Footage Of Ford F-150 Lightning Fire Released: Video

Back in February, Ford F-150 Lightning production at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center was paused due to a battery issue discovered during pre-delivery quality inspections, which ultimately led to one truck catching on fire. That shutdown was later extended while the automaker, the NHTSA, and SK On – its battery supplier – investigated the matter, leading to temporary layoffs at the plant. Once this was all sorted out, production resumed at the plant in mid-March, and a total of 18 Ford F-150 pickups were ultimately recalled over the battery issue, which we later learned was due to an electrical short-circuit when the battery is fully charged or near fully charged. Now, CNBC has obtained footage of the Ford F-150 Lightning fire at the Rouge plant, giving us our first look at the incident.

This footage was acquired from the Dearborn Police Department through Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act, and shows the single Ford F-150 Lightning pickup that caught on fire, as well as the units that were nearby that were also affected by the blaze. The trucks were parked in a holding lot in Dearborn, Michigan awaiting final quality inspections prior to delivery.

When police arrived at the scene, smoke was already billowing from the truck, which quickly turned into large flames extending up toward the sky. Luckily, no one was in the pickups or near them at the time, so there were no injuries that occurred from this incident. Police did not say how long it took to put out the fire, however.

Ultimately, three Ford F-150 Lightning pickups were destroyed as a result of the fire, which led to a production halt of five weeks in total. “Together with SK On, we confirmed the root causes and swiftly implemented quality actions,” Ford said in a statement to CNBC. “The Rouge Electric Vehicle Center has been back up and running since March 13 and is back to full production and shipping vehicles to customers.”

We’ll have more on the F-150 Lightning soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford F-Series news, Ford F-150 news, F-150 Lightning news, and non-stop Ford news coverage.