Tesla Owner with a 2023 Ford Lightning XLT Long Range (Impressions/Review)

[transmutated]

Welcome, great intro..... https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/account/account-details

Fixed! I feel targeted

 

[transmutated]

In someways I feel sorry for drivers that never rummaged through the glovebox for a spare (good) condenser, dealt with water in the gas, a broken fan belt, stuck float, ice’d carb, or any of a dozen other vehicle problems that bit you in the ass. And you carried the tools to fix almost anything thrown at you.

So a wrench to loosen a battery terminal is modern par for the course on the road fix right up there with a broken coil wire you can’t see. Modern EVs have cheap & expensive part failures (BSM is the best cheap example) that will incapacitate the vehicle. Just like ICE engines burning a valve.

I don’t find software glitches surprising and we don’t tow a trailers worth of tubes (vacuum) either. But given we aren’t adjusting valve lash, timing, changing oil every 2K, diagnosing a faulty radiator cap or god knows what. I’m ok with an occasional reboot and smartphone level weirdness.

I’m not yet prepared to say BEVs are super low maintenance (having only laid 80,000 miles down between the Mach E and the LT).. but damn they are easy on maintenance so far. I still get nails in tires (now I’ve a portable compressor in the bed ) and run low on washer fluid, forget to change out windshield swipes. And.That.is.It.

And charging stations complaints are expected but that new section of I-5 put in ~55 years ago south of Sacramento had no gas stations for 180 miles or so. You’d be surprised how many cars ran out. Where I live town gas stations closed up at 6 pm. Good luck on rolling in late on E. So travel gives travails. The S.O. and I have been round trip from the coast to Great Falls 3X in the last year racking up 1800 miles each time. Yeah, the EA sites were wonky and GF had zero DCFC available for non-Teslas. But we stayed loose & flexible, used L2 sites over night, switched EA units to find a working one or just chatted with other fellow travelers waiting our turn.

My father & father-in-law told me what long-distance travel was like in the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, even 50’s. We have it so good.

When I’m rolling in the LT my mind wanders back to my grandfather’s Buick Roadmaster… that was a machine.

Man this is a great take on it. Most def small gripes on my end and the perspective on the range is great.

 

[SpacemanSpiff]

Hello new friends, recently bought up a Lightning cause I really want a truck and not interesting in this first edition Cybertruck or any $100k truck honestly I scooped up a used XLT Lightning with 11k miles on it for doing truck stuff mostly. My wife and I both have Model Ys and love them as we go into our 4th year of EV ownership. Even with the tow hitch, I've struggled to make the best use of it because I don't wanna rent a trailer every time i need one and while the storage in the Y is great for boards...it's hard to move sheets around. So I'm living my biggest truck dreams with this used truck. Wanted to give my hot takes coming from Tesla land and lean on the community for any work arounds to the issues I may be having.

On the second day of owning the truck, I rented a uhaul trailer and helped move a storage unit for my parents which was 2 hours each way with a 6X12 covered trailer and driving at a constant 65 got 1.4 mpkwh loaded and 1.5 mpkwh unloaded

So the things I don't like first:

• The screen is actually nice in the XLT, but the void of third party apps like we have on the Tesla is shameful. No entertainment while charging or chilling in the ride is really weird. Beautiful screen...with super limited functionality. Entertainment is standard on ALL teslas.
• No phone as key as a standard option. It's not even an option unless you get Lariat with some extra trim level. Again, standard on all Teslas. This seems really weird to put behind a trim and model barrier.
• If you have 1 key, which is all my truck came with, don't add mykey...and try to remove it. OOF. Apparently I don't have the "admin key"? Who knows. I would have expected that to be requisit to add mykey but now I've limited what all my truck can do to the default profile? I don't know. Would love some community help here or else I'm bringing the truck to the dealership to get a new fob and remove the mykey nonsense.
• Route planning is stressful with the Ford interface. I can easily enough create a route, but I have no idea what % of battery I will have when I arrive at a charging station. Perhaps it is, but I'm just not used to the interface? On the dash, it shows how much range I have left and how far away I am from my destination...is that my final destination or the charging stop? I didn't pay enough attention I suppose because my charging stop was at my destionation effectively. It just wasn't immediately clear.
• After the truck was dropped off since it was delivered from out of state, my wife promptly sat in the truck and started pushing buttons She found the button that stows the gear shifter and pressed it a few times. Needless to say, it got stuck in park. It was this forum that some one recommended buying a 10mm wrench and keeping that in the frunk to disconnect the 12v battery and reconnecting it, which in fact did the trick. Thanks for that lil nugget of information because that fixed this. Will never touch that button again
• Didn't realize that bluecruise is a feature of higher trims. I wasn't buying the truck for smart features, but while road tripping with the trailer, it would have been nice to flip on auto pilot and roll. But I don't have the million dollar truck so I'm left holding the steering wheel like a peasent I suppose Autopilot is standard on all tesla models and is great for highway driving!

Things I don't like that are out of Ford's control, but guilty by association I suppose:

• Stopped and charged at my first ever Electrify America while I appreciated the trailer friendly pull through charger...it was a train wreck. The charger didn't work. I called them, they rebooted it, had me plug and unplug what seems like a dozen times when suddently it started working.
• Electrify America is expensive. Coming from Tesla land, high is over .40 kwh, .30something is typical. This charger was nearly .60 pkwh. OOF

Now for the awesome stuff:

• Towing was DREAMY over what I've done with the Model Y. Model Y was great and all, but the Lightning was champ. Wasn't sure what to expect concerning range, but the internet would have you believe I was going to tow 10 miles and be out of juice. I was happy with the range for the job I was doing and wasn't concerned with with my range.
• Super comfortable drive! Man this truck is smooth! Absolutely love driving it!
• APPLE CAR PLAY IS EXCELLENT! Tesla needs to stop playing games and make it happen.
• Can't wait to get my Tesla Supercharger adapter to use that network! This will ROCK. 4 years of charging my Tesla's while road tripping and I can count on 1 hand where I've had to wait for a charger to be open OR had a failed charger.

Workarounds I've got:

• I'm using a bluetooth obd device in conjuction with a better route planner + apple car play to DIY a smart trip planner that I've got some confidence in. The ford app didn't seem like it would tell me when I have a sufficient charge to carry on or anything like that. This more closely reproduces the intelligence that I've come to expect with Tesla and range calculations concerning weather, etc. I don't have a lot of confidence in whatever the ford app might be doing. Doing this setup with Apple Car Play is a great combo! Maybe I'm just doing Ford wrong? Am I missing anything?

This is where I am with the truck after owning it for 70 something hours and taking it on a good sized road trip with a trailer. The truck really is awesome. No regrets. I loved the used price, the smooth ride, and the range is better than expected. I find myself missing the standard features that I've come to expect from Tesla that are only available in higher trims on the Lightening...ie phone as key, lane keeping, bluecruise, etc. I'm sure some other stuff will come up as time goes on, but aside from the 12v problem concerning the shifter getting stuck in park, I'm really excited about the truck otherwise.

What are some recommendations from the community for new Lightening owner? I've got charging handled since we've got two Teslas already. But yeah, hunting for any other workarounds that other Tesla users have done or what everyone else thinks is useful. Thanks

ChatGPT: Summarize everything on f150lightningforum.com from the perspective of an experienced Tesla owner who has just purchased a used f150 lightning.

Welcome to the club, and to the forum!

 

[TaxmanHog]

Fixed! I feel targeted

Hahhhha, no offense intended, it's a common error, you're not the first.

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

Yeah, it’s real easy to like the truck…it’s awesome. But death by a million cuts is real I suppose. Every time I go get into the truck and forget I need to grab the key will be real. I don’t carry any keys today, but will be carrying this one key going forward when I want to drive it. First world problems, I get it. But I love the truck and we bought it for it utility granted it most def has a leg up on a few things on Tesla! Love the truck though.

Why do you need to grab the key? I must be missing something. I too hate having keys in my pociket. I leave the fob in the truck. (I haven't had it in my hand in over two years.) I access the truck with the code on the door frame. I lock the truck with the code. Or am I missing something?

 

[husky10101]

Hello new friends, recently bought up a Lightning cause I really want a truck and not interesting in this first edition Cybertruck or any $100k truck honestly I scooped up a used XLT Lightning with 11k miles on it for doing truck stuff mostly. My wife and I both have Model Ys and love them as we go into our 4th year of EV ownership. Even with the tow hitch, I've struggled to make the best use of it because I don't wanna rent a trailer every time i need one and while the storage in the Y is great for boards...it's hard to move sheets around. So I'm living my biggest truck dreams with this used truck. Wanted to give my hot takes coming from Tesla land and lean on the community for any work arounds to the issues I may be having.

On the second day of owning the truck, I rented a uhaul trailer and helped move a storage unit for my parents which was 2 hours each way with a 6X12 covered trailer and driving at a constant 65 got 1.4 mpkwh loaded and 1.5 mpkwh unloaded

So the things I don't like first:

• The screen is actually nice in the XLT, but the void of third party apps like we have on the Tesla is shameful. No entertainment while charging or chilling in the ride is really weird. Beautiful screen...with super limited functionality. Entertainment is standard on ALL teslas.
• No phone as key as a standard option. It's not even an option unless you get Lariat with some extra trim level. Again, standard on all Teslas. This seems really weird to put behind a trim and model barrier.
• If you have 1 key, which is all my truck came with, don't add mykey...and try to remove it. OOF. Apparently I don't have the "admin key"? Who knows. I would have expected that to be requisit to add mykey but now I've limited what all my truck can do to the default profile? I don't know. Would love some community help here or else I'm bringing the truck to the dealership to get a new fob and remove the mykey nonsense.
• Route planning is stressful with the Ford interface. I can easily enough create a route, but I have no idea what % of battery I will have when I arrive at a charging station. Perhaps it is, but I'm just not used to the interface? On the dash, it shows how much range I have left and how far away I am from my destination...is that my final destination or the charging stop? I didn't pay enough attention I suppose because my charging stop was at my destionation effectively. It just wasn't immediately clear.
• After the truck was dropped off since it was delivered from out of state, my wife promptly sat in the truck and started pushing buttons She found the button that stows the gear shifter and pressed it a few times. Needless to say, it got stuck in park. It was this forum that some one recommended buying a 10mm wrench and keeping that in the frunk to disconnect the 12v battery and reconnecting it, which in fact did the trick. Thanks for that lil nugget of information because that fixed this. Will never touch that button again
• Didn't realize that bluecruise is a feature of higher trims. I wasn't buying the truck for smart features, but while road tripping with the trailer, it would have been nice to flip on auto pilot and roll. But I don't have the million dollar truck so I'm left holding the steering wheel like a peasent I suppose Autopilot is standard on all tesla models and is great for highway driving!

Things I don't like that are out of Ford's control, but guilty by association I suppose:

• Stopped and charged at my first ever Electrify America while I appreciated the trailer friendly pull through charger...it was a train wreck. The charger didn't work. I called them, they rebooted it, had me plug and unplug what seems like a dozen times when suddently it started working.
• Electrify America is expensive. Coming from Tesla land, high is over .40 kwh, .30something is typical. This charger was nearly .60 pkwh. OOF

Now for the awesome stuff:

• Towing was DREAMY over what I've done with the Model Y. Model Y was great and all, but the Lightning was champ. Wasn't sure what to expect concerning range, but the internet would have you believe I was going to tow 10 miles and be out of juice. I was happy with the range for the job I was doing and wasn't concerned with with my range.
• Super comfortable drive! Man this truck is smooth! Absolutely love driving it!
• APPLE CAR PLAY IS EXCELLENT! Tesla needs to stop playing games and make it happen.
• Can't wait to get my Tesla Supercharger adapter to use that network! This will ROCK. 4 years of charging my Tesla's while road tripping and I can count on 1 hand where I've had to wait for a charger to be open OR had a failed charger.

Workarounds I've got:

• I'm using a bluetooth obd device in conjuction with a better route planner + apple car play to DIY a smart trip planner that I've got some confidence in. The ford app didn't seem like it would tell me when I have a sufficient charge to carry on or anything like that. This more closely reproduces the intelligence that I've come to expect with Tesla and range calculations concerning weather, etc. I don't have a lot of confidence in whatever the ford app might be doing. Doing this setup with Apple Car Play is a great combo! Maybe I'm just doing Ford wrong? Am I missing anything?

This is where I am with the truck after owning it for 70 something hours and taking it on a good sized road trip with a trailer. The truck really is awesome. No regrets. I loved the used price, the smooth ride, and the range is better than expected. I find myself missing the standard features that I've come to expect from Tesla that are only available in higher trims on the Lightening...ie phone as key, lane keeping, bluecruise, etc. I'm sure some other stuff will come up as time goes on, but aside from the 12v problem concerning the shifter getting stuck in park, I'm really excited about the truck otherwise.

What are some recommendations from the community for new Lightening owner? I've got charging handled since we've got two Teslas already. But yeah, hunting for any other workarounds that other Tesla users have done or what everyone else thinks is useful. Thanks

I had a 2016 Model X and unless things changed on the newer tesla, the Autopilot on a Tesla is the same as the Ford with land centering except the Ford does not change lanes when you hit the turn signal like the Tesla. On both vehicles you have to keep a hand on the wheel unless you are in Hands Free Blue Cruse. I assume the same with the Tesla Full Self Driving. I agree the Tesla with all the entertainment and games is nice, but I feel Tesla spends a lot of time and money creating all this stuff which drives up the cost of their vehicles. Wouldn't be surprised in the future some of this goes away in order to keep costs down.

 

[transmutated]

Why do you need to grab the key? I must be missing something. I too hate having keys in my pociket. I leave the fob in the truck. (I haven't had it in my hand in over two years.) I access the truck with the code on the door frame. I lock the truck with the code. Or am I missing something?

I guess I hadn’t thought of that. Wasn’t sure how reliable the door code was so didn’t think about leaving the key in the car. Currently only have 1 key that came with the truck so that makes me a bit nervous. Got a hot date with a dealership for service concerning some CSPs and I'm planning on having a second key made so I can program new fobs.

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

I guess I hadn’t thought of that. Wasn’t sure how reliable the door code was so didn’t think about leaving the key in the car. Currently only have 1 key that came with the truck so that makes me a bit nervous. Got a hot date with a dealership for service concerning some CSPs and I'm planning on having a second key made so I can program new fobs.

Yes, if I only had one key, I too would be weary of leving it inside.

 

[BhamDCam]

Yes, if I only had one key, I too would be weary of leving it inside.

The risk here is that if someone breaks into your truck then they can easily drive off. I know plenty of people leave the fob in the truck, but just be aware of the risk.

 

[flyct]

Congrats on your new purchase You will love it!!!!

We also have 2 Model Ys. I bought a 2023 Lightning 9 months ago when Ford had dropped the price and offered a $7,500 rebate. The rebate along with a Dealer Discount, $750 PCO and tax credit gave us $20,000 off MSRP.

We considered used XTL but after looking at advantages of new Lariat we went that way. So we bought a Extended Range Lariat with Max Tow, spray in bedliner and console safe . It fixes most of the negatives you listed.

• Buying a ER new included a Ford Charge Station Pro which I immediately sold on ebay since we already have Tesla Wall Chargers
• Having a Lariat gives us Free Blue Cruise for 3 years which is great
• We have Phone as Key with the Lariat. It works very well. I no longer need to carry keys to drive my cars.
• Buying new came with 2 key fobs and I bought and self programmed 2 additional fobs
• I keep a programed FOB in the center console safe in a faraday bag for emergencies. I can get in the truck with the door mounted keypad if needed
• If I don't have my phone with me I can unlock the doors to get to the programmed fob in the console safe either with the door post keypad or use either my iPhone FordPass app or my Apple Watch Ford Pass App to unlock the truck
• If all else fails i can also start and drive the truck using the password feature on the screen
• I can see the battery charge state in the "Calm" mode.
• With wireless carplay I use Google maps, Waze or Apple maps for better navigation.
• I can use voice activated Alexa to do everything that I can do when at home.
• I received my Free Tesla supercharger adapter a few weeks ago. It works great. BUT where I can charge my Tesla for 37 cent/kwh when charging my Ford at the same Supercharger it's 50 cents. Still cheaper than the 57 cents at the EA charger in the same location that rarely works.
• I installed a Interlock bypass kit at our cabin electrical box to use the Lightning to power the cabin when power goes out at least 1/month.
• I got a 2nd Wall Charger for the cabin for free using referral credits that I earned when a friend bought a Tesla.

Some additions and mods listed here:

• I have 2 powered coolers that we use when going from our house to our cabin. I set one in the truck bed at 34 degrees as a refrigerator https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NCZF438/ and a smaller one in the Fronk at -4 deg as a cooler https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08N63CSH5/ I can now transport ice cream between houses.
• I bought a BedRug Impact Bed Mat that keeps things from sliding around the bed floor. https://realtruck.com/p/bedrug-impact-bed-mat/
• I have a Tonneau cover on the truck bed.
• Sun in Florida is horrendous. So I have a $27 sun shade when parked outside. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09DPFTKDB/
• I bought a $18 front truck cargo net that works great. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BX97BW4N/
• I bought a $39 center console cover that work well https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B3D2KL3L/
• $23 Tailgate Insert Decal Letters https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B095KTRBP8

 

[JRT]

Welcome on board. The Lighting is great and we share the same year, model and color.

IMO the 2023 XLT ER is the trim to have and hold because the new XLT is only a SR. To get an ER you have to goto Flash, and the giant center screen and lose actual physical controls. I started my EV adventure with a 2021 Mach-e SR and after 27k miles and a constantly glitching and locking up screen I went with tried and true physical HVAC controls and radio and couldn't be happier.

Blue cruise is a nice party trick to me, but it was beyond annoying with yelling at me while I held my coffee mug and thought I wasn't watching the road as soon as I tool a drink.

Tesla adaptor is the way to go, I have not gotten my Ford, but did buy an A2Z and it seems prefect.

It's strange you didn't get 2 keys, the previous owner must have kept one as my 23 truck came with 2. You will have to bite the bullet and order one to be added by the dealership. Phone as a key wouldn't work on an XLT, and my experience with it on my Mach-e was terrible so another feature I'm happy to not pay for.

Enjoy and have fun!

 

[transmutated]

Congrats on your new purchase You will love it!!!!

We also have 2 Model Ys. I bought a 2023 Lightning 9 months ago when Ford had dropped the price and offered a $7,500 rebate. The rebate along with a Dealer Discount, $750 PCO and tax credit gave us $20,000 off MSRP.

We considered used XTL but after looking at advantages of new Lariat we went that way. So we bought a Extended Range Lariat with Max Tow, spray in bedliner and console safe . It fixes most of the negatives you listed.

• Buying a ER new included a Ford Charge Station Pro which I immediately sold on ebay since we already have Tesla Wall Chargers
• Having a Lariat gives us Free Blue Cruise for 3 years which is great
• We have Phone as Key with the Lariat. It works very well. I no longer need to carry keys to drive my cars.
• Buying new came with 2 key fobs and I bought and self programmed 2 additional fobs
• I keep a programed FOB in the center console safe in a faraday bag for emergencies. I can get in the truck with the door mounted keypad if needed
• If I don't have my phone with me I can unlock the doors to get to the programmed fob in the console safe either with the door post keypad or use either my iPhone FordPass app or my Apple Watch Ford Pass App to unlock the truck
• If all else fails i can also start and drive the truck using the password feature on the screen
• I can see the battery charge state in the "Calm" mode.
• With wireless carplay I use Google maps, Waze or Apple maps for better navigation.
• I can use voice activated Alexa to do everything that I can do when at home.
• I received my Free Tesla supercharger adapter a few weeks ago. It works great. BUT where I can charge my Tesla for 37 cent/kwh when charging my Ford at the same Supercharger it's 50 cents. Still cheaper than the 57 cents at the EA charger in the same location that rarely works.
• I installed a Interlock bypass kit at our cabin electrical box to use the Lightning to power the cabin when power goes out at least 1/month.
• I got a 2nd Wall Charger for the cabin for free using referral credits that I earned when a friend bought a Tesla.

Some additions and mods listed here:

• I have 2 powered coolers that we use when going from our house to our cabin. I set one in the truck bed at 34 degrees as a refrigerator https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NCZF438/ and a smaller one in the Fronk at -4 deg as a cooler https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08N63CSH5/ I can now transport ice cream between houses.
• I bought a BedRug Impact Bed Mat that keeps things from sliding around the bed floor. https://realtruck.com/p/bedrug-impact-bed-mat/
• I have a Tonneau cover on the truck bed.
• Sun in Florida is horrendous. So I have a $27 sun shade when parked outside. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09DPFTKDB/
• I bought a $18 front truck cargo net that works great. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BX97BW4N/
• I bought a $39 center console cover that work well https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B3D2KL3L/
• $23 Tailgate Insert Decal Letters https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B095KTRBP8

Absolutely love it! Man, it's a really solid driver and considerably different than the more aggressive suspension of our Model Ys.

Also that list is solid. Love the idea of refrigerated coolers, hadn't even thought of that.

 

[RickKeen]

Question for the OP - do you use the 1 pedal mode like a Tesla?

 

[transmutated]

Question for the OP - do you use the 1 pedal mode like a Tesla?

Absolutely. Really freaked me out when I put the truck into reverse and it started going. Figured that was the default since it was an ev. First setting I changed on the truck

 

[Schroederhc1]

I always road trip my 23 XLT ER with an A2Z adapter and rarely use anything but the Tesla Superchargers; it's a peach.

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