Powertrain Malfunction / Reduced Power caused by air dams

[GoldenEye4ever]

I got my 2025 Lightning Pro at the end of Nov 2025.

Overall I love my new truck, but I have now received 3 service soon warnings.
Once on Dec 29th 2025, then on Jan 5th 2026 and now on Feb 22nd 2026.

Each time that I got this error, I plugged in my ODB2 reader and saw that there were error codes related to the active air dams, A/C sensors, etc...

Back in early January I brought my truck into the dealership and they said that the issue was that the air dams were frozen.
According to them, this then caused the other error codes; they said there was nothing wrong.

Is this normal or are they trying to brush off an actual issue?
So far I haven't had any issues with performance or charging, but I just want to be sure I didn't get a lemon.
I feel like a truck should be able to handle cold weather better than I've experienced so far.
Don't get me wrong, it handles really well in the snow and ice, but if the air dams which are at the front of the vehicle can't handle cold temperatures, that's kind of crazy.

I am not able to park my truck in our garage as it's just too long, but I do have it pulled right up to the garage door so there is never a lot of snow that would blow into the air dams.

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[TaxmanHog]

Slush & ice from daily driving may have accumulated, preventing its movement.

If you have access to a heated car wash to melt off the interfering ice, it might resolve the problem.

 

[GoldenEye4ever]

Slush & ice from daily driving may have accumulated, preventing its movement.

If you have access to a heated car wash to melt off the interfering ice, it might resolve the problem.

Thank you for the advice, I'll try that tomorrow morning.
The first time it happened, it went away on it's own after a few days.

I checked and the air dams looked clear from the front, but I guess it could be in some crevasses.

It seems odd to me that an issue of ice build up on the air dams would affect such a range of systems.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Thank you for the advice, I'll try that tomorrow morning.
The first time it happened, it went away on it's own after a few days.

I checked and the air dams looked clear from the front, but I guess it could be in some crevasses.

It seems odd to me that an issue of ice build up on the air dams would affect such a range of systems.

Agree, I'd think they would suspend this feature during freezing conditions, the amount of inefficiency our trucks experience in brutal winter isn't going to moderated by the improved aerodynamics with it deployed at speed.

 

[GoldenEye4ever]

Agree, I'd think they would suspend this feature during freezing conditions, the amount of inefficiency our trucks experience in brutal winter isn't going to moderated by the improved aerodynamics with it deployed at speed.

I have to say that as long as I keep my truck plugged in when at home, and set departure times, it feels great driving it in the winter.

 

[DavidS]

I think that the Lightning has a few issues in prolonged cold weather with snow and ice similar to when traffic lights went LED. Without the engine heat, some of the Ford toolbox of parts don’t always function as expected and there’s room for improvement.
One more thing, sub about 25F I find that the ultrasonic sensors frequently fault until thawed after a car wash.

 

[Heliian]

I think

Snow and ice and sub freezing temps are always a pain.

Engine heat did help to keep the hood clear but that's the only benefit.

 

[kuzzin]

February 25 I was preparing for a short vacation. Had my truck charged to 80%. As it was about 25°F I loaded luggage and moved back to my L2 charger to prepare for departure. The rings went orange and red. I tried another charger, same results.



I had the orange wrench and app said powertrain malfunction reduced power. Throwing caution to the wind I proceeded (fingers crossed) to the nearest TSC DCFC. Still wouldn’t charge but the hvac ran from the DCFC it was using 3-7 kw.



Had to return home and use 2013 XLT. On the way I noticed it would not even charge from regen braking. Without sufficient juice to reach an EV dealer it was “towed” to the nearest. End result was the cold weather (for south Texas) exposed flawed firmware that operates the air dam. Since it couldn’t move the vanes it blocked all charging.

 

[kstype]

February 25 I was preparing for a short vacation. Had my truck charged to 80%. As it was about 25°F I loaded luggage and moved back to my L2 charger to prepare for departure. The rings went orange and red. I tried another charger, same results.



I had the orange wrench and app said powertrain malfunction reduced power. Throwing caution to the wind I proceeded (fingers crossed) to the nearest TSC DCFC. Still wouldn’t charge but the hvac ran from the DCFC it was using 3-7 kw.



Had to return home and use 2013 XLT. On the way I noticed it would not even charge from regen braking. Without sufficient juice to reach an EV dealer it was “towed” to the nearest. End result was the cold weather (for south Texas) exposed flawed firmware that operates the air dam. Since it couldn’t move the vanes it blocked all charging.

Did you mean the “grill shutters” or the air dam? They are two separate components - cannot imagine the air dam preventing charging but it is plausible if the radiator “grill shutters” were jammed shut they would not want to permit charging.

 

[Zprime29]

February 25 I was preparing for a short vacation. Had my truck charged to 80%. As it was about 25°F I loaded luggage and moved back to my L2 charger to prepare for departure. The rings went orange and red. I tried another charger, same results.



I had the orange wrench and app said powertrain malfunction reduced power. Throwing caution to the wind I proceeded (fingers crossed) to the nearest TSC DCFC. Still wouldn’t charge but the hvac ran from the DCFC it was using 3-7 kw.



Had to return home and use 2013 XLT. On the way I noticed it would not even charge from regen braking. Without sufficient juice to reach an EV dealer it was “towed” to the nearest. End result was the cold weather (for south Texas) exposed flawed firmware that operates the air dam. Since it couldn’t move the vanes it blocked all charging.

This sounds very similar to @Monica reamer's post:
https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...ue-2-battery-cells-need-to-be-replaced.34917/
The reported error where air dam related and she couldn't charge. Dealer claimed 2 bad batter modules...seriously questioning that dealer's results. I hope she got the battery health report before committing to any service.

 

[GoldenEye4ever]

February 25 I was preparing for a short vacation. Had my truck charged to 80%. As it was about 25°F I loaded luggage and moved back to my L2 charger to prepare for departure. The rings went orange and red. I tried another charger, same results.



I had the orange wrench and app said powertrain malfunction reduced power. Throwing caution to the wind I proceeded (fingers crossed) to the nearest TSC DCFC. Still wouldn’t charge but the hvac ran from the DCFC it was using 3-7 kw.



Had to return home and use 2013 XLT. On the way I noticed it would not even charge from regen braking. Without sufficient juice to reach an EV dealer it was “towed” to the nearest. End result was the cold weather (for south Texas) exposed flawed firmware that operates the air dam. Since it couldn’t move the vanes it blocked all charging.

That's crazy. It's good that you had an equivalent vehicle to use

Hopefully Ford can release an update to resolve this.
I have to assume it's cheaper for them to release an update than to tow our trucks and check them under warranty.

 

[GoldenEye4ever]

Did you mean the “grill shutters” or the air dam? They are two separate components - cannot imagine the air dam preventing charging but it is plausible if the radiator “grill shutters” were jammed shut they would not want to permit charging.

Thank you for the info; I didn't realize that there was a distinction between the "grill shutters” and the "air dam".
I just watched a video online and what I had looked at on my truck was the "grill shutters", which looked fine.
I guess I'll have to check under the bumper to see if the actual "air dam" is frozen/stuck.

 

[kuzzin]

Did you mean the “grill shutters” or the air dam? They are two separate components - cannot imagine the air dam preventing charging but it is plausible if the radiator “grill shutters” were jammed shut they would not want to permit charging.

Sorry I just regurgitated what the EV Tech reported. It had to be the shutters.

 

[Adventureboy]

Sorry I just regurgitated what the EV Tech reported. It had to be the shutters.

I believe they call the shutters the "Active Air Dam". Not be confused with the passive air dam under it.

 

[GoodSam]

So many possible names, but is Shutter is best for both?
Radiator grill shutter" would be more specific, or active "air dam" "valance panel" for the aero underbody component?

See @Mike G documents for active air dam: https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/how-does-the-lower-front-air-dam-work.31687/post-582553

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