2023 FORD F-150 LIGHTNING BEV Complaints

Water intrusion into rear lightbar/back up/brake light assembly that has caused shorting of the back up lights and flashing of the brake lights. This is a known issue, NHTSA campaign 23V418000. Ford is refusing to cover replacement of this part.

Earlier this year, I filed NHTSA ID 11663872 when I noticed moisture collecting in the brake light assembly on my truck and Ford called this "normal", despite earlier issuing a recall for this very thing happening under NHTSA action 23V-418. Now, the brake light has failed completely, and Ford is denying coverage of this under my extended warranty with the following explanation: "your claim is denied due to water intrusion. A subject matter expert advised that Ford and Lincoln Protect will not participate in this claim as the lighting option only covers electrical failures on incandescent bulbs, halogen bulbs, High Intensity Discharge (HID) and [Light-Emitting Diode] LED lamp assemblies. A mechanical failure of a lamp assembly that allows water intrusion (fogging/moisture) is not a covered failure. A resulting electrical failure from this moisture/water would be consequential to the mechanical failure and would not be covered." Having inoperable brake lighting and possibly reverse lighting as well is an obvious danger to the public and there is no messaging system in the vehicle to tell you those components are not working properly, and clearly the previous recall campaign that replaced the lens assembly the first time did not work.

Defective rear light bar allowing water intrusion causing some reverse lights and brake lights to malfunction including a running rear white light shining into the face of drivers causing a safety hazard

Rear light bar housing brake lights and backup lights have water inside the assembly. Water is causing shorting of the lights. It puts me and others at risk if it doesn't activate or activate at a bad time.

The rear light bar in the tailgate that also includes my back up lights is defective. The light bar was defective at delivery of vehicle and this is the second time this light bar has been deemed defective by a Ford Dealership Service Department. The first repair on this defect was covered under a recall. This issue is a safety concern as it causes the rear light bar to flicker on and off and it has disabled the back up lights. There was no warning lights or alerts, I was pulled over by law enforcement and given a verbal warning to resolve the issue. The vehicle is currently at Red McCombs Ford in San Antonio, TX and Ford is denying any issue with the vehicle.

The front traction motor on my 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning failed without warning, causing the vehicle to lose all-wheel drive capability. The truck automatically limited available power to about 67%, which I later learned indicates the front motor was disabled and the vehicle was operating in rear-wheel drive only. The failure occurred with no warning lamps, messages, or prior symptoms on the dashboard or in the FordPass app. I assumed AWD was functioning, which could have caused a serious accident in snow, ice, or gravel conditions because the loss of front-wheel traction significantly reduces vehicle stability. The component/system is still available for inspection. At this time, the issue has NOT been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer, and the vehicle has NOT yet been inspected by the manufacturer or any other party. Cause of failure is UNKNOWN. This lack of a warning or alert to the driver represents a major safety hazard because it changes how the vehicle handles without the driver’s knowledge.

The rear light bar was replaced under warranty safety recall 23S30 on 10/19/2023. Subsequently the “new” light bar developed water in it and after a period of a month of flickering and partial illumination is fully out causing a safety issue with limited rear tail lights and reverse lights.

When the Ford Lightning is in reverse and the 1-pedal braking system is applied, the brakes don't engage when switching to drive causing the car to roll back an additional 3-5 feet depending on speed. In the situation that caused the fender bender, the Ford lightning was reversing in a street at approx. 5 MPH then the driver released the pedal for the brakes and switched to drive. The car rolled back 5 feet into a parked car during this transition.

While braking slowly to park at my home, my 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning XLT suddenly accelerated forward without any throttle input. The vehicle struck a wall. My foot was on the brake and I did not touch the accelerator. There were no warning messages prior to the incident. This could have caused serious injury or worse if anyone was in front of the vehicle. I believe this may be a critical safety defect.

The truck's remote access app is not able to communicate with the truck during the entire period I own the truck. This features worked 20% of time only. I am not able to unlock or lock the truck remotely. I am not able to find out its location and I am not able to remotely start its cooling system to keep battery cool during charging. I have brought the issue to the dealer I purchased the truck from at least 3 time in the last 2 years. Even though the truck's key was locked in it at the dealer, this issue was not resolved due to cost of its repair. Other trucks were repaired with a new modem. The truck was advertised as a remotely accessible EV truck, I am concerned about my safety if this feature is not available and I am at a urgent situation when it is necessary to use the features.