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Dear Ford, about my 2023 Lightning.....

TaxmanHog

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I'm not setting a schedule for day and then deleting the schedule when I know it won't even be close to the same the following week.
There is a switch for the entire schedule, set a ballpark time frame, then switch off the master control, flip the switch on the night before or early morning of an anticipated drive day.

Ford F-150 Lightning Dear Ford, about my 2023 Lightning..... 1674669602331
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Pioneer74

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That being said, I completely understand the utility, convenience and for some the necessity of
In addition, while the Ford Pass app is plenty useful for those who either don't use it or have poor cell/internet connectivity, there should be a way to simply use the key to remote start the vehicle.
I haven't tried it, but if you're willing to be the guinea pig, there may be a way.

Before my Lightning was delivered I was discouraged by there being no remote start button on the FOB like my 2021 ICE Lariat. On my 2018 Lariat, I used an add-on module to enable remote start by pressing the LOCK-UNLOCK-LOCK buttons in succession.

Since I now park my Lightning in my garage for charging, I have not found an instance where remote starting from the FOB would benefit me. While my Lightning was being built, I contacted a company called Start-X. I asked, because the Lightning shares so much with the ICE truck, had they tested their system with the Lightning to see if it worked. They responded to me that they hadn't, and if I were to try it, and it didn't work, they would have no problem with me returning it. So, if you want to try it, this might be a viable option.

https://www.amazon.com/Start-X-Remote-Start-Compatible-F-150/dp/B09GNKJLKV
 

luebri

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I have a dumb question about preconditioning the batteries. I don’t have my Lightning yet, so maybe these questions have obvious answers.

I will keep my Lightning in a heated garage overnight. The temp stays around 55-60 degrees F. Is there any benefit to preconditioning at that temp?
Based on my research (link to thread with data below). The answer is NO. 60F seems to be the target "warm to temp" of preconditioning so I would not sweat it if 55F is truly your low temp.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/ideal-charging-practices.14066/post-294637
 

ctuan13

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I haven't tried it, but if you're willing to be the guinea pig, there may be a way.

Before my Lightning was delivered I was discouraged by there being no remote start button on the FOB like my 2021 ICE Lariat. On my 2018 Lariat, I used an add-on module to enable remote start by pressing the LOCK-UNLOCK-LOCK buttons in succession.

Since I now park my Lightning in my garage for charging, I have not found an instance where remote starting from the FOB would benefit me. While my Lightning was being built, I contacted a company called Start-X. I asked, because the Lightning shares so much with the ICE truck, had they tested their system with the Lightning to see if it worked. They responded to me that they hadn't, and if I were to try it, and it didn't work, they would have no problem with me returning it. So, if you want to try it, this might be a viable option.

https://www.amazon.com/Start-X-Remote-Start-Compatible-F-150/dp/B09GNKJLKV
I had no idea this was even available for push start Fords. It's ordered! I'll be sure to post about it and update with my experience and I'll likely post a video on my YouTube channel as well.
 

Pioneer74

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I had no idea this was even available for push start Fords. It's ordered! I'll be sure to post about it and update with my experience and I'll likely post a video on my YouTube channel as well.
Good luck. I hope it works. I would use my FOB to start my 2018 almost every day, but I could see it from the window in my closet. If you can't see the vehicle, you don't know if it's running, so I didn't see the need to order it for my Lightning when it's parked in my garage.
 

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ctuan13

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Good luck. I hope it works. I would use my FOB to start my 2018 almost every day, but I could see it from the window in my closet. If you can't see the vehicle, you don't know if it's running, so I didn't see the need to order it for my Lightning when it's parked in my garage.
That totally makes sense. For my use case though, considering I don't use the Ford Pass app and I would only use it in circumstances where I can see the truck this is a perfect solution for me! Thanks again for the link!
 

Pioneer74

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That totally makes sense. For my use case though, considering I don't use the Ford Pass app and I would only use it in circumstances where I can see the truck this is a perfect solution for me! Thanks again for the link!
You're very welcome. Please post a link to your video if it works and you make one.
 

bluestarct

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Ford says that you should ALWAYS set a departure time if you can plug in overnight in cold weather. If you don't know exactly when you're departing, just set it earlier than you would ever need.

Once preconditioned, the battery only loses about one degree an hour. So just set it to depart at 6am (or whatever) and if you actually leave at 9 it will only have lost 3 degrees.
Some of us work from home and the schedule to leave can vary from 5 AM to catch a flight or 2 PM to grab a late lunch. Say I am leaving at 5 AM to get to the airport. Then I have to go into the Fordpass app, set the time for tomorrow and then hope it communicates with the truck. I also don't want the truck to precondition at the airport while I am gone for the week. It especially seems wasteful to have the truck precondition every day of the week for sometimes 8+ hours before I actually leave.

I should be able to open the app and tell the truck to start a 30 minute preconditioning.

To be clear, my Lightning Pro is coming in February but I have had a Mach E since Feb 2021 and it has the issue of not always connecting with the Fordpass app.
 

lightspeed

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Problem with that is, my wife and I carpool. We normally take her company vehicle but at times something last minute comes up and we need to drive separately. I'm not setting a schedule for day and then deleting the schedule when I know it won't even be close to the same the following week. If they just had a button to precondition that I could activate while i'm lying in bed that morning at least it would have 60 to 90 minutes to precondition before I leave. So it is what it is, may garage is warmer than if it was parked outside.
Yes it doesn't work for a lot of situations. I do wish Ford would add a direct way to precondition from the app.
 

luebri

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Yes it doesn't work for a lot of situations. I do wish Ford would add a direct way to precondition from the app.
I dont disagree. A Precondition now would be a helpful feature.

That said. A workaround for this if you leave your truck plugged in overnight and your charging max has been reached. Is to just send the "charge to 100%" command when from the Ford Pass app 30 or 60 minutes before you leave. This will warm the battery significantly if you are charging above 40A.

Furthermore, you can just "remote start" to warm the cabin if you want that to be done as well.

Obviously a few extra steps, but about 10 or 20 seconds of effort in the FordPass app and you would accomplish the same thing on demand.
 

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DiveMan911

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I’ll just add my very small 2 cents.
-I haven’t had any of the issues the OP is having. Namely with FordPass app. While I agree it could use some refinement…I’ve reliably used PAAK for a couple of months now, exclusively, without a single issue. I suspect there are phone/version issues a plenty out there though.
-About the preconditioning conversation. I’ll preface this with: I live in the central coast of California and I don’t have the cold weather that many/most of you experience…so preconditioning for me is a nicety, but for you it’s a necessity. That being said…I completely concur that @Ford Motor Company needs to add a “one time” precondition option(s) to set either the night before or morning of departure.
 

obxckw

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Thank you for building and delivering my 2023 F150 Lightning Lariat. Its a really nice truck, and the effort put into getting it to market shows. We love driving it, and as expected, the hardware is fantastic. The software and control systems though, well, we need to talk.

For the record, I am a many time Ford customer, also own a Mach E, traded a 2021 Ranger for the Lightning, also own a 15 F150XL and have owned another 10 or so Ford cars over the years.

Now, as this is the first winter where there are F150 Lightnings in the field being used by actual human beings for work, play and just living their lives, there are some very important details that are causing many of us significant grief, which borders on massive frustration for lots of otherwise generally satisfied customers.

We all know that winter temperatures are not kind to battery based vehicles. But the details as outlined by Darren Palmer in his recent SOC video that most of us are trying to use to navigate the winter simply don't work.... at all for many of us.

First and foremost, the concept of "Preconditioning" does not work 99.9% of the time. The scheduling mechanism is basically useless to anyone who cannot plan the exact time they need their truck and its batteries heated up. And even if I for example, actually know when I'll be leaving, the schedule won't work. Either because what it says on the barely functional Fordpass app is wrong, or it cannot communicate with the truck, or its hung spinning its wheel trying to poll the truck, or it gets back incorrect data, or Forpass gives some nonsensical error message with a red notation. And why in the world can't I simply kick off a Precondition on an ad hoc basis when I need to, you know, use the truck in the next 45 minutes or so. This whole affair is not well thought through.

So the actual range improvement I would hope to get with heated batteries, well, that's not working. And of course, no one can give us a straight answer as to whether the Remote Start via Fordpass, actually heats the battery as well. This seems to be a very important corporate secret that we owners are not allowed to know.

Of course, even if I wanted to Remote Start the Lightning because its like, 20 degrees outside, I'll probably have to go outside in the snow in the dark, open the Frunk, expose the 12 Volt battery, disconnect it, wait a couple of seconds, then reconnect it, and then pray that I can then close the Frunk, and hope that I can then Remote Start after force closing Fordpass, restarting it and praying it will connect. Seems pretty convenient on a $90K truck. And thankfully, if I can remote start it, its anyones guess if the cabin heat or heated seats will also turn on.

Of course, as you deleted my Heated Steering Wheel, that will be ice cold. And the clarity around whether the Heated Steering Wheel will be rectified in the field by the large dealer body is stellar. No 2 dealers have the same information and customer service has no idea. Again, yet another deep corporate secret that we owners are not allowed to know. While I get that it was easier to delete a key feature in order to get the truck built in a timely fashion, providing zero guidance on what the future of the Heated Steering Wheel may be, is shabby, again, on a $90K vehicle.

Much of this is moot through, as Fordpass much of the time, is almost completely useless. While its never been great, it gets slower, with more disconnects, and more hangs than ever. I cannot rely on it at all anymore for the Lightning (nor the Mach E for that matter). Its constantly refreshing, spinning, and returning incorrect data. Yes yes, I've cleared cache, cleared storage, deleted, resinstalled, etc. But it never really changes anything. The software simply sucks. And thats even if I don't have to open the Frunk and disconnect the 12 Volt battery. And don't get me started on Phone as a Key. If you expect us to rely on mobile software and devices to manage our vehicles, well, that software should be stable and reliable, which of course, it is neither.

There are other kinks to be worked out as well. One of my current favorites now that winter and road salt season is upon us is how the truck screams at me that Adaptive Cruise Control is disabled due to the sensor, even after I disable Adaptive Cruise Control! Now that's not distracting at all, with the truck throwing error messages and warnings while I'm minding my own business moving down the highway with cruise control trying to preserve battery to get to my destination because Preconditioning didn't work yet again.

To be fair, I do generally love the Lightning (as well the Mach E). They are what I basically had hoped, which are electric cars made by a real car maker, not a silicon valley hobbyist club. But as someone who's been in the software and technology business for decades, you could up your game in the software and control space.

In conclusion, might I suggest that you actually start fixing some of these things so we can all get through the winter with the tools you provided, but that don't actually work.

Sincerely, a frustrated Lightning owner that waited a year to get my truck but is starting to doubt my own judgement.

Agreed on all of these- I'm in the same boat. The biggest complaint I have is with FordPass, which is currently unable to work and Ford Customer Service says it's going to get fixed in February 2023, that's all I know.

When Ford Pass did work, my biggest complaint was the Trip Planner which is useless if you want to make sure you have a certain charge percentage upon arrival. I shouldn't have to do workarounds like researching where the nearest EA station is on a 400 mile trip...it should tell me based on the charge I want to arrive with (Tesla, Porsche have this and they work great).

To me, it's simple- be overly transparent on code problems, what you're doing about it and fixes with timelines therein. Tell your network- dealers and customer service people ,especially, about what to expect and when. You'll also find that the more you do this and the more you give the opportunity to your paying customers to help fix these issues, the better. In my field of work, our IT customers are our beacons and help us pinpoint the sources of problems. I need to make sure my team is transparent about our findings and our solutions. The more involved our customers are, the more they want to help, the more forgiving they are, too. We have pilot groups of people willing to also be beta testers- sign me up to that.

If Ford decides that they are/will be a software company, I am hopeful this will all change. For now, I have to check this forum to hear if you all are experiencing the same problems as me.
 

MurphysLaww

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Don’t want to belittle any of the issues people are having but I guess I didn’t realize there were so many people putting in 150-200+ miles a day. Or are some of you towing regularly? Using the vehicle as a work truck? With some of the bad press on tow range I started to wonder if true work truck users would be buying Lightnings.

Ya’ll must be lovin’ the gas savings, if you are though, right?
 
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I dont disagree. A Precondition now would be a helpful feature.

That said. A workaround for this if you leave your truck plugged in overnight and your charging max has been reached. Is to just send the "charge to 100%" command when from the Ford Pass app 30 or 60 minutes before you leave. This will warm the battery significantly if you are charging above 40A.

Furthermore, you can just "remote start" to warm the cabin if you want that to be done as well.

Obviously a few extra steps, but about 10 or 20 seconds of effort in the FordPass app and you would accomplish the same thing on demand.
There are work-arounds for all sorts of things... I don't want to always be doing workarounds in my brand new $90K truck, I want it to work as its intended. I was ok with workarounds in my 74 Maverick with see through floors and no power steering.
 
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nanohead

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Don’t want to belittle any of the issues people are having but I guess I didn’t realize there were so many people putting in 150-200+ miles a day. Or are some of you towing regularly? Using the vehicle as a work truck? With some of the bad press on tow range I started to wonder if true work truck users would be buying Lightnings.

Ya’ll must be lovin’ the gas savings, if you are though, right?
We use our for all sorts of things, but we always use it to transit between NJ and VT, which is about 200 miles d2d, and we do this almost weekly.

Pre conditioning in theory, would make the difference between us making it the whole distance without having to suffer through public charging, and having to add 30-60 minutes to our trip and deal with the dreaded broken, malfunctioning, offline, or basically useless public chargers. Its simply awful.

If we can charge at home, all is butterflies and daisies. If we have to public charge.... just terrible. I don't even mind the extra time generally, its the monstrous hassle of the whole affair.
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