Changing a flat tire, could not use the included jack

[Nolander]

The vehicle's included jack worked great for me on a rough dirt forest road.

Similar experience here. Had to be a little careful as, yeah, it’s not a floor jack, but it lifted just fine.

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[s_c]

I’m surprised to see such varying experiences with this supplied jack. Any guesses as to why it works for some and not others? It sounds like in some cases it doesn’t even work on flat pavement and in others it works as you’d expect on challenging dirt and gravel roads

 

[mikeyb]

I used jack, in a parking garage, on concrete, no problems. Understand unstable ground. Might need to carry some plywood or short 2 x 4's for cribbing.

 

[O’Majestic1’slightnigF150]

Used mine today. August 22 Platinum model. Back left wheel. On flat concrete. Knowing the history of the Jack I let my wife run the Jack. On proper lift point. . Jack started bending, handle started bowing, hook began to twist and could not get the tire off the ground even after I tried to finish the job. Helpful newly retired Army Veteran stopped and had a cheap 2 ton floor jack we put under shock mount and finished the job. Maybe Ford changed jacks at some point. I went and bought a compact 4 ton and put it behind the seat. The OEM jack is on the metal recycle pile. It’s a POS.

 

[BhamDCam]

I tried using mine a few weeks ago to change out the back passenger tire on flat, level concrete. Before the tire was off the ground the top portion of the jack was leaning far to one side even with the base flat on the ground. Looked super sketchy so I abandoned that effort.

This afternoon I met up with another Lightning owner to swap wheels. We tried using the jack that came with his truck and the same thing happened. Fortunately, the guy brought a large bottle jack and it worked perfectly.

Two different Lightnings, two different OEM-supplied jacks, both on flat, paved ground with the e-brake on, but both were so sketchy to use that I do not trust them.

 

[Tdub]

I ended up with a flat on my way home from work last week. I first attempted to use the included emergency jack, but I could not get it to lift the truck. It just kept moving on the ground rather than lifting.

Two different roadside assistance drivers only had floor jacks that could lift up to about 18" (which is standard), and they wanted to jack the control arms on the inside of the rear wheels. I refused and was adamant that they use the prescribed jack points on the side of the vehicle (the frame). The standard 18" lift height jack probably could have lifted it enough to get the flat tire off, but it would not have lifted it high enough to get the spare on.

I ended up having it towed home on a flatbed, and the next morning I bought a 3.5 ton jack that can lift up to 23" (~$300 at AutoZone). That was sufficient to get the spare on, and I'm getting a new set of tires today.

Due to this, for future road trips I am going to bring the 23" jack, tire inflator, and impact driver.

Just an FYI for anyone in a similar position. I may have missed it, but I didn't find anything in the manual about how much lift height is required, and most roadside assistance drivers will not have a jack that can lift that high.

How is this okay for Ford to install a jack that doesn’t fit the truck? Just not right…..

 

[GDN]

How is this okay for Ford to install a jack that doesn’t fit the truck? Just not right…..

We keep buying, so there is no incentive for them to do better.

 

[Zprime29]

How is this okay for Ford to install a jack that doesn’t fit the truck? Just not right…..

There are a lot of us with a jack that did the job just fine. If they tested with a good jack, no reason to not assume it'll do the job for everyone else. If it failed for you, you need to let Ford know. Otherwise...ignorance is bliss.

 

[21st Century Truck]

There are a lot of us with a jack that did the job just fine. If they tested with a good jack, no reason to not assume it'll do the job for everyone else. If it failed for you, you need to let Ford know. Otherwise...ignorance is bliss.

I do wonder whether is perhaps an issue of subcontractor quality control...

 

[Zprime29]

I do wonder whether is perhaps an issue of subcontractor quality control...

That seems highly likely. Perhaps there was a bad batch of jacks? I'm thanking my lucky stars that it worked when I needed it.

 

[Calson]

With my trucks I carry a 2x8x12 inches board and a couple of 4x4 pieces to elevate the jack further off the ground. On trips where I plan to go off the road I will also take a higher capacity bottle jack in addition to the one provided by the truck's manufacturer.

I carry a 21" cheater or breaker bar along with a deep socket and it is all I need to remove the lug nuts regardless of how overtightened they are.

Most EV cars do not even have a spare tire and so with a flat one needs to get a flat bed tow truck to take the car to a tire shop and wait for it to open. Checking for EV vehicles that come with a spare tire made for a very shot buy list.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I always have a piece of wood, usually a 2x6, or several just because of this. I've never had a jack that didn't want to slip when on pavement, the wood compresses a little on both sides and grips both the jack and the underlying surface and there's no slippage. I got a flat while towing a tractor. I used the included jack to lift the truck while the trailer with the tractor was still hooked up. It was up to the challenge. I did use the trailer jack to support the trailer's weight, but not to lift the truck.

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