Lightning's range in cold weather... not very good

[Vithar]

I speculate, the E-heat switched off just stops the cabin blower

You can still run the fans blowing air around the cab with the e-heat switched off. Unless you mean something different by cabin blower.

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[VTbuckeye]

You can still run the fans blowing air around the cab with the e-heat switched off. Unless you mean something different by cabin blower.

You can't turn the e-heat off if the windshield is selected for the blower.

 

[FordLightningMan]

It hasn't been too cold here lately, mostly mid-30s, but I've seen from 1.0-1.6 mi/kWh. This is no preconditioning and short trips. I've been doing a lot of holiday shopping and visiting people locally, trips range from 0.5 miles to 5 miles, so the truck never gets warmed efficiently. On a combined basis I usually do 30-50 miles a day. With these short drives combined at low efficiency, that hasn't stopped my XLT SR from getting me where I need to go

I'm wondering how low the efficiency number will drop on a short (i.e. - less than 3 mile) trip with no preconditioning when sub-zero temperatures arise?

 

[VTbuckeye]

It hasn't been too cold here lately, mostly mid-30s, but I've seen from 1.0-1.6 mi/kWh. This is no preconditioning and short trips. I've been doing a lot of holiday shopping and visiting people locally, trips range from 0.5 miles to 5 miles, so the truck never gets warmed efficiently. On a combined basis I usually do 30-50 miles a day. With these short drives combined at low efficiency, that hasn't stopped my XLT SR from getting me where I need to go

I'm wondering how low the efficiency number will drop on a short (i.e. - less than 3 mile) trip with no preconditioning when sub-zero temperatures arise?

We all know what happens with ICE vehicles when driven like that. 0.5 to 5 miles at a time. 20mpg becomes 10 to 12mpg and you start getting excess fuel dilution in the oil, extra wear on engine parts... At least the EV doesn't suffer from short trip excess wear.

 

[FordLightningMan]

We all know what happens with ICE vehicles when driven like that. 0.5 to 5 miles at a time. 20mpg becomes 10 to 12mpg and you start getting excess fuel dilution in the oil, extra wear on engine parts... At least the EV doesn't suffer from short trip excess wear.

Absolutely, no shock or dismay towards the results on my end, just sharing. Even with this efficiency, my charge log shows I need to add about 40% back to the battery most days. With my daily personal use case, the vehicle suits my needs just fine, even if it realistically maxes out at 110ish mile in range.

 

[VTbuckeye]

Absolutely, no shock or dismay towards the results on my end, just sharing. Even with this efficiency, my charge log shows I need to add about 40% back to the battery most days. With my daily personal use case, the vehicle suits my needs just fine, even if it realistically maxes out at 110ish mile in range.

Based on other comments from you I expected a pleasant response. My comment was pointing out to all of the EV haters/skeptics that even with reduced range EVs can still work great AND that ICE loses efficiency and has other issues with trips that EVs excel at. I work 7 miles from home, the grocery store is 2 miles from home, frequented outdoor recreation trailheads are 3 to 10 miles from home. All of these short drives are hard on an ICE vehicle and our cars couldn't care less.

 

[FordLightningMan]

Based on other comments from you I expected a pleasant response. My comment was pointing out to all of the EV haters/skeptics that even with reduced range EVs can still work great AND that ICE loses efficiency and has other issues with trips that EVs excel at. I work 7 miles from home, the grocery store is 2 miles from home, frequented outdoor recreation trailheads are 3 to 10 miles from home. All of these short drives are hard on an ICE vehicle and our cars couldn't care less.

It's absolutely important to understand mi/kWh and what impacts range. It is why I contribute to these threads, my real world driving in a very harsh climate should be helpful to others in similar situations. With that said, I would personally be mad at myself if I bought the ER Lightning. When I see my daily charge log filled with 30%-40% battery recharging, an ER would've been $20k additional cost I wouldn't have been using. I suspect many (most?) ER owners aren't actually using what they paid for with their larger batteries if they look at their charge logs as well. I have two spare bedrooms in my house I couldn't describe to you because no one has ever been in them, I've matured and learned not to buy something because I might need it maybe perhaps someday.

Most people with range anxiety well overestimate their driving habits or think their vehicle purchase should be based on their one week road trip they take every year, versus fitting 98% of their driving. These conversations always drive me nuts, it's a very hard headed approach to vehicle purchasing. Trust me, I'm not knocking the Lightning, just sharing facts. I love the truck 98% of the time!

 

[Lightning Rod]

We all know what happens with ICE vehicles when driven like that. 0.5 to 5 miles at a time. 20mpg becomes 10 to 12mpg and you start getting excess fuel dilution in the oil, extra wear on engine parts... At least the EV doesn't suffer from short trip excess wear.

This is me. I have 99,000 miles on my 2007 F-150 that I bought new. Maybe 92,000 of those miles are all stop and go in the city miles. I average about 6-7k miles per year but all of that city driving wears a truck down after a while.

 

[TaxmanHog]

I suspect many (most?) ER owners aren't actually using what they paid for with their larger batteries if they look at their charge logs as well.

Follow my trailer hauling thread this coming spring, summer and fall, I'm planning 13 trips to the drag strip, about 220 miles round trip [200+Kwh], it's going to make full use of my ER battery then, but at the moment local errands trips have me charging 5-15% daily, I like to be ready for an occasional longer road trip.

 

[VTbuckeye]

This is me. I have 99,000 miles on my 2007 F-150 that I bought new. Maybe 92,000 of those miles are all stop and go in the city miles. I average about 6-7k miles per year but all of that city driving wears a truck down after a while.

My wife and I put less than 20k miles per year on all three of our vehicles combined (the xc90 phev is going to be the low mileage vehicle now). She can walk to work (substitute teacher part-time). Her big driving is over the summer taking the kids 12, 10 to camps/activities and going to theater rehearsals. Covid put a damper on family visits to my in-laws in Ohio (1500 miles round trip, plus local driving while there). When I ordered xlt was no longer an option for 2022 so it was lariat SR or ER for me. Efficiency and range go down in the cold. I plan on keeping it for a long time and there will be further battery degradation.... If the pro was available I might have gone with that priced out in the mid 40s.

 

[Traconesu]

I have lariat ER and based on my driving habits, I typically get 280-290 on a full charge, based on the truck but I've never truly tested it since I'm not brave enough to take it below 30 miles. I live in Michigan and the weather got cold this week. Now my range is under 190. Going from an ICE with a 36 gallon tank, getting close to 600 miles per tank to under 190 does not make me want to keep it. I've also had several issues with the technology (like my phone never connects). I have a '21 Bronco and have not had any issues with the tech.

Anyone else having these types of issues?

I would never recommend the lightning to anyone that plans on using it anywhere other than locally. I only charge to the recommended 80% SOC and never have to worry about range even if it's cold outside and I'm towing my trailer. I also wouldn't have purchased it if I ever had to use a public charging station.

 

[DucMan]

I bought a lariat ER, and I still think it’s the right choice. And I don’t think I’m hard headed, or haven’t matured yet. I have had the truck for about 3 1/2 months. I’ve taken 3 trips beyond 300 miles from home, the longest about 550 miles each way. Only one was planned, the other 2 “popped up.”

Yesterday, my wife and my youngest son drove to visit a college he might attend, 125 miles away. Mild winter day (35 ish when we left, afternoon high mid 60s) and did the drive round trip easily without recharging. If I had an SR we would have had to hit a fast charge station. Probably would have taken my wife’s ICE Mercedes instead. And my son is 6’ 4” and doesn’t fit well in the back seat of her car.

Just like I know that range drops in the cold, I know that batteries degrade over time. I think (hope?) that my ER range will still be acceptable to me when that happens.

Jack London said “the purpose of a truck is to drive, I will not spend my days trying to prolong my truck’s battery, I shall use its power.”…. Ok, maybe that’s what he meant to say…

While I have the truck, I will use it. I don’t want to say “I’ll never fast charge,” or ” I’ll never charge above 80%,” or give in and drive an ICE car for all road trips. I don’t think that’s hard headed, there’s a set of pros and cons with any vehicle. To me, the ER makes the pros outweigh the cons. An SR, doesn’t.

Scott

 

[sotek2345]

I would never recommend the lightning to anyone that plans on using it anywhere other than locally. I only charge to the recommended 80% SOC and never have to worry about range even if it's cold outside and I'm towing my trailer. I also wouldn't have purchased it if I ever had to use a public charging station.

I recommend the Lightning (and my wife's Mach-e) as road trip vehicles all the time. So much cheaper than ICE vehicles on longer trips and I find it a more relaxing drive. Bluecruise is fantastic on long drives too! Doing another ~500 mi (each way) trip this week.

 

[Traconesu]

I recommend the Lightning (and my wife's Mach-e) as road trip vehicles all the time. So much cheaper than ICE vehicles on longer trips and I find it a more relaxing drive. Bluecruise is fantastic on long drives too! Doing another ~500 mi (each way) trip this week.

I don't recommend traveling with the lightning for several reasons: First off the few chargers there are often are out of service. Paying $.31-$.43/kwh isn't cheap. I have a platinum and on the interstate I'm lucky to get 2/mpk. At $.31/kwh that's a little over $15 per 100 miles. At $3/gal for gas comes to 5 gal which equates to 20 mpg. Not what I call economic. And if you pull a travel trailer you can cut your range in half.
If it's colder weather also expect a significant drop in range. Add to that at 2/mpk that's just 262 miles if you ran the battery empty, which you wouldn't do and to even come close to that you need to charge to 100% which is very hard on lithium batteries life span. And then there's the range anxiety wondering if you will make it to the next charger before you run out of power and will any of the chargers work when you get there. And stopping ever 3 hours to charge would be a pain, especially charging back up to the 100% as even fast chargers outputs are significantly reduced from 80%-100%. I know people do use them for travel but to be honest they really aren't that efficient or worth the worry when used for long distance traveling. The efficiency for me is getting 2.4 - 3 / mpk and only paying a max of $.12/kwh.

 

[Amps]

I don't recommend traveling with the lightning for several reasons: First off the few chargers there are often are out of service. Paying $.31-$.43/kwh isn't cheap. I have a platinum and on the interstate I'm lucky to get 2/mpk. At $.31/kwh that's a little over $15 per 100 miles. At $3/gal for gas comes to 5 gal which equates to 20 mpg. Not what I call economic. And if you pull a travel trailer you can cut your range in half.
If it's colder weather also expect a significant drop in range. Add to that at 2/mpk that's just 262 miles if you ran the battery empty, which you wouldn't do and to even come close to that you need to charge to 100% which is very hard on lithium batteries life span. And then there's the range anxiety wondering if you will make it to the next charger before you run out of power and will any of the chargers work when you get there. And stopping ever 3 hours to charge would be a pain, especially charging back up to the 100% as even fast chargers outputs are significantly reduced from 80%-100%. I know people do use them for travel but to be honest they really aren't that efficient or worth the worry when used for long distance traveling. The efficiency for me is getting 2.4 - 3 / mpk and only paying a max of $.12/kwh.

I'd trade every one of these points and happily pay more for reliable, convenient, available DCFC on trips for the quiet ride. It's hard to understand someone who bought a Platinum worrying about its range and the minimal energy cost difference of DCFC to FF on road trips. I do agree that I wouldn't recommend it to do long-distance towing.

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