Sponsored

Powertrain Malfunction/ Reduced Power

republicoftexas1836

Active member
First Name
J
Joined
Mar 22, 2024
Threads
2
Messages
33
Reaction score
33
Location
Texas
Vehicles
2023 AMB Lariat ER, 2025 Mazda CX70 PHEV
2023 ER Lightning Lariat, have never had a single problem with the truck, until.......

Last night charging fault warning on the app but truck charged to target of 90% at home. I tried to drive it this morning and although truck is charged to 90% I have the Powertrain Malfunction/ Reduced Power warning on both the truck and the app. Also included is a High Voltage battery warning. The truck will only drive with power to 20%.

I drove to a dealer and they said it would be 2-4 before anyone could even plug it in to look at it. I called around to other dealers in DFW and they were all worse, quoting 7-14 days before anyone could look at it and encouraged me to keep the 2-4 days appt.

Well, I didn't notice a problem with the truck, driving, except it doesn't accelerate with only 20% power so I limped into the dealer like I was driving on a spare tire. Since I don't think it's functional enough to drive, I just left it at the dealer and got a courtesy shuttle back to my house. No rental. I will have to share my wife's hybrid for awhile until we find out what is wrong with it.

From talking to several Ford service depts today, I learned Ford is short a LOT of mechanics as confirmed by the article posted on this forum. Also-- specifically EV technicians. Most dealers only have one and the lightnings are backed up according to their schedule. One service manager said, "Yeah we have a lot of lightnings right now we are trying to schedule." Sales manager said they can't sell them and "nobody wants to buy them."

I hope it's something easy to fix.

Reading other posts in this forum, I agree, this is my favorite vehicle of all time to drive, hands down. I use it as a truck regularly and there's no way I'm ever going back to an ICE vehicle or truck. If the vehicle will be a problem going forward, my options are Rivian, GMC and Tesla. It sounds to me like GMC is also backing out of the EV game and their trucks are very expensive. I don't trust Rivian in terms of long term reliability. That really leaves the Cybertruck. Even though it's really ugly, I do trust Tesla to be at the forefront of EV technology and trust their product and long term outlook with EVs. I traded my Model Y for the lightning when I needed a truck. It seems in the US, others are still trying to catch them. In my opinion, right now, if you want a truck and want EV, tesla has the most reliable long term outlook. I hope I'm wrong bc I'm not a fan of the cyber truck and my lightning is honestly the best vehicle I've ever driven.

I will keep anyone posted who is interested.

Day 1
Sponsored

 

Heliian

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 9, 2023
Threads
4
Messages
1,746
Reaction score
1,983
Location
Canada
Vehicles
2023 LR Lariat, code name "Boogaloo"
20% available power is a new one for me. A lot of battery cell faults reduce the power to just above 50% but it could still be a battery fault or something else. "powertrain fault" is essentially the check engine light for the lightning, could be anything.

The service advisors should be able to pull telemetry codes to start and at least give you an idea of what may be happening.
 

TaxmanHog

Moderator
Moderator
First Name
Noel
Joined
Jan 19, 2022
Threads
209
Messages
15,470
Reaction score
17,228
Location
SE. Mass.
Vehicles
2022 Lightning Lariat-ER & 2024 HD Road Glide CVO-ST
Occupation
Retired
Watching the thread, please keep us posted as things develop.
 

jefrank

Well-known member
First Name
Jeff
Joined
Dec 11, 2021
Threads
10
Messages
230
Reaction score
243
Location
Fenton, Michigan
Vehicles
2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Lariat ER, 2004 BMW 330Ci
2023 ER Lightning Lariat, have never had a single problem with the truck, until.......

Last night charging fault warning on the app but truck charged to target of 90% at home. I tried to drive it this morning and although truck is charged to 90% I have the Powertrain Malfunction/ Reduced Power warning on both the truck and the app. Also included is a High Voltage battery warning. The truck will only drive with power to 20%.

I drove to a dealer and they said it would be 2-4 before anyone could even plug it in to look at it. I called around to other dealers in DFW and they were all worse, quoting 7-14 days before anyone could look at it and encouraged me to keep the 2-4 days appt.

Well, I didn't notice a problem with the truck, driving, except it doesn't accelerate with only 20% power so I limped into the dealer like I was driving on a spare tire. Since I don't think it's functional enough to drive, I just left it at the dealer and got a courtesy shuttle back to my house. No rental. I will have to share my wife's hybrid for awhile until we find out what is wrong with it.

From talking to several Ford service depts today, I learned Ford is short a LOT of mechanics as confirmed by the article posted on this forum. Also-- specifically EV technicians. Most dealers only have one and the lightnings are backed up according to their schedule. One service manager said, "Yeah we have a lot of lightnings right now we are trying to schedule." Sales manager said they can't sell them and "nobody wants to buy them."

I hope it's something easy to fix.

Reading other posts in this forum, I agree, this is my favorite vehicle of all time to drive, hands down. I use it as a truck regularly and there's no way I'm ever going back to an ICE vehicle or truck. If the vehicle will be a problem going forward, my options are Rivian, GMC and Tesla. It sounds to me like GMC is also backing out of the EV game and their trucks are very expensive. I don't trust Rivian in terms of long term reliability. That really leaves the Cybertruck. Even though it's really ugly, I do trust Tesla to be at the forefront of EV technology and trust their product and long term outlook with EVs. I traded my Model Y for the lightning when I needed a truck. It seems in the US, others are still trying to catch them. In my opinion, right now, if you want a truck and want EV, tesla has the most reliable long term outlook. I hope I'm wrong bc I'm not a fan of the cyber truck and my lightning is honestly the best vehicle I've ever driven.

I will keep anyone posted who is interested.

Day 1
Same story for me this past week except power was only reduced to 57% on my 2022. Dropped it at the dealer on Tuesday night and waiting on diagnostics to be run -- they called at the end of the day yesterday and said they'd need today to complete them and will update me when they have results.
 
OP
OP

republicoftexas1836

Active member
First Name
J
Joined
Mar 22, 2024
Threads
2
Messages
33
Reaction score
33
Location
Texas
Vehicles
2023 AMB Lariat ER, 2025 Mazda CX70 PHEV
Same story for me this past week except power was only reduced to 57% on my 2022. Dropped it at the dealer on Tuesday night and waiting on diagnostics to be run -- they called at the end of the day yesterday and said they'd need today to complete them and will update me when they have results.
Just curious, what is the wait time to get an EV mechanic to look at it? DFW is anywhere from 2 days to 14 days just sitting in the shop in line for them to plug it in.

Rental? Loaner?

Keep me updated on your case as well. Thanks for posting.
 
Last edited:

Sponsored

jefrank

Well-known member
First Name
Jeff
Joined
Dec 11, 2021
Threads
10
Messages
230
Reaction score
243
Location
Fenton, Michigan
Vehicles
2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Lariat ER, 2004 BMW 330Ci
Just curious, what is the wait time to get an EV mechanic to look at it? DFW it anywhere from 2 days to 14 days just sitting in the shop in line for them to plug it in.

Rental? Loaner?

Keep me updated on your case as well. Thanks for posting.
My closest dealer (5-10 minutes) said drop it off and we'll get to it when we can.... didn't take it there. The dealer 25 minutes away told me on Monday they could look at it on Wednesday, so that's where it went.

Loaners at both dealers were quoted at weeks-long waiting lists, though the dealer I ended up using did say they prioritize based on severity of the issue, for whatever that might be worth. Given that mine will charge to 66% and has drivable power available, I expect they'll return it to me while waiting on whatever (*cough* battery module(s) *cough*) they need to order for a future repair.

My thread is here: https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/wrench-light-charging-errors-at-65-66.32560/
 
OP
OP

republicoftexas1836

Active member
First Name
J
Joined
Mar 22, 2024
Threads
2
Messages
33
Reaction score
33
Location
Texas
Vehicles
2023 AMB Lariat ER, 2025 Mazda CX70 PHEV
Ha, as I was typing this, the dealer called and said they were able to run a diagnostic on it and the high voltage battery cell #4 has failed. They have already ordered another one, estimates it will take at least a week to arrive to the dealership with approx 2 day install. Their loaners are backed up starting Nov 21st. I was given the phone number to call Ford to try to arrange a rental. 800-392-3673.

I'm glad the service dept was able to at least diagnose it and order the part before 1-2 wks wait at other places around DFW.
 

jefrank

Well-known member
First Name
Jeff
Joined
Dec 11, 2021
Threads
10
Messages
230
Reaction score
243
Location
Fenton, Michigan
Vehicles
2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Lariat ER, 2004 BMW 330Ci
Update... Day 6

Module still has no ETA on arrival at the dealer. Parts says it looks like it has shipped, but no confirmation on that. Picked up a loaner (Bronco Sport with ~350 miles) today since they didn't have one available before the weekend.
 
OP
OP

republicoftexas1836

Active member
First Name
J
Joined
Mar 22, 2024
Threads
2
Messages
33
Reaction score
33
Location
Texas
Vehicles
2023 AMB Lariat ER, 2025 Mazda CX70 PHEV
Update... Day 6

Module still has no ETA on arrival at the dealer. Parts says it looks like it has shipped, but no confirmation on that. Picked up a loaner (Bronco Sport with ~350 miles) today since they didn't have one available before the weekend.
On the other hand......how's the Bronco Sport?
Sponsored

 
 







Top