfortable if they offered more leg support. Ford removed the “multicontour seats” option, so am not sure if this has anything to do with it, but I’d like the seats to come up to the back of my knees.
Wheels/Tires – I thought I’d hate the 22” wheels/tires combination and had spent time looking at alternatives thinking I’d swap them out. However, I like them- they’re not for everyone, but I was surprised at how beefy they look. I might get new ones at some point, but not for awhile.
Ford Pro Charger – it shipped to my house 2-3 weeks after I purchased my Lightning. At first, I thought it would be a must-have. My initial thought was to skip the whole house/truck generator thing and just do fast(er) charging since it’s capable of 60amps. But, now I’m not sure why I’d bother. If I install it, I won’t be able to charge non-Ford vehicles. I use a Level 2 3rd party charger and it works just fine, a bit better than the Ford mobile charger that comes with the truck.
Range Anxiety – I made my first long trip and stared down the barrel of my range anxiety. Everyone goes through it but unfortunately, my worst fears came to light. I traveled from Raleigh to Boone to Asheville and needed to juice up in Boone. Boone only has ONE fast charger available via ChargePoint. I planned on arriving with about 100 miles left, but the mountains took it’s toll and I arrived with ~40 miles remaining. I had to wait 30 mins for another EV driver to finish. I then plugged in tried to initiate the charge. I kept getting a hard error that indicated something was wrong with the truck. I called Ford Customer Support and they were not helpful- they put me on hold and didn’t have an answer saying that it should work. After sitting there for about an hour on hold and trying everything, I tried something different. Unlike Electrify America, ChargePoint makes you pay FIRST, then plug in. I should’ve realized that but that’s a mistake I won’t make again. Dah! Once I got the sequence right, I was fine.
Another thing about range. Range is worth stressing over for trips greater than 200+ miles in my opinion. Also, think about the terrain- I probably lost 20% going through the mountains but the Ford App/trip planner doesn’t seem to account for that so I didn’t technically have to stop to recharge. On my next trip, though, I’ll plan it differently and will manually insert Fast Chargers into my planned trip. Unless I’m missing it, you can’t ask Ford to ensure you have a minimum charge when you arrive. Does anyone know a fix to this?
After my long trip, my expected full charge range was not good- maybe 240 miles vs a normal 300+ previously. That’s because my prior trips where not great going through the mountains. A simple charge reset (in the vehicle) fixes that.
Charging – If you’re an F150 and/or an EV lover and think you can just buy a Lightning and not learn about the characteristics of range vs power, perhaps you should reconsider. I’ve long known I wanted this truck but underestimated the fact that I should learn about different charging capacities. You don’t need to be an electrician, but take time to watch a YouTube video or two on the characteristics of different charging levels, adapters, etc.. After all this, you might want to take some of this forum’s advice on building up a small bag of connectors, EV cables and the such so you can be more prepared for the longer trips.
Apple Connect – this may be a bug, not sure. I like to use Ford’s navigation for long distance travel since it connects with the FordPass app and helps with planning for charging stations. However, I like to use Apple Connect/Spotify for music. If you’re using Ford navigation and get a text, it automatically switches to the Apple Connect screen. That doesn’t sound like a big deal, however, my wife gets a ton of texts and it kept popping over to Apple Connect vs keeping us on Ford’s navigation page. It’s annoying. If you know of a fix, please advise.
Software – I’ve previously owned a Porsche Taycan and while I loved the driving experience, the software was buggy- so bad that I sold it a couple of months after purchasing it. Ford seems to be solid so far. I did have one issue where the dash wouldn’t come on but after turning it off and back on after 10 mins, it reset itself. I’ve not had any issue since.
My Wife – I thought this truck would be MY primary vehicle. My wife loves it so much, that it’s become HER primary vehicle as well. Oh well- maybe we’ll get a 2nd?
Thoughts/Comments ?
Sponsored
