How Much Battery Capacity And Range Has My Ford F-150 Lightning Lost After 3 Years and 38,000 Miles?

[kstype]

I used car scanner for the first time today, this is my Soh after 3+ years at about 88% Soc

I think you meant 98% - thanks for sharing that info.

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[Grumpy2]

The discharge rate I experience on the freeway is less than C/4, which is significantly lower than the 1C discharge rate in the lab. The DCFC average recharge rate I get is almost always less than 1C at much less than the lab experiment temperatures. This means I can expect a lifetime well above the ~2000 cycles to 80% SoH for an NMC cell. The recharge temperatures, rates, and magnitudes during home charging are way more gentle on our batteries than lab tests.

This is the most important aspect when reading all of the test data about depth of discharge failure rates we were reading back 2 years ago.

 

[TaxmanHog]

I think you meant 98% - thanks for sharing that info.

No, the [State of Health] clearly shows 97.5%
My [State of Charge] not on this display was ~88%

 

[luebri]

As others have stated that SOH does actually fluctuate up and down based on current conditions (relative temperatures, state of charge, etc) so not sure how valuable it truly is.

In July, When I executed the buy back on my original 2022 Lariat ER these were my stats.

As of July 17, 2025
SoH: 99% (I believe I had seen it at 98 and or 98.5 previously in potential lower Soc or colder temps
SoC: 68%
Ambient Temp: 60F (just a few minutes into morning commute)
Mileage: ~39,000
Battery age: 34.76 months
DCFC count: 10-15 typically 20 minutes session
SoC at home: 70% in summer, 80% in Winter. Typical use 10% to 20% daily use. Little road tripping. Plug in every day.

My replacement 2022 Platinum that I bought used
As of July 19, 2025
SoH: 99.5%
SoC: ~70%
Ambient temp: 80F (+1 hour into interstate drive)
Mileage: ~10,200
Battery Age: 38.97 months
DCFC count: No idea, but based on low mileage my guess is minimal
Of Note: based on the carfax and the mileage this truck was likely not driven for most days of its life prior to my purchase.


In short.... everything I have seen on this forum and from Lightning owners online like Tom's video is that the capacity lifespan of the High Voltage Battery is of virtually no concern.

 

[Maxx]

I used car scanner for the first time today, this is my Soh after 3+ years at about 88% Soc

Congrats. I am looking forward to read about your findings.

I already learned something from you. I didn’t know about the HV Leak. I wish I knew and had looked at it when I bought the truck. I have no idea how much it has changed.

 

[kstype]

Congrats. I am looking forward to read about your findings.

I already learned something from you. I didn’t know about the HV Leak. I wish I knew and had looked at it when I bought the truck. I have no idea how much it has changed.

On this note - does someone have a good document on these OBD values anywhere?

For instance- what is the HV Leak variable you are referencing here…eager to learn more!

 

[Maxx]

On this note - does someone have a good document on these OBD values anywhere?

For instance- what is the HV Leak variable you are referencing here…eager to learn more!

My understanding is that following parameters are to manage safety

ideally positive and negative HVB terminals should be completely insulated from chassis (0 V). Not sure what the threshold is for these two and how much the resistance can drop before your truck gives you the wrench and refuses to move.

Others could correct me if I am wrong about this.

I started the following thread to get more answers:

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/how-do-you-use-your-obd-ii-car-scanner.30797/

feel free to post that document there if you ever find it.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

My understanding is that following parameters are to manage safety

ideally positive and negative HVB terminals should be completely insulated from chassis (0 V). Not sure what the threshold is for these two and how much the resistance can drop before your truck gives you the wrench and refuses to move.

Others could correct me if I am wrong about this.

I started the following thread to get more answers:

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/how-do-you-use-your-obd-ii-car-scanner.30797/

feel free to post that document there if you ever find it.

That’s about right.

The HvLeak Resistance is the key here. Leakage of a couple of volts isn’t a huge issue. In general, BEV manufacturers have different thresholds, but somewhere around 500 Ohms per HV battery volt rating is the right minimum resistance. On our batteries of ~400 volts, that would be 200 kOhms. With your 1200 kOhms reading, there’s essentially no worrisome loss of isolation between the HV battery and the rest of the vehicle.

 

[electricpig]

Keep in mind all these reported numbers are what is reported by the BMS, and the BMS has been known to be subject to "sway" and therefore lose accuracy. I personally charge to 100% (when the trucks stops the charging) level 2 in warm weather so the BMS can recalibrate.

The last time I did this was in June. At 100% dispplayed 100%. I used the car scanner and OBD reader to get battery actual SOC and actual stored energy right after charging was completed. Divide the percent into stored energy number to get the actual current battery capacity. On my case, it resulted in my SR truck had a battery capacity of 107 kw, and the truck ships with 107.6 kw capacity. For reference reported SOH was 99.5. I had the truck about 18 months and almost 19K miles at that point. I'll take it with a smile

IMHO the best measure is the actual storage capacity as outlined above, and not the BMS reported SOH, though that could help alter to possible developing issues. Same with voltage variation and other factors that can be gotten using OBD dongle is a scanning app Just remember, all those numbers will be affected by heat and cold, and when you get the numbers

 

[RickLightning]

Questions to anyone with answers:

Let’s say you know you are getting home with 5% SOC. You don’t want to leave it at 5% once you get there longer than you have to but you don’t want to charge the battery when it is hot either.

• Do you do level 2 charging immediately or wait a couple of hours? Which is more damaging to SOH?
• If you use android auto, how do you cool the battery before getting home? If you put a charger near home as destination, does it precondition the battery? Do you have to use Ford navigation for that to work? And once the navigation sees you are not listening to it and going off course, does it still precondition? Have any of you looked at car scanner/OBDII while you are trying stuff to see what the best battery cooling practice is (I am not talking Arizona summer cooling, just moderate a few degrees cooler than it would be otherwise).
• Do you drive in sport mode on hot days to lower the threshold of cooling? Does navigating to a DCFC location lower it even more?
• when you get home with the hot battery, if you plug-in , I assume the truck will start cooling the battery if it sees temps are above certain levels. I have never seen mine delay charging. Have you? I have heard a periodic buzzing sound but I am not sure what that is. Do you know how cooling during Level2 charging works?

1) The reality is that your battery is likely not hot when you arrive home unless it is summer and you live where temps are mid 90s or higher. If the fans kick on, and stay on, that is a clear signal to you.

Our charging is 7PM to 11AM. We usually are home hours earlier. If we arrive home from a trip at 10pm, it is usually no where near hot out. CarScanner tells me battery temp (running on every trip), so if it was hot I would delay charging.

2) You cannot cool the battery to home charge. Preconditioning is to warm the battery. Never seen a single documented report of a vehicle cooling when navigating to a fast charger, since driving is cooling it.

3) I always drive in Sport mode because I like it, not to cool the battery. No, it doesn't.

4) Yes, it will cool, but it doesn't delay charging. You hear the fans.

Ford recommends waiting 2 to 3 hours.

My SOH on my 2022 is 100%...

 

[Maxx]

so if it was hot I would delay charging.

Above what temps you consider it hot?

 

[RickLightning]

Above what temps you consider it hot?

90s, which it almost never would be for us.

As I said, if you plug it in to charge, and the fans kick on AND STAY ON for more than a minute or two, it is hot. I would then stop charging, let the fans run just plugged in, and then unplug when they turn off and set a reminder to plug in in 3 hours.

 

[Zprime29]

2) You cannot cool the battery to home charge. Preconditioning is to warm the battery. Never seen a single documented report of a vehicle cooling when navigating to a fast charger, since driving is cooling it.

I documented this a few years ago. You liked the comment. Ford Nav to an EA DCFC location did cool my battery as I got close. I know it cooled it as it was over 110F as I pulled into Lordsburg, NM a couple summers ago. Battery meter went from half an inch right of center to dead center by the time I pulled in (noticed it get cooler about 20min from destination).

I have not noticed it using Android Auto instead of Ford Nav, this past summer we took the XC90. I haven't road tripped in hot weather since losing Ford Nav sub in June.

 

[ThunderSnoww]

It's the ONLY app I have ever paid for.

Same here, first app I've ever paid for on my iPhone. It's worth all 799 pennies for the lifetime Pro access.

 

[Traconesu]

I have been babying my battery a lot more than you have but my SOH is worse at 98%.

I purchased a Veepeak OBDCheck BLE Bluetooth OBD II Scanner Car Check Engine Light Code Reader Diagnostic Scan Tool for iOS & Android and downloaded car scanner.

Is it possible to use this to see my SOH ?
If not what did you use to see your SOH?

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