My F-150 Lightning Story (with videos)

[Idea Of The Day]

https://www.lightningowners.com/
Is so boring that Lightning owners have to find community with CyberTruckers

The forum I'm a member of is run by the same people as this forum.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com

I was a pretty active member here first, so I posted my update in the Tesla Versus section mainly because I knew that's where people talked about other EV pickups, and also for those who may remember me.

I'm still on the CyberTruck waiting list, but I need a truck right now and it's pretty much the only EV option for me. Hummer and Rivian are not an option. Both are too expensive, and I wouldn't be interested even if they were the same price as my XLT Lightning.

A lot of the people on the Lightning Forums are interested in and talk about CyberTrucks, Rivians, and Hummers too. A couple of members on the Lightning Forums also own Rivians and a lot of them are on the CyberTruck reservation list just like me and talk about it.

I'm also a member of a Mach-E forum.

The funny thing is when you read the posts on all 3 (Mach-E, Lightning, and CyberTruck) forums, there's a lot of the same kinds of conversations about EVs in general. We've all decided to drive an EV, and we love to talk about the future of EVs, not just Fords or Teslas . That's the common bond.

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[Dids]

The forum I'm a member of is run by the same people as this forum.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com

I was a pretty active member here first, so I posted my update in the Tesla Versus section mainly because I knew that's where people talked about other EV pickups, and also for those who may remember me.

I'm still on the CyberTruck waiting list, but I need a truck right now and it's pretty much the only EV option for me. Hummer and Rivian are not an option. Both are too expensive, and I wouldn't be interested even if they were the same price as my XLT Lightning.

A lot of the people on the Lightning Forums are interested in and talk about CyberTrucks, Rivians, and Hummers too. A couple of members on the Lightning Forums also own Rivians and a lot of them are on the CyberTruck reservation list just like me and talk about it.

I'm also a member of a Mach-E forum.

The funny thing is when you read the posts on all 3 (Mach-E, Lightning, and CyberTruck) forums, there's a lot of the same kinds of conversations about EVs in general. We've all decided to drive an EV, and we love to talk about the future of EVs, not just Fords or Teslas . That's the common bond.

I know! We are the best.

 

[Zabhawkin]

Some of you may remember me and wondered whatever happened to me... let me do a quick recap.

I joined the forum a while back and talked about the fact that I wanted the Cybertruck to arrive ASAP, before the warranty on my 2016 F-150 expired.

Well, in June of 2021, my F-150 wouldn't start and in spite of the extended warranty the dealer couldn't diagnose it and it sat in their service bay for over 4 months without any clue as to why it wouldn't start.

We had the same problem with our 2015, they wanted $500 just to tow it to the shop and $1500 just to diagnose. I did a little online research and found it might be the dealer installed security system so I bypassed it and viola it started.

Edit to add: I am sorry but I really think the dealership took advantage of you by deliberately not fixing your truck. The current resale price is nuts, and they got you to buy a new vehicle and probably payed you pennies on the dollar for what your old one was worth.

 

[Idea Of The Day]

I know! We are the best.

The future of EVs is

We had the same problem with our 2015, they wanted $500 just to tow it to the shop and $1500 just to diagnose. I did a little online research and found it might be the dealer installed security system so I bypassed it and viola it started.

Edit to add: I am sorry but I really think the dealership took advantage of you by deliberately not fixing your truck. The current resale price is nuts, and they got you to buy a new vehicle and probably payed you pennies on the dollar for what your old one was worth.

Since it was covered by the Extended Warranty, I think they milked Ford by actually replacing a bunch of things on their dime before milking me on the trade.

Because I put an Apple AirTag behind the seat, I know it was physically sitting in the service area for at least 2 of the 4 months in a row, which means it was taken apart awaiting parts, or it would've sat in their parking lot.

I probably lost at least $5k on what I could've gotten on the trade, but they take advantage of the fact that they know the sales tax in NY is only on the difference between the trade and the new vehicle, so if I sold it instead of traded it... I'd pay about $4500 more in sales tax. It's a stupid law that lets them offer at least that much less.

I'm not sure if they knew I'd eventually give up and make a purchase, but I simply wanted to move on and have my own vehicle. Since I already decided on an EV, I took a Mach-E off the lot.

 

[charliemagpie]

To make it easy , I have gone back 10 days.. here are some thread headers :

Just took delivery of my dark blue extended range Lariat - looking to flip

Max Range Declining

Elon Musk says the Cybertruck can act as a boat

Blue Cruise won’t engage

Dealer asking for a 5k deposit on cash purchases

Floppy Armrest/Center Console: Not Staying Up in Open Posit

35” tires

Tonneau Cover

What's in Ford Streaming, anyway?

Rear Motor Leak, NEEDS Replacement and NO Parts Available!!!!

F-150 Deliveries Being Held Up Due To Badge Shortages

What is the commission for the dealer salesperson?

I didn't read any excitement

 

[Zabhawkin]

I'm saying what I said because a constant no-start is one of the easiest things to diagnose even on new everything runs through the computer first cars.

Intermittent problems are far more difficult especially if the computer doesn't catch it.

 

[Idea Of The Day]

I'm saying what I said because a constant no-start is one of the easiest things to diagnose even on new everything runs through the computer first cars.

Intermittent problems are far more difficult especially if the computer doesn't catch it.

I was stuck roadside in an unfamiliar neighborhood. The only symptom to me was that I couldn't start it. There was no starter sound, so I assumed it was simple like the usual things like battery, starter, or Ford's famous cutoff sensor if it thinks there was a recent accident.

The dealer never told me if they eventually got it started, but went down a rabbit hole of trying to diagnose a chain reaction of codes. All I knew is they were out of their league and most of their service people did nothing more than routine maintenance.

 

[Idea Of The Day]

To make it easy , I have gone back 10 days.. here are some thread headers :

Just took delivery of my dark blue extended range Lariat - looking to flip

Max Range Declining

Elon Musk says the Cybertruck can act as a boat

Blue Cruise won’t engage

Dealer asking for a 5k deposit on cash purchases

Floppy Armrest/Center Console: Not Staying Up in Open Posit

35” tires

Tonneau Cover

What's in Ford Streaming, anyway?

Rear Motor Leak, NEEDS Replacement and NO Parts Available!!!!

F-150 Deliveries Being Held Up Due To Badge Shortages

What is the commission for the dealer salesperson?

I didn't read any excitement

Most of the recent posts on F150Lightning Forum have shifted from speculation about features, range and options to people talking about things like when their order is being built, or asking other members if they share some of the same day to day quirks.

Eventually this forum will do likewise as owners communicate with owners about their experiences. Forums remain the best place for customers to share problems and solutions.

As a bonus, Ford Corporate monitors the forums every day and reacts to customer problems, sometimes in the forum itself, other times via DM when they need specific VIN numbers and contact information.

Here's what the most recent activity looks like right now.

 

[Zabhawkin]

The dealer never told me if they eventually got it started, but went down a rabbit hole of trying to diagnose a chain reaction of codes. All I knew is they were out of their league and most of their service people did nothing more than routine maintenance.

That has been my impression of many dealership service centers.

 

[rr6013]

My beef with the car dealership model goes back a long time before the current shortages that shifted us from a point where people started complaining that the dealer is asking $40k above list for a $60K truck, although my dealer did that to some of the Lightning buyers. (Technically, all they did was call a bunch of interested buyers and told them they had one on the lot... then sat by as they kept bidding up the price, then just took the highest offer).

Before the current mess, the fact that a tough guy riding in on a Harley could growl his way to a great deal, yet a soft spoken woman would almost always pay top dollar always bothered me. When GM introduced Saturn, the biggest selling feature was that EVERYONE paid the sticker price. Dealers gave everyone the same fair price.

Then there are the hidden extras. My dealer added about $600 for things like window etching, and "Maintenance" to my invoice. I had no choice. The etching was already done before I arrived and they still haven't explained what Maintenance was. It's not an extended warranty. Ford doesn't even offer them on EVs. Everything is covered.

My biggest beef is that in spite of the fact that people say they make the most money on service, my dealership has horrible service. I've heard similar problems from friends about local Subaru and Jeep dealers, so maybe it's just a NYC thing.

My nephew called the dealer in May of last year as the weather started getting warm to have them check out the air conditioner which didn't work. It was covered under warranty. He called for an appointment. The only opening was in September. He took the appointment... sweat in the car all summer and when his appointment arrived on a Monday morning in September, he waited, and waited. Two days later, they said they hadn't looked at it yet.

By Thursday I got involved. He was without a car since Monday so I called and reminded them he waited months for the appointment so they should at least look at it. Friday afternoon came and I called them again. They still hadn't looked at it, and told me they don't work on weekends so the car would be held over until the following Monday. I showed up Saturday morning to get the keys. At first they wanted to charge him, but I had the manager drop the charge because they never even looked at it.

We decided it was best to just skip the dealer's extended warranty and take it down the road to Pep Boys. 15 Minutes later, they plugged in a pressure tester, told him he had too much refrigerant, released some of the excess and charged him about $50.

I've noticed this particular dealership sends out tons of ads for things like oil changes, tire rotations and milestone based services such as 5,000 or 10,000 mile services. They've even called me to schedule those things, meanwhile people wait months for real repairs. Apparently tires, brakes and other routine maintenance are cash cows and they can hire unskilled labor to get those things done. Anyone who needs actual service is out of luck because they lack skilled labor to handle anything complex.

For me, driving an EV at least eliminates the kinds of mechanical problems ICE vehicles often have.

Lived outside the city and worked in NYC. There is nothing normal about a NYC dealership compared to just upstate. So you have that caveat.

Our Bronco serviced while upstate was typical of midwest dealerships though the camaraderie definitely skewed local to Westchester. it sounds like you have a set of “good ole’ midwest” values judging a dealer in the richest city in the USA. The cost disparity isn’t even close. From your description 20min. services are churning the rent to just keep doors open. In the old days a car occupying a stall for 8hr. day grossed $600 to the shop. Each mechanic had two stalls. I have no idea what it would be today – even less what a stall has to gross daily in NYC.

So you are paying the NewYorker premium getting service in the city. Or none at all, it sounds, if your service doesn’t pay for O.H. They just wave you on.

 

[Idea Of The Day]

Lived outside the city and worked in NYC. There is nothing normal about a NYC dealership compared to just upstate. So you have that caveat.

Our Bronco serviced while upstate was typical of midwest dealerships though the camaraderie definitely skewed local to Westchester. it sounds like you have a set of “good ole’ midwest” values judging a dealer in the richest city in the USA. The cost disparity isn’t even close. From your description 20min. services are churning the rent to just keep doors open. In the old days a car occupying a stall for 8hr. day grossed $600 to the shop. Each mechanic had two stalls. I have no idea what it would be today – even less what a stall has to gross daily in NYC.

So you are paying the NewYorker premium getting service in the city. Or none at all, it sounds, if your service doesn’t pay for O.H. They just wave you on.

I had an extended warranty, so it was all on Ford's dime.

Technically, Staten Island is part of NYC, but because we have more open space, this dealer is massive... there are tons of service bays and you need a golf cart to explore their inventory and parking lot, so I guess they have more stalls than they need and often have trucks sitting there for months. When I got my Mach-E, there were 50 of them in their back lot to pick from.

 

[Idea Of The Day]

That's why I made that video. The XLT is never covered.

I got a lot of feedback when I first started posting here last year because I seemed to be in a rush for the CyberTruck to start shipping. My truck was in the shop a few weeks by then and I already made the commitment to only buy an EV from now on. Little did I know I'd end up waiting another year.

Once you own a pickup, it's hard to give it up. I missed out on a year of full tilt camping, spur of the moment purchases that easily fit in the back, throwing a bunch of bikes in the back and heading for trails in the wilderness, not to mention a year of people complaining that it was uncomfortable sitting in the back seat.

I could've bought another ICE truck, but I made the commitment to only buy EVs from now on and I stuck with it.

Now I'm whole again. There still may be a CyberTruck in my future, but at least this time I won't care how long it may take.

 

[SparkChaser]

I appreciate the info and video. I too am committed to no more ICE vehicle. I have to hold out till the CT comes in since I just can't afford the other options.

 

[Crissa]

Seems like the vitriol here is reserved for the dealers, not the truck.

-Crissa

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