Is Anybody Happy With Their Lightning?

[ChrisCon]

I've spent decades dissing dealerships. My local one has totally reformed that view. I'm on a fist name basis with a lot of people there. They have been very fair. The Service Dept is outstanding. Love bein' a Fordie.

A good dealer makes all the difference. Can't say enough good things about my local dealer, Otis Ford in Quogue (the Hamptons) NY . They just opened up their DC fast chargers too . When you have a great service department and honest sales people that want to build life long sales relationships with you , it's night and day compared to the dealers that want to milk you for every last dollar and have a pass the buck service department . I've stayed purely Ford for the last 15 years now , more for the dealership than the ford product.

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[Jarratt]

A good dealer makes all the difference. Can't say enough good things about my local dealer, Otis Ford in Quogue (the Hamptons) NY . They just opened up their DC fast chargers too . When you have a great service department and honest sales people that want to build life long sales relationships with you , it's night and day compared to the dealers that want to milk you for every last dollar and have a pass the buck service department . I've stayed purely Ford for the last 15 years now , more for the dealership than the ford product.

That was my experience. I hadn't been to the dealership for 30 years, but my Lightning lust drew me there. I'd only experienced sleaze & upsell b4.

The exact truck i had submitted a build for online (Max Tow, Extended range) was sitting on the showroom floor (even the color was my build). They couldn't sell it b/c it was a mannequin, but issued a PO that I could fulfill in six months. That allowed me to escape the new ITC price ceiling. More impressively, the price went up during the six months between PO & possession. The dealership never attempted to pass it along. Most impressively, many dealerships were extracting a premium. The Manager here refused to budge over MSRP.

My loyalty is deep. It's a rarity -- a third generation family ownership, but the owners stay out of the nuts & bolts and let the pros runs everything. The Service dept is astounding. They recruit techs from 1K mi around and steal talent from the major metro dealership 75 mi away. They cover moving expenses and invest in their techs.

 

[ChrisC]

I agree with the sentiment that the Lightning is my favorite vehicle I've ever owned and I had a 2018 Tesla Model 3 and currently a Model Y. I've also been driving for over 40 years and owned many vehicles. The Lightning is the most comfortable and most fun to drive.

Side note (this just happened yesterday): I'm at a stoplight next to a 1970ish Dodge Challenger with a big 392 painted on the raised air intake the middle of the hood. He's revving his engine, light turns green and we take off. Without trying too hard I'm staying 1/2 truck length ahead of him even as he shifts into 2nd and 3rd gear making all kinds of muscle car noise. He gives up before we get going too fast and, to his credit, gives me a thumbs up and was laughing as he came up to my side at the next stoplight.

My favorite pastime is getting a jump on all the muscle cars and trucks in my area at the stop lights or going up hills. I have the ER so I have crazy power and I live in truck country so I feel it is my duty as an early adopter to dispel the misinformation about EVs (I had the Ford Focus EV since 2014 and had a hybrid in 2003, so it's nothing new). I now see two new Lightnings in my neighborhood and like to think that my year of zipping around had an influence

 

[DVader2023]

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.

I love my lightning. And the thought of drilling holes to mount the license plate was not an option. I had looked at Snap Plate, but it seemed high $$. Then I found a thread here on 3D printing, and someone posted a link. It works great, and I didn't have to drill holes in my truck.

 

[akgreg]

I absolutely love my 23 Lariat ER. I went into this with no misconceptions about range and cold temps. Truck performs above and beyond what I hoped for. It is a riot to drive. My biggest worry is that every time my wife drives it, she gets that look in her eyes like we might need two.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I absolutely love my 23 Lariat ER. I went into this with no misconceptions about range and cold temps. Truck performs above and beyond what I hoped for. It is a riot to drive. My biggest worry is that every time my wife drives it, she gets that look in her eyes like we might need two.

We're so glad to hear you're enjoying your Lightning. Maybe you do need two.

 

[PrimeRisk]

I love my '24 Lariat ER for the truck features that is provides:

• Range
• Handling
• Comfort and roominess
• Hauling capacity
• Durability

What is not great:

• Lack of dealers that have enough knowledge about the vehicle to service it - I'm in the Denver-metro area and the 3 closest dealers are so clueless on the Lightning that it is dangerous, so I have to drive an hour to another city to get to a competent dealer.
• Poor software update process - Requiring me to take the truck to the dealer for software updates that should be able to be done OTA
• Lack of knowledgeable people in the Ford BEV department
• Slow/no response to issues logged with Ford BEV department- I have 2 open cases, one for 2 months, and no response. If I call to get an update, they have none.

Would I have bought the truck if I had to do it all over again?

That's a tough one. I'm on the fence. Some days I wish I would have waited another year or two to see if Ford would get the bugs ironed out with software, support, and dealer education. Some days I just wonder why I waited so long to replace my 2000 Dodge because it is a really capable and fun vehicle to drive.

 

[Chillguy]

Happy enough to buy a second one. Plus extended warranties for both. In em for the long haul (which is saying a lot since I used to change rigs a lot; had a 2019 Ram 1500 Limited, 2020 Ram 3500 Limited, 2021 Subaru STI and 2023 Tesla Model Y Performance all of which are now gone). Given how 'stung' Ford has been with sales, and with the way they have cut features, we're pretty glad to have the early first gen trucks that they threw the whole R&D budget at, not the next version that was pushed back, and where they'll no doubt cut corners and features here and there to avoid the same situation again... YMMV literally and figuratively tho... love ours!

-Zap

Hi Zaptor!
What I want to know is WHERE did your grill from?! I love it AND I want it! lol

 

[Zaptor]

Hi Zaptor!
What I want to know is WHERE did your grill from?! I love it AND I want it! lol

They were originally up on eBay, but it looks like F corporate/lawyers issued notice, because they aren't there anymore. I found this link, no affiliation and can't vouch for the source, but this is the same item from a different seller/source: https://garagealphaoffroad.com/products/2023-2024-ford-f-150-lightning-raptor-style-grille

Note that you will need to mod this grill to fit the front camera on your current grill, there is no provision for it, and it will take a Dremel or similar and a steady hand... there are tutorials about it on this site as well.

Cheers and good luck (and thanks)
-Zap

 

[StevenC56]

They were originally up on eBay, but it looks like F corporate/lawyers issued notice, because they aren't there anymore. I found this link, no affiliation and can't vouch for the source, but this is the same item from a different seller/source: https://garagealphaoffroad.com/products/2023-2024-ford-f-150-lightning-raptor-style-grille

Note that you will need to mod this grill to fit the front camera on your current grill, there is no provision for it, and it will take a Dremel or similar and a steady hand... there are tutorials about it on this site as well.

Cheers and good luck (and thanks)
-Zap

Geez. Why don't they just make an option for the front camera? I mean, probably 50%+ of the Lightnings sold have it.

 

[Zaptor]

Geez. Why don't they just make an option for the front camera? I mean, probably 50%+ of the Lightnings sold have it.

You're not wrong, but at least *some* option exists at all!
Cheers
-Zap

 

[StevenC56]

Since I started this thread I need to report that I love my truck! But that being said, had I waited a couple months I would never have purchased any EV. Our improving EV infrastructure is likely going into the toilet now, and any Federal Tax credits are going to wash away as well. So, although I love the truck, it now becomes a poor purchase economically as resale values will suffer and long distance travel will be much harder to navigate.

 

[Zprime29]

Since I started this thread I need to report that I love my truck! But that being said, had I waited a couple months I would never have purchased any EV. Our improving EV infrastructure is likely going into the toilet now, and any Federal Tax credits are going to wash away as well. So, although I love the truck, it now becomes a poor purchase economically as resale values will suffer and long distance travel will be much harder to navigate.

I strongly think you are over-reacting. Non-Tesla infrastructure is already struggling, but there's a lot already in work that will come on line hopefully soon. The improvement was not as fast as we wanted when there was push for it, I don't think it will change much either *if* there is push against it. I'm just going to enjoy what I have and wait to see what happens in the near future.

 

[StevenC56]

I strongly think you are over-reacting. Non-Tesla infrastructure is already struggling, but there's a lot already in work that will come on line hopefully soon. The improvement was not as fast as we wanted when there was push for it, I don't think it will change much either *if* there is push against it. I'm just going to enjoy what I have and wait to see what happens in the near future.

I hope I'm wrong and you're right, but I have no confidence that things will get better now.

 

[Citizen0]

I'm incredibly happy with my '22 Lariat Extended Range. At 28 months I have over 52k miles on Sparky. This is by far the nicest, most advanced vehicle I have ever owned and does everything I needed and wanted it to do. Living in South Georgia it has also been a lifesaver during extended power outages for both my home and my mom's home (next door). Is it perfect? No, but nothing is and there are some "compromises", though those are overblown and most affect gas-powered vehicles just as much, though in a less impactful way (towing).

Pros:
+ Incredibly inexpensive to operate when charging at home. My rate is .12/kWh. I can literally drive 300 miles for about $16. This is unparalleled in any combustion engine truck.
+ Quiet and smooth ride. The comfort of the Lightning simply cannot be overstated. I'm shocked how jerky and loud traditional cars and trucks are.
+ Incredible acceleration. Frankly nothing this big and heavy should be able to accelerate faster than a sports car . Launches are a "first week of ownership" thing, but having that power readily available has made certain instances of driving much faster (such as interstate onramps where people can be jerks, or accelerating to get out of a dangerous situation).
+ Towing is effortless. Everything from automatically aligning with a trailer while backing up to the driving dynamics remaining virtually unchanged while towing is exceptional. The Lightning has so much power that towing a trailer really feels no different than just driving the truck.
+ ProPower Onboard has been a lifesaver for me and my family. We went 6 days without power after Helene, and countless days over the past two years from storms or unusual outages. The truck kept two houses comfortable (lights, internet, tv, fridges stayed cold, coffee and microwaves) though I did have to find a DC charger about every 36 hours. It can't overstated how nice it is to run two houses without the sound and smell of a generator by the back porch.

Negatives:
- Public charging can be expensive and takes work. The convenience of public charging at EA or Tesla adds up quickly. It costs about 4x to charge on long distance trips than it does at home. This is not the fault of Ford and affects virtually every EV out there. Planning for trips is also more complicated. I use PlugShare to check planned stops on the way to make sure the charging stations have had someone confirm a charge recently due to chargers being out of service. Some charging locations also have extended wait times. We're still in early days so this will get better, and the addition of the Tesla SuperCharger adapters (received mine last month) was a game changer on the single long-distant trip I took after receiving it.
- Towing range. Towing can drastically affect your range. This really isn't any different than any other vehicle towing (gas or electric), but the gas vehicles gets points for faster fuel-up times and [usually] much easier access to pull-through spots to refuel. The latter comes down to being an early adopter and will get better over time, but it can still be an issue.

Mixed:
= BlueCruise is fantastic and fantastically irritating, lol. When it works it is incredible. Stop and go traffic is nearly perfect and takes soooo much "strain" from driving. Highway BlueCruise is also pretty good, but Ford does need to get updates out more quickly and more regularly. My hub has a Mach-E and is on a newer version of BlueCruise. The difference is stunning. Ping-ponging between lanes is far reduced, if not eliminated, and the "automatic-ish" lane change is very nice. Overall I will continue my BlueCruise subscription after my first 3 years because I use it every single day. In fact I would guess about 70% (or more) of my 52k miles has been on BlueCruise.
= Sync. Ah Sync. What can be said? It is very nice and works well when there are no connectivity issues. I use Apple CarPlay daily. I have to reboot the entire Sync system (hold volume down and skip forward at the same time until the screen reboots) somewhat regularly to get it to connect. Sync and the other user-facing UI is also sluggish, and there are bugs that need to be worked out. Again I hope this gets better. Ford is in control of this part and needs to put resources into it.

I am overwhelmingly happy with Sparky and should anything happen to him would not hesitate getting another Lightning. Our entirely family has went electric (Lightning, Mach-E and Chevy Bolt) and I will NEVER go back to a combustion vehicle. It's just not worth it.

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