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New owner, questions about build quality/road noise

Pioneer74

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Hmmm that is interesting, is the piece that that brace attaches too (that’s not the fender) usually painted body color, or is it usually black like yours?
Good question. I can only assume it's supposed to be black.

EDIT: Well, you know what happens when you ASSuME. Looking at a Munro Live video, it looks like they are body color. Mine might appear black because I have a blue truck, and they don't spray the clear topcoat on that area. But the white bumper you have still suggests that it was painted.

Ford F-150 Lightning New owner, questions about build quality/road noise Screenshot 2024-09-29 194612
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rockytj

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Good question. I can only assume it's supposed to be black.

EDIT: Well, you know what happens when you ASSuME. Looking at a Munro Live video, it looks like they are body color. Mine might appear black because I have a blue truck, and they don't spray the clear topcoat on that area. But the white bumper you have still suggests that it was painted.

Screenshot 2024-09-29 194612.jpg
I found that same video when I was trying to figure out the paint thing. I took both of the posts out to look at them, and they're identical in terms of paint on the threaded portion, and the underside of the stopper. I'm wondering if this could simply be a case of one not being taped during normal production, or a sticker/cover getting peeled off on one and not the other.

Without their being any other parts/paint that looks off, and no other signs of working being done that honestly seems like the simplest explanation. I'm still going to get it checked out just to be sure, but I'm feeling a little more hopeful everything is good.
 

Bills R Electric

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Hey all, I'd been looking to get back into and EV after being and ICE driver for a while and having previously had Kia/Hyundai EVs, not wanting a Tesla, and not loving the Mach-e I drove a used F-150 (2023 XLT ER with tow package) lightning and loved it. Dealer was fair and the carfax was clean (checked a couple other reports as well and they were also clean), they even let me take it over to the Ford dealership and put it on a lift and have their techs go over it, they let me walk underneath it and told me everything looked great. Still loving the car, but after having it for a bit, I've noticed a few things and wondered if they're consistent with what others experience.

1. Road noise above 70 is fairly pronounced, not terrible, I owned a rav4 previously and would say it's about on par with that, around town it's very quite. Also I feel like I get more feedback from the road than in other vehicles I've had, maybe due to the larger tires?

2. There are what I hope are just a few fit/qc issues. The rubber frunk post on the drivers side is painted, while it's not on the passenger side. The anchor piece on both sides that the stopper screws onto is painted on both sides, it's just the rubber stopper is painted on the drivers side. I though maybe that meant there had been a repair done, but after removing the trim and checking for overspray and comparing paint texture on both sides, I don't see any evidence of repair work. The fender on the drivers side near the frunk post has a 10/23 date/time stamped on it which is consistent with the manufacture date of the vehicle. The drivers front fender protrudes ever so slightly compared to the passenger side, but I've seen complaints of this on other F150 forums. All of the parts with dates on them on that side of the car also have 10/23 dates on them and the car drives great. I'm hoping I'm just over thinking this and someone forgot to take it off before painting during assembly. Anyone seen anything like this?

Loving the car overall, it replaced an old van that was my utility/dog car, with the seats flipped up in the back I think it's going to be super comfy for my dogs.

Here are the pictures of the pained frunk posts with the trim removed.

Painted Drivers side:

IMG_0527.JPG


Unpainted passenger side:

IMG_0528.JPG
Road noise above 70 is fairly pronounced, not terrible

Hey all, I'd been looking to get back into and EV after being and ICE driver for a while and having previously had Kia/Hyundai EVs, not wanting a Tesla, and not loving the Mach-e I drove a used F-150 (2023 XLT ER with tow package) lightning and loved it. Dealer was fair and the carfax was clean (checked a couple other reports as well and they were also clean), they even let me take it over to the Ford dealership and put it on a lift and have their techs go over it, they let me walk underneath it and told me everything looked great. Still loving the car, but after having it for a bit, I've noticed a few things and wondered if they're consistent with what others experience.

1. Road noise above 70 is fairly pronounced, not terrible, I owned a rav4 previously and would say it's about on par with that, around town it's very quite. Also I feel like I get more feedback from the road than in other vehicles I've had, maybe due to the larger tires?

2. There are what I hope are just a few fit/qc issues. The rubber frunk post on the drivers side is painted, while it's not on the passenger side. The anchor piece on both sides that the stopper screws onto is painted on both sides, it's just the rubber stopper is painted on the drivers side. I though maybe that meant there had been a repair done, but after removing the trim and checking for overspray and comparing paint texture on both sides, I don't see any evidence of repair work. The fender on the drivers side near the frunk post has a 10/23 date/time stamped on it which is consistent with the manufacture date of the vehicle. The drivers front fender protrudes ever so slightly compared to the passenger side, but I've seen complaints of this on other F150 forums. All of the parts with dates on them on that side of the car also have 10/23 dates on them and the car drives great. I'm hoping I'm just over thinking this and someone forgot to take it off before painting during assembly. Anyone seen anything like this?

Loving the car overall, it replaced an old van that was my utility/dog car, with the seats flipped up in the back I think it's going to be super comfy for my dogs.

Here are the pictures of the pained frunk posts with the trim removed.

Painted Drivers side:

IMG_0527.JPG


Unpainted passenger side:

IMG_0528.JPG
Road noise above 70 is fairly pronounced, not terrible

If I was to ever be sitting next to Jim Farley on a plane I would tell him I love my Lariat Lightning, but if I was to nitpick I would love for Ford to figure out a way to lessen the wind noise that starts about 65 and gets louder over 70 mph. Not a terrible thing, it would just be "I wish my Lightning....."

One other item I would mention to Farley is how much progress is Ford making on Charging speed. With the Tesla adapter, which I have used several times, finding a charging station is not a problem anymore. But I would love to have it charge a lot faster when I am traveling.

That is it. Quieter about 65 and cut my DCFC time in half, and I will be first in line for a Gen2 Lightning.
 

subseavet

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Hmmm that is interesting, is the piece that that brace attaches too (that’s not the fender) usually painted body color, or is it usually black like yours?
It's usually black.
 

Zprime29

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Keep in mind the road/wind noise will be easier to hear without the engine noise. It could still be fewer dB in volume, but more noticeable without the engine drowning it out.
 

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Road noise above 70 is fairly pronounced, not terrible


Road noise above 70 is fairly pronounced, not terrible

If I was to ever be sitting next to Jim Farley on a plane I would tell him I love my Lariat Lightning, but if I was to nitpick I would love for Ford to figure out a way to lessen the wind noise that starts about 65 and gets louder over 70 mph. Not a terrible thing, it would just be "I wish my Lightning....."

One other item I would mention to Farley is how much progress is Ford making on Charging speed. With the Tesla adapter, which I have used several times, finding a charging station is not a problem anymore. But I would love to have it charge a lot faster when I am traveling.

That is it. Quieter about 65 and cut my DCFC time in half, and I will be first in line for a Gen2 Lightning.
Maybe you want to find another Lightning like yours to test drive and compare at the higher speed. Mine seems exceptionally quiet at any speed.
 

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Tire noise is much more noticeable on an EV. What tires do you have on the truck? I have the stock AS Grabbers and they are really quiet. The stock Hankooks are a bit noisier (had those on a previous truck) but still pretty quiet for an AT tire. If you have aftermarket AT tires, they will be louder than any typical EV with AS tires.
 

subseavet

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I think on the white ones it’s painted, at least it also is in the Munro tear down video of the frunk.
Thanks for sharing that information. I can only speak for the Lightnings I've seen personally, and not being an EV mechanic, my sample size is limited! I love this forum because I'm always made smarter by coming here.
 

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I've owned a lot of cars over the years. BMW, Porsche, etc. with several EVs among them (Tesla MS/M3, Rivian R1T). Our 23 Lariat is extremely quiet at any speed. Probably one of the quietest vehicles I've owned and ours is on a 2" lift with Ko2 ATs.
 

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rockytj

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Tire noise is much more noticeable on an EV. What tires do you have on the truck? I have the stock AS Grabbers and they are really quiet. The stock Hankooks are a bit noisier (had those on a previous truck) but still pretty quiet for an AT tire. If you have aftermarket AT tires, they will be louder than any typical EV with AS tires.
I’ve got the stock grabbers, and I do think they’re quiet around town, it’s mostly just when I get up to speed on the freeway. It is a giant brick with huge mirrors and it’s definitely quieter overall than the rav4 I had previously, but every one in a while I feel like the wind on the mirror is more pronounced.
 

Whammy Bar

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Just checked my truck - 22 Pearl White Lariat. They're painted.

Ford F-150 Lightning New owner, questions about build quality/road noise PXL_20240930_161342721.MP
 

Adventureboy

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I’ve got the stock grabbers, and I do think they’re quiet around town, it’s mostly just when I get up to speed on the freeway. It is a giant brick with huge mirrors and it’s definitely quieter overall than the rav4 I had previously, but every one in a while I feel like the wind on the mirror is more pronounced.
Yes the mirrors are noisier than some, especially with a headwind or crosswind. Overall it is much quieter than my 2018 ICE. The brick shape isn't very aerodynamic like you said. My wife's MME is much quieter.
 
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rockytj

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Update for everyone who’s followed this saga, I took the truck to a body shop this afternoon and they compared the paint in that area to the rest of the car and took a look at the panels in the frunk area and confirmed that there hadn’t been any repairs to the area and the vehicle history reports I had were likely accurate (no previous damage).

As to why that stopper is painted, they don’t know but said that it likely happened at the time of production since nothing else in the area has been repainted or replaced.

Feeling a little less stress and really enjoying the truck.
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