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10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
2 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
6 / 0
Average Mileage:
672 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 4 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #29

Nov 102023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles

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

The entire over steering wheel display/cockpit stopped functioning. No ability to view charge level, speed, and other related details normally shown in this display was available. The things I tried to repair were: parking the car, locking the door to simulate a full stop/start cycle, disconnecting everything from the vehicle ports, Etc. eventually after leaving the car for an extended period this functionality eventually returned to normal. If I had been far from home I-??d have been faced with essentially driving blind. I also have video of this issue if desired.

- Mokena, IL, USA

problem #28

Nov 092023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
Tire monitoring system malfunctions after 30ish minutes of driving. Seems the issue is interference from the on board power generator referred to by ford as -??pro power onboard-??. After the tire monitoring system turns on, immediately turning off the pro power generator the tire monitoring system returns to normal. After researching this issue it-??s very common and has been on going through multiple years with no fix.

- Tallahassee, FL, USA

problem #27

Nov 062023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
I-??ve owned this Lightning for only four months. When I started it this morning, the digital instrument display would not work. Without it, I have no speedometer, odometer, battery temp, battery charge, or other displays.

- Brook Park, OH, USA

problem #26

Aug 042023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles

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

The back up camera screen is constantly freezing up or the screen goes black. When this happens the driver has no control over any audio, navigation or other settings that are linked to the screen. The only way to get the screen to come back on or unlock the frozen back up screen is to turn the vehicle off and let it time out. This happens at least 3 or 4 times a week. When dealership was asked about it, was told they don-??t have a fix for it and it-??s a common problem.

- Portland, TN, USA

problem #25

Nov 012023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
Truck did not start and kept flashing 2 errors back and forth: "Full Accessory Power Active" and "Stop Safety Now"

- Ridgecrest , CA, USA

problem #24

Oct 242023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
When reversing, the center screen that contains the backup camera freezes, with no indication it has stopped functioning. This leads to a situation where you are seeing a camera image that is not related to the actual view behind you. This can cause crashes and pedestrian hazards if you do not realize the screen has broken. Attached photos show what the camera was showing and what the actual situation was. The only solution to getting the cameras to function again is by a full reset of the center screen.

- Minturn, CO, USA

problem #23

Oct 122023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles

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

The dash cluster randomly shuts-off/restarts while driving the vehicle and when it did last time ford app sent 3 notifications of faults with antilock brakes, TPM, restraint indicator warnings. If there is an issue with these items and I have road emergency and my brakes and restraints do not work properly it could be a safety issue for all involved in accident (I would not know how fast i was going since dash cluster is off). I took the truck to dealership and they are passing it off on SSM 51757 (which my truck also has an issue with) and a loose pin connection. But this happens with no checking of trailer tire information. The speakers made a loud crackling noise and my phone disconnected from infotainment center just prior to the incident.

- Victoria, TX, USA

problem #22

Oct 252023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
I purchased the truck 2 weeks ago brand new and it has a total of 570 miles on it. After not being used for one day, the truck would not start at all. I receive a warning indicating that I should stop safely now, that full power accessory mode is on and a check engine light. I connected a OBD scanner but no codes were generated. The truck should no signs of a dead battery as all electrical functioned other than starting the hybrid electric engine. I contacted a dealership who informed me that I had to have the vehicle towed to them at my expense. I tried multiple times to start the truck again with the same results. While waiting for the tow truck (40 minutes later), I tried again and the vehicle started. There appear to be many claims of this same behavior related to the Ford powerboost engine for several years which I was unaware of prior to purchase. This level of insecurity should have no place when purchasing a brand new $80K automobile as my 13 year old daughter was left stranded as a result.

- San Jose, CA, USA

problem #21

Oct 082023

F-150 Lightning

  • 2,000 miles
Truck wouldn-??t start (2000 miles). Dashboard had a -??stop safety now-?? warning light as well as the check engine and battery lights on. All other electronics seemed to be working normally. After sitting all night, truck started normally and drove normally.

- Castro Valley , CA, USA

problem #20

Sep 302023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
After vehicle is parked and locked, return to vehicle to start the vehicle and when start button is pushed get a 'stop safely' message and vehicle will not start. Has happened on 4 occasions, disconnect battery, reconnect, lock and unlock - wait and try again seems to be only repair. Dealer has no idea what problem is since he can't recreate the problem.

- Pinehurst, NC, USA

problem #19

Sep 092023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles

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

1. My 2023 Ford F-150 Powerboost Hybrid is receiving the Stop Safely Now message. The vehicle has failed to start on a few occasions. 2. The vehicle not starting left me in a position where the vehicle was inoperable. This is a safety concern because is would put me or my family in potential danger from the elements, inability to receive health care and potential danger from individuals of I-??ll intent. 3. Yes. 4. Unknown. 5. Unknown. Although I received low voltage messages, I had no idea what that meant. The Ford app simply told me to drive the vehicle to charge the battery. I drive the truck daily.

- Calhoun, KY, USA

problem #18

Sep 212023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
I am consistently getting an error message to stop safely now and the vehicle will not start. It is a known issue with Ford and they have promised a fix later this year. The vehicle has left my family stranded for hours at a time, with one instance in a medical emergency.

- Palm Harbor, FL, USA

problem #17

Sep 212023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
My truck is less than 1 month old and less than 1,000 miles. On two separate occasions, when attempting to start the ignition the engine will not start. A "Stop Safely Now" message appears on the dashboard, and the truck will power on the accessories only. Now matter how many attempts to turn on the ignition, the truck will not turn on. This leaves you completely stranded wherever you are. You do not know when this SSN message will occur, and can be a serious safety issue if being left stranded somewhere. There were no messages, codes, or other issues reported from the truck prior to this. The battery was checked and is sufficient. This is a problem with the powerboost hybrid engine in the Ford F150.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #16

May 222023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
2023 Ford F-150 PowerBoost not starting VIN [XXX] 2475.8 KM Not sure whom to report this to, but Last night, May 22, 2023 stopped the truck to go to a meeting. When we left the meeting, at just after 8:30 PM and went to start the truck, it came up with a "Stop Safely Now" message on the screen, followed by a "Full Accessory Power Active", but the truck did not come up to the ready screen and the start stop button just kept on flashing a green light. Truck would shift from 2 wheel drive to 4 wheel drive, emergency brake would engage and disengage but could not shift gears out of park. Tried getting out of the truck, relocking it, then re-entering it, and redid the start sequence, still no ability to drive. Called Roadside assistance and was advised that no assistance was available at this time and to call back after 8:00 AM and that they would arrange for a tow truck to come try and jump start the truck and if that did not work it would tow us to a dealer at that time. We attempted to jump start the truck with a friends vehicle, still no change, so we locked up the truck and hitched a ride home with our friend, who lives the complete opposite direction from us. This morning hitched a ride back to where the truck was left, it opened and started normally. Secondary issue is that the navigation screen on start up will often take a long time trying to load the map, if I switch to phone or other screen then back to navigation the map loads immediately, also the screen displayed a couple of solid colour views the other day then went back to a normal screen. Not sure if any of these are related problems or not. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

- Nelson, WA, USA

problem #15

Sep 062023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
Got into my truck after work and it would not start. Two warnings were flashing "Full Accessory Power Active" and "Stop Safety Now". I turned off my truck, the tried to start it several times. 15-20mins later, my truck happened to start.

- Ridgecrest , CA, USA

problem #14

May 202023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
This is a bran new vehicle. Power train failure indicated on screen. The transmission started jacking off leaving me with no acceleration. The truck was put in the dealership shop and repair. I picked it up about 4 weeks later. Drove it about 20 miles and the same thing happened again twice with in the 20 miles I drove. It-??s back in the dealership shop been there about 3 weeks wanting on different parts then the first time they repaired it with.

- New Barunfels , TX, USA

problem #13

Jun 232023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
Can-??t the start the truck, it shows -??stop safety-??

- San Lorenzo, CA, USA

problem #12

Jul 282023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
HVAC airflow gradually goes to zero when demanding air conditioning on days > 80F. Air conditioner lines will develop a thick layer of ice prior to experiencing no air flow. The remedy is to turn off the AC and keep fan on MAX. As the system warms airflow gradually returns. Ice buildup is the culprit as after performing the remedy a large amount of condensate is discharged underneath the vehicle.

- Purcellville, VA, USA

problem #11

Aug 012023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
While driving at approximately 45 mph my parking brake warning light and message on the instrument panel cluster came on, on several occasions. I also recently experienced an unintended activation of the electric parking brake while driving.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #10

Jul 282023

F-150 Lightning

  • miles
When I tried to start the truck, the dash showed messages saying -??stop safely now-?? and -?? full accessory mode-?? but would not start. Truck also enters deep sleep mode daily even with a long commute to charge battery. I got the truck started via the Ford Pass app.

- Snohomish , WA, USA

Read the next 9 complaints »

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