My MME is perfect. I wish to discuss my fears with other members here about the Lightning. (No more fears.)

[Fastnf]

I have had my pro for 9 month 4k miles and have never had a problem with it. I live in the country and have forded streams and driven on dirt roads with no issues. I have also taken it on road trips and never an issue.

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[LightningB514]

No car lineup is perfect and Ford is no exception. I’ve owned my 23 Lariat Ext for two months now. I purchased it as a business vehicle because I travel quite a bit. 4k miles and I have had zero issues. The only minor issues was not being able to fit it in my garage. Had to move a few shelves and dryer. Now I am able to fit it in. So far the truck is awesome and my family loves it just as much. I looked into maybe moving down to a MME for bit but I quickly realized that I would be losing some features that I love about my truck. If you are looking for a truck, the Lightning is great. Are there issues with some owners? Sure, but there are many owners that haven’t had any issues. I can say that up to now I haven’t had any related to the vehicle itself.

 

[mme_and_lightning]

I am a happy owner of a 2021 MME Premium ER with 30K. Trouble free up to this point. I also own a 2022 Lightning Lariat. Trouble free. My Lightning is my work truck, vacation truck, hauling the camper truck, landscaping truck and hauling all our toys to our favorite places truck. Not an issue, yet. I am 60 years old. I understand your worries but in your case, is understandable that making this commitment is a serious and logical question and issue.
Go for it. You won't be disappointed.
I am not. Other than the Fast Charging issues that every EV owner has, apart from Tesla, for me, it was the best and wise choice. I haven't had any remorse into getting into the EV that I currently own. Ask anything you may have questions about.

This is exactly what I wanted to hear for experienced owners.

I really enjoy the pictures. Reminds me of raising my kids and camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Good times indeed.

 

[mme_and_lightning]

No car lineup is perfect and Ford is no exception. I’ve owned my 23 Lariat Ext for two months now. I purchased it as a business vehicle because I travel quite a bit. 4k miles and I have had zero issues. The only minor issues was not being able to fit it in my garage. Had to move a few shelves and dryer. Now I am able to fit it in. So far the truck is awesome and my family loves it just as much. I looked into maybe moving down to a MME for bit but I quickly realized that I would be losing some features that I love about my truck. If you are looking for a truck, the Lightning is great. Are there issues with some owners? Sure, but there are many owners that haven’t had any issues. I can say that up to now I haven’t had any related to the vehicle itself.

Valuable information, everyone is being very helpful. Having both the Lightning and MME (along with a Subaru Forester) will be great. Upgrading from a RAM 1500 e-torque (hybrid) I sold to family to the Lightning is looking good.

 

[mme_and_lightning]

I have had my pro for 9 month 4k miles and have never had a problem with it. I live in the country and have forded streams and driven on dirt roads with no issues. I have also taken it on road trips and never an issue.

Thank you so much for taking the time to help me out. It is appreciated.

 

[mme_and_lightning]

To Everyone that Responded.

Each response helps me feel secure in my Lightning purchase. A few in-transit to dealerships a bit of a drive from me, but I'm ready to purchase now.

 

[Yellow Buddy]

I have owned my 2022 MME premium ER for a year and 7,000 miles. Perfect in every way. (OK, a bit bouncy on rough pavement, but reliable in every way.)

I'm 67 years old. I bi-weekly travel from Virginia to Delaware using some rural roads and across heavily traveled bridge that is miles long.

So here is my concern. I need a truck as reliable as my MME and I'm a bit worried about things I read on this forum about the Lightning.

I want so badly to buy a Lightning Platinum, but I see a lot of people with "it bricked on me today" and other "now it is driveway art."

All I want to do is travel during the late evening and night with confidence my wife, grandchildren and I will be safe in a reliable truck.

I hope members will help me out with a meaningful discussion that I'm sure almost everyone here can provide.

Here is one thing that concerns me. I almost bought a Platinum a few months ago at a dealership. It was bought quickly as I was discussing at home with my wife so I missed out. I saw a week or so ago that the dealer is selling it now as 1-owner used after less than four months. Carfax says " HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY MODULE REPLACEMENT " so I guess it "bricked' on the first owner, but I could be 100% wrong.

I thank you in advance for your thoughts to help me.

I may have driven those same roads and bridges. I travel through that area as well with some frequency from the Richmond area through Salisbury and will cut across towards Gettysburg or up through Baltimore depending on traffic conditions. As a result, I’m averaging 3,500 per month in my early build Lightning.

I have never been stranded by my truck.

As with any vehicle, YMMV. But I’m confident enough in mine that I took it on a road trip that did 1,200 miles in 36 hours…then back a week later.

 

[mme_and_lightning]

IF you decide to pay for it. I looked at the cost and decided it was too much for the small number of outages in South Texas. Yes, there was a major outage here two (or more?) years ago, but I could not justify the cost versus a manual system to do the same thing.

About the home electrical backup using the LIghtning. I spoke with SunRun and it was pretty expensive. I found that a battery backup in the garage was enough for me and cheaper. However, everyone has their own need. The main thing is: enjoy life and have fun.

 

[mme_and_lightning]

I may have driven those same roads and bridges. I travel through that area as well with some frequency from the Richmond area through Salisbury and will cut across towards Gettysburg or up through Baltimore depending on traffic conditions. As a result, I’m averaging 3,500 per month in my early build Lightning.

I have never been stranded by my truck.

As with any vehicle, YMMV. But I’m confident enough in mine that I took it on a road trip that did 1,200 miles in 36 hours…then back a week later.

Perfect. Thank you. I'm over the top happy with all the responses.

Nice people in this forum.

 

[Smokewagun]

BTW, the battery bulletin does NOT mean the truck automatically “Bricked”. I just checked last night. My 2023 Lightning is under the bulletin. It’s been great in 5,000 mikes in about 5-6 weeks. Just don’t buy a Ford Charger. I have to plug mine in every night I decide to charge, manually. It will not wait to charge at 1:00am on some nights. Others, it will. Sometimes it charges to 100% when limited to 80%. Other times it won’t start charging, or it starts right off. Ford needs to credit me to my network charging account for all the extra $$$$ I’ve spent because I am forced to charge at higher rate times!
But, if you try to take my Lightning back, it’s not happening. I’ve has close to 30 ford trucks. This is my favorite and likely the best.

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

And then there's the Home Integration System, a.k.a., "Whole Home Backup," which really can't backup your WHOLE home but does put a hole in your wallet.

My power goes out in Maine but I never planned to use the Lightning to address this problem. It's cheaper and more reliable to get a generator.

 

[CdnCGM23]

So far, so good. Thanks everyone that posted so quickly. I guess it is so far 3-out-of-3 seem to have no issues.

Please feel free to add more. Keep in mind please that I'm not asking about a MME to Lightning comparison, just an overall experienced review of Lightning owner's reliability.

I love the MME and I can't go back to an ICE vehicle as the MME has ruined ICE vehicles for my wife and me.

I have a Lariat ER, zero issues and no complaints after 5 months and 12,000 km.
I'd say go for it!!!

 

[p52Ranch]

No complaints here. I’ve had my Lightning for over a year. Just the goofy front air dam error occasionally.
Instead of focusing on a few threads of Lightnings that have reported problems check out the thread “Pics of Lightning Trucks doing Truck Things”.

 

[Lytning]

I suggest making a decision with candidly realistic expectations. Most owners have not had serious issues. Some of us have. Some owners have exercised buy-backs and lemon laws.

Ford has fixed every issue on my truck, with the possible exception of the extreme noise audio issue. The exacerbating problem is that when a serious issue arises, your truck is likely to sit outside at the dealership for weeks or months without any work being performed on it. However, that is not specific to the Lightning, or even EV's in general. Most vehicles in the dealership service parking lot are not EV's. Ford and / or the dealership have put me in an ICE loaner each time for the extended service periods.

Ford Motor Company has serious reliability issues, even acknowledged by the CEO. Ford probably places in the lower middle among all vehicle manufacturers regarding quality and reliability. My Lightning has been at the dealership service department for 63 days so far this year.

In general, I am OK with my Lightning. It is an absolute pleasure to drive and ride. I have much more concern with reliability anxiety than range anxiety. Personally, I would not trust it to get me and my family to our destination on a long trip. I use my Lexus RX for those trips. I purchased my Lightning knowing I was a Beta tester, but sometimes I feel more like an Alpha tester.

All things considered, I would likely purchase my Lightning again ... with one exception. I have suffered permanent hearing loss and tinnitus due to an extreme noise audio event with the B&O sound system. Fortunately for others, those occurrences are relatively rare. They also occur in ICE vehicles. I am extremely disappointed that Ford has failed to acknowledge or confirm resolution of that issue. Until it was confirmed as resolved, it would prevent me from purchasing any Ford vehicle with a B&O sound system.

 

[mr.Magoo]

So here is my concern. I need a truck as reliable as my MME and I'm a bit worried about things I read on this forum about the Lightning.

I want so badly to buy a Lightning Platinum, but I see a lot of people with "it bricked on me today" and other "now it is driveway art."

Internet, not much unlike the media, is a giant cesspool of clickbaits and negativity.
There's probably a 1:100 (at least) ratio of good to bad news, not because the world is pure evil and the streets are lined with broken down Lightnings, no, simply because it sells and people like to vent.

Take myself for example, in general I'm quite happy with my truck, nothing wrong with it except that it's a bit boring (I'm sorry, I just love the smell of gasoline and the sound of a rowdy engine).
Did I make a post (well, technically I just did) about how great it is and that I truly like it - nope.
Did I make a post whining about my GPS thinking I was driving around in Lake St.Clair - yep.

So I'd take the internet with a huge grain of salt and if you like your Mach-E, I'm sure you'll love your Lightning !

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