Active Air Dam Control Circuit Performance fault- FYI

[WaterboyNorCal]

So… I was logged into the Ford.com site and noticed that there was a flag that indicated my Lightning had “service reminder- action is required”, even though I had just been in for the 30,000 mile checkup service a few weeks earlier. There was a note to call a Ford Service tech, who told me, ““On the 18th and 20th you had a fault "Electrical System High Key Off Load" as well as the "Active Air Dam Control Circuit Performance" which is what you had this time as well. You need the dealer to check and clear those codes”.

When I went to my dealer today, they inspected the vehicle and found two issues: (1) there was a recall and a CSP that required software updates, which will take a few hours, and (2) my air dam was damaged, because I “probably ran over a curb”. I immediately and politely asked them to show me the damaged air dam, because I am certain that I have not hit a curb with the front of my truck (I have clipped a few curbs with the rear tires, haha). The air dam is slightly bent/deformed in roughly the middle, but as the tech pointed out, no impact marks. I suspect that it was caused by pulling close to Tesla Superchargers in the snow- we have some Tesla stations with snow built up next to the charging post, and I recall hearing some scraping noises.

Just an FYI- snow drifts that are a bit icy/solid can damage your air dam, and with parts and labor, it’s ~$800+ to fix, and not covered by the warranty.

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[Bwanapete]

”slightly bent”? So can the bend be straightened?

 

[WaterboyNorCal]

”slightly bent”? So can the bend be straightened?

According to the tech/mechanic who was working on the truck, he’s tried that in the past, but the tolerances between the active air dam piece and the fixed piece of plastic under the bumper are pretty tight, so he said it was not likely to be successful.
Another option would be to just leave it at is, and absorb whatever efficiency hit might result with an active air dam that’s not moving as designed. I average about 2.2 miles/kWh, so if I use a $0.20/kWh average cost (assuming some DCFC but primarily home charging), and assume a 5% efficiency loss (it’s probably less), it would be a $45 extra electricity cost for every 10,000 miles driven. So the break even point would be approximately 170,000 miles driven. Probably not a cost-effective repair. And if the efficiency loss is less than 5%, it would be even less worthwhile.

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