Lightning range fail

[Cruiser]

What a cluster#$%@. Took a trip with the Lightning this weekend. On my way back I charged up in Ogallala Nebraska. Ford pass wanted me to charge up to 82% there then stop at a Harley dealer in Cheyenne Wyoming for 52 minutes to make it the rest of the way home. I went ahead and charged to 90% so I had a buffer. It showed 250 miles of range. After taking off the truck asked if I would like to recalculate charging stations based on my charge level or something like that. I hit yes on the screen. It then had me going to Wellington Colorado to charge. Ok, I can do that. Wellington had faster chargers than the 25 Kwh charger at the Harley dealer. I made the turn from I80 to I25 southbound and had about 5 miles more range than the distance to the charge station. Ok, I will make it. Wait, the range miles are dropping a mile every few seconds. I slowed way down. Not helping. I'm losing a mile ever few seconds. Now the truck wants me to turn around in two miles and head back to the Harley dealer. I took the exit in two miles and rolled through to save energy. I have 14 miles of range to go 9 the other direction. I hit the gas after turning and nothing. Pull to the side and there it still sits with 5% battery and 14 miles of range to go the 9 miles back to the charge station it initially drove me right by. But it won't move.

Called Ford roadside and I hope I never have to call them again. They were zero help. Only place they would tow me was the Ford dealer who doesn't have an outside charge station. They wouldn't tow me the 20 miles to the original charge station that the truck said I could make it to. I went from about 35 miles of range to dead on the side of the road in 6 miles. My sone finally brought my 2015 F150 to give me the emergency tow to the charge station. I saw while sitting there for 3 hours you can tow 50 miles at 35 mph in an emergency. But guess what? You can't move it into neutral without starting the truck. It won't start with 5% battery and the 10 miles of range it dropped to just sitting there. So, I had to just leave it there and get a ride home. Moral of this story is don't trust the range when it is getting low. Don't think that Roadside will be any help. And actually, I can't recommend buying a Ford anymore.

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[sotek2345]

Hmmm. That doesn't sound like a low range issue, but more like a 12V battery issue. Multiple tests have taken Lightning down to 0% (or below). Not turning on is a 12V issue as you don't need the HVB to shift into emergency tow mode.

 

[Amps]

Sounds like a nightmare. Out of curiosity, did you try to tow charge it? (Couldn't get it into neutral, I guess not)
Also, did the emergency neutral lock button near the shifter not work?

Edit: How many miles are on the truck? (Is this the first guess of the guess-0-meter)
What is the build date? (As in, how long did it dwell in Dearborn)

 

[Mike G]

I completely understand your frustration. I took my first roadtrip that started with a HVB at 100% and proposed charging stops rapidly adjusted as I got about 30 minutes into the trip (75 Mph on a divided 4 lane). So it was an eye opener as far as range-planning was concerned. In fact the original estimate was that I could make it on one charge with 30 miles of range left over at destination.

I now charge on trips when I've gotten down to 80 miles remaining. Just so I don't have to go through what you did.

Driving around town and getting 2.2miles/Kwh is not the same as doing 75mph and getting 1.7miles/Kwh.

And to add to the anxiety, the possibility that you'll arrive at a charging station that isn't functional when you really need it. That happened to me as well.

Mike

 

[hturnerfamily]

we've seen others drive down to 0 miles and continue going... I'm thinking that your issue was more of a 12v battery issue - being low on traction battery should have nothing to do with the truck turning on, or not... try checking and replacing the 12v battery.

Aggravating? YES! But, there's also probably a simple solution.

 

[Theo1000]

Sounds scary but no one else has reported this. Glad it worked out and charging is working after tow. I 3rd the 12v battery being the issue. Have it checked.

If you plan to push the limits with a EV test how the truck performs before you head off into the desert. My wife tends to push the range below zero on our gas vehicles. So on the Tundra I specifically drop it to completely empty when I first got it. About 45 miles and 4.3 gallons was the verdict.

And do not use ford navigation for charging recommendations. Plugshare and ABRP. It takes just 2-3 minutes to figure out a strategy with back ups.

I have taken it down to 1% and 3 mile range, no issues. Started back just fine when I rolled into garage. I do this test on all my EV's just to get a feel for how it it responds at the low end. At 8% GOM said I had 15 mile left but actually drove another 23 miles at 50-55 mph. YMMV and all that.

 

[RickLightning]

Need to read the roadside rules. I believe taking you to a charger is clearly an option.

If the 12v worked, you would have been able to get into tow mode. Did you follow the steps in the manual?

I suspect had you done your original route you would have made it.

 

[greenne]

I'll echo everyone else here..this does not strike me as a range issue. No way the truck should have died with 5%. There is some other issue at play here.

I would NOT trust the DTE if it shows 250+mi at 90% for the highway. Going west on i80 you go slightly uphill, usually in the wind and the speed limit is 75mph. At best you'd be in the very low 200s range(90%)..possibly 190 'ish. (This is based on various range reports online).

 

[sotek2345]

Assuming you have a smart phone, you can pull it up from the Ford website.

 

[Amps]

I believe taking you to a charger is clearly an option.

Exactly! Plus, the 12V battery service.

https://www.ford.com/support/how-to...electric-vehicle-battery-roadside-assistance/

 

[vandy1981]

But guess what? You can't move it into neutral without starting the truck. It won't start with 5% battery.

Something is wrong if you can't start it with a 5% charge in the traction battery.



The guess-o-meter (GOM) range calculator is going to be especially variable at low states of charge. I don't think the Ford trip planner GOM takes windspeed or direction into account. If you were driving into a headwind, you could easily fall short of estimated range. These are things you don't really need to account for in a gas vehicle because you can find a gas station pretty much anywhere when you get low.

This isn't a problem that's specific to Ford, although it sounds like their phone support could have been more helpful.

I-80 is a charging desert on the stretch you were traveling. It looks like there are a bunch of stations that are in various states of construction, so that should improve very soon.

 

[Cruiser]

All the 12 volt has plenty of power. Lights work. frunk opens. It is a ER battery issue I’m guessing.

 

[Cruiser]

 

[sotek2345]

What happens when you try to switch it into Neutral? Are you getting an error?