Tesla Owner with a 2023 Ford Lightning XLT Long Range (Impressions/Review)

[Refactoringdr]

You can lock the fob in the cab if you press the two bottom buttons on the security code pad.

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[transmutated]

Alright, so after being in the truck for a month now I can confidently say I’m good to sell one of the model Ys. The truck is super fun to drive and is especially comfortable. I’ve slapped over 1k miles on it, towed a good sized enclosed trailer for a few hundred miles, hacked on the truck with forscan, added an electric bed cover, hauled a bunch of crap around in the bed of the truck, have figured out what most of the buttons do, and can nearly park between the lines like a big boy

One of my initial beefs was the software. Once you realize that most of what you want is in Apple car play and that Apple Maps is actually pretty solid, that becomes a lot easier to ignore. Aside from changing drive modes, I’m mostly out of the OS. As for all of the buttons, I like having them around actually. It’s easier to reach and feel for it without having to take you hands off the wheel where screen only controls nearly always requires eyes off the road unless using voice commands.

I still find myself closing the door and walking away with the truck running and the double tap horn reminds me this isn’t a Tesla. Aside from occasionally using the ford app to unlock or lock the truck, the ford app is relatively useless since I don’t have the extra options to do more interesting things.

I’ve brought the truck in for service, ie program new fobs, and had a CSP done as well and my dealer seems to be solid with the lightning which is comforting since reading all of the horror stories here.

Finally, range is better than I was originally thinking it was going to be which is a nice surprise. Knowing the battery is much bigger than the Y, I already know charging on road trips will take longer and I’m good with that. Since I’m used to reduced effecicency in the winter with the Y, I’m also aware that without a heat pump in this 23, I’ll see a bit worst efficiency which I’m also okay with. I think having an EV already and knowing those aren’t terribly big deals for day to day driving makes those points easier for me to accept.

All in all, what an absolutely excellent vehicle. Seriously, hats off to ford. I’ve been in my Y now for 4 years and before that had a Nissan murano I inherited from my wife. The truck is a great ride and super fun. With the comfort and utility factored in, I easily rate this over my Y.

I don’t think I shared my total price, for my ‘23 XLT extended range and 11.5k miles, with taxes my total price was $51500 which I think is great.

 

[invertedspear]

Aside from occasionally using the ford app to unlock or lock the truck, the ford app is relatively useless since I don’t have the extra options to do more interesting things.

As a fellow XLT owner, the only thing the App is good for is remote starting the climate control (vital in Phoenix), and checking if it got an update. Oh, and telling the truck to charge to 100% preceding a road trip or known high-mileage day. It's okay though, I'm old-fashioned and don't trust PAAK anyway so I always have a fob with me.

 

[OES414]

I

Hello new friends, recently bought up a Lightning cause I really want a truck and not interesting in this first edition Cybertruck or any $100k truck honestly I scooped up a used XLT Lightning with 11k miles on it for doing truck stuff mostly. My wife and I both have Model Ys and love them as we go into our 4th year of EV ownership. Even with the tow hitch, I've struggled to make the best use of it because I don't wanna rent a trailer every time i need one and while the storage in the Y is great for boards...it's hard to move sheets around. So I'm living my biggest truck dreams with this used truck. Wanted to give my hot takes coming from Tesla land and lean on the community for any work arounds to the issues I may be having.

On the second day of owning the truck, I rented a uhaul trailer and helped move a storage unit for my parents which was 2 hours each way with a 6X12 covered trailer and driving at a constant 65 got 1.4 mpkwh loaded and 1.5 mpkwh unloaded

So the things I don't like first:

• The screen is actually nice in the XLT, but the void of third party apps like we have on the Tesla is shameful. No entertainment while charging or chilling in the ride is really weird. Beautiful screen...with super limited functionality. Entertainment is standard on ALL teslas.
• No phone as key as a standard option. It's not even an option unless you get Lariat with some extra trim level. Again, standard on all Teslas. This seems really weird to put behind a trim and model barrier.
• If you have 1 key, which is all my truck came with, don't add mykey...and try to remove it. OOF. Apparently I don't have the "admin key"? Who knows. I would have expected that to be requisit to add mykey but now I've limited what all my truck can do to the default profile? I don't know. Would love some community help here or else I'm bringing the truck to the dealership to get a new fob and remove the mykey nonsense.
• Route planning is stressful with the Ford interface. I can easily enough create a route, but I have no idea what % of battery I will have when I arrive at a charging station. Perhaps it is, but I'm just not used to the interface? On the dash, it shows how much range I have left and how far away I am from my destination...is that my final destination or the charging stop? I didn't pay enough attention I suppose because my charging stop was at my destionation effectively. It just wasn't immediately clear.
• After the truck was dropped off since it was delivered from out of state, my wife promptly sat in the truck and started pushing buttons She found the button that stows the gear shifter and pressed it a few times. Needless to say, it got stuck in park. It was this forum that some one recommended buying a 10mm wrench and keeping that in the frunk to disconnect the 12v battery and reconnecting it, which in fact did the trick. Thanks for that lil nugget of information because that fixed this. Will never touch that button again
• Didn't realize that bluecruise is a feature of higher trims. I wasn't buying the truck for smart features, but while road tripping with the trailer, it would have been nice to flip on auto pilot and roll. But I don't have the million dollar truck so I'm left holding the steering wheel like a peasent I suppose Autopilot is standard on all tesla models and is great for highway driving!

Things I don't like that are out of Ford's control, but guilty by association I suppose:

• Stopped and charged at my first ever Electrify America while I appreciated the trailer friendly pull through charger...it was a train wreck. The charger didn't work. I called them, they rebooted it, had me plug and unplug what seems like a dozen times when suddently it started working.
• Electrify America is expensive. Coming from Tesla land, high is over .40 kwh, .30something is typical. This charger was nearly .60 pkwh. OOF

Now for the awesome stuff:

• Towing was DREAMY over what I've done with the Model Y. Model Y was great and all, but the Lightning was champ. Wasn't sure what to expect concerning range, but the internet would have you believe I was going to tow 10 miles and be out of juice. I was happy with the range for the job I was doing and wasn't concerned with with my range.
• Super comfortable drive! Man this truck is smooth! Absolutely love driving it!
• APPLE CAR PLAY IS EXCELLENT! Tesla needs to stop playing games and make it happen.
• Can't wait to get my Tesla Supercharger adapter to use that network! This will ROCK. 4 years of charging my Tesla's while road tripping and I can count on 1 hand where I've had to wait for a charger to be open OR had a failed charger.

Workarounds I've got:

• I'm using a bluetooth obd device in conjuction with a better route planner + apple car play to DIY a smart trip planner that I've got some confidence in. The ford app didn't seem like it would tell me when I have a sufficient charge to carry on or anything like that. This more closely reproduces the intelligence that I've come to expect with Tesla and range calculations concerning weather, etc. I don't have a lot of confidence in whatever the ford app might be doing. Doing this setup with Apple Car Play is a great combo! Maybe I'm just doing Ford wrong? Am I missing anything?

This is where I am with the truck after owning it for 70 something hours and taking it on a good sized road trip with a trailer. The truck really is awesome. No regrets. I loved the used price, the smooth ride, and the range is better than expected. I find myself missing the standard features that I've come to expect from Tesla that are only available in higher trims on the Lightening...ie phone as key, lane keeping, bluecruise, etc. I'm sure some other stuff will come up as time goes on, but aside from the 12v problem concerning the shifter getting stuck in park, I'm really excited about the truck otherwise.

What are some recommendations from the community for new Lightening owner? I've got charging handled since we've got two Teslas already. But yeah, hunting for any other workarounds that other Tesla users have done or what everyone else thinks is useful. Thanks

 

[OES414]

Alright, so after being in the truck for a month now I can confidently say I’m good to sell one of the model Ys. The truck is super fun to drive and is especially comfortable. I’ve slapped over 1k miles on it, towed a good sized enclosed trailer for a few hundred miles, hacked on the truck with forscan, added an electric bed cover, hauled a bunch of crap around in the bed of the truck, have figured out what most of the buttons do, and can nearly park between the lines like a big boy

One of my initial beefs was the software. Once you realize that most of what you want is in Apple car play and that Apple Maps is actually pretty solid, that becomes a lot easier to ignore. Aside from changing drive modes, I’m mostly out of the OS. As for all of the buttons, I like having them around actually. It’s easier to reach and feel for it without having to take you hands off the wheel where screen only controls nearly always requires eyes off the road unless using voice commands.

I still find myself closing the door and walking away with the truck running and the double tap horn reminds me this isn’t a Tesla. Aside from occasionally using the ford app to unlock or lock the truck, the ford app is relatively useless since I don’t have the extra options to do more interesting things.

I’ve brought the truck in for service, ie program new fobs, and had a CSP done as well and my dealer seems to be solid with the lightning which is comforting since reading all of the horror stories here.

Finally, range is better than I was originally thinking it was going to be which is a nice surprise. Knowing the battery is much bigger than the Y, I already know charging on road trips will take longer and I’m good with that. Since I’m used to reduced effecicency in the winter with the Y, I’m also aware that without a heat pump in this 23, I’ll see a bit worst efficiency which I’m also okay with. I think having an EV already and knowing those aren’t terribly big deals for day to day driving makes those points easier for me to accept.

All in all, what an absolutely excellent vehicle. Seriously, hats off to ford. I’ve been in my Y now for 4 years and before that had a Nissan murano I inherited from my wife. The truck is a great ride and super fun. With the comfort and utility factored in, I easily rate this over my Y.

I don’t think I shared my total price, for my ‘23 XLT extended range and 11.5k miles, with taxes my total price was $51500 which I think is great.

 

[OES414]

Hello all, Im so glad I found this forum...has calmed me down already.

Like many of you I switched from a Tesla ( wife still has one), to a brand new 2023 Platinum (0% interest, big rebates, freebees...couldnt resist). Here are my observations: The hardware and ride of this truck are exceptional...the software leaves a lot to be desired, I was spoiled by Tesla. That being said I wanted a truck but didnt want to give up the joy of driving an EV...this is best of both worlds.
I also think living in western WA is a perfect situation: high gas prices, ( low electricity costs .007a kwh?), and extensive EV charging with mild(ish) winters. Like any significant choice, there are pros and cons but so far I could not be happier, ( well the software...).
Anyway glad to be here and learning from you " salty vets".

 

[invertedspear]

Hello all, Im so glad I found this forum...has calmed me down already.

Like many of you I switched from a Tesla ( wife still has one), to a brand new 2023 Platinum (0% interest, big rebates, freebees...couldnt resist). Here are my observations: The hardware and ride of this truck are exceptional...the software leaves a lot to be desired, I was spoiled by Tesla. That being said I wanted a truck but didnt want to give up the joy of driving an EV...this is best of both worlds.
I also think living in western WA is a perfect situation: high gas prices, ( low electricity costs .007a kwh?), and extensive EV charging with mild(ish) winters. Like any significant choice, there are pros and cons but so far I could not be happier, ( well the software...).
Anyway glad to be here and learning from you " salty vets".

7 tenths of a cent per kWh?! I think that has to be a typo.

Yeah, the software is weak. Try using your phone. CarPlay and Android Auto are a far better experience over the built in system. AA has a lot more interesting things you can do because of how much the hacker community embraces Android. CarPlay has more access to vehicle information allowing apple maps to show SOC on arrival and such.

 

[OES414]

7 tenths of a cent per kWh?! I think that has to be a type.

Yeah, the software is weak. Try using your phone. CarPlay and Android Auto are a far better experience over the built in system. AA has a lot more interesting things you can do because of how much the hacker community embraces Android. CarPlay has more access to vehicle information allowing apple maps to show SOC on arrival and such.

 

[OES414]

Im sure thats 7c ...still reasonable i think? I dunno, never reallly thought about until I had two EVs

 

[DesertEV]

Hello new friends, recently bought up a Lightning cause I really want a truck and not interesting in this first edition Cybertruck or any $100k truck honestly I scooped up a used XLT Lightning with 11k miles on it for doing truck stuff mostly. My wife and I both have Model Ys and love them as we go into our 4th year of EV ownership. Even with the tow hitch, I've struggled to make the best use of it because I don't wanna rent a trailer every time i need one and while the storage in the Y is great for boards...it's hard to move sheets around. So I'm living my biggest truck dreams with this used truck. Wanted to give my hot takes coming from Tesla land and lean on the community for any work arounds to the issues I may be having.

On the second day of owning the truck, I rented a uhaul trailer and helped move a storage unit for my parents which was 2 hours each way with a 6X12 covered trailer and driving at a constant 65 got 1.4 mpkwh loaded and 1.5 mpkwh unloaded

So the things I don't like first:

• The screen is actually nice in the XLT, but the void of third party apps like we have on the Tesla is shameful. No entertainment while charging or chilling in the ride is really weird. Beautiful screen...with super limited functionality. Entertainment is standard on ALL teslas.
• No phone as key as a standard option. It's not even an option unless you get Lariat with some extra trim level. Again, standard on all Teslas. This seems really weird to put behind a trim and model barrier.
• If you have 1 key, which is all my truck came with, don't add mykey...and try to remove it. OOF. Apparently I don't have the "admin key"? Who knows. I would have expected that to be requisit to add mykey but now I've limited what all my truck can do to the default profile? I don't know. Would love some community help here or else I'm bringing the truck to the dealership to get a new fob and remove the mykey nonsense.
• Route planning is stressful with the Ford interface. I can easily enough create a route, but I have no idea what % of battery I will have when I arrive at a charging station. Perhaps it is, but I'm just not used to the interface? On the dash, it shows how much range I have left and how far away I am from my destination...is that my final destination or the charging stop? I didn't pay enough attention I suppose because my charging stop was at my destionation effectively. It just wasn't immediately clear.
• After the truck was dropped off since it was delivered from out of state, my wife promptly sat in the truck and started pushing buttons She found the button that stows the gear shifter and pressed it a few times. Needless to say, it got stuck in park. It was this forum that some one recommended buying a 10mm wrench and keeping that in the frunk to disconnect the 12v battery and reconnecting it, which in fact did the trick. Thanks for that lil nugget of information because that fixed this. Will never touch that button again
• Didn't realize that bluecruise is a feature of higher trims. I wasn't buying the truck for smart features, but while road tripping with the trailer, it would have been nice to flip on auto pilot and roll. But I don't have the million dollar truck so I'm left holding the steering wheel like a peasent I suppose Autopilot is standard on all tesla models and is great for highway driving!

Things I don't like that are out of Ford's control, but guilty by association I suppose:

• Stopped and charged at my first ever Electrify America while I appreciated the trailer friendly pull through charger...it was a train wreck. The charger didn't work. I called them, they rebooted it, had me plug and unplug what seems like a dozen times when suddently it started working.
• Electrify America is expensive. Coming from Tesla land, high is over .40 kwh, .30something is typical. This charger was nearly .60 pkwh. OOF

Now for the awesome stuff:

• Towing was DREAMY over what I've done with the Model Y. Model Y was great and all, but the Lightning was champ. Wasn't sure what to expect concerning range, but the internet would have you believe I was going to tow 10 miles and be out of juice. I was happy with the range for the job I was doing and wasn't concerned with with my range.
• Super comfortable drive! Man this truck is smooth! Absolutely love driving it!
• APPLE CAR PLAY IS EXCELLENT! Tesla needs to stop playing games and make it happen.
• Can't wait to get my Tesla Supercharger adapter to use that network! This will ROCK. 4 years of charging my Tesla's while road tripping and I can count on 1 hand where I've had to wait for a charger to be open OR had a failed charger.

Workarounds I've got:

• I'm using a bluetooth obd device in conjuction with a better route planner + apple car play to DIY a smart trip planner that I've got some confidence in. The ford app didn't seem like it would tell me when I have a sufficient charge to carry on or anything like that. This more closely reproduces the intelligence that I've come to expect with Tesla and range calculations concerning weather, etc. I don't have a lot of confidence in whatever the ford app might be doing. Doing this setup with Apple Car Play is a great combo! Maybe I'm just doing Ford wrong? Am I missing anything?

This is where I am with the truck after owning it for 70 something hours and taking it on a good sized road trip with a trailer. The truck really is awesome. No regrets. I loved the used price, the smooth ride, and the range is better than expected. I find myself missing the standard features that I've come to expect from Tesla that are only available in higher trims on the Lightening...ie phone as key, lane keeping, bluecruise, etc. I'm sure some other stuff will come up as time goes on, but aside from the 12v problem concerning the shifter getting stuck in park, I'm really excited about the truck otherwise.

What are some recommendations from the community for new Lightening owner? I've got charging handled since we've got two Teslas already. But yeah, hunting for any other workarounds that other Tesla users have done or what everyone else thinks is useful. Thanks

Excellent write up and nice truck! Well done! I have a 2023 XLT ER as well.

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