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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
5 / 0
Average Mileage:
226 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 electrical problems

electrical problem

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2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Owner Comments (Page 2 of 4)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #52

Mar 182024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles

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

My dash went completely blank while driving at night. The center console was still functioning normal. The headlights and blinkers were still functioning normal. I could not see my speed or any other data on the dash. It was still backlit, but the screen was completely blank. Turning the vehicle off and on did nothing. I found on a forum that this is a fairly common occurrence. This is very dangerous, not knowing my speed or any other data while driving. Also, none of the other safety features could be observed, unknown if they would function in an emergency.

- Saint Louis, MO, USA

problem #51

Mar 182024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
When I started the vehicle the virtual instrument cluster was blank, therefore I could not tell how fast I was going, how many miles I could go before I needed to charge, start cruise control, and many other features only available on this screen. I tried to restart the vehicle, but the screen was still blank. Fortunately the screen worked again after I parked to go shopping for a period of time.

- Independence , MO, USA

problem #50

Mar 182024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
Instrument cluster completely off and unable to turn back on. Unable to see speed, power, braking features, or any other indicators

- Dayton, MN, USA

problem #49

Mar 142024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles

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

The air will not blow through the vents at certain times. This is A/C and defrost. It seems the lines freeze, or actuator is not working?

- Marietta, GA, USA

problem #48

Mar 052024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
While backing out of a parking spot, the screen with the rearview camera froze. I was not aware the screen had frozen and continued to back up believing I was seeing what was behind me. Fortunately, there was no accident. The screen remained frozen until I stopped the vehicle and cycled the engine.

- Lebanon, TN, USA

problem #47

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 #46

Feb 142024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles

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

The a/c fails to operate in hot weather. You can hear the internal fans blowing, but no air comes out when it is hot outside, and the car idles for a few minutes. Has been in the shop twice to fix this.

- Big Pine Key, FL, USA

problem #45

May 122023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
See attached document for complaint

- New Waverly, TX, USA

problem #44

Jan 042024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
The instrument panel that shows the speed and battery capacity went blank and was black. The car still drove and I was only 4 miles from home. I was not able to tell what speed I was traveling at, what warning condition or alarms may have been triggered and I did not know what the charge was on the car. Turning the car off and back on did not change the screen, it remained blank. I left the the car at home for over an hour waiting for a tow truck and when I turned the truck back on the screen was working. The Green Ford dealer in Greensboro, NC first said a part needed to be ordered but as of today they said they ran diagnostics and could not find any issues. They have asked me to drive it around until the next time it happens. I don-??t feel safe doing that.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

problem #43

Oct 272023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
The air conditioning stopped cooling on several ocasiones, they changed the air sistema and it failed egain

- Guayama, PR, USA

problem #42

Jan 292024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles

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

While driving on a wet road, a "frunk" open warning appeared to which I got out of the vehicle, opened the frunk and closed and it the warning went away. As I pulled away at about 25mph several warnings appeared and the vehicle lost power and shut off while on the road in a driving lane. Braking ability was greatly reduced and the vehicle continued to roll downhill with zero power, no lights worked, windows did not open then the vehicle suddenly shifted into park and came to a violent stop. I was stuck in the lane of a major roadway in the rain/fog with no lights, no hazard lights and the truck had zero power. A messaged was displayed on the infotainment screen of the vehicle which said "vehicle network communication error". Due to concern of my own safety, i exited the vehicle and stood on the side of the road as not to get rear ended.

- Queens Village, NY, USA

problem #41

Jan 092024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
Jan 9, 2024 Aprox 465 miles Powertrain malfunction/ reduced power (15 miles per hour) Vehicle was on the dealer shop for 8 days...at the time of returm 9f the car they told me that the issue was fixed

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #40

Jan 262024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
On [XXX] as I was going in reverse the car started to accelerate out of control, I pumped the breaks and it increased speed, I then tried to power down truck and that did not work. My vehicle ended up going in ditch backwards and I hit a mailbox and ditch. Earlier in the week when I went to go from reverse to forward it felt like it was locked and then it would engage. I do not feel this is safe and will not ride the vehicle as I think there is something wrong mechanically with the truck. Police report will be uploaded in 1-2 days. My email address us [XXX] [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Freeport, ME, USA

problem #39

Jan 252024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
While driving random chiming occurs intermittently. No fault recorded or seen on dash. Second issue has happened 3x since purchase, dash cluster shut down or cycled power or reset while driving. This to me is a safety issue.

- Pooler, GA, USA

problem #38

Sep 252023

F-150 Lightning

  • 2,000 miles
The contact owns a 2023 Ford F-150. The contact stated that on several occasions the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that the message "Stop Safely Now" was displayed. The vehicle was eventually started after waiting for approximately ten minutes to over one hour. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure. No cause for the failure was found. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was offered. The failure mileage was 2,000.

- Plymouth, MN, USA

problem #37

Dec 182023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
Whenever temperatures are below freezing, the TCCM engages the front IWE system and hubs to warm up for the first 2 miles of driving. However, when the system disengages, the hubs are not fully disengaging from the IWE shaft and a loud grinding noise happens. I have taken my vehicle to the Ford dealer and they gave a contradictory answer by saying that it was a -??issue, -?? but that it was -??operating normally.-?? It is definitely not normal and they know it is a defective system that is damaging the drive system on a brand new vehicle with less than 800 miles on it.

- Murfreesboro, TN, USA

problem #36

Jan 012024

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
We were driving down the road and the cluster screen went completely black. We couldn-??t tell what speed we were going or any other information that gets displayed there. This is a very hazardous problem that should be looked into further.

- Freeport, FL, USA

problem #35

Dec 222023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
The truck initiated a "Stop Safely Now" alert and would not start. I was in a very bad neighborhood at the time and feared for my personal safety. I had to get out of the vehicle, walk away for 10 minutes where the key fob wasn't in contact with the truck, then tried 3 times to start the vehicle without success. I waited another 45 minutes outside in a dark and dangerous area before I finally was able to get the vehicle to start. This is the 4th time since purchasing the vehicle in May 2023 that this has happened. I've had it back to the dealer 3x to troubleshoot but they can find nothing, they've told me that it is a known issue at Ford but they have not received a fix yet. Ford owner forums provided guidance to "let it sit and then try again 10 minutes later". This didn't work in my event and again, my personal safety was at risk.

- Daniel Island, SC, USA

problem #34

Dec 142023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
Sporadically the vehicle will not start. 200 miles on the 2023 powerboost and this has happened 3 times. Vehicle says pull over safely now and will not allow me to put into gear. picture of battery on dash. Vehicle always sitting in heated insulated garage. Waited a day and then it starts. Ford mechanic does not see anything wrong and cannot duplicate the issue so no fix is available.

- Milford, KS, USA

problem #33

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

Read the next 20 complaints »

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