Crossing an EV (and quite real) desert

[On the Road with Ralph]

I am often perplexed by posts on this forum by Lightning owners who are terrified to drive their vehicles beyond the city limits. I have a 2023 Pro SR and have made 10 trips of more than 1500 miles, charged in 11 different states, and regularly cross the wide open West where there are not a lot of DCFC stations. I should also note I am 70 years old and have learned that range is more about my bladder than the vehicle's battery.

There is one trip in particular I want to highlight; I've made it five times now as part of business travel from Southern California to Las Vegas. I long ago grew tired of using the I-15 corridor, even tho' it has many DCFC stations. Instead, I now cut through the Mojave National Preserve. What makes this route... errr... interesting is that for over 150 miles, from 29 Palms (CA) to Primm (NV) there are no services - no chargers, no gas stations, nada (the tiny cafe at Amboy doesn't count). To make it extra interesting, I have on occasion skipped the ChargePoint station in 29 Palms, adding another 25 miles to the trip distance. And before Electrify America (finally) opened its station in Primm, I made the trip all the way to Las Vegas on the starting charge.

The reward for my willingness to cheat death and the GOM? An incredibly scenic route that includes sand dunes, snow-capped mountains, a "forest" of Joshua Trees, and a historic railway terminal.

I guess the short of this posting is: The Lightning is a fabulous road-tripping machine. Take advantage of it, and trust it (with prudent planning) to take you across even challenging EV (and real) deserts.

By the way, my next EV desert trek will be to cross from Route 395 in California, through the Death Valley National Park, to Las Vegas. On that journey, the distance between DCFC chargers will be more than 170 miles. And it is Death Valley.

 

[evowner]

That looks like a fun trip, forget about running out of juice, what about the snakes?

 

[flux capacitor]

He has a DIY Lightning Taser for the snakes

 

[Joe Dablock]

You are one brave dude! I am typically pretty brave, but I have an ER so that helps a lot!

 

[K6CCC]

That's a cool drive. I think I have been on all of the roads there, but not at the same trip. I was raised appreciating the desert, and still like to spend time out there. There is beauty that most people don't realize is there.

 

[Piquette]

Nice write up and I would love to make that trip in my ‘22 Lariat ER. I don’t have range anxiety, but having had to replace 2 of the original 9 battery modules in the last year I don’t tempt fate by driving through Ford EV service department deserts. I sincerely hope your good luck holds.

 

[Joe Dablock]

This post is to Piquette. Tell me more about your 2 cell replacement experience. What was the mileage on truck at time. What told you there was something wrong, what were symptoms, was it all under warranty, how long was the truck out of commission?

 

[Piquette]

If you have not already done so, you should look at the powertrain Malfunction/Reduced Power thread on this forum. I also recommend you search for Ford Customer Satisfaction Program 23B57.

The problem is that an individual cell in one of the nine modules that make up a Lightning battery begins to vary out of spec. The truck picks this up and issues an error message, and a warning to service the vehicle soon. If you try to recharge the battery, you get a battery charge fault error kand it will not allow you to recharge the battery. The first time this happened to me was on February 1, 2024 at 11,000 miles, and the second time on December 24 at 22,000 miles. In both cases a new battery module had to be ordered from Ford and installed by the service department at my dealership (which by the way is an excellent service department). The first time the truck was down for 15 days, and the second time for 17 days. In both instances most of the down time was spent waiting for Ford to ship the replacement parts. In both cases I was lucky because the warning came up while in my driveway. But there are still seven of the original battery modules in place, any of which could fail at any time. The truck operates now as it should, but I am uncomfortable taking it on road trips far from home (and my dealer’s service department).

 

[On the Road with Ralph]

I sincerely hope your good luck holds.

I don't think of it as "good luck." I am a former pilot and am accustomed to doing flight planning; those skills and instincts serve me well when pushing the limits of my standard range Pro. I make good use of tools such as PlugShare (been using it since 2016) and the various network payment apps to decide on routes. I do my own range calcs - in real time when in the truck - based on the SOC and what I know about the route ahead, wind and temperature conditions, and payload. I am very comfortable taking the Lightning down to 8% to 10% SOC under pretty much any circumstances, and have gone <5% a few times.

 

[Joe Dablock]

Thanks for the additional information. Your story is exactly what I worry about, but that said my 22 MME at 60k and my 23 Lightning at 32k have been flawless.
My hope for you is that you gain confidence in your Lightning and drive it with reckless abandon as I do! In a year my MME will be out of warranty (+100k) and it will all be on me. But that said, the first real expense (new tires) will happen sometime this summer. Maybe at some point in the future, some independent garages will get in the EV repair business. If I were a little younger (I'm 77), I would be studying up on EVs and do my own repairs as I always did on my ICE vehicles. I have yet to find a junkyard that is buying EVs.

 

[Danface]

I don't think of it as "good luck." I am a former pilot and am accustomed to doing flight planning; those skills and instincts serve me well when pushing the limits of my standard range Pro. I make good use of tools such as PlugShare (been using it since 2016) and the various network payment apps to decide on routes. I do my own range calcs - in real time when in the truck - based on the SOC and what I know about the route ahead, wind and temperature conditions, and payload. I am very comfortable taking the Lightning down to 8% to 10% SOC under pretty much any circumstances, and have gone <5% a few times.

Thanks for info and for sort of echoing a comment I made in another post, when traveling distance, just prepare like you're going to Antartica (it's just a very cold desert)

I'd imagine you had what you needed if a contingency were to arise?

 

[Icruz101]

I am often perplexed by posts on this forum by Lightning owners who are terrified to drive their vehicles beyond the city limits. I have a 2023 Pro SR and have made 10 trips of more than 1500 miles, charged in 11 different states, and regularly cross the wide open West where there are not a lot of DCFC stations. I should also note I am 70 years old and have learned that range is more about my bladder than the vehicle's battery.

There is one trip in particular I want to highlight; I've made it five times now as part of business travel from Southern California to Las Vegas. I long ago grew tired of using the I-15 corridor, even tho' it has many DCFC stations. Instead, I now cut through the Mojave National Preserve. What makes this route... errr... interesting is that for over 150 miles, from 29 Palms (CA) to Primm (NV) there are no services - no chargers, no gas stations, nada (the tiny cafe at Amboy doesn't count). To make it extra interesting, I have on occasion skipped the ChargePoint station in 29 Palms, adding another 25 miles to the trip distance. And before Electrify America (finally) opened its station in Primm, I made the trip all the way to Las Vegas on the starting charge.

The reward for my willingness to cheat death and the GOM? An incredibly scenic route that includes sand dunes, snow-capped mountains, a "forest" of Joshua Trees, and a historic railway terminal.

I guess the short of this posting is: The Lightning is a fabulous road-tripping machine. Take advantage of it, and trust it (with prudent planning) to take you across even challenging EV (and real) deserts.

By the way, my next EV desert trek will be to cross from Route 395 in California, through the Death Valley National Park, to Las Vegas. On that journey, the distance between DCFC chargers will be more than 170 miles. And it is Death Valley.

I am often perplexed by posts on this forum by Lightning owners who are terrified to drive their vehicles beyond the city limits. I have a 2023 Pro SR and have made 10 trips of more than 1500 miles, charged in 11 different states, and regularly cross the wide open West where there are not a lot of DCFC stations. I should also note I am 70 years old and have learned that range is more about my bladder than the vehicle's battery.

There is one trip in particular I want to highlight; I've made it five times now as part of business travel from Southern California to Las Vegas. I long ago grew tired of using the I-15 corridor, even tho' it has many DCFC stations. Instead, I now cut through the Mojave National Preserve. What makes this route... errr... interesting is that for over 150 miles, from 29 Palms (CA) to Primm (NV) there are no services - no chargers, no gas stations, nada (the tiny cafe at Amboy doesn't count). To make it extra interesting, I have on occasion skipped the ChargePoint station in 29 Palms, adding another 25 miles to the trip distance. And before Electrify America (finally) opened its station in Primm, I made the trip all the way to Las Vegas on the starting charge.

The reward for my willingness to cheat death and the GOM? An incredibly scenic route that includes sand dunes, snow-capped mountains, a "forest" of Joshua Trees, and a historic railway terminal.

I guess the short of this posting is: The Lightning is a fabulous road-tripping machine. Take advantage of it, and trust it (with prudent planning) to take you across even challenging EV (and real) deserts.

By the way, my next EV desert trek will be to cross from Route 395 in California, through the Death Valley National Park, to Las Vegas. On that journey, the distance between DCFC chargers will be more than 170 miles. And it is Death Valley.

I love your post! I have been fortunate enough to have taken my trick cross country twice. Though EA was my go to charge stations, I have used many other vendors. I’ve noted that going through Memphis and the entire state of Oklahoma was mind numbingly agonizing because of the lack of infrastructure. Even after Biden’s input, things didn’t improve that much. Note that I have access to the Tesla network it is vastly improved.
I believe that if there were as many charge stations as has pumps traveling cross country would not be so painful. I do so enjoy taking my Lightning on long distance travel. It’s fun! Thanks again for the post.

 

[AI_Speed]

Ford repurchased my '23 Lariat ER given 41 days of repairs/6 months - and now the '23 Pro ER replacement is acting up - so no thanks to desert trips.

 

[Hammick]

I don't think of it as "good luck." I am a former pilot and am accustomed to doing flight planning; those skills and instincts serve me well when pushing the limits of my standard range Pro. I make good use of tools such as PlugShare (been using it since 2016) and the various network payment apps to decide on routes. I do my own range calcs - in real time when in the truck - based on the SOC and what I know about the route ahead, wind and temperature conditions, and payload. I am very comfortable taking the Lightning down to 8% to 10% SOC under pretty much any circumstances, and have gone <5% a few times.

Ralph first let me say you drives are epic and looks like you are having a lot of fun. I too meticulously plan, rely on the truck nav and ABRP premium and do calculations in my head. I have taken our Lariat ER down to 3% on a couple occasions. That being said, sometimes it's just too cold, too far, and too many unreliable chargers to drive certain routes. Take Sioux Falls, SD to Billings, MT for example. No way your SR would make that run across I-90 in -10 degree temps. If the charger in Murdo was broken as it often is you would have a had time making it in the summer.

 

[Hammick]

If you have not already done so, you should look at the powertrain Malfunction/Reduced Power thread on this forum. I also recommend you search for Ford Customer Satisfaction Program 23B57.

The problem is that an individual cell in one of the nine modules that make up a Lightning battery begins to vary out of spec. The truck picks this up and issues an error message, and a warning to service the vehicle soon. If you try to recharge the battery, you get a battery charge fault error kand it will not allow you to recharge the battery. The first time this happened to me was on February 1, 2024 at 11,000 miles, and the second time on December 24 at 22,000 miles. In both cases a new battery module had to be ordered from Ford and installed by the service department at my dealership (which by the way is an excellent service department). The first time the truck was down for 15 days, and the second time for 17 days. In both instances most of the down time was spent waiting for Ford to ship the replacement parts. In both cases I was lucky because the warning came up while in my driveway. But there are still seven of the original battery modules in place, any of which could fail at any time. The truck operates now as it should, but I am uncomfortable taking it on road trips far from home (and my dealer’s service department).

When my module failed failed about a month after I bought our '22 Lariat ER I was livid at Ford and assumed the other 8 modules would fail at some point. Now I'm not so sure. I was convinced it was a design defect and we would all get new battery packs at some point. But this is still happening to '24 MY Lightnings which points to a manufacturing issue.

Ford alerted me to my truck's problem before it threw the powertrain malfunction. In fact, it was a software update that Ford pushed that tightened up the permissible cell voltage variation. Ford covered our $3,100 in expenses once I raised enough hell and found the right supervisor. Our dealer did an exception job with the repair and put me in a new loaner. I'm not so sure how Ford is handling things now.

We have been 18 months trouble free but I have to say if it happened again I'd be gun shy like you.

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