What’s the ONE piece of advice you’d give to a new F150Lightning owner?

[3Wliners]

Maybe new owners focus their attention on upgrades, like appearance, accessories, or modifications. While those choices shape the look and feel of a vehicle, long-term reliability and safety are often determined by basic maintenance habits that are easy to overlook.

Simple routines can make a meaningful difference, such as regularly checking tire condition and tire pressure, keeping the driver’s footwell clean to avoid interference with pedal operation, preventing dirt, sand, or moisture from accumulating inside the cabin or underbody, paying attention to the fit and safety of interior components, not just their appearance etc.
These details may seem minor at first, but over time, they directly affect driving safety, comfort, and vehicle lifespan.

We’d like to open this discussion to the community:

What car maintenance tip you'd like to give to a new owner?​

By sharing your advice, you’re helping create a practical knowledge base for new drivers and contributing to a safer, better driving experience for everyone in the forum.

Your experience could be the tip that helps someone avoid a costly mistake.

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[DemandingJay]

The 1st thing I mention to anyone when discussing my truck (or any EV for that matter) is to make sure they can charge from home. That’s the real cheat code for EV’s in my opinion.

 

[sotek2345]

If you have the sunroof, make sure you keep the drains clean regularly, even if you never open it!

 

[Refactoringdr]

Set the default charge level to 80% and only go higher if you're going to need it. I've done this and my battery SoH is still 99% after 109,000 miles. (If you have an SR, this might not be possible)

 

[2003MarionSSS]

If you have the sunroof, make sure you keep the drains clean regularly, even if you never open it!

That's interesting. What happens if you don't? How do you clean them out?

 

[Zprime29]

Keep an eye on the 12v, two eyes if you can manage it. There are so many errors that crop up when the 12v gets low and @Ford Motor Company, in their infinite wisdom, deemed it unnecessary to keep it topped up. I drive 1.5-2hours most days, about half that on the weekends. I've thus far not had a problem with mine, however a significant number of threads exist due to the truck allowing the 12v battery to deep cycle when it isn't suppose to deep cycle.

 

[Calvin H-C]

Set the default charge level to 80% and only go higher if you're going to need it. I've done this and my battery SoH is still 99% after 109,000 miles. (If you have an SR, this might not be possible)

We have an SR and set the at-home charge limit to 90%.

There are two situations when we have it go to 100%...

1. When we know the next day's needs will require the extra, usually because we're starting a road trip.
2. Once every month or two. This gives the battery control module a chance to perform a cell balancing, which is only done when the battery reaches full charge. I suspect this may help with battery longevity.

8+ years experience with an EV (our FFE) that can only charge to 100% (unless you stop manually) has demonstrated that charging fully every time is not as bad as most like to believe. 2500+ charges to 100% and the vehicles range and performance is pretty much like new.

I know the two vehicles don't have the same battery technology, and the FFE's rated range of 160 km (100 mi) means the need to have it fully charged is greater. For those reasons we only charge the Lightning to 90% most of the time.

 

[csukoh78]

ABC always be charging. This keeps the mundane stuff on wall power and not constantly draining the battery. However these batteries and complexes are very durable and should last at least 1,000,000 miles.

Do not buy EV unless you plan to have a level two charger in your home. Not negotiable. 120 V AC charging is a non-starter.

Use the Tesla app so you have access to the supercharger network. If you do a lot of road trips, pay for the subscription which makes charging significantly cheaper. Electrify America and all the other total horseshit charging stations don't hold a candle to Tesla supercharger network.

Do not use the built-in navigation system. I've owned almost every make of car out there and it is the absolute unequivocally the worst. Multiple times it has told me that I've reached my destination and was at least half a mile away from the real location. However, that being said, use the navigation if you were driving to a charger so it preconditions. Otherwise if you're using Google Maps or something else, it will not.

Don't put aftermarket wheels on unless they are lighter and highly aerodynamic. Ford knows what they were doing when they designed this truck, and the stock wheels are slippery through the air and tucked in tight to the body.

Do not lower the truck unless you are using a legitimate suspension kit AND are going to install camber plates.

Do not use the cabin heater, ever, unless you absolutely need to, and then only for short periods. Multiple studies have shown that people are just as comfortable with a heated seat and a heated steering wheel. By far the biggest drain on the battery is a cabin heater.

If towing, expect your arrange to be cut in half and plan accordingly. These vehicles are fantastic for 99% of the drivers out there and can PULL Mount Everest but long-term hauling is best left to ICE.

Charge to 80% for daily driving. Keep it plugged in and only charge to 100% right before a long road trip or towing.

 

[sotek2345]

That's interesting. What happens if you don't? How do you clean them out?

I had almost $2,500 in repairs for 2025 due to flooding in the truck, not covered by Ford. If they aren't kept clean water can drain into the cab of the truck, soaking the carpet and potentially damaging electronics.

 

[RocketGhost]

What car maintenance tip you'd like to give to a new owner?

Don't pay more than a nominal amount for maintenance. All it needs are tire rotations (which some tire places will do for free) and cabin air filter changes (easy DIY).

 

[bc1]

I had almost $2,500 in repairs for 2025 due to flooding in the truck, not covered by Ford. If they aren't kept clean water can drain into the cab of the truck, soaking the carpet and potentially damaging electronics.

Where is the water coming in at? Thanks.

 

[bc1]

Don't pay more than a nominal amount for maintenance. All it needs are tire rotations (which some tire places will do for free) and cabin air filter changes (easy DIY).

Who does tire rotations for free if I stop in? Thanks.

 

[sotek2345]

Where is the water coming in at? Thanks.

In my case, it was pouring out just below the steering wheel, but it would depend which was plugged.

 

[bc1]

Do not use the built-in navigation system. I've owned almost every make of car out there and it is the absolute unequivocally the worst. Multiple times it has told me that I've reached my destination and was at least half a mile away from the real location. However, that being said, use the navigation if you were driving to a charger so it preconditions. Otherwise if you're using Google Maps or something else, it will not.

Didn't know it preconditions. Is preconditioning needed in warm temps?

I end up using 3 systems. Tesla app to find the charging stations and to get the exact street address of the Tesla station to plug into Google maps running on my phone and Android Auto but google maps on AA doesn't always come through on the truck audio system & hard to hear on the phone which doesn't always play audio either so I plug in the address on the Ford Navigation especially needed in large cities. (I think the answer to the G maps on AA is to use the Sync Screen to put in the address instead of the phone to get it to play out loud over truck audio but I need to try it next time.)

 

[RocketGhost]

Who does tire rotations for free if I stop in? Thanks.

Discount Tire. It doesn't matter if you bought the tires there or not. They will also do patches for free.

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