Now that we have members on the site living with their Lightnings I figured it'd be as good of a time as any to ask this question. Is there anything you'd change about your Lightning? It could be something with regards to how you ordered your truck or something that you'd want to see Ford change on future Lightnings.
What would you change about your Lightning?
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Also about 1250 miles on mine, Lariat ER. My List:
1- Disable Alexa entirely (via an option?)
2- Disable xm radio entirely (Same, via an option)
3- Remove the key pad on the doors
4- Better display on charge rate/status/etc.
5- Better config of max-charge. Right now, it is a per-charger basis
6- Config charge-rate
7- More consistency with 'rounding' on the different screens and app. Two I've noticed are:
a- The 'current trip' kwh rate differs between the center screen and the big screen with no apparent pattern
b- The 'Distance to destination' always rounds 'up' on the dash (in the area under the range), but does nearest-rounding on the nav screen.
Physically, the truck is amazing, I only have a few little things;
1- My F250 bed was easy to get into with the tailgate down, step on the side of the bumper and grab the 'bump' next to the tailgate closure. This bump is now 'larger', further in, and less 'sharp' on the edge, so its a bad hand hold.
2- Factory cut out the stake-pockets. I did the bull-rings on the back, but not sure it is worth using a router on the fronts. IT would be great if this was just open in the first place.
3- A better solution for the 'bed divider'. The older trucks you could use a 2x6 or 2x8 in the grooves, but this doesn't work because 1 side of it is taken up by the electrical ports. The only factory bed divider uses up the 'hook' locations in the bed, which means I'd have to store those elsewhere.
4- Access to the rear-under-seat area without lifting the seat up. Not a problem for most, but I have a carseat on mine, so 1/2 of it is pretty unreachable as a result.
1- Disable Alexa entirely (via an option?)
2- Disable xm radio entirely (Same, via an option)
3- Remove the key pad on the doors
4- Better display on charge rate/status/etc.
5- Better config of max-charge. Right now, it is a per-charger basis
6- Config charge-rate
7- More consistency with 'rounding' on the different screens and app. Two I've noticed are:
a- The 'current trip' kwh rate differs between the center screen and the big screen with no apparent pattern
b- The 'Distance to destination' always rounds 'up' on the dash (in the area under the range), but does nearest-rounding on the nav screen.
Physically, the truck is amazing, I only have a few little things;
1- My F250 bed was easy to get into with the tailgate down, step on the side of the bumper and grab the 'bump' next to the tailgate closure. This bump is now 'larger', further in, and less 'sharp' on the edge, so its a bad hand hold.
2- Factory cut out the stake-pockets. I did the bull-rings on the back, but not sure it is worth using a router on the fronts. IT would be great if this was just open in the first place.
3- A better solution for the 'bed divider'. The older trucks you could use a 2x6 or 2x8 in the grooves, but this doesn't work because 1 side of it is taken up by the electrical ports. The only factory bed divider uses up the 'hook' locations in the bed, which means I'd have to store those elsewhere.
4- Access to the rear-under-seat area without lifting the seat up. Not a problem for most, but I have a carseat on mine, so 1/2 of it is pretty unreachable as a result.
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😱 My favorite option.
Also, if you have a Lariat ER, don't you have the tailgate steps and handhold?
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Oh? Woah! Never met anyone who liked that keypad. TO me, it just seems like an insecure way for someone to get into my truck...
I DO have the step + handhold, but its pretty terrible to use actually. It is pretty time-consuming to open, and gets in the way of dragging stuff up onto the tailgate/etc. It was easy on my F250, grab the corner of the bed, kick my foot up on the bumper, and up in about 2 seconds. With the step, it is a 20 second deal to set it up, then hope I don't bust the flimsy thing off doing whatever I was doing off the tailgate (that is, if the handle isn't in the way!).
It’s an amazing truck that has surpassed my expectations for a first gen EV pickup. However, there’s always room for improvement. My top three are:
A faster touchscreen, as the animations are often slow and it’s not as responsive as, say, an iPhone.
Bigger mirrors. I’m probably just used to the ones on my 2011, but it’s a little harder to see the ground and other vehicles. There are also no blind spot mirrors (it has sensors + lights now).
I appreciate that the shifter makes it feel more like a traditional F-150, but I don’t love the automatic shift back to park when you open the door or the button that folds the shifter down. I would have preferred to see a circular knob like the Mach-E, or even a column shifter so the center table can fold up/down anytime.
The last one is a nitpick because I had trouble thinking of a third thing.
SR Lariat / smoked quartz
A faster touchscreen, as the animations are often slow and it’s not as responsive as, say, an iPhone.
Bigger mirrors. I’m probably just used to the ones on my 2011, but it’s a little harder to see the ground and other vehicles. There are also no blind spot mirrors (it has sensors + lights now).
I appreciate that the shifter makes it feel more like a traditional F-150, but I don’t love the automatic shift back to park when you open the door or the button that folds the shifter down. I would have preferred to see a circular knob like the Mach-E, or even a column shifter so the center table can fold up/down anytime.
The last one is a nitpick because I had trouble thinking of a third thing.
SR Lariat / smoked quartz
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107 Posts
I agree with all of this TBH. The shifter bugs me a bit, my wife's Niro has the dial and I like it, it stays out of the way. Mirrors I suspect are to get us a few extra percent on range, so I forgive that. I WILL Say that it seems the dash computers are horribly slow on every manufacturer that I've tried, even the Teslas with a full PC CPU in it. I suspect they have so many software-layers of garbage to get the animations/etc that they want, that they give up performance in exchange, which is unfortunate.
One thing I absolutely can't stand is that they don't showcase that these trucks are 4x4. That's one thing I'm in love with is that they are naturally 4x4, it's not an extra cost or extra feature. It's by nature that there is a motor in the front and back, it's the best design given the sizing of the motors. So, I've been thinking about doing something like this:
![Wheel Tire Car Land vehicle Sky]()
Using the same V-carve design with blue/black acrylic stack to match the Lightning design exactly. Thoughts?
Using the same V-carve design with blue/black acrylic stack to match the Lightning design exactly. Thoughts?
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1,023 Posts
And an offroad package. Figure something out with that back motor. I don't necessarily care if it has an air suspension.
Anything else would just be inside the vehicle with the displays. Physical buttons for camera, mode, 1 pedal. An option in the settings to turn off BlueCruise but keep Lane Keep. This has to do with how I sometimes like to rest my arms and the right IR camera is blocked by my hand; so it complains at me about that. In general there should be a way to disable BC though. I know it comes on when it "can" but if I don't want it to I haven't found a way to set it to just not come on if I don't want it to. (because I want to use ACC).
Do the cards thing I talked about.
Anything else would just be inside the vehicle with the displays. Physical buttons for camera, mode, 1 pedal. An option in the settings to turn off BlueCruise but keep Lane Keep. This has to do with how I sometimes like to rest my arms and the right IR camera is blocked by my hand; so it complains at me about that. In general there should be a way to disable BC though. I know it comes on when it "can" but if I don't want it to I haven't found a way to set it to just not come on if I don't want it to. (because I want to use ACC).
Do the cards thing I talked about.
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Please don’t do that. It’s not necessary. Technically isn’t it considered AWD not 4x4? Reminds me of a local dealer that used to put FX6 decals on their trucks. 🤔
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Correct, it is not 4x4.
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There’s no reason for the frunk and tailgate to beep that much if you use the physical button. I get that if you use the keyfob there should be an audible warning to those nearby but, like I am standing right here next to it. Why so much beeping?
2021 Mustang Mach E First Edition, 2016 Nissan Leaf, 2003 Toyota Tacoma, F-150 Lightning Lariat ER
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Me too. The door keypad is an awesome feature! I can go paddleboarding without carrying a key.
2021 Mustang Mach E First Edition, 2016 Nissan Leaf, 2003 Toyota Tacoma, F-150 Lightning Lariat ER
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Love the idea but AWD would be more appropriate.
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I'm with Coral. Single best feature Ford came up with and there is a reason it goes on and on and on...
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Same! I think I could steal half the cars parked at the beach by getting the key out of the gas flap.
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Hmm... maybe I'll give it a try then. I DO umpire and it would be nice to not need the keys on me behind the plate.
it is a very useful feature when you get used to it. Not just the convenience of leaving your keys in there but also if you park in your driveway, you can get in the truck to pull something out without needing the key.
I just don't understand why there is a physical shifter. Sure, I currently hold the one in my ICE model consistently but I'd rather have that space back in the Lightning. Not to mention, we should be able to have that tray down if/when we want.
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