My MME is perfect. I wish to discuss my fears with other members here about the Lightning. (No more fears.)

[Sneakypetie78]

I'm old, I don't know what "TL;DR" means. I don't what to ask my kids they make enough fun of me already. LOL

TL;DR =
Too Long, Didn't Read.

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[Adventureboy]

Thank you for this information. My MME has ruined me for life from getting another ICE. When we go out in the MME my wife and I argue about who will drive. I am 100% in Whisper mode and that seems just fine to me. The feeling of power when you merge into traffic silently and feeling the push of the motors is awesome and does not go away with time.

You and your wife will really like the lightning then! It’s got more giddy-up than the MME (unless you have the GT.)

 

[mme_and_lightning]

We feel good now about buying a Lightning and I got a GEICO quote using a VIN I grabbed off of a website.

The Lightning we want is at several locations, but none is close to us. My issue is I can't get an out-the-door price from any dealers. My wife, and with good reason, will not travel to purchase a Lightning if we don't have a good idea of the out-to-the-price.

She complains, you tell me one price and it is always low. I don't know what taxes, tags, etc. will run.

 

[PA Lightning]

What Platinum are you looking for, Color, Options, etc...

The dealer I visit in zip 17011 has a white 2023 Platinum and I know they will give you an OTD price. A fellow member from MD recently traveled there to buy a used Lariat.

 

[ridgebackpilot]

I have owned my 2022 MME premium ER for a year and 7,000 miles. Perfect in every way. (OK, a bit bouncy on rough pavement, but reliable in every way.)

I'm 67 years old. I bi-weekly travel from Virginia to Delaware using some rural roads and across heavily traveled bridge that is miles long.

So here is my concern. I need a truck as reliable as my MME and I'm a bit worried about things I read on this forum about the Lightning.

I have two MMEs and the Lightning, all 2022 model years. My Lightning has been every bit as reliable as the other EVs.

The only real disadvantage of the Lightning is that is has half the range of my previous F150 diesel. But that's not a big deal for me since I seldom need 600 mile range. I just don't use the Lightning to go to the backcountry like I did my diesel F150.

Over the years, I've owned many F150s and my Lightning is by far the smoothest of them all. That's because it's the only one that has independent rear suspension, which it needs to accommodate the big motor on the rear axle. It's a great truck that is every bit as efficient as my MME GTPE.

Good luck with your decision. I don't think you'll be disappointed with Lightning. Incidentally, while my previous F150 was a Platinum edition, I bought the Lightning Lariat. The substantial extra cost of the Platinum just wasn't worth it to me. YMMV!

 

[ridgebackpilot]

She complains, you tell me one price and it is always low. I don't know what taxes, tags, etc. will run.

Most dealerships are reluctant to quote you an out-the-door price, especially if you're coming from out of state.

That's because they can't calculate the taxes, tags, fees, etc until they know more about you. You will have to pay your own state's taxes and DMV fees.

As long as you can negotiate a good price below MSRP, I wouldn't worry about the taxes, fees, etc which will be substantially the same no matter where you go...

 

[Solar_EE]

So far, so good. Thanks everyone that posted so quickly. I guess it is so far 3-out-of-3 seem to have no issues.

Please feel free to add more. Keep in mind please that I'm not asking about a MME to Lightning comparison, just an overall experienced review of Lightning owner's reliability.

I love the MME and I can't go back to an ICE vehicle as the MME has ruined ICE vehicles for my wife and me.

No problems so far with my Lightning XLT SR after 5,000 miles and a year. Only took one trip so very infrequent fast charging- 99% of the time it is charged in my garage. I drive on the beach every week or so and the Lightning handles really well on the loose sand- air down to 20 psi and just drive- no shifting gears- no changing to off-road mode- all that is unnecessary as the truck just goes.

 

[Solar_EE]

My power goes out in Maine but I never planned to use the Lightning to address this problem. It's cheaper and more reliable to get a generator.

Why not use the generator OR the Lightning? Several have posted here that their Lightning works well when connected to the generator inlet of a transfer panel. Pro Power is 240V, 30A and for my house that is enough to run everything I need.

 

[Solar_EE]

My point was just to hint that with all the good things people have been saying about the Lightning, the Ford backup system is a disaster that they haven't fixed and have been terrible about communicating to customers as to what's going on (last I head OTA updates to be provided for truck and FCSP sometime in the October to December 2023 timeframe with possible equipment replacement under warranty required). So, yes, I love my 2033 Lightning ER but the inoperability and lack of communication from Ford as to what's going on and when, if ever, it will be fixed send my trust towards zero for the @Ford Motor Company. Check out what other forum members who've tried the system have to say about its function.

Several forum members have detailed using the Pro Power to run their houses through a transfer panel and generator input connection. That is much cheaper and easier without involving SunRun at all. Less power, but 240V, 30A will run most important things- for me the refrigerator, heat pump/AC and the internet router.

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

Why not use the generator OR the Lightning? Several have posted here that their Lightning works well when connected to the generator inlet of a transfer panel. Pro Power is 240V, 30A and for my house that is enough to run everything I need.

The cost of installing the electrical components that would be needed to use the Lightning to power my house (with electric heat), was higher than the cost of just getting a gas generator.

 

[Dharri21]

Several forum members have detailed using the Pro Power to run their houses through a transfer panel and generator input connection. That is much cheaper and easier without involving SunRun at all. Less power, but 240V, 30A will run most important things- for me the refrigerator, heat pump/AC and the internet router.

I made a cable for the 240v 30amp connection in the back that backfeeds through the 50 amp plug that I plug my charger into. I ran everything in my house with the exception of all but 1 heatpump (i have 11 tons of ac so it would be way too much). After hurricane Ian in central FL last year I powered my house for 3 full days from the truck and still had over 100 miles of range left. I have a 22 XLT SR and it is my new generator and it seems to be super reliable so far at 20k miles. The days of filling gas containers for the generator are over.

 

[Jim Lewis]

Several forum members have detailed using the Pro Power to run their houses through a transfer panel and generator input connection.

I know all that. I am not touting the HIS unit as a backup system. Quite the opposite, I'm offering it as a counter-example to everyone touting what a great piece of engineering the Lightning is. BTW, Consumer Reports gave the 2023 Lightning a decent review as their ratings for trucks go. They predicted customer satisfaction with the vehicle would be 5/5, but reliability would only be 2/5 (lower than average). Ford does not have a great history of making highly reliable products, and the whole point of my post was just to point out an example of a turkey they put on sale (the Home Backup System), supposedly a key feature of the Lightning (not by transfer switch). I got my Lightning hoping that with their separate EV production division Ford would be turning over a new leaf in product reliability. We'll see. The state of my HIS unit does not reassure.

 

[Solar_EE]

The cost of installing the electrical components that would be needed to use the Lightning to power my house (with electric heat), was higher than the cost of just getting a gas generator.

Electric resistance heat? That will be one huge generator! My heat pump was recently replaced and I had to downsize the breaker as it only draws 11 amps @ 240V and they wanted a 20 amp breaker. But of course that is a 12,000 BTU mini-split from Fujitsu with high efficiency. My point was that if you are wired for the generator with a transfer switch then the Lightning can at least be an alternate for those times that you have no gas or a lighter load on your house. One member said he ran his house for three days with the SR battery.

 

[mme_and_lightning]

What Platinum are you looking for, Color, Options, etc...

The dealer I visit in zip 17011 has a white 2023 Platinum and I know they will give you an OTD price. A fellow member from MD recently traveled there to buy a used Lariat.

I'm in Virginia. I do appreciate the info.

 

[mme_and_lightning]

Good luck with your decision. I don't think you'll be disappointed with Lightning. Incidentally, while my previous F150 was a Platinum edition, I bought the Lightning Lariat. The substantial extra cost of the Platinum just wasn't worth it to me. YMMV!

I agree about the Platinum cost, but my wife doesn't feel comfortable in the backseat except in the Platinum. The platinum back rest moves backward from bottom to top like this /

She demands (I love my wife so she can demand all she wants) a Platinum if we go Lightning. There was a used Rivian in the lot and she like the rear seats but I'm not really a Rivian kind of person. I don't like standing out in a crowd and the Lightning seems anonymous on the road.

Oh, BTW, we travel with grandchildren and others a lot in the back. I can see her point on longer trips. Me, I would buy a foam triangular pillow for the back seat and save 10K.

P.S.,

I mentioned the triangular pillow just now to my wife. No words spoken but I got her message really clear. It's a no-go.

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