Top Lightning gripes or dislikes.

[sotek2345]

Tesla owner here, mos def not a fanboi though and I'm typically the first to point out shortcomings on Tesla forums and actively rage against those who blindly defend ANY brand even in the face of obvious shortcomings. Can't stand that junk.

I think the heat pump is a wonderful solution but it's not a universal one the way resistive heat is. In North America we just have too wide of a range of temperatures for it to be a one-size-fits-all type of solution. If you only made cars for Southern California or Arizona this wouldn't be an issue. While sometimes early on it felt like Tesla only had SoCal in mind when engineering cars in some aspects, it seems as though they're doing a better job now with certain aspects which is a good thing for the rest of us.

I did some cursory research on heat pumps for our house and where we live it just doesn't seem to make as much sense as I had hoped. I think it's the same thing with the cars in this climate. Sure, you can add resistive heat to make up that lower range but the heat pump is still governed by the physics involved with thermal dynamics which, until we have some sort of a breakthrough, make it a non-starter as a single source solution.

I think that having a heat pump/resistive heat combination in EVs is the probably the best implementation for efficiency/range reasons but I certainly wouldn't see the omission of a heat pump as a limit in terms of performance, though.

Yup,

From what I have read, if it gets below freezing where you live, it is too cold and a heat pump won't really help. If it stays above 40 it is too warm and a heat pump won't help.

I have no issues staying warm in my Lightning. Even at full blast, the heater doesn't take that much range on the highway (when it counts). 5kw for 4 hours is only about 15% of the battery and it won't be running nearly that high the whole ride.

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[Ostrichsak]

It won't be long before the govt starts to harp on EV's about mileage too. Considering the heat pump works for a huge majority of owners and resistive heat does impact range, maybe not performance as much if you are above 50% SOC, but the heat pump will be an absolute requirement for mass EV adoption and government regulations. It just isn't in their sights yet.

Not really the place for this conversation but the simple fact that will help to save EVs from government oversite in this regard is just how much more efficient they already are.

Wringing out 5% more efficiency on a solution that only transfers about 30% of it's energy into forward momentum (on average) is impactful when it's so widely used. Not only do EVs currently make up a drop in the bucket of overall use in the US but they're already incredibly efficient by nature of the technology used with about 90% of their energy being transferred directly into forward momentum. This is why such small things have such a large felt impact on overall range because their whole existence is predicated on efficiency.

If the desire is to focus efforts on energy conservation then to say this focus would be an incredibly poor return on investment would be a drastic understatement. It would be akin to saying "We want to help protect consumers from predatory loan practices" and then introducing a legislative bill trying to go after Uncle Mike who spotted his nephew $500 to help buy his first car.

 

[meow]

For the heat pump thing, I'm confused by what the desired outcome/result is. Your wish is to have warmer temperatures quicker, right?

As an owner of older Model S cars long before Tesla started putting heat pumps into cars, that has to be one of my favorite things about the cars is how rapidly they warm up even on the coldest of Colorado mornings. I open the app, set the temperature to 71 and then activate the steering wheel heat plus set the driver's side seat heater to medium (or "2 bacons" as we affectionately refer to it) and within a minute or so the heater -which is powered by resistive heat- is already blowing warm air. The cabin would be warm in short order thereafter even when the mercury dips below zero.

This is a welcomed departure from ICE cars that had to sit running for at least 10-12 minutes to warm up the engine before they even thought about making warm air, let alone actually warming the cabin.

This is why I'm confused by your request above. From what I've read (since I don't own a vehicle with one to say first hand) the heat pump is all about increased efficiency and less energy usage. It's like the inverse of an air conditioner which uses vacuums and exchangers to move heat from one area to another the opposite direction of a traditional A/C. This actually comes at the cost of performance, especially in colder climates. The colder the temperatures, the less efficient a heat pump is and many will activate a (far less efficient but higher performing) resistive heat element to even continue functioning below a certain temperature.

So if heating performance is your primary goal (which is sounds like it is for you) then I would think that heat pumps is not actually what you want and you should be happier with a resistive heat solution, if I'm reading your post correctly that is. I could be misreading though so feel free to elaborate if I've missed the mark.

In the interest of full disclosure, I over dramatized the steps required to activate this on a Tesla. Typically I unlock my phone and press one button on a widget on the home screen of my smartphone and it remembers all of those things for me. There's even an option to let it remember when you leave so it can save you that one press. I'm a little old school though and I prefer tapping a single button moments before entering my car to have it already warming up.

I said in the post "no EV should come with only resistive heating" - why not both? The instant heat is wonderful, but it's not practical to have a resistive heater blowing at all times: my main point is consistency and efficiency. The typical heat pump is over 100% efficient until you get to near 0ºf. Resistive while on AC at home perhaps for the instant burst, heat pump taking over for the drive.

It's great Tesla's expanding their use of them. Other manufacturers should too. But no, they're not a silver bullet. They are, however, a compelling addition to a number of components that could be part of an all-round solution.

Or I'll just put one of these in the car because at least they can output some heat passively

I have no issues staying warm in my Lightning. Even at full blast, the heater doesn't take that much range on the highway (when it counts). 5kw for 4 hours is only about 15% of the battery and it won't be running nearly that high the whole ride.

That's great for you! If I were driving alone I don't think I'd even be putting the heating on... But we don't all have that privilege, and it'd be great to not have to worry about that impact on range because it could be the difference that makes another charging stop.

 

[sotek2345]

That's great for you! If I were driving alone I don't think I'd even be putting the heating on... But we don't all have that privilege, and it'd be great to not have to worry about that impact on range because it could be the difference that makes another charging stop.

My point wasn't about keeping it cooler, it was that even if you set the heat to high it doesn't take that much from.our huge batteries. Just run the heat to keep you and your passengers comfortable and worst case have an extra 10 minute stop. Not worth stressing over the minor loss in efficiency.

I wouldn't have wanted to spend thousands more for the truck for the few days a year it helps.

 

[Pioneer74]

Not really the place for this conversation but the simple fact that will help to save EVs from government oversite in this regard is just how much more efficient they already are.

You honestly think the Government, at some point, isn't going to try to regulate efficiency out of electric vehicles?

Government is regulation and they never give up power. Today, CAFE regulates fuel mileage and Co2. When EV adoption reaches a tipping point, I guarantee they will regulate mi/kWh. It's their nature and will never secede control. Especially because we still burn a lot of fossil fuels to charge.

 

[Ostrichsak]

You honestly think the Government, at some point, isn't going to try to regulate efficiency out of electric vehicles?

Government is regulation and they never give up power. Today, CAFE regulates fuel mileage and Co2. When EV adoption reaches a tipping point, I guarantee they will regulate mi/kWh. It's their nature and will never secede control. Especially because we still burn a lot of fossil fuels to charge.

Where in my post did I say the word "never" in conjunction with my statement? In fact, I mention specifically the % of the segment that's currently EV being chief among the reasons. Most would read to mean that I'm leaving the door open for this to be something in the future.

I'm not sure why you insist in putting words in my mouth to stand up a straw man to argue over when we're saying the same thing. There's no sense arguing over the length of the timeline of something that doesn't even exist nor is it relevant to this topic.

Not everything needs to be a debate.

Regardless of what you see almost exclusively on media these days, sometimes people are allowed to simply communicate and even agree at times, y'know?

 

[Pioneer74]

Where in my post did I say the word "never" in conjunction with my statement? In fact, I mention specifically the % of the segment that's currently EV being chief among the reasons. Most would read to mean that I'm leaving the door open for this to be something in the future.

I'm not sure why you insist in putting words in my mouth to stand up a straw man to argue over when we're saying the same thing. There's no sense arguing over the length of the timeline of something that doesn't even exist nor is it relevant to this topic.

Not everything needs to be a debate.

Regardless of what you see almost exclusively on media these days, sometimes people are allowed to simply communicate and even agree at times, y'know?

Your words, not mine.

Not really the place for this conversation but the simple fact that will help to save EVs from government oversite in this regard is just how much more efficient they already are.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Your words, not mine.

My words, your perception.

The mental gymnastics here to "win" some weird debate that exists only in your own head is impressive. Go on and think whatever you want. I truly don't care.

I haven't been here long to know if you've got anything positive to contribute to the community but I haven't seen any evidence of it yet. I'm really close to just adding you to my ignore list based on your insistence on turning everything into a debate.

 

[BzzzzztZapPow]

RE: Govt Effciency Regulation - I think that road tax will come much quicker to EVs than efficiency regulation.

RE: Heat Pump/Resistive - I cannot speak with heat pumps on EVs, but I live in an area in Maryland where natural gas is unavailable for homes so it is either all electric or propane. Lived in a house with HP only.....it was great until it dropped below 20F. The best that it could do was about 58-62 degrees. It never really was warm in the winter, though. Luckily, it doesn't get that cold very often. Our house now is HP with resistive backup/assist and it is always warm regardless of the outside temperature. Seem that a combo would be best but I would imagine that there may be a cost/benefit issue for mass production.

 

[Pioneer74]

My words, your perception.

The mental gymnastics here to "win" some weird debate that exists only in your own head is impressive. Go on and think whatever you want. I truly don't care.

I haven't been here long to know if you've got anything positive to contribute to the community but I haven't seen any evidence of it yet. I'm really close to just adding you to my ignore list based on your insistence on turning everything into a debate.

Don't bother. I'll just add you to mine. Your constant whining about anything non-Tesla almost pushed me to ignore you before. But now that I see that you want to argue semantics about what you clearly wrote tells me all you're here to do it look for a fight.

 

[meow]

My point wasn't about keeping it cooler, it was that even if you set the heat to high it doesn't take that much from.our huge batteries. Just run the heat to keep you and your passengers comfortable and worst case have an extra 10 minute stop. Not worth stressing over the minor loss in efficiency.

I wouldn't have wanted to spend thousands more for the truck for the few days a year it helps.

The thing is, this is difference between whether or not this vehicle - and to an extent the entire fleet of available EVs - is suitable for certain drivers or passengers. Accessibility needs to be considered whether someone suffers from a physical and visible disability or a chronic but invisible condition. From an unintentionally ableist position, it really doesn't seem something to stress about - I get that! But the reality is, it is a concern for some people. Because that "minor" loss isn't so minor when the seat heater alone isn't a viable option.

 

[RickKeen]

RE: Govt Effciency Regulation - I think that road tax will come much quicker to EVs than efficiency regulation.

Some states already have a tax to help pay for roads from EVs. I know that Minnesota adds a $75 surcharge onto the annual registration to make up for the fact that EVs don't pay road taxes in fuel purchases.

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/168.013#:~:text=Subd. 1m.,tax distribution fund.

 

[SmokingtheMeats]

The truck is great, I love it, but there are still a few goofy things… Top 3 gripes, which should be easily solved with a software update:

- Ability to adjust charge amperage, or optimize charge level for your intended departure time

- Option for a universal setting for max charge level to 90% as recommended by Ford. Only possible currently to set based on programmed locations. This makes no sense.

- Ability to turn on power receptacles without the truck “running”. Or, at a minimum, have a setting to allow for all the interior lights to be turned off when running power receptacles only. If you are using the truck to power things in your house during a power outage, there is no way to turn off the interior lights. The best solution I could find on You-Tube was a guy making a cardboard cutout to fill in the dash . Should be a simple fix here FORD!

And, a bonus gripe is (to add to the chorus) the excessively loud beeper on the frunk, that thing is annoying!

My interior lights never come on. Just the dashboard and screen. Is this normal? I didn’t see anything in the manual for it to have them turn on when I open the doors.

 

[SilverBrewer]

I have been called by Ford in the past to discus Ford Trucks. Even got paid once to provide comments (poor chrome on Lariats and twin turbo vs supercharging opinions). I don’t have gripes, I see areas for improvement.

Ditto! I buy a new 150 every two years this will be my 12th. I like some of the truck stuff coming over even if it doesn’t make any sense lol. It’ll be interesting what the next electric truck from Ford will be tho.

 

[Mike G]

I've had my truck for two months- the shifter is definitely a leftover remnant from other trucks- it makes no sense at all- I never fold it down as I've heard there are problems with that- a simple rotary knob or even the little stalk from the steering wheel like the Ioniq 5 has would be fine. Also on the Ioniq 5 I just press the power button to turn it OFF- no need to move the shifter- once it's off it is in Park.
These are minor things- mostly the truck is great and very similar to my 2026 F150 except much quicker and quieter.

Since you mentioned that I thought I'd add that on the Mach-E if you forget to put it in park before hitting the button to shut the car off...if goes into park anyway. The advantage of a rotary knob. vs. a mechanical linkage.

Hang on...somebody else just said that if I shut the truck off with the lever in D it will move to park...heading out to give that a try.

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