Is Anybody Happy With Their Lightning?

[Lightningwaiter]

I have a Maverick on order, but started having reservations about the size and utilitarian interior a couple weeks ago, so I started looking at the Ford Lightnings. I read about the tech and features and was pretty excited. But there are so many negative reviews online. There's maybe 1 positive review for every 9 that say "I hated my Lightning and sold it and a huge loss" reviews. Even here it seems like the majority are unhappy with their purchase. Am I making a huge mistake even looking at the Lightning?

I had a maverick, I loved it. it was just a bit too small, it felt like a small truck. I have had my Lightning for almost a year now and it blows everything away that I have ever driven.

For myself being able to put an over sized sheet of plywood in the truck was the straw that broke my camel. The bed was just too small to really use.
Now I get amazing "milage", better than anything I could get in the maverick and I can use the lightning as an actual truck.

I have had 0 issues with my lighting. I have 0 regrets I bought it. Ok maybe 1, I bought a 2023 and I am missing options, like smart hitch that I should have had if I bought a new one, option you don't get with a maverick.

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[Effonefiddy Lightning]

Love my truck, but the texting software sucks big time.

 

[subseavet]

I can't say enough good things about my Lightning. I've owned three F-150 ICE trucks before this one, and not only is this my favorite F-150, but it's my favorite vehicle I've ever owned. Full disclosure, I don't trade in my trucks until they are either very high mileage or closing in on 10 years old. I grew up on a farm, we run a small business, and we take our dogs on adventures often. On both long and short trips, the Lightning has been great! I can use Tesla destination charges and most superchargers now with my A2Z EV adapters. I've been using EA and other brands of chargers before that on long trips. We have a great group on this forum that shares lots of information and Ford monitors this forum and responds to concerns. And my dealer, Apple Ford, in Columbia, MD has awesome EV support. If I had the money to trade in my Subaru Outback for another Ford EV, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Don't believe all of the negative reviews. Is the truck flawless? Of course not, but is it pretty darn great. You betcha. And I spread that word loud and clear. Ford knows how to build cars and trucks. And the lightning is no exception.

 

[FANTIEPEI1]

I absolutely love mine. I bought it because I needed a new tow vehicle (I have a 6500 lb, 30' travel trailer), but I didn't want to buy another gas guzzler. The lightning tows beautifully.

The thing is, it's such a great vehicle, that even if I didn't need a tow vehicle, I'd still want my lightning.

I think you see a lot of the complaints on this forum because those are the people who are seeking help (or wish to vent their frustrations). Those of us that love our lightnings are just out driving our trucks, rather than here posting on the forum. Having said that, there are some threads where you can see a lot of that positivity, like the 'What did you do to your lightning today' thread or the 'Pics of Lightning Trucks Doing Truck Things. Post Yours!' thread.

Love mine you said it best. I only come on here to stay in the know and be ahead of any potential issues to be aware of but Im loving my truck.

 

[StevenC56]

Great stories everyone! I'm still trying to find one equipped like I want for a good price.
Question: All the new ones seem to have 30-60 miles on them. Is that because they are getting lots of test drives, or do they show up from Ford with more than the usual 5-7 miles that I'm used to seeing.

 

[NilartPax]

Yes. I have had the lightning (2023 version) for over a year now, and have been very happy with it. There are use cases where all EV's aren't very good - namely hauling heavy loads long distances. If you need a truck for picking up hay, dump runs, etc. It's fine, but think twice if you have a big trailer and want to go camping regularly 300 miles out.

The weak link currently is the public charging infrastructure. Imo.

 

[Stang68]

I have a Maverick on order, but started having reservations about the size and utilitarian interior a couple weeks ago, so I started looking at the Ford Lightnings. I read about the tech and features and was pretty excited. But there are so many negative reviews online. There's maybe 1 positive review for every 9 that say "I hated my Lightning and sold it and a huge loss" reviews. Even here it seems like the majority are unhappy with their purchase. Am I making a huge mistake even looking at the Lightning?

Let me guess, most of those "reviews" include a thumbnail of the Youtuber making an angry face with some arrows and bold text pointing at the truck.
It's all about the clicks, baby.

 

[flux capacitor]

The ICE F150 has always been good for universal purposes. Folks buy a Lightning expecting the same and some are disappointed, almost always because they didn't look exactly at how they were going to use it.
In my case I can charge at home most of the time, I can live with 85% of its rated range each day and still charge at home most of the time, and I think it is the greatest pickup I ever drove. I charge away from home perhaps once per month.
You need to test drive it to see if the size will be an issue. Try parking it a couple of times, ...

I have a Maverick on order, but started having reservations about the size and utilitarian interior a couple weeks ago, so I started looking at the Ford Lightnings. I read about the tech and features and was pretty excited. But there are so many negative reviews online. There's maybe 1 positive review for every 9 that say "I hated my Lightning and sold it and a huge loss" reviews. Even here it seems like the majority are unhappy with their purchase. Am I making a huge mistake even looking at the Lightning?

I hate my truck because it is making me spoiled

1. It only cost me $700 to drive it 10,000 miles my first year.
2. I miss checking the coolant and oil.
3. I miss spending a couple of hours sitting around getting my oil changed and then paying $100+.
4. I hate having a big smile on my face every time I go to the home improvement stores in the summer in Florida knowing my truck is out there keeping it cool for me.
5. It really bothers me when the power goes out during storms and I don't have to get out the generator and hope it starts to power all the essentials I now just plug it all into my truck.
6. It is hard to make decisions on where to store stuff whether in the bed, inside the cab in the back or in the frunk.
7. When waiting out front for my wife I can watch youtube's, play games instead of just sitting there wondering why is it taking her so damn long.

But the only way anyone will take it away from me is from my cold, dead hands.

 

[1807]

I have a Maverick on order, but started having reservations about the size and utilitarian interior a couple weeks ago, so I started looking at the Ford Lightnings. I read about the tech and features and was pretty excited. But there are so many negative reviews online. There's maybe 1 positive review for every 9 that say "I hated my Lightning and sold it and a huge loss" reviews. Even here it seems like the majority are unhappy with their purchase. Am I making a huge mistake even looking at the Lightning?

I absolutely love mine. It was literally the only vehicle I could get with my credit history. I wanted something different in the first place and I was absolutely tired of paying for gas. You and I both know that supply and demand is gone. There's tons of supply and they demand more and more money out of you and they keep telling you and promising you and deceiving you that you may get a lower gas price but then they always raise it up a month later because it is some sort of driving holiday. I pay around $3 for a full charge to go over 300 miles. I get well over 300 miles on a full charge. So buy itself an electric vehicle is way better. I haven't gotten into towing yet but as long as the weight is inside the bed or inside your truck it really doesn't matter you still get around that 300 miles. I'm looking to get into overlanding with it. I have no money because I'm spending so much on the truck I ended up getting a high-end lariat version. But I can already see that I'll be able to at least tow for 160 mi which if you do a diameter on a map you will see that you can go pretty far before you need a charge. And that'll be where I'm at at this moment. I could tell a great big trailer for 160 mi and I love that. Now my next step after I figure out my radius of 160 mi if that's the case, is to find a charging station within that 160 mi that will give me more miles to tow to the next spot. And just to sum this up, I am a sports car driver not a truck driver. I would rather have an SUV a full size SUV then a pickup truck. Yeah I love my lightning to the extreme!

 

[1807]

I hate my truck because it is making me spoiled

1. It only cost me $700 to drive it 10,000 miles my first year.
2. I miss checking the coolant and oil.
3. I miss spending a couple of hours sitting around getting my oil changed and then paying $100+.
4. I hate having a big smile on my face every time I go to the home improvement stores in the summer in Florida knowing my truck is out there keeping it cool for me.
5. It really bothers me when the power goes out during storms and I don't have to get out the generator and hope it starts to power all the essentials I now just plug it all into my truck.
6. It is hard to make decisions on where to store stuff whether in the bed, inside the cab in the back or in the frunk.
7. When waiting out front for my wife I can watch youtube's, play games instead of just sitting there wondering why is it taking her so damn long.

But the only way anyone will take it away from me is from my cold, dead hands.

Love this
All facts!

 

[RickKeen]

Had to drive my wife's ICE vehicle the other day (she had the F150 Lightning).
Super annoying as it was on E and I had to stop for gas even though I was already running tight on schedule.

Something that would not happen with the EV charging at home. You never think to yourself on the way home when its low "too annoying to stop for gas on the way home, I will just leave a few minutes early on my next trip tomorrow" like you would with gas. Instead, if its low, it only takes seconds to plug in when you pull in and it will be ready for the next trip.

No stopping for fuel for local trips, pretty much ever.

 

[StevenC56]

How do the factory front license plate brackets attach? I figured that the dealership had to drill holes in the bumper as usual, but one dealer is telling me they just snap on and no holes are drilled anywhere. So is that's true, and can you remove them without there being any damage to the bumper or trim?

 

[Stalemate]

How do the factory front license plate brackets attach? I figured that the dealership had to drill holes in the bumper as usual, but one dealer is telling me they just snap on and no holes are drilled anywhere. So is that's true, and can you remove them without there being any damage to the bumper or trim?

The factory solution seemed to be to drill holes and attach it with some ENORMOUS pop rivets, so I bought some of that exterior grade double sided mounting tape and stuck the brackets on with that. That was 9 months ago.

Also I have been really enjoying my Lightning, not only is it my daily driver but I drove it out of state and back recently, it was a great trip.

 

[climateguy]

I am delighted with my 2024 Flash. It has been a bit frustrating to learn how to operate it. I feel privileged to have been able to afford to buy it.

I am on my first trip towing my travel trailer. This is going to be my main use for this truck, i.e. towing my travel trailer. Before I bought this truck, I was aware that the most negative reviews are about the relatively short range you get when towing something.

My trailer has a bathroom, a kitchen, and a bed. I find that waiting while charging is a lot less bothersome when you have your own bathroom, kitchen and bed standing by. I'll be taking a longer trip, from the Pacific Northwest to Arizona soon and I expect that I'll still be delighted with this truck by the time I get back.

 

[StevenC56]

I'm still trying to figure out if I really need the Max Tow package which includes the Pro Power. I can't find a Lariat anywhere close to me with that package. There is 1 dealer 200 miles from me, but they are playing hardball with the price and they can't figure out how to apply the tax credit at the point of sale so I would have to apply for that myself. The truck is under $80K before destination charges, but they are telling me the IRS won't accept the VIN for point of sake credit.

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