Things aren’t exactly turning around for the Ford F-150 Lightning as engineers scramble to fix a crucial issue. Production is still paused because of a mysterious Ford F-150 Lightning battery problem that’s being discovered in more models. The cause is related to electrical shortages igniting fires.

Updated on 06/13/2023 for freshness.

What is the Ford F-150 Lightning battery problem? 

The cause of a new Ford F-150 Lightning battery problem isn’t exactly clear, but they have a hunch. Ford has been pretty tight-lipped about the details that stopped the production and shipment of new F-150 Lightning models. 

However, recently, one lightning pack caught on fire. This is concerning because electric vehicles such as the Chevy Bolt had to correct a firey battery problem on a significant scale. 

A week before the fire, Ford issued a customer service action for a few vehicles to replace a few parts to prevent performance degradation of the high-voltage battery. The issue has spread to about 100 models so far. 

Also, the Lightning fire isn’t believed to be connected to the performance problems. So, the batteries could have a different type of software or hardware problem that impacts charging times and range. 

According to MotorTrend, no new models will be delivered until the problem is corrected. The stop-sale could last a few weeks. 

Update: The delays still might be impacting new deliveries, but production is back on track. The mysterious problem was identified and corrected. The high voltage batteries on some models may experience an electrical short with a high charge percentage, resulting in a fire.

How do you know if your Lightning is at risk? 

Ford is using the over-the-air connection (OTA) to monitor Ford F-150 Lightning models in the wild. If the problem is detected, Ford will proactively alert the vehicle owner to notify them about which parts need to be replaced. 

It’s currently unclear which parts of the electric module and how expensive these battery issues are. But it only takes a day to replace the parts, and they will be covered by Ford. 

Ford might be able to provide a better timeline once the root cause of the potential degradation problem is discovered. They may have found it and might close the investigation by the end of next week. Only 100 vehicles have been impacted so far, but this number could grow. 

Also, monitoring vehicles like the F-150 Lightning helps Ford gather data and analyze how well vehicles are operating in the field. It’s a way to ensure vehicles function as intended. Monitoring the trucks is the only way to discover the potential battery degradation issue. 

Reportedly, Ford believes that the issue isn’t related to any vehicle in the field, though. If you already have your Lightning, then it should be fine. Only the models that haven’t been delivered are at risk. 

Why isn’t this an F-150 Lightning recall? 

The battery problems are not a safety concern for the Ford F-150 Lightning. It’s a proactive investigation to prevent customers of the identified vehicles from experiencing battery degradation and to obtain field parts for evaluation. 

It sounds like Ford is trying to stop this issue before it spreads. Owners might be able to see their models on the lot and will have to wait a little bit longer to pick them up. This could be frustrating. 

Update: The problem actually led to a recall, but it only included 18 models. Reportedly, the battery supplier identified the cause of the fire and made corrections.