New Lightning, EXTREMELY low range.

[ridgebackpilot]

Not sure why anyone would buy a Standard Range truck and then complain about the range…!

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[RickLightning]

Not sure why anyone would buy a Standard Range truck and then complain about the range…!

Lack of basic research to understand that temperature impacts range.

 

[mb0220]

What was the elevation change on the different legs of the drive?

 

[TheWoo]

Wind, wind, wind. Traveling 70mph into a 20 mph wind, even if it's just quartering, is like driving 85mph. It's going to kill your efficiency.

I drive a lot in the middle of the country, wide open and windy places. I see anything from 1.1 to 2.2 mi/kwh at 80 mph. Totally wind and temp dependent.

 

[AI_Speed]

Wow that is low and even those of us with an ER notice how trips are not friendly to "320 miles" of range in any weather conditions but especially cold and hot - plus high anxiety trying to find charging that works well.

 

[Jmmanley1]

Wind was a factor because your return was so much different. 20mph headwind means you’re driving 90mph. At least your truck thinks you are.

 

[Muerg]

3000 miles into my 2023 Lariat and have found that speed is much more the issue than temp. Air resistance forces are calculate with the square of the velocity so doubling of speed quadruples the losses. I've got a 70 mile one way commute over country roads so my speed ranges from 25 to 70 (yes... i know) with 3 significant elevation rises and falls. Starting and ending elevations are about the same 800 ft / 670 ft.

Temperatures have varied from 70 F down to 17 F in those 3000 miles and generally seeing 2.1 to 2.4 mile/kWh. Temperature has an effect as the morning drive is closer to the 2.1 and the evening drive is closer to the 2.4 but that 17 F day did not pull it down to the mid ones.

Speed Kills! sorry an old fart here and that 80's PSA jumps into my mind when I hear of energy consumption at 80 mph. ;-)

 

[Newton]

I don’t think anybody would speed if they have ever been by the side of the road on ice when other cars collide. My heavy parked car was launched over the hillside by a car that did not look like it was going very fast. You really get a sense for the momentum and speed of cars at highway speeds in a way that you do not when you are inside the car (the brain gets fooled.)

All five cars (including mine) were totaled, but the pickup was the most impressive. The cars just slid into the side of the cliff but the pickup flipped end-for-end, rolled sideways and skidded upside-down (they were the most injured). The tow truck driver said that pickups are the worst in an accident.

 

[Ventorum94]

I’m wondering if this truck (2023 XLT, SR) is defective or not. Just picked it up a couple weeks ago and it had been fine. Drove from St. Louis, MO to Madison, WI. The range seemed lower than expected but, I thought the cold (35 -39 degrees) might have been contributing. Just me in the truck, no cargo, climate control set at 65 degrees. Had been getting 2.1 - 2.7 mi/kW around town. On the trip, the first couple legs were 2.0 (speed set at 70). The next ones showed 1.9 and then 1.8. Again, I thought the temp might have something to do with it.
Then, on the return trip, it showed 1.5 - 1.6 mi/kW. Charged to 84% it showed the range would be 185 mi on a 130 mile leg of the trip. By the time I got to the charger 130 mi later, it was at 7 miles and throwing all sorts of range alerts. On that leg, I had no climate control running at all. The final leg (100.7 miles) it showed 143 miles at 85% state of charge it was dropping fast so, I slowed to 60 to arrive home with only 24 miles left.
It would calculate out to only 151 miles of range at 100% state of charge. I’ve heard of folks getting significant range reductions while trailering (it’s not showing anything there and I’d never opened that menu before). I could see if I was hauling a heavy load (nothing but me and a suitcase). I could even see if it was really cold (it was 45 - 52 degrees during the return trip). So, what could account for getting 62% of the advertised range? I’ve had other electric vehicles for twelve years. This is my first Ford. But I can say it will be my last if this is truly how they perform. I mean, range anxiety at 100 miles on a vehicle adverse to have a range over 200 is ridiculous.
So, do I take it in as it’s got some defect? Or, is there some other fix? Or, is there some sort of class action suit coming for claims of vastly exaggerated range in these things? Sure, it seems to work around town but, a vehicle that costs over $50K should be able to handle a road trip of under 400 miles.

Re: “Range” discussions— Somehow, we’ve got to understand that “efficiency” (mi/kWh or Wh/mi) is the heart of the matter, the independent variable to be monitored and discussed, and not “range.” Range depends entirely on efficiency, which varies with driving conditions. Wondering why range changes, in the absence of focus on efficiency, is a lot like wondering why the sun travels across the sky, rather than comprehending the rotating Earth.

 

[Ventorum94]

Not sure why anyone would buy a Standard Range truck and then complain about the range…!

In my SR, the only difference is that I have to think about charging on a road trip 30% sooner than you do, and definitely have one more charging stop in a 500mi drive. In everyday use, the 200-240miles range I can leave my garage with every morning nearly always exceeds my daily driving. I only complain when distance between DC fastchargers is more than 200mi, and hopefully Jim and Elon will solve that problem for me next Spring.

 

[hls811]

I’m wondering if this truck (2023 XLT, SR) is defective or not. Just picked it up a couple weeks ago and it had been fine. Drove from St. Louis, MO to Madison, WI. The range seemed lower than expected but, I thought the cold (35 -39 degrees) might have been contributing. Just me in the truck, no cargo, climate control set at 65 degrees. Had been getting 2.1 - 2.7 mi/kW around town. On the trip, the first couple legs were 2.0 (speed set at 70). The next ones showed 1.9 and then 1.8. Again, I thought the temp might have something to do with it.
Then, on the return trip, it showed 1.5 - 1.6 mi/kW. Charged to 84% it showed the range would be 185 mi on a 130 mile leg of the trip. By the time I got to the charger 130 mi later, it was at 7 miles and throwing all sorts of range alerts. On that leg, I had no climate control running at all. The final leg (100.7 miles) it showed 143 miles at 85% state of charge it was dropping fast so, I slowed to 60 to arrive home with only 24 miles left.
It would calculate out to only 151 miles of range at 100% state of charge. I’ve heard of folks getting significant range reductions while trailering (it’s not showing anything there and I’d never opened that menu before). I could see if I was hauling a heavy load (nothing but me and a suitcase). I could even see if it was really cold (it was 45 - 52 degrees during the return trip). So, what could account for getting 62% of the advertised range? I’ve had other electric vehicles for twelve years. This is my first Ford. But I can say it will be my last if this is truly how they perform. I mean, range anxiety at 100 miles on a vehicle adverse to have a range over 200 is ridiculous.
So, do I take it in as it’s got some defect? Or, is there some other fix? Or, is there some sort of class action suit coming for claims of vastly exaggerated range in these things? Sure, it seems to work around town but, a vehicle that costs over $50K should be able to handle a road trip of under 400 miles.

Just curious and trying to follow along; the actual range you got was 137, even though the math should have been 151? - even though its really rated for 240...? I have a SR range on order, and I know what I'm getting into. I currently have a standard range Mach-E. Last week, left my house, fully charged to 100% (I do that every night. I'm one of them). QOM said 211, temp for the day ranged from about 35-45 degrees. I drove to work (25 miles @ 25-35mph, mainly backroads), then to a park after work, (47 miles on the highway @ 75mph), then home (55 highway miles @ 70mph), and when I pulled into my driveway I had 26 miles left on the QOM - so my range was 153. That sounds like roughly the same you received - maybe that 16 mile penalty for aerodynamics (or lack of).

 

[Lolat]

Last winter I went from Muscle Shoals to Klamath Falls Oregon in new Lariat SR. We traveled via Chicago for Christmas Party and stayed with northern routes home. Lowest temps -4° in Midwest, otherwise around freezing and lot’s of snow. I typically got 1.8to 2.1 m/kwh. We ran 70 mph on dry roads, but with snow and rain, slower, but most of the daytime travels closer to 70. I suspect pretty typical mileage for the Lightning.

 

[theblunden]

After reading though this thread I'm guessing about 1/3 of the people buying a Lightning or any EV have done any research on cold climates and/or environmental effects on EVs. Just a blanket I get 240 miles with a SR and 320 on ER. I wasn't in the EV market when I reserved my spot for the lightning back in May I more or less reserve my spot while me and my supervisor were talking Tesla stock which we would talk stocks every morning when covid first broke out like all the Robin Hood "stock brokers" did . After having the opportunity to ride in a Lightning in August and experiencing what the F-150 Lightning rode and drove like I was sold. While waiting 18 months from reserving to actual receiving my truck I did countless hours of research and watched hours of YouTube videos looking at what I was getting into. It's beyond me how anybody could make a 50K+ investment on the window stickers estimated range. I even read reviews on all charging units before finally settling on a recommended charger from the YouTube channel State of Charge. The EV community is a fast growing and very informative group I wish the dealers would do their part and explaining EVs instead of treating it like the enemy of ICE vehicles. As of right now I have no intentions of getting my Lightning and if I did it would be another EV for sure.

 

[Roy2001]

So, for a Ford, 50 degrees is cold? That’s incredible. Other EVs don’t see that sort of degradation until you’re below freezing. And, as I. My post, it got better mileage when it was in the 30s. Same speed. Same climate setting (actually with the climate control off when it did one of the worst legs). So, the “cold” explanation doesn’t hold up. An almost 40% reduction in range, unloaded, just because it’s in the upper 40s to low 50s is pretty sad. And, there are many posts/videos. Of folks out there getting 200 miles in these things at 70 mph. Yes, it’s as aerodynamic as a brick. But, it also has a huge battery compared to my previous EVs. So, I guess it’s useful as long as you never take it out of town.

70mph under 80F gives 2 miles per kWh.

 

[vagabond7846]

Or, is there some sort of class action suit coming for claims of vastly exaggerated range in these things? Sure, it seems to work around town but, a vehicle that costs over $50K should be able to handle a road trip of under 400 miles.

Ford did nothing to decieve anyone here; there is no basis for a lawsuit. You bought a truck with an advertised battery capacity, and you got a truck with that capacity. How far that battery capacity takes you is a function of multiple things discussed in this thread, namely temperature, wind, driving speed. Ford does not create EPA standards, nor do they create the European Milage test standards (WLTP and NEDC). Each 3 of those testing standards will output a different range estimate.

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