Traded my 2023 for a 2025

[Charles Juedemann]

I liked my 2023 Lightning so well that I decided to trade it for a newer one. I had 34,000 miles on it and I wanted a new one to last me a long time. Big mistake. First of all I did not know Ford was cancelling the Lightning so that was a little let down. But the biggest disappointment was in the overall quality of my 2025 It is not as good as my 2023 was. The worst part is that my 2025 only charges up to 285 miles on a warm day. My 2023 would show a charge of 320 miles or more. THAT is a big difference. So I made an appointment to have the dealer check it out. The first bad sign was when the service tech began questioning me about how I charged the truck, did I run it empty, no, did I allow it to go down to 30 miles before charging sometimes, and on and on. They looked at a computer screen and said there was no error codes and that if I wanted them to look at it it would be $195 service just to check it out (the truck has 5000 miles on it) , because there were no error codes. So I am stuck with a truck that has doors that sound funny when closing, has air that does not blow on the feet, and worse, a truck that runs 30-40 miles less than my old one.

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[TaxmanHog]

As I'm watching several forum members trade up, I'm tempted to trade up, but my 2022 is the cream of the crop, sure newer model years get newer features I'll never see via OTA, but selling out so soon is against my typical 8 to 10 year cycle, it just doesn't fit well with me.

I'll hang on for EREV or T3

 

[truthlesshunter]

really odd...my 2022 lariat ER is in for warranty work right now and they gave me a used 2024 on the lot. It is an XLT so lots of creature comforts are different..but the truck "feels" less well put together, more NVH, etc.

Also, we think it's the heat pump but there is a constant whir sound and feel near the feet. It does diminish as the truck warms up but stays there. We are very happy with our 2022 compared to that one

 

[Athrun88]

Sorry to hear about your experience, but, as the old saying goes: "They don't build'em like they used to". Usually applies for things that are several decades old vs modern versions, but I find myself using that phrase more and more these days to compare things that are even 5 years old.

Thing to know about iterative updates like model years is that every year, the bean counters find ways to extract more money for the least investment in year-over-year refresh. A new grille, new colour options, etc.. while cutting things or replacing parts with more plastic or cheaper plastic, leather with pleather, etc...

I've found that the first 2 years or so of a new model or model refresh are the best ones as the manufacturer puts their 'best foot forward' as long as you can get over the early adopter tax or other quirks of a new model/system. The latter years, usually 3-5 years and just before a model refresh, those are the ones with the comprimises, cut down features, or other 'enhancements' that are only beneficial to the bean counters.

As for your particular situation:
- The truck learns your charging/driving habits. Your 2023 has had 3 years to learn your habits so it's 'broken in' in terms of what the GOM will report. Your 2025 is fresh so it's systems haven't had a chance to learn yet. Give it the time to learn and it'll probably start reporting like your 2023 as long as the battery capacity is the same between the two (2023 ER to 2025 ER). Also, you don't mention what trims you had; if you got the 2025 Flash ER, you could have been equipped with the smaller ER battery instead of the true ER battery which may account for some of the range loss.
- The MY2024+ has heat pumps equipped instead of the resistive heating unit of the MY2022-2023. While being more energy efficient, some have mentioned that the effective heating/cooling has been lacking. I have a 2024 Lariat and find that I have to run the fan on a higher setting to defog the cabin or get any sort of impactful effect before I turn it down to a steady state. Not much of an issue as I am in the habit of remote starting the truck and setting the heat/cooling to a higher initial setting and turning it down once I get going.
- As for the other items, doors that make noises, etc... might just need some good'ole lube on the hinges. I know, expensive truck shouldn't need all that out of the gate, but it's still a mass production product so there will be minor defects here and there that fit inside the 'good enough' limits. Despite our trucks being as great as they are, they're not bespoke, hand built, custom trucks so some issues are/should be expected.

Hope things get better for you!

 

[gbuydos]

I was just thinking he got the smaller ER battery in the 25'.

 

[Maineiac12]

Sounds like you didn’t realize that some 2025 trucks got slightly smaller batteries.

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