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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
0 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning accessories - exterior problems

accessories - exterior problem

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2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Owner Comments

problem #15

May 012024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

the A/C fan doesn't blow full strength, intermittently. it happened while driving on interstate, it rained and could not get the window to defrost as the blower was not strong enough.

- Nebo, NC, USA

problem #14

May 172024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
After driving for about an hour the air conditioning stops working. The blower keeps blowing but the windshield fogs up and no cool air comes out.

- Fridley, MN, USA

problem #13

Jan 172024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
Shortly after purchasing my new 2023 F150 Lariat (In December 2023), I noticed that the Driver side Sun Visor was extremely loose when moving the visor from the center mount to the block the sun from coming in from the side window. I noticed that the visor was bouncing in the mount (near the A-piller). I put my hand on it and it felt as if it was about to fall out. Checked the passenger side and same thing. Tried tightening the screw and no joy. There is no way that someone installed these things and didn't notice. I had a 21 XLT and didn't have this problem. I had it in the dealer twice. I tried to secure it, but didn't help. The dealer attempted to fix but then they told me it was normal. When I was leaving the dealer, I moved the driver's visor and it fell out of the mount. They put it back in and ordered a new retention nut and screw. A few months later they replaced the parts but the visors were sloppy loose. The driver side fell out again (fortunately I wasn't driving). I wound up coming up with a fix myself. In any case, If the visor falls out when someone is driving, it can absolutely cause a major distraction and possible accident. Mine is not the only vehicle that has this issue. I started a thread and received numerous responses. [XXX]. I'm sure that there are thousands of trucks out there with this issue. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Middleburg, FL, USA

problem #12

Mar 152024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I would like to report an issue The motor fan or actuator on the vents doesn-??t work properly and my windshield becomes foggy even though when I turn the AC on or heat on, it does not defrost the fog And gives poor visibility on the road I have to pull over roll the windows down to make sure it-??s safe to travel. It-??s very important. Should be part of safety issue to have clear visibility while driving. Don-??t reason reason why I-??m reporting this because my friend has the same issue and he-??s been at the dealer to get the problem fixed. They can just fix it. There should recall this issue.

- Elmwood Aprk, NJ, USA

problem #11

Apr 142024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
2023 F-150 with only 12k miles, air not blowing on A/C. No cold air blowing at all. Blower can be heard on but no flow. Happening intermittently and of course no defrost or defog when present affecting visibility. Issue described and reported by many drivers. Ford not acknowledging issue since not easy to replicate. Happens randomly.

- Springtown, TX, USA

problem #10

Apr 032024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
I purchased my 2023 Ford F150 Lightning Lariat in November 2023 and although it has been an outstanding vehicle in most regards, there is a glaring software/infotainment problem that has been extremely dangerous on multiple occasions. When putting the truck into reverse, the screen sometimes freezes on a static image, leading me to believe that there are no vehicles or pedestrians behind my truck when in fact there are vehicles and pedestrians behind my truck. Additionally, the screen frequently freezes completely or fails to initiate in the first place. This is an issue that has been repeatedly posted about both in F150 Lightning forums and on the [XXX] subreddit. Many users have taken their vehicles in to address this issue, but Ford technicians seem under-trained to handle this and refer customers to a potential future update that might resolve this. We believe Ford is failing to ensure the safety and security of both Lightning owners and pedestrians by not addressing this issue with their Infotainment system. Specifically, this issue occurs on Sync 4A on the 15.5 inch screen. At present, I am running the most recent software available as of 4/4/24. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Aledo, TX, USA

problem #9

Feb 202024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Bought brand new truck in December 2023. Immediately the Air/AC/Heat would intermittingly malfunction resulting in inability to defrost windshield. This resulted in hindering the drivers visibility, automatic emergency braking, front camera visibility, and other safety features. If the AC/Heat malfunctions at a time of need for defrosting/defogging the windshield, it will put anyone in the vicinity of the moving vehicle at risk. Truck was taken into the dealership during this malfunctioning period 3 different times over 2 or 3 months. The first time a service technician diagnosed a failed module, module was replaced but did not fix the issue. The second time, the service manager and shop supervisor diagnosed a failed temp senser inside the HVAC system. Senser was reading below freezing levels, supervisor took a picture of the reading to show the electrical tech. This would cause the HVAC system to give incorrect readings to other components. After further diagnosing from the dealerships master electrical tech during the second time, tech deemed it to need an update and recalibration. Update & recalibration was completed but did not fix the issue. during the third time, the Ford Engineer, shop supervisor and master electrical tech inspected the truck and BELIEVED replacing HVAC would fix issue. It is unknown if issues were diagnosed to be failing or if it a guess. HVAC has not been replaced due to no known acknowledgement from Ford into this issue. They will replace HVAC with the exact SAME part. After discussing with other Ford owners, the same issue occurs in 2023 Ford Expedition. Multiple videos were taking over this 2-?"3 month timeframe, before and after multiple attempts by dealership attempting to fix the issue. Vehicle has not been inspected by police, insurance reps, or others. Warning lamps/messages displayed "Front Camera Low Visibility Clean Screen" during period of malfunctioning.

- Bryan, TX, USA

problem #8

Feb 282024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
Randomly the ac line will freeze over and no air flow will come out of the vents although the fans can be heard working. Issues is not a simple thing to be duplicated and have brought it to 3 ford locations and still having the issue. They won-??t attempt to repair anything else that could be the issue like the compressor because of fear of ford giving a bad review to the shop and mechanic. Just this week 2/28 I took the vehicle in while issue was happening and once the line defrosted and air flow came back I was again sent away because they could not replicate. This is a huge problem as I cannot defrost or defog my windshield in cold weather.

- North Hollywood , CA, USA

problem #7

Feb 132024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
A/C stops blowing out any vent although you can hear the blower motor running. If car is off for 5 minutes, A/C resumes working for a short time, and then repeats above problem. cannot defrost windows or control any output of the A/C. My truck is new and has done this off and on since the second day I owned it.

- Homestead, FL, USA

problem #6

Jan 232024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
The backup camera in the F150 Lightning Lariat is displayed on the large infotainment screen when the truck is shifted into Reverse. The software for the infotainment system freezes during the initial boot up approximately 50% of the time the vehicle is started. The backup camera will not function during the 30-90 seconds (estimated) that it takes for the system to un-freeze and reboot. This is a frequent safety concern because this usually occurs when the vehicle is backing out of the driveway or a parking space. Sometimes, the screen freezes while the backup camera view is being displayed. It continues to display an image that is from a number of seconds ago. This happened to me yesterday, which almost led to me backing into another parked vehicle because I thought it was further away. I am particularly concerned about this as a safety issue because I have a friend who backed into and killed his own young child while backing out of his driveway (not in this vehicle or related to this issue). The backup camera provides a much better field of view than you can see in the rearview mirror mirror or out the back window, but you cannot depend on it with the current software glitches that frequently disable it.

- Syracuse, NY, USA

problem #5

Dec 192023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

We just purchased this truck through our business and have complained to the dealer. The dealer made a claim through Ford and Ford responded by stating they will not repair/replace the windshield. They claim that our issue with the extremely distorted view when the sun hits is caused by an outside force. This is extremely disappointing to say the least and leaves us with a bad impression/customer experience. This truck was delivered to us this way, brand new and we made the complaint right away. We have not had an incident yet, but as the sun is more apparent the probability of an accident becomes more likely. If there is anyway you can help, please advise.

- Thorofare, NJ, USA

problem #4

Nov 302023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
Truck is not capable of intermittent temperature settings. It is either HOT or COLD. Setting manually to 63 degrees and it-??s blowing 80 degree air. the final setting, towards the colder option is LO, and that blows ambient air, in this case cold. So. You options are COLD or HOT making maintaining a reasonable temperature in the cabin and clear windows impossible.

- Lakeville, MN, USA

problem #3

Jul 162023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
Issue #1: Rain Sensing Wiper function is completely inoperable. Wipers must be operated manually. Issue #2: Blinker stalk becomes stuck in off and on positions. This malfunction has put myself and others at risk because the vehicle, at times, is unable to inform others on the road of the appropriate vehicle lane change. This risk has become heightened in periods of warm weather, where the stalk becomes "more stuck" than usual. The dealership has replicated the issue and attempted to resolve several times; after several months of waiting for a solution from Ford and recent near-misses on highway trips, I have decided to escalate with Ford as well as with NHTSA. The vehicle has no warning lights nor signals warning any user that an error with the blinker stalk may occur while driving. Issue #3: Left side blind side monitor false readings when there is no vehicle on driver side blind side. Dealer unable to verify. False positives desensitize driver to true positives, therefore, this is an added risk.

- Irvine, CA, USA

problem #2

Sep 282023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
The morning of September 28th, weather conditions ranging from mist to torrential downpour. Between Glasgow, KY and Glendale, KY. Wipers were set between intermittent and fast, depending on conditions. On (5) occasions (it may have been six), when the wipers were changed from an intermittent position to fast, the wipers would malfunction. The wipers were in high speed. The wipers were about 1/4 way up from the rest position during the cycle and they STOPPED. The pause lasted between 0.5 and 2 seconds (my estimate). Then the wipers would go to full advance position and return to the home position in normal speed. Once the wipers passed the home position and started the next wipe cycle, they resumed high speed motion.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #1

Jun 052023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
Driving on highway at 70mph and sunroof on the vehicle "explodes/blows out". Glass shattered. No other vehicles ahead or over pass above. No outside object caused damage. The sound of the "explosion" caused me to brake severely and slow down, putting vehicles behind me at risk. Shattered glass also caused risk to drivers behind. The problem has been confirmed by dealer and component inspected by manufacturer.

- The Hills, TX, USA

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