Day one Lightning owner climate/app/locking questions

[dww]

We just got our Lightning yesterday, the last new cars that we have bought have been Tesla 3s. Are there equivalents for these things?

1. Remote climate/dog mode. How do you set the temperature remotely or set the temperature and walk away with the car locked. Can you tell from the app that the climate is on, what the temperature is or if the car is locked?

2. You are in the passenger seat, the car is off. Can you not get full climate (A/C) by pressing the start button? Do you have to go to the drivers seat and press the brake and start button?

3. Assuming sentry/dash cam/remote viewing are no gos.

4. Bluecruise, does it get really close to adjacent traffic? Should you not use it in a lane that splits? It did not seem to know which lane to take when there was an exit lane. My wife did not let me use it after those instances.

5. Locking: So you power off, shut the door and press the door button. Is it one or two presses, there is not any feedback and I never seem to get it on the first try.

6. Do you like carplay? It requires Siri (which I have turned off), it disconnects your wifi and it doesn’t seem to want to play Amazon music or youtube. I just set it to bluetooth only and send the audio. What am I missing with why people like carplay?

7. Neither of our iphones hit the wireless charging pad in the right spot? Is that typical?

Our reasons for the Lightning are towing, towing features, Mega Frunk, 240V power, 120v in the frunk, the large spacious interior and access to SC in 2024.

Thank you.

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[Pioneer74]

1. No dog mode. No way to get that information from the app. Only way to keep temp is to have the truck running. You would have to deactivate the power down timer and lock the door with the truck running.

2. Must have key and start truck for climate control.

3. No sentry mode.

4. Mine doesn't get close to other traffic. If you're going to be in a situation where the lane splits, put your hands on the wheel. It can't read your mind to know where you want it to go.

5. You only need to press it once. Your lights should blink, and your mirrors could be set to fold if you have a Lariat or Platinum.

6. I don't have an Apple.

7. See #6.

 

[data003]

6. Not sure why you have Siri turned off… perhaps you should try it again. CarPlay is a better UI than Ford and other automakers have been able to create. So yes, I like it. Saves me from having to pick up my phone to perform all kinds of phone tasks while driving. I think you can use CarPlay wired only if you want, then it shouldn’t interfere with your phone’s wifi.

7. Wireless charging is mostly garbage and creates too much heat which kills your battery’s lifespan. It doesn’t work with my phone case either so I don’t bother.

 

[dww]

1. No dog mode. No way to get that information from the app. Only way to keep temp is to have the truck running. You would have to deactivate the power down timer and lock the door with the truck running.

2. Must have key and start truck for climate control.

3. No sentry mode.

4. Mine doesn't get close to other traffic. If you're going to be in a situation where the lane splits, put your hands on the wheel. It can't read your mind to know where you want it to go.

5. You only need to press it once. Your lights should blink, and your mirrors could be set to fold if you have a Lariat or Platinum.

6. I don't have an Apple.

7. See #6.

Thank you! I talked to my brother who has a Bolt and he called those “Tesla people questions. Of course you have to turn it off with the button, lock it with the door and when I remote start for climate I have to guess at what the conditions are going to be 8 hours later. The car could be full heat in the morning and need AC at 5.” These things are strange to me now and I use interior cam/temp control all the time when we road trip because we need to check on the dogs when we eat.

 

[dww]

6. Not sure why you have Siri turned off… perhaps you should try it again. CarPlay is a better UI than Ford and other automakers have been able to create. So yes, I like it. Saves me from having to pick up my phone to perform all kinds of phone tasks while driving. I think you can use CarPlay wired only if you want, then it shouldn’t interfere with your phone’s wifi.

7. Wireless charging is mostly garbage and creates too much heat which kills your battery’s lifespan. It doesn’t work with my phone case either so I don’t bother.

6. I found Siri opening apps and making calls all the time when I thought the phone was locked. Turning Siri off was the only setting that fixed it. I have had it off for years. I also deleted apple music because in other cars when Bluetooth connected it would start playing.
7. Ok, thanks.

 

[Mache_Enrique]

1-5 was nicely answered above.

On 7, I have no issue with charging any phones wirelessly. Lightning works better than other cars I have tried (Acura MDX and MachE). You do have to get the phone centered on the pad (I think that is for any phone with wireless charging, not just Apple).

On 6, I would never buy a car without carplay. Every other system of interacting with my phone over the native bluetooth is too distracting and usually in the end you are forced to touch your phone when you are driving. To have "quick glance and one touch" access (less than .35 seconds to glance and touch an icon on the screen...about as long as any other dashboard touch action to a screen or hard button) is a must have IMO.

Now you said you "turned off Siri" but not sure if that mean just the "hey Siri" listening thing (which I have turned off too) or zero use of the assistant at all. But the awesomeness of carplay is you can "long press" the voice button on your steering wheel to access Siri and do voice commands (short press is the Ford Voice Asst.) like "navigate me to XYZ" or "Read new text messages" or "skip to the end" to skip to the end of a podcast or song or "call ABC". I have also had luck saying "Play XYZ song on Tidal" (my preferred music app) and Siri will play the song from that app.

Having access to your favorite nav apps (Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze, etc.) is also something I could never give up as I find these apps better at routing and giving alternate routes than the native Ford nav app (and mentioning speed traps in the case of Waze). Other examples are the ability to use the EA app via CarPlay so you can check for open chargers while driving without touching your phone.

But in the end for me using CarPlay means I never have to touch my cell phone while I am driving but still can access safely (voice command or quick glance/touch moves on the screen) many helpful infotainment and nav apps.

 

[dww]

1-5 was nicely answered above.

On 7, I have no issue with charging any phones wirelessly. Lightning works better than other cars I have tried (Acura MDX and MachE). You do have to get the phone centered on the pad (I think that is for any phone with wireless charging, not just Apple).

On 6, I would never buy a car without carplay. Every other system of interacting with my phone over the native bluetooth is too distracting and usually in the end you are forced to touch your phone when you are driving. To have "quick glance and one touch" access (less than .35 seconds to glance and touch an icon on the screen...about as long as any other dashboard touch action to a screen or hard button) is a must have IMO.

Now you said you "turned off Siri" but not sure if that mean just the "hey Siri" listening thing (which I have turned off too) or zero use of the assistant at all. But the awesomeness of carplay is you can "long press" the voice button on your steering wheel to access Siri and do voice commands (short press is the Ford Voice Asst.) like "navigate me to XYZ" or "Read new text messages" or "skip to the end" to skip to the end of a podcast or song or "call ABC". I have also had luck saying "Play XYZ song on Tidal" (my preferred music app) and Siri will play the song from that app.

Having access to your favorite nav apps (Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze, etc.) is also something I could never give up as I find these apps better at routing and giving alternate routes than the native Ford nav app (and mentioning speed traps in the case of Waze). Other examples are the ability to use the EA app via CarPlay so you can check for open chargers while driving without touching your phone.

But in the end for me using CarPlay means I never have to touch my cell phone while I am driving but still can access safely (voice command or quick glance/touch moves on the screen) many helpful infotainment and nav apps.

Ok, I don’t have Waze or Tidal and I did not see EA listed when I had Carplay connected. I’ll have to go back and try those. Thank you!

 

[Heliian]

You can set the preconditioning times to have varying levels of climate control.

If you are set to auto climate in the truck it will automatically adjust it to the right temp, hot or cold when you remote start it.

 

[dww]

You can set the preconditioning times to have varying levels of climate control.

If you are set to auto climate in the truck it will automatically adjust it to the right temp, hot or cold when you remote start it.

Thank you! What are the preconditioning times? I will set it to auto.

 

[Heliian]

preconditioning times?

It's the departure time settings in the app or in the truck. It will warm/cool the battery and truck.

 

[Maquis]

It's the departure time settings in the app or in the truck. It will warm/cool the battery and truck.

Additionally……the battery is only conditioned if plugged in.

 

[dww]

Thank you everyone! I have few new ones after a drive this am. The car charged to 100%, I thought I had it set to 80%. Ok, just figured that out in charging locations. This is a nice feature.

Bluecruise:
Blue steering wheel= car has it 100%, strong resistance in wheel.
No blue wheel=car unsure driver able to move wheel with less resistance.
Red wheel = car trying it’s best but could give up, hold the wheel.
Turn signal on = very little resistance, move to lane, get it centered and let go.

Is this it?

 

[RickLightning]

Thank you everyone! I have few new ones after a drive this am. The car charged to 100%, I thought I had it set to 80%. Ok, just figured that out in charging locations. This is a nice feature.

Bluecruise:
Blue steering wheel= car has it 100%, strong resistance in wheel.
No blue wheel=car unsure driver able to move wheel with less resistance.
Red wheel = car trying it’s best but could give up, hold the wheel.
Turn signal on = very little resistance, move to lane, get it centered and let go.

Is this it?

No, that's not it. I suggest watching a video on what BlueCruise is.

Also, BlueCruise is looking for lines on either side of the lane. If either side has no lines, you will see the hands-free mode immediately turn off.

 

[Shawnson]

As also a Tesla owner, here is what we have found when using the Lightning.

Get you in-car wifi hooked up. We got some garmin dashcams that allow for streaming when connected to wifi. When you got the dogs you can turn off the power down timer in setting. Then use the garmin dashcam to check the dogs. We have one pointed into the cabin and one pointed forward as a dashcam. You can also draw on the screen for a message. (Ancient tech, but gets the job done).

For temperature and locking and so on, the FordPass app lives in 2015 ICE days. Not much you can do here.

CarPlay is ok. The wireless charging sucks. The wifi issue with wireless CarPlay is annoying. I tend to just plug my phone in and hide the wires in the little cubby. I do find the Ford GPS better than Google maps in CarPlay because you can’t pinch and move the map. It requires arrows probably to make it compatible with cars without multitouch. Ugh. Only thing missing from ford maps is satellite view IMO

6. I found Siri opening apps and making calls all the time when I thought the phone was locked. Turning Siri off was the only setting that fixed it. I have had it off for years. I also deleted apple music because in other cars when Bluetooth connected it would start playing.
7. Ok, thanks.

 

[dww]

As also a Tesla owner, here is what we have found when using the Lightning.

Get you in-car wifi hooked up. We got some garmin dashcams that allow for streaming when connected to wifi. When you got the dogs you can turn off the power down timer in setting. Then use the garmin dashcam to check the dogs. We have one pointed into the cabin and one pointed forward as a dashcam. You can also draw on the screen for a message. (Ancient tech, but gets the job done).

For temperature and locking and so on, the FordPass app lives in 2015 ICE days. Not much you can do here.

CarPlay is ok. The wireless charging sucks. The wifi issue with wireless CarPlay is annoying. I tend to just plug my phone in and hide the wires in the little cubby. I do find the Ford GPS better than Google maps in CarPlay because you can’t pinch and move the map. It requires arrows probably to make it compatible with cars without multitouch. Ugh. Only thing missing from ford maps is satellite view IMO

Thank you! I will check the Garmin out. I saw a video that said I need to lock and change the name of Lightening wifi, I haven’t done that yet.

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