What’s the ONE piece of advice you’d give to a new F150Lightning owner?

[PA Lightning]

Chasing this down!

I hope you do chase it down. I was reluctantly looking at a Sierra EV today because their specs on paper looked pretty good.
I want to "upgrade" with another Lightning but the max tow and the 9.6 pro power pickings are slim.

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[bhelms]

On the theme of charging, check with your power company and see if they offer lower night-time EV charging rates.

Mine does, and I have it set to charge between 21:00 and 6:00. What’s nice is it covers ALL power usage during that time, so I run the dishwasher, dryer, etc., during the lower rate hours. I just had to send proof that I owned an EV.

 

[Jarratt]

Discount Tire. It doesn't matter if you bought the tires there or not. They will also do patches for free.

I love doing business there.

 

[Jarratt]

Maybe new owners focus their attention on upgrades, like appearance, accessories, or modifications. While those choices shape the look and feel of a vehicle, long-term reliability and safety are often determined by basic maintenance habits that are easy to overlook.

Simple routines can make a meaningful difference, such as regularly checking tire condition and tire pressure, keeping the driver’s footwell clean to avoid interference with pedal operation, preventing dirt, sand, or moisture from accumulating inside the cabin or underbody, paying attention to the fit and safety of interior components, not just their appearance etc.
These details may seem minor at first, but over time, they directly affect driving safety, comfort, and vehicle lifespan.

We’d like to open this discussion to the community:

What car maintenance tip you'd like to give to a new owner?​

By sharing your advice, you’re helping create a practical knowledge base for new drivers and contributing to a safer, better driving experience for everyone in the forum.

Your experience could be the tip that helps someone avoid a costly mistake.

stay in Sport Mode and use ReGen braking

 

[bc1]

stay in Sport Mode and use ReGen braking

Why Sport mode? What does it do an affect on kwh usage? I've been using one pedal with normal mode and then recently used slippery mode on snow and ice. I think ReGen braking is automatically done no matter what mode it is in.

 

[Jarratt]

Why Sport mode? What does it do an affect on kwh usage? I've been using one pedal with normal mode and then recently used slippery mode on snow and ice. I think ReGen braking is automatically done no matter what mode it is in.

Sport is much more fun. Setting that aside, regen braking in that mode is much more stout. I am able to extend my range significantly more when I use Sport. It's been my default for years.

 

[Jarratt]

Why Sport mode? What does it do an affect on kwh usage? I've been using one pedal with normal mode and then recently used slippery mode on snow and ice. I think ReGen braking is automatically done no matter what mode it is in.

Regen braking may or may not be the default. It certainly can be turned off (General setting I believe). The add'l torque in Sport makes driving even more fun, enhances traction and, most importantly, extends Range in my view.

 

[WileyKyle]

Get both the level 2 Tesla adapter and the Tesla Supercharger adapter. Learn when and where to use each one.

 

[Jarratt]

Get both the level 2 Tesla adapter and the Tesla Supercharger adapter. Learn when and where to use each one.

My truck came with an 80amp Ford Charger Pro. It's a monster and adds 30+ miles per hour.

 

[Mal106]

Don't ignore level 1 charging. A little creative parking on overnight trips will yeald a mile or so of range an hour.

 

[woahmy]

Blue cruise set at 65mph will give you great range and the removes most of the urge to "just get done driving" that makes you want to drive fast.

$50 is kind of ridiculous though, especially because ford hasn't add more roads in years. Not sure if I'll pay for it once the free trial ends.

 

[jwrezz]

2 year ago? Buy
Today? Take a look at GM or Rivian

The new R2 looks like it could be an option for me. I really wanted a ranger EV, but...I got the EV, just the big brother.

 

[Lightning Rod]

Just like another member said... being able to charge at home 240v is key . If you can't do that, EVs just aren't the same.

 

[Mal106]

Regen braking may or may not be the default. It certainly can be turned off (General setting I believe). The add'l torque in Sport makes driving even more fun, enhances traction and, most importantly, extends Range in my view.

One pedal driving is often confusing and thought to be the way to regenerative braking. It is not. Any time you slow, regen braking is being used as long as it is able, one pedal or not. As far as I can see there is no way to turn it off. The brake coach at 100% means that you have optimized regen. You are not recovering 100% of the energy but you are recovering as much as possible. If you don't like one pedal, it's a good way to assure you are using as much regen as is possible.

 

[DavidS]

One pedal driving is often confusing and thought to be the way to regenerative braking. It is not. Any time you slow, regen braking is being used as long as it is able, one pedal or not. As far as I can see there is no way to turn it off. The brake coach at 100% means that you have optimized regen. You are not recovering 100% of the energy but you are recovering as much as possible. If you don't like one pedal, it's a good way to assure you are using as much regen as is possible.

Even turning off 1-pedal doesn’t turn off regen completely while coasting and as you point out regen still comes on when you push the pedal down. Coasting is more efficient than regen. While more efficient than no regenerative braking, regen braking only returns at most about 80% of the energy, so if you’ve got one pedal regen on and you’re constantly speeding up and then slowing down on regen(which one pedal kind of encourages), you could be losing a significant amount of energy vs coasting. This is one of the reasons Porsche states it doesn’t make 1 pedal an option.

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