Should my F-150 lightning battery ever be above the middle temperature mark

[joshtb86]

It is currently 101° out and it's slightly above the middle. Is this normal?

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[Zprime29]

Yes, that's normal for hot temps. Here in southern AZ I've seen it more than half way towards the right side of the *happy zone*. Nothing to worry about.

 

[joshtb86]

Yes, that's normal for hot temps. Here in southern AZ I've seen it more than half way towards the right side of the *happy zone*. Nothing to worry about.

Thanks just sitting in the parking lot so no ambient air was just wondering

 

[K6CCC]

Same here. Particularly after DCFC in 105+ temps. On my trip back from Tucson last March, temps were as high as 110 degrees and after every charge session, the battery would be hotter than your photo. One thing I noticed that can help. Prior comments on this forum said that putting the truck in Tow/Haul mode helped speed up battery cooling (even with the Max Tow Package). My non-scientific observations were that this was the case.

For this drive (Tucson via I-10, then I-8 as far as El Centro, CA) was mostly high 70s to low 80s for speed with the aforementioned hot temperatures. When I charged in El Centro (third charge stop of the day) at dinner time it was 105 and I charged to 95%. After leaving El Centro the battery was again warm, but after cooling it off, the outside temperature had cooled off and speeds were slower so did not have any more above normal temperatures.

 

[Zprime29]

The biggest con of high temps is that they are not great for longevity of the battery. But I've been through 3 summers in Tucson now and still have 98% capacity after 60k miles and not bothering to use Tow (or Sport mode, both turn on battery cooling). The truck does a good job taking care of itself and I like the higher efficiency. I do use Tow/Sport on summer road trips to condition the battery before a DCFC session. Otherwise I find I don't get but a minute or two of boost before dropping to 120kW.

 

[JMD359]

That’s normal and don’t worry about it. Ford won’t let you hurt the battery.. if it gets too hot, it will cut the power and do whatever it has to keep you from hurting it. Just run sport mode in the high temperatures it rins the battery cooling system more aggressive ,like tow/.haul does.

 

[csukoh78]

It is currently 101° out and it's slightly above the middle. Is this normal?

These batteries are bulletproof. Not only will they last several lifetimes of ICE trucks, probably at least 1,000,000 miles, you'll replace your seats and paint before those batteries.

The Ford lightning battery set is proving to be one of the most reliable and dependable powertrains ever placed in a vehicle, certainly at the top of electric vehicle vehicles.

I have southern summers all the time, and I'm still at 100% after 60,000 miles.

enjoy your worry free vehicle.

 

[joshtb86]

These batteries are bulletproof. Not only will they last several lifetimes of ICE trucks, probably at least 1,000,000 miles, you'll replace your seats and paint before those batteries.

The Ford lightning battery set is proving to be one of the most reliable and dependable powertrains ever placed in a vehicle, certainly at the top of electric vehicle vehicles.

I have southern summers all the time, and I'm still at 100% after 60,000 miles.

enjoy your worry free vehicle.

Thanks!

 

[Joneii]

I started seeing these elevated battery temperatures about two years ago and they seem to correspond to an increase in the max charge speed during the boost phase of DCFCing. Prior to this change my 2022 saw max charge speeds of 173 kW/h, but about two years ago I noticed that increased to 185-189 kW/h. Before the increase I never saw elevated battery temperatures. The increase in charging speed seemed good, but I think it contributes to the elevated battery temps. When doing multiple deep charges (like when towing) this actually slows your charging speed down noticeably as the BMS will throttle the charging speed when the battery temps are elevated. Overall, the change is good for folks who only charge once or do multiple shallow charges, but not optimal for those who tow or like to charge deep. You would think that Ford could update the cooling profile to eliminate this issue.

 

[Joneii]

I started seeing these elevated battery temperatures about two years ago and they seem to correspond to an increase in the max charge speed during the boost phase of DCFCing. Prior to this change my 2022 saw max charge speeds of 173 kW/h, but about two years ago I noticed that increased to 185-189 kW/h. Before the increase I never saw elevated battery temperatures. The increase in charging speed seemed good, but I think it contributes to the elevated battery temps. When doing multiple deep charges (like when towing) this actually slows your charging speed down noticeably as the BMS will throttle the charging speed when the battery temps are elevated. Overall, the change is good for folks who only charge once or do multiple shallow charges, but not optimal for those who tow or like to charge deep. You would think that Ford could update the cooling profile to eliminate this issue.

 

[brirr76]

Right after a DCFC session my battery is always on the high end of the normal temp range (in the brackets) and goes down after driving a few miles. One thing new that happened to me this last weekend was at a Flying J EVgo DCFC. I ended the session and looked at the temp gauge. It was on the "high-normal" range, however, the power/acceleration (left side) was reduced from 100% to 95%. It was less than 30 seconds after the disconnect that it updated itself back to the 100% and I was happy. I'm not worried, just sharing what I saw!

 

[Joneii]

Right after a DCFC session my battery is always on the high end of the normal temp range (in the brackets) and goes down after driving a few miles. One thing new that happened to me this last weekend was at a Flying J EVgo DCFC. I ended the session and looked at the temp gauge. It was on the "high-normal" range, however, the power/acceleration (left side) was reduced from 100% to 95%. It was less than 30 seconds after the disconnect that it updated itself back to the 100% and I was happy. I'm not worried, just sharing what I saw!

Yes, I’ve seen the power reduction with the elevated temp too. I’ve seen it several times and it doesn’t always resolve quickly. I once drove about 20 minutes before the temps normalized and the power came back to 100%.

My main concern is that I drove this same truck for two years and never had this happen, but sometime in 2024 something changed. I just crossed over 100,000 miles, so I don’t want surprises with the battery system.

 

[AlaskaFlash]

Just make sure your coolant levels are OK.

 

[DavidS]

I started seeing these elevated battery temperatures about two years ago and they seem to correspond to an increase in the max charge speed during the boost phase of DCFCing. Prior to this change my 2022 saw max charge speeds of 173 kW/h, but about two years ago I noticed that increased to 185-189 kW/h. Before the increase I never saw elevated battery temperatures. The increase in charging speed seemed good, but I think it contributes to the elevated battery temps. When doing multiple deep charges (like when towing) this actually slows your charging speed down noticeably as the BMS will throttle the charging speed when the battery temps are elevated. Overall, the change is good for folks who only charge once or do multiple shallow charges, but not optimal for those who tow or like to charge deep. You would think that Ford could update the cooling profile to eliminate this issue.

In hot weather and lower speeds, it’s fairly easy to reach the physical thermal limit of the cooling system during repeated charge cycles on a road trip. At highway speeds this is less of a problem, and if you got the max tow package, it added a second cooling loop to more or less double the cooling ability of the truck.

 

[Joneii]

Just make sure your coolant levels are OK.

The truck has been in and out of the dealership multiple times trying to sort this out. They replaced a cooling valve, changed a battery module, replaced the charge port, updated software and cleaned contacts. None of these fixes made a difference and I constantly verify my coolant level since most of these fixes required them to mess with the coolant system. At this point I have accepted that this is the new normal and I hope that it doesn’t lead to a battery issue in the future. I love this truck and hope to get at least another 100,000 miles on it!

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