Love the truck, but a few minor gripes that I hope they improve.

[RickLightning]

Is 15 minutes sufficient to fully prewarm the batteries, or for optimal range in cold weather is 60 minutes preferred?

You set a departure time, vehicle decides when to start warming. Might be 90 minutes. 15 does little.

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[Elemental_Garage]

You set a departure time, vehicle decides when to start warming. Might be 90 minutes. 15 does little.

I meant in the context of pre warming the cabin, which when plugged it sounds like also starts to condition the battery.

 

[RickLightning]

I meant in the context of pre warming the cabin, which when plugged it sounds like also starts to condition the battery.

A departure time warms the battery, then the cabin.
A remote start warms just the cabin. You can set the length in the truck to as long as 15 minutes. You can extend it once, or do a 2nd remote start, before you have to physically start it.

 

[WXman]

It's too bad Ford pulled out of SEMA; otherwise, I'd probably corner one of the reps to give them a list of things they're being left behind on. I've had my truck for a little over 1.5 weeks (yeah, not much time), and I love 99% of this thing. One of my favorite vehicles to date, and I've gone through a lot of them. But here are a few things that gnaw at me.

1. They need better logic around seat temp controls relative to ambient temps. This morning it was 48°F out, so we used heated seats and steering for a trip to the park. This afternoon it was 90*, and the screen showed 90*, but when I started the truck (via button press, not remote), it defaulted to heated seats and heated wheel on. Compare this to some of the Jeeps I've had, even from a decade ago, and if it were cold out, it would turn heated seats on, and if it were warm out, it would turn cooled seats on. If Jeep of all groups can get this right, surely Ford can do it .

2. Give us a camp mode that enables power outlets for overnight use without having to have screens/other features in the vehicle on. If fans/cooling loops need to run to keep inverters cool, that's fine, but we shouldn't need to turn it all on and then selectively turn stuff OFF just to keep outlets going. Let us turn on camp mode (or just a generic Timed Power) from our phones and just set a timer for outlets to stay on, without a minimum draw required to keep them active. It's like they implemented Pro Power without fully understanding how people would want to use it. My understanding is that Chevy has addressed this. Ford shouldn't let them have the high ground on this one.

3. Give us one-off planned departure time programming. Don't make me set a schedule and then delete it just to get a programmed departure time once. My work life does not revolve around a regular commute or leave time. I may work from the shop for 2-3 days, and then on a random Thursday, I have to go somewhere in the AM. In winter, I'd love to precondition the batteries, but as it is now, I'd have to set the schedule, use it, and then delete it. Ford has given us one-time charging; why not a one-time departure as part of that functionality?

If any of these grips are just my ignorance, I'd love to be shown the light!

Outside of these, I really do love the truck. It's leaps and miles better than my 4xE, which is why it's so annoying to see the Jeep have some better behaviors than our software.

Agree with 1 and 2.

I'll add:

Exterior mirrors are a joke. If I raise it high enough to get a field of view in the lane next to me then I can't see below toward my tires for backing into spots or backing a trailer. If I lower the mirrors to see those things then I lose my field of view on the highway. These mirrors belong on a Fisher Price toy.

Console shifter release button is in a very odd place that requires curling my fingers around like I'm trying to scoop a hole on the beach or something. Console lid release button is the same way...buried deep and low requiring a reach. Who designs this crap?

Auto climate is a joke. First of all it doesn't maintain temp at set temperature nearly as well as any of the other trucks or SUVs I've owned. Secondly, what's up with the 3 settings? AUTO climate is supposed to automatically control the climate. If I have to select fan speed manually then it's not automatic.

Steering wheel is really thin. Almost like it was designed for women. That's fine if you're a woman I guess.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Is 15 minutes sufficient to fully prewarm the batteries, or for optimal range in cold weather is 60 minutes preferred?

The truck decides when to commence the battery warming process which is strictly based on the environment conditions.

Search my post history for threads analyzing the AC energy flow from my EVSE using an Emporia monitor, battery warming happens when the truck thinks it needs it, either spontaneously or in relation to a departure time.

 

[RickLightning]

Agree with 1 and 2.

I'll add:

Exterior mirrors are a joke. If I raise it high enough to get a field of view in the lane next to me then I can't see below toward my tires for backing into spots or backing a trailer. If I lower the mirrors to see those things then I lose my field of view on the highway. These mirrors belong on a Fisher Price toy.

Console shifter release button is in a very odd place that requires curling my fingers around like I'm trying to scoop a hole on the beach or something. Console lid release button is the same way...buried deep and low requiring a reach. Who designs this crap?

Auto climate is a joke. First of all it doesn't maintain temp at set temperature nearly as well as any of the other trucks or SUVs I've owned. Secondly, what's up with the 3 settings? AUTO climate is supposed to automatically control the climate. If I have to select fan speed manually then it's not automatic.

Steering wheel is really thin. Almost like it was designed for women. That's fine if you're a woman I guess.

Laughing pretty hard here.

F-150s and Lightnings are identical in these features, and all have been out for years. Easy to see at any Ford dealer before purchase.

Use 360 camera for backing into spots, or use position #3 to save those settings.

So giving you 3 speed choices on Auto, versus no choices, is bad? Really?

Steering wheel is fine for me. Never heard this complaint before.

 

[WXman]

Laughing pretty hard here.

F-150s and Lightnings are identical in these features, and all have been out for years. Easy to see at any Ford dealer before purchase.

Use 360 camera for backing into spots, or use position #3 to save those settings.

So giving you 3 speed choices on Auto, versus no choices, is bad? Really?

Steering wheel is fine for me. Never heard this complaint before.

That's nice...if you've been driving F-150s. I haven't since 2013. And when you only get a 30 second test drive with a salesman talking to you the entire time, do you really get a chance to notice everything? No, you don't.

360 camera is no where near as effective as being able to actually look into the mirror.

Yes, it's bad. If I have to toy with the controls throughout the day to stay comfortable, why call it "automatic climate control"? Just put manual controls on it, save money, and move on.

Well you've heard it now. Go drive a F-250 or any truck made by Ram and feel how nice and chunky the steering wheel is. Then go back to your F-150. It's night and day. And it DOES make a difference in comfort and steering if you drive much.

Never said I dislike my new truck. But this stuff could use work. And that's the entire point of this thread.

 

[RickLightning]

Never had a salesperson go on a test drive. We borrowed a dealership's demo Lightning for an entire weekend. Then, a year later, bought our demo out of state. Same dealership gave us a Mach-E for 2 days to drive, bought 2 from them, but they didn't have any Lightnings in spring 2023 so we went of state. Can also sit in one for as long as you want at any dealership, just ask.

I agree you should use mirrors, along with camera, when backing in. But I have no difficulty, and if I want to re-aim a mirror I do so.

Never have any climate issues. Easy to adjust the Auto fan speed, I sometimes want it higher and just override Auto to 5 or 6 manual.

Not saying there aren't things that can be improved, but things you can easily discover, or read about, pre purchase shouldn't be a surprise.

 

[TaxmanHog]

I meant in the context of pre warming the cabin, which when plugged it sounds like also starts to condition the battery.

Search my post history for threads analyzing the AC energy flow from my EVSE using an Emporia monitor, battery warming happens when the truck thinks it needs it, either spontaneously or in relation to a departure time.

Here are just a few of many threads where we get into the details of battery conditioning:

Battery Preconditioning.

Charge off peak only but keep battery warm when cold

Battery conditioning, is it worth it?

Intentional cold soak -15

Battery level after setting a departure time

 

[Elemental_Garage]

Thank you. Dug into it this am and I think I understand now.

So my gripe still stands that having a one time preconditioning would be a nice feature to have as opposed to having to program a recurrence.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Thank you. Dug into it this am and I think I understand now.

So my gripe still stands that having a one time preconditioning would be a nice feature to have as opposed to having to program a recurrence.

In multitudes of other threads not list, we discuss the logic of that, it's still number one on the wish lists over the past 3+ years, In my humble opinion it's not needed and @Ford Motor Company has not made it a priority as of yet, maybe it will be a thing when T3 comes out.

 

[Heliian]

If we are adding gripes to the list - a default volume setting for the infotainment each time you start the truck. My Audi had this…and there have been a few times that my other half drove the truck and I started it to find the volume at 14

Do you have seperate driver profiles?

 

[Heliian]

I'll add

LOL, these aren't common issues.

I would never call the steering wheel thin.

 

[Elemental_Garage]

In multitudes of other threads not list, we discuss the logic of that, it's still number one on the wish lists over the past 3+ years, In my humble opinion it's not needed and @Ford Motor Company has not made it a priority as of yet, maybe it will be a thing when T3 comes out.

Thank you for the references. It's a bummer they haven't prioritized it. As a former software guy myself it should be a relatively simple app change, but I have no idea how many different modules or vendors it would have to go through for the particular change on the vehicle side.

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

I woiuld add Dog Mode to the list. I have a simple "work around" which works fine. But I'd prefere if it was just one button.

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