As Ford Authority reported yesterday, Ford F-150 Lightning production at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center was recently paused due to a potential battery issue discovered during pre-delivery quality inspections, though the automaker didn’t provide any specific details as to what that problem might be. As a result, Ford issued a stop-shipment last week, and has also idled production of the EV pickup. The Blue Oval noted that it is investigating the matter, and had no timeline on when production and shipments will resume. Now, according to Automotive News, that production stop will extend through next week.
Ford F-150 Lightning production is expected to be down through at least the end of next week, though the automaker also noted that it believes its engineers have found the root cause of the problem – which has thus far only been discovered on one vehicle. FoMoCo’s investigation is expected to be completed by the end of next week, at which time the company will make some adjustments to its battery production process that could take several more weeks to implement.
Ford still hasn’t revealed what this battery issue might be, though it’s worth noting that the F-150 Lightning’s batteries come from SK On, a South Korean manufacturer that is also part of the a joint venture with the automaker called BlueOvalSK. Ford noted that it is not aware of any issues present in pickups that have already been delivered to customers and dealers, and the latter can continue selling stock that’s already on hand.
Ford has faced its fair share of quality issues in recent months, also pausing 2023 Ford Escape production this week due to a software problem. In an effort to take action and make quality a point of focus in its operations, CEO Jim Farley recently brought in turnaround expert Josh Halliburton to be the company’s new executive director of quality. However, while Halliburton believes Ford’s quality woes will begin to subside this year, Farley isn’t quite as optimistic.
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The brand improved its score, but still ranks below the segment average.
It was the automaker's sixth-largest market last year.
An off-road-ready killer rather than sleek and styled.
The perfect way to get to know the high-performance machine.
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I feel sorry for Brett for having to create 150 ways to say "Ford has faced its fair share of quality issues in recent months" in all these articles. I guess that is the new "F-150."
Such a long pause makes me wonder if the pipeline is full of defective components, batteries and vehicles, or if there is a process issue that Ford has to address.
Am wondering if plant caught first unit with defect or if a latent defect just happened to flag itself super early in the plant.
Just a(nother) bump in the road that will get sorted. Good on Ford for stopping the line to get it right.
Go ANDON !
Way to go Ford, go ANDON!
Headline ‘news’ on CNBC for 2 days now. Where’s their probe into why the Tesla Cybertruck production line is shut down? You know, the one that was promised by the end of 2021?
Just wondering when Mr Halliburton will visit the Ranger Thailand plant, everyday we're hearing more and more issues from electronics, electrical and mechanical faults with the next gen Ranger. In a few cases, that we've heard about, they've even brought back or exchanged the lemons. Not a good look for a new vehicle.
The QC issues and recalls just never stop, regardless if the battery was built by a supplier they are inspected by Ford before acceptance. It's really getting embarrassing now.
Nonsense, inspect a sealed battery pack? Should Ford also tear apart every electronic module shipped in and inspect every solder joint?
Is anyone actually buying these POS 's ????
Have had one for 8 months now and love it. NO issues. NO warranty claims. NO service dept visits. Perfect since day 1.
Oh boy, has big idiot fume sniffing Steve rebranded with last name Marshall now? If not he’s going to be happy to have found his twin.
This issue was a result of production line changes to the battery pack. Affects only the current model year. Prior to this change, none of the Lightnings have had a battery fire. My 2022 Lightning has been perfect since day 1. Built in June 2022, delivered in July 2022, no visits for any service at all. Saving $300/ month on gas. Every gas station I pass, makes smile!
Thanks Pat for the real world breath of fresh air!
👍🇺🇸💪
Not a surprise the fake truck is having issues just like the fake Mustang. Test showed the Lighting can barely tow a light load for 70 miles before dying on the freeway. Farley has destroyed Ford with his broken EV push.
The Lightning is not currently a replacement for an equivalent ICE or Diesel truck, just like every EV in existence can’t match their ICE equivalent. You buy a Lightning after being well informed based on your use case. Ford will have 2 years of Lightning production in before a single customer gets a Tesla CyberTruck, or a Ram REV 1500, and 1.5 years before the Chevy EV Silverado.
Hard agree Mackie. Thanks for the good summary!
100% correct. Lightning is not a towing nor hauling truck like the ICE gasoline HD/SD or diesel. It's a light duty truck meant for occasional hauling and trailering. Since I never tow nor haul, drive in urban LA in bumper to bumper traffic, I get to enjoy what it was meant to do: drive efficiently. I get 260-290 miles range per charge on an EPA sticker 231 mile EV...
And when you need to haul, or take a longer trip, outside of your normal use patterns, you still can do it with some planning aforethought.
K-street J(ust for)D(ummies) with more of his scripted nonsense.
He is trying to scare off buyers by calling both Mustang ME and Lightning “fake” because they aren’t equipped with last century’s technology and can’t put revenue in the pockets of his sociopathic Big Oil paymasters.
Now we have Namako with a hash of old favorite K-street tag team FUDster tactics:
- trying to create a use case equivalence between these two classes of trucks.
- claiming that any vehicle not fulfilling his laundry list of what most people won’t buy these trucks to do makes them illegitimate or not real.
LoL at him thinking his Big Oil paymasters won’t have to start shuttering corner gas stations as people move off ICE (BO hasn’t demonstrated full fear by ramping to talk about all the small businessman running the pumps will go out of business, as if they really care.)
And you believe everything that CR says ? Let me sell you some beachfront property in Utah...
Not true, Farley said nothing of the sort and the transcript from the CC is available for all to see on the Ford Investor site, but Farley knows Toyota better than most, having worked there 20 years before coming to Ford, but keep spreading FUD.
Last Chance Vance is another K-street tag team FUDster deploying scripted BS.
Clearly for Toyota because he has shifted the “rejected EVs” for “not focus on EVs”.
But the first was a lie back in November, and now both are a lie based on Mr Sato’s press conference of Monday last where he said “…with a BEV-first mindset, we must drastically change the way we do business."
autonews.
com/executives/toyotas-new-ceo-makes-changes-top-whos-who
Then he comes again with the irrelevant battery replacement cost FUD.
And again with the lies (not even misrepresentations) about statements from Farley or other execs.
For those interested, here is the transcript. Read it it’s interesting and shoots sociopathic tool Vance’s bogus narrative down:
fool.
com/earnings/call-transcripts/2023/02/03/ford-motor-company-f-q4-2022-earnings-call-transcr/
Oh boy, K-street Daniel is back with his word-for-word scripted talking point about warranty cost.
He was just lurking around to drop this on us for like the third time in 2 months.
Folks, Daniel is another K-street FUDster tag team member.
His specialty is displaying his Grover No(nsense)rquist flair and ignorance about our free market as he tries in vain to amplify the comments of Last Chance Vance above.
Please read my reply above to LC Vance, replete with links and actual quotes from the companies he’s lying about.
But if you’re to tired to swipe up the links are here;
Toyota CEO Sato: “…with a BEV-first mindset, we must drastically change the way we do business.”
autonews.
com/executives/toyotas-new-ceo-makes-changes-top-whos-who
Ford execs, no quotes from them about no demand because they never said it:
fool.
com/earnings/call-transcripts/2023/02/03/ford-motor-company-f-q4-2022-earnings-call-transcr/
Oh our moronic K-Street tag team FUDster No Shame BShane is back with his BS and analytical conclusions for gullible and ignorant fools.
The issue is not demand. It was limits on production capacity. Also Lightning is a 1G vehicle designed to develop the market for the high volume 2G vehicles coming in 2 years.
Only thing I wish didn’t exist was anti BEV k-street troll nonsense and lies from the likes of sociopathic no shame BShane.
Can you imagine how badly Big Oil is $hitting itself over its sales forecasts 5 years out to be paying these clowns to write such nonsense here?
Oh boy, Randy K-street (no longer RandallK) coming with irrelevant battery replacement cost FUD.
At 10 years, your old rattle trap of a car will still have 70% of its original range.
What idiot will put a new battery in that?
You’ll have traded it, sold it, given it to your kids as a 3rd car.
For folks buying that 10 year old car, they’re not expecting new car range either.
… simply have no healthy path…”
What is RandallK of the K-street troll tag team saying here? Because it is indistinguishable from nonsense.
Oh no I am K-street Sam I Am came to amplify his pro troll tag team bud No Shame BShane but appears to have lost the plot … guess that’s when you have no idea what you are talking about or are just too stupid to deploy what meager knowledge you do have … K-street sure is hiring some D+ level trolls.
“We did our part” for Big Oil.
That said, K-street pro FUDster Jeff, in bad faith continues his fictional account of a conversation with a fictional sales guy that did not happen.
What kind of man needs to compensate for his inadequacy by telling such scripted tales? Not the alphas that’s for sure.
But a paid sockpuppet working from an itemized script coming in to amplify earlier comments or set the foundation for following amplifiers (it used to usually be a female name but they have mostly backed off of that.)
Please cite your claim that there are only 6,500 Lightning orders.
Because your nonsense claim isn’t backed up by facts.
As predicted BShelly K-street with more troll tag team FUDster BS, except she and John have swapped roles (did somebody forget to log out, or just change it up for fun?) now he’s amplifying her above.
Usually she’s the one forwarding articles to her fake sister… above I posted a link for John/Shelly to forward to their fake siblings.
Please feel free to read it as it repudiates their BS.
Our favorite gender/identity shifting K-street tag team FUDster Shelly/Kelly needs to take into consideration that ICE vehicles have been doing this for more than a century (even a White Steamer hot Jay Leno a bit ago):
autonews.
com/automakers-suppliers/2021-2023-ram-diesel-trucks-recalled-after-fire-reports
LoL now we have Big Oil’s newest K-street tag team FUDster Exxon Valdek.
He’s not very good as his job because he doesn’t even realize what NHTSA chief was talking about (it was mass).
Like a small child he lies and doesn’t expect adults to call him out.
Have your family google:
- Exxon Valdez
- Deepwater Horizon
And while we are thinking about Ford’s new battery plant in Marshall Michigan, have your family members read about the pipeline that ruptured and gushed oil into the Kalamazoo River just outside of Marshall:
en.m.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Kalamazoo_River_oil_spill
Even better, read how poorly the oil pipeline giant incompetently caused it and handled it:
insideclimatenews.
org/news/26062012/dilbit-diluted-bitumen-enbridge-kalamazoo-river-marshall-michigan-oil-spill-6b-pipeline-epa/
Oh boy, seems our very boy K-street Grade DD Dumb Dwayne D is back under a modified handle.
Pushing the durability angle that Big Oil added to the scripted comment sheet.
This team pushes this theme because they want to “lock in” revenue driven by high consumption low Mpg vehicles like a diesel super duty.
These guys are so transparent in their rhetoric and objective.