Very Disappointed with Ford and Sun Run.

[Rocket808]

I have a similar problem but modified by a few major factors being in California

My problem was not getting a charger from Sunrun, though - it is about getting it installed.

1. California changed net metering to essentially require home storage batteries in mid April, so there was a massive tidal wave of applications to be in what is now the legacy net metering program. I started the whole “Sunrun install everything” in the late February/early March timeframe, upon submitting my order for my Lightning.
2. I have an older home with a 70s era small (125~ish A) service, so adding an additional 100A circuit required a main panel upgrade.
3. Going through all this trouble, I’m adding solar as well
4. Finally - SCE supposedly , according to Sunrun, didn’t have an approved approach to allow a truck to serve as a backup battery. This delayed all aspects of my install to approve an end state design that incorporated the larger panel, solar integration, 100A circuit for FCSP, home integration kit for bidirectional power.

so I’ve had my truck since April, and I’ve just recently gotten approval to upgrade my main panel, and it appears Ford did not care about the customer experience (brought up to dealer) and Sunrun is not solving my problem quickly. My Sunrun customer service guy is great, but powerless. Having SCE in the middle of my problem gives everyone a 3rd party to blame

so yeah, April to December - no ford charger installed - no sense of urgency from Ford or Sunrun, and the fact that SCE didn’t have an approved installation process when I bought my truck wasn’t disclosed, and as much as I love my truck, I may have made another decision! I have been able to make it work with 2 close EA DCFC charging locations- but at $0.36 a kW, not the “cheap per mile” value (and the included 120V charger just isn’t enough!)

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[ackatack]

I bought my ‘23 Lariat ER last December. Sunrun was a pain at that time to get the FCSP released. I am pretty sure Ford knows that Sunrun may not have been the best partner and depending on them to release the FCSP was a bad idea. Sunrun wanted me to go through the entire sales process when I already have solar and batteries.

In any case, it sounds like you have a lot of charging anxiety, OP. Many of the criticisms you complain about are public knowledge and only require the smallest amount of searching to find. That being said, once you get a better charging situation at home, most of your concerns will become a nonissue. You could prepare for the FCSP by running the circuit to the location you will want it installed and then temporarily finishing it off with a NEMA 14-50 which will work with the mobile charger. You’ll max out at 6kW but that is more than enough for the average daily driver. Just an idea.

 

[RaptorEV]

Ok, you need to stop being hysterical. Yeah, delay getting your charger sucks, but that's no reason to sell the truck and take a huge loss. That would be crazy. Just plug it into 110V when you're at home. You'll get the Sunrun charger at some point, just chill. As for the cold-weather range loss, that's just the breaks. Deal with it. Selling the truck at a huge loss is not going to make you feel better. How often do you really need to go more than 200 miles anyway? If you're dead set on selling, I guess I could give you about $35K for it. DM me.

 

[ridgebackpilot]

Not sure why everyone seems so anxious to get the Ford charger. It’s certainly not the best Level 2 charging alternative out there. I haven’t even bothered to install mine; it’s still sitting in the box, unused.

Ford made a big mistake partnering with Sunrun. It didn’t take most of us long to figure out that they aren’t worth dealing with. Home integration was a fine concept in theory but the Ford/Sunrun system is far too expensive and problematic for most people to install. There are much better options for powering your house.

Ford needs to go back to the drawing board and figure out an inexpensive, workable system to allow the Lightning to power homes. Until then, most people will simply buy some long extension cords and save a bundle!

 

[Jim Lewis]

Experiences differ with Sunrun, too. I'm in San Antonio, TX. My truck wasn't scheduled to be built until 2/13 to 2/18/23. My FCSP came with the purchase of my 2023 Lariat ER. On 1/26/23, Sunrun shipped me the FCSP by FedEx, and on 2/24/23, ETW Energy, a subcontractor of Sunrun consisting of many ex-Sunrun employees, installed the FCSP. That was about 2 to 4 weeks before my truck would have been delivered initially, but the Dearborn battery fire delayed delivery until 5/5/23. In any event, I had or would have had the charger from day one with my truck.

It's always possible that your delay in getting your FCSP is because Ford is considering replacing it with an improved version. I also got Ford's Intelligent Backup System (Home Integration System) and had problems getting it to work. In terms of what needed to be fixed to make my HIS unit work, the FCSP came up, along with possible replacement under warranty. That has not happened yet, but I'm not sure that the "fixes" applied to my system will last on into the future. Ford, not Sunrun, is ultimately responsible for the equipment used to charge the truck and provide home backup. Perhaps your delay in receiving your FCSP is because Ford is still equivocating as to the best long-term resolution for their FCSP's issues and perhaps preparing (hopefully) to ship a better product out the door. Charging works great with my FCSP. Backup power transfer and its reliability is another matter entirely.

 

[VTHokies]

Guess I was lucky! I had no issues with Sunrun and had the charger installed (didn’t do the HIS) about a month before I even received my Lariat ER. What led them to get it to me early was I decided to have them do the install.

To the OP, have some patience, having an electric vehicle requires an entirely different mindset and way of doing things. Good luck!

 

[Oafy44]

Ford needs to ditch Sunrun IMO. Too many middle men - needs to be streamlined. After a year I wish they could make this easier for new owners. That’s the whole sales pitch correct ? If it’s harder to use then ICE then many people who are on the fence will bail.

with my f350- the winch is shipped with truck on a pallet in the back bed and the dealer installs it I believe. Not sure why the charger can’t be shipped with the truck. I guess Sunrun / ford wants. 95% of all people who call Sunrun get them to do the install? But because they are a big company seems they have way too many inefficiencies. I called my local electrician - I had him run 2- 60 amps so if I had a second Ev in future I was already set and he had me up and going in a 1.5 days. What ford /ev owners have to do is inform new EV owners aware of the first steps of being an EV owner is having to create your electric infrastructure. I get that it’s cool to show a commercial of a truck powering a whole house but maybe start with making it incredibly easy to set up new EV owners charging infrastructure - let alone trying to get them to power a house.

obviously once you get your second EV vehicle it won’t be a big deal but the first time someone buys a lightning / Mach E - it just seems incredibly hard for something you are trying to make easy .

note - Sunrun was completely worthless - made one call to my dealer and they called the ford regional rep. Asked for my address and was at my door 3 days later. That’s when you know it’s more of a Sunrun problem than Ford. Problem is Ford is the one who set this system up so it falls back and Ford

 

[mikenky]

I have ‘23 Lariat and got my FCSP within a week ov delivery. Bought a second FCSP from Ford for my second home and got it in just days. Clearly something is wrong with your charger delivery and Ford needs to straighten it out quickly. But the cold and speed issues require some further consideration. If you’ve owned gas trucks and tracked your gas mileage your numbers decreases geometricly. Just simple college physics 101. Wind resistance increases by the square of the velocity. You only notice it in a gas or diesel if you track it or monitor your expenditure vs speed. For instance, I drive the same forty mile stretch (80m RT) to work every day and in our 45 degree weather I average 2.2 m/kWh driving 60mph. If I drive 70 that drops to 1.6; 37% more cost for a 16% increase in speed. Fortunately our speed limit is 60 and I drive 60 and the other guy who passes me gets to pay more for fuel and meet Washington’s finest and help fill the state coffers. At 45 degrees my range would drop to about 210 from 290 driving 70 vs 60. Now in an EV you won’t notice the expense. One home I pay 11c/kWh, the other 7c/kWH, average 9c/kWh. So for an 80 mile daily commute I would pay 1.25 more in electricity to go 10 mph faster. My gas truck, which I still own, the difference for the two speeds is about 7.50. Over a twenty day work day month I would barely notice the difference in my Lightning, but over a month or a year in my gas truck it would start to sting. But the ticket from the WSP for 10 over and my insurance premium increases would make even this seem small. So driving 60, even 65 will increase range, get you there safer and leave more potential energy in your battery, and forgo meeting Law Enforcement. But once you get your FCSP, you might not care unless your daily commute is well over 150 miles. It takes 10 seconds to plug in, 10 seconds to unplug and charges at night, giving me an 80% SOC every morning without ever stopping at a gas station. I shop at Costco and pity those in those in the pump lines 10 cars deep to save 50c/gal. As for long trips and towing; you just have to plan your route and you fill find PlugShare and ABRP along with Ford’s nave will get you where you need to go with the least amount of inconvenience in our developing networks that are far from mature. I vacationed 600-1600 miles over half a dozen times both towing my boat and not towing this past year in the Lightning. Has it been hassel free? No it has not. But every trip I get better at planning and the network is slowly improving. Gas stations at every corner did not spring up overnight; it will take charging networks a while to build. But in the long run it will be better for all concerned. I truly wish you the best of luck getting your FCSP; once you do you’ll love this truck.

i tried to get the dealer to buy mine back-but they didnt want it.

 

[BakerMom]

I have still not received the Ford Pro Charger that was included with the purchase. I think Ford should really think about taking this in house and not using Sunrun. I have called 6 times and each time I receive a different answer. It starts with " The charger is in stock, sitting in California and it has not been released". And the status us "Awaiting Shipping" and they may need more information. I get placed on hold and then they come back after 5 minutes saying they have escalated this and I should know something in 5-7 days. If this is how hard it is to get a EV charger, I would never order solar panels from them.
Now, to give an update on my F-150 Platinium, I have come to love it! The charging (without having a home charger) has been an inconvenience, but I am getting comfortable with the range. I have not taken anymore road trips on the highway, but I'm learning the range while local driving in a cold environment. Once charged to 80% with average speed around 30 MPH and average temp around 30 degrees I am able to go 2 weeks without charging. Granted I am not driving more that 8-10 miles a day and I try not to use the heat unnecessarily. I rely on the seat warmer and short stinks of the defrost. But I really love so much about the truck. Once more regional infrastructure is built out it will be a lot easier and less stressful to leave town. I have way less regrets about buying this now that I have become more comfortable with the range.
Another side note, I did have a problem with the Frunk latch. I had read on this forum about others with issues having it close. The frunk would not close no matter what I tried. I tried to use the emergency pull latch in the cab, but nothing happened. The latch would not open, so the frunk could not close. Fortunately it happened in front of my house, and I called Ford roadside. They were incredibly friendly and prompt. A tow truck arrived within a half hour and towed it to the dealer. The whole latch was faulty and a new part had to be ordered. Sadly, the part took a week to arrive. But, it was fixed and now the frunk operates without issue. Even with this inconvenience I love the truck. The charger is just a big frustration, and I think Ford would be better off managing this themselves. But I will conclude by saying I am won over and love my F-150.

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