Top Lightning gripes or dislikes.

[PV2EV]

Looking at Sunrun "Field Website" training and installation instructions for various equipment
https://sites.google.com/sunrun.com/sop/sops/ev-chargers/ford-ev-charger?pli=1
see this diagram (down the page at the link) showing solar PV and backup battery attachment wiring to the bidirectional inverter:
3. EV Charger + Home Integration + PV + ESS

My bad, I should have stated "It cannot charge from PV with the grid down" which it should so you can use the battery indefinitely. This is the reply I got from AEESolar, distrubutor of this hardware:

• When the grid is down, can it charge the truck from PV, and also send PV power (inverted) to the house?
  • It cannot charge the vehicle during an outage. The PV will go towards the backup loads, but the EV breaker is located in the Main Service Panel (MSP).

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[GoodSam]

When the grid is down, can it charge the truck from PV, and also send PV power (inverted) to the house?

• It cannot charge the vehicle during an outage. The PV will go towards the backup loads, but the EV breaker is located in the Main Service Panel (MSP).

But can the solar still power the house? Probably not if feeding the Main Service Panel, which must be cut off from the truck generator power? And if the house has a wall mounted battery backup, will it still be functional? I would hope so, but then again, the truck battery would be feeding that as well? So maybe the house mounted battery is cut off as well? So the Home Integration System using the truck battery only feeds a separate emergency backup load panel? I guess these questions should go in a thread more focused on the HIS.

 

[PV2EV]

But can the solar still power the house? Probably not if feeding the Main Service Panel, which must be cut off from the truck generator power? And if the house has a wall mounted battery backup, will it still be functional? I would hope so, but then again, the truck battery would be feeding that as well? So maybe the house mounted battery is cut off as well? So the Home Integration System using the truck battery only feeds a separate emergency backup load panel? I guess these questions should go in a thread more focused on the HIS.

If it has a wall mounted battery it duplicates the truck. I bought the truck with this as the primary use case for two properties, with the advadage that the truck also gets me between them.

 

[RickKeen]

This is most likely a local utility stipulation for you. We don't have that restriction here... But it seems many areas still don't want certain types or sizes of backup batteries or systems, in some cases any type, to be able to charge from solar. They're forcing you to pay for power from the grid if you want to store it.

Look at the chargers available from Emporia and how they can integrate with Emporia solar panel control systems. They have a "solar-only" mode where it only charges your vehicle when your solar panels are producing excess power.

 

[meow]

Did you have any kind of plan for home charging before you bought the Lighting?

Yes, I just hadn't been able to act on it until now. Inelegantly resolved now, but this is a problem that needs solved as a lot of city-dwellers who need a car don't have any ability to charge at home.

 

[ctuan13]

Reasonably areas for improvement. Some of it seems easy to solve, software-wise, and then obvious own-goals like the vestigial shifter that solves a problem that should never have existed in the first place.

It's like getting ready to run a marathon, strapping a ball-and-chain to your leg, and then telling everyone how smart you are because you put wheels on the ball.

I mean I actually really like that the Lightning has a very tactile, physical shifter unlike other EVs or even modern gas vehicles that have push buttons. It makes shifting without having to take my eyes off the road so much easier and more intuitive. But considering the F150 doesn't have a second stalk on the steering column, they could have compromised and setup a column shifter instead. That would be the perfect compromise in my opinion.

 

[Artificial Intelligence]

It could be just me, but lightning has the lousiest vipers. It should come with heavy duty vipers.

I also dislike the infotainment interface. My wife’s recently redesigned grand Cherokee has an intuitive easy to use interface ford should take a look.

 

[Artificial Intelligence]

Overheats my phone and can't keep up with the drain of wireless Android Auto. So I'd you use it while connected your phone overheats while losing battery.

I use it all the time works well no overheating of the phone here

 

[Pioneer74]

It could be just me, but lightning has the lousiest vipers. It should come with heavy duty vipers.

Is there a "snake package" I don't know about?

 

[Blainestang]

I mean I actually really like that the Lightning has a very tactile, physical shifter unlike other EVs or even modern gas vehicles that have push buttons. It makes shifting without having to take my eyes off the road so much easier and more intuitive. But considering the F150 doesn't have a second stalk on the steering column, they could have compromised and setup a column shifter instead. That would be the perfect compromise in my opinion.

It's nice in hand and works fine, but it takes up a lot of space. Part of it is how proud Ford acts about the fact that it folds when it could easily just not be there.

IMO, the BMW i3 implementation is even better. It's a lever that you just push forward or back for drive vs reverse, so there's no question about whether you are in Reverse or Park or whatever when you're not looking. Park is a button on the lever. Small, out of the way, at least as easy to use without looking at it, doesn't have to be motorized to get it out of the way.

There are WORSE implementations than Ford, though, for sure.

 

[jaykoolzboy]

After 7k miles , here are my recaps


Likes:


0 - 70 MPH Acceleration is unreal

Relatively comfortable ride

Mega Frunk is a game changer

We are getting very close to the EPA estimated ranges

Nice looking truck from back and side

Range Rover level serenity

Very spacious , especially for rear passengers

HOV Sticker FTW







Meh:

Front plastic looks cheap and unattractive

Not the biggest fan for the Lariat ER seats (Platinum seat is significantly better)

The lower tier B&O on Lariat ER is bad, I mean horrible.

Ford can do better on the layouts of the Mega Frunk (it's big , but very awkward shapes and angles, Ford can do better）

Lariat ER is now a 90K truck with 40K interior, it's not bad, but just nothing special or stand out.

After 70MPH , it doesn't have the thrilling acceleration experience you expected from something with 600HP and 800lb of torque, it's just too heavy.

Infotainment system is slow and unresponsive (my 40K Kona EV is twice as fast)

Lack of Button for fast changing drive modes (you need to go thru the slow responsive infotainment system to make any changes)

BlueCrusie needs more work, several occasions it accelerates with lane changing vehicles in the front, need to hit the brake hard for those.

Lack of SoC and charging information is annoying.

It has 2 glove boxes, but needs more length on both of them.

Other well documented EV Truck issues (cold climate, tow range , etc..)

Need to power up the Truck for Pro Power and 120V outlet inside the cabin (Software updates needed for that)

Frunk takes way too long to open.

Rear view Camera needs frequent clean ups (literally after every car wash or rain)


Overall, I am pretty happy with the truck so far, and vast majority of the Mehs can be fixed by software updates or aftermarket peripherals.

 

[wighty]

It's nice in hand and works fine, but it takes up a lot of space. Part of it is how proud Ford acts about the fact that it folds when it could easily just not be there.

I personally don't like the shifter simply because it makes the fold down armrest surface kind of useless to me, and in particular you literally can't use it while driving (so your passenger can't use it for something like a laptop).

 

[Monkey]

I personally don't like the shifter simply because it makes the fold down armrest surface kind of useless to me, and in particular you literally can't use it while driving (so your passenger can't use it for something like a laptop).

Fold down shifter is super gimmicky. I wish it had the shifter on the steering column like the stalk they still use in the Super Duty. This would free up space for better sized cup holders and whatnot and not have to stow the shifter to use the workspace...

Having the dial shifter in the Bronco Sport and in my Expedition the Lightning has replaced, I am not a fan of that either, but have grown used to it and prefer it over the gimmicky folding shifter. If Ford didn't want the stalk shifter, they should go to the push buttons on the dash like they have on some of the Lincolns.

Other comments that fall more into the "meh" section...

The B&O audio is just not good. I knew this going into it. I had the B&O Unleashed setup in my Expedition and it's still just meh... Actually lower than meh. I will be doing a sound system overhaul in a couple months though, so didn't feel like paying the premium for the Platinum to still land in audio purgatory.

Platinum seats are indeed better, still couldn't justify the premium. But these Lariat seats are disappointing. The leather is thin and stretchy and the foam is sub-par. I put 80K miles on my '18 Expedition Max Limited and the seats in that were super comfortable right up to the end and looked damn good when I sold it. As far as I can tell it's essentially the exact same seat platform and frame. So WTF? Ford went cheap on the Lariat foam/bolstering and upholstery. I have a hunch that if I keep this truck a long time (or any of us who do) and put 100K+ miles on it, there will be new foam and new Katzkin seat leather in our future...

My '2016 F-350 King Ranch still had the best interior of any truck/SUV I've ever owned. The premium dark brown leather was excellent and the seats were ridiculously comfortable. Best center console design ever with 4 cupholders and no gimmicky shifter or dial.

 

[Oafy44]

I personally don't like the shifter simply because it makes the fold down armrest surface kind of useless to me, and in particular you literally can't use it while driving (so your passenger can't use it for something like a laptop).

Agree. I have a super duty and how are focus groups saying they want column shifters on the super duty’s but not on the f150’s. I love my extra space in the super duty.
the one thing I’ll say if they get it right on the ram it looks like they put the phone charger in the correct spot. It’s almost pointless where ford has it and the wireless is a joke. The fords can power your house or a job site but can barely charge my iPhone wirelessly

if your not going to do column shifter do the new Yukons/ tahoes And put it on the dash and free up that space

 

[Replika]

Global charge limit.

Perviously I set the vehicle’s target charge to 100% and my Juicebox to begin charging overnight so it would be ready for my travel time.

Today it seems that the truck got confused. Didn’t register the 100% target despite double checking.

Just give us a global limit. I have done this successfully dozens of times before road trips with other EVs, until today.

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