[JimsH3]

Lightning production and shipping has stopped due to a potential battery issue.

Let's see if this is a serious issue for Ford or if they're just taking precautions.

Ford F-150 Lightning production halted due to battery issue

Ford F-150 Lightning production and shipping of built trucks has been stopped due to a battery issue.

www.motorauthority.com

Buyers waiting for their Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck might have to wait a bit longer than anticipated.

On Tuesday, Ford spokesperson Emma Bergg confirmed to Motor Authority that both a stop-build and an in-transit stop-ship order have been issued for the F-150 Lightning due to a potential battery issue.

The nature of the battery issue was not disclosed by the automaker.

Bergg said the potential issue was identified as part of Ford's pre-delivery quality inspections. The automaker is unaware of any incidents or issues associated with this potential issue in the field with customer-owned trucks.

A stop-sale has not been issued and all F-150 Lightnings already built and at dealers are cleared for scheduled delivery.

Bergg wouldn't elaborate on the potential battery issue. The engineering team is currently establishing the root cause of the potential issue.

A timeline hasn't been given as to when the stop-build and in-transit stop-ship orders will be lifted.

"It depends on how long it will take to conduct the root cause analysis," Bergg said.

The Lightning has received three price hikes since its launch nearly a year ago. Starting from $57,869, the Lightning is now 38.9% more expensive than when it first went on sale.

 

[Nebula1701]

Magna also makes the Lightning's battery tray...

 

[Dark-Fx]

Magna also makes the Lightning's battery tray...

Different facility and wildly different design

 

[darkmode]

It seems a trend is starting. Not surprising with supply chain, economic challenges, and massive layoffs happening. The whole EV movement seems to be taking a breath for a couple years.

 

[azbill]

There is now a report one of the batteries caught on fire in a newly built truck at the factory.

 

[Tom E-Tron]

There is now a report one of the batteries caught on fire in a newly built truck at the factory.

Ford has built about 20K so far, 1 fire, if a second fire happens it will match the pre recall Bolt population for rate of spontaneous fires... recall for ford coming soon? I saw a Mach E had a roadside BBQ a couple weeks ago to.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Would be a shame if SK copied the part of LG that caused the defects that lead to conflagration.

 

[Nebula1701]

[UPDATE] Ford Uncovers F-150 Lightning Battery Problem, Production To Resume In Weeks

Ford confirmed that F-150 Lightning production and in-transit shipping have been temporarily paused, but it hasn't shed light on the potential battery issue.

insideevs.com

UDPATE: Ford has reportedly figured out what caused the battery issue in the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. The company doesn't believe the problem will impact trucks that were already delivered, and it says production should resume in a few weeks.
Ford reached out to Electrek noting that it hopes to be done with its root-cause investigation by the end of next week, and use what it learns in the battery production process going forward, which could take a few weeks. The automaker doesn't anticipate any related recalls.

 

[azbill]

Would be a shame if SK copied the part of LG that caused the defects that lead to conflagration.

Fires in batteries can happen for multiple reasons, something as simple as a shorted wire harness could ignite a fire. Rivian had at least two battery fires at their factory, but those were in the battery assembly area, likely human error in that case.

I believe the Mach E that burned had hit something in the road that punctured the battery.

 

[Tom E-Tron]

Fires in batteries can happen for multiple reasons, something as simple as a shorted wire harness could ignite a fire. Rivian had at least two battery fires at their factory, but those were in the battery assembly area, likely human error in that case.

I believe the Mach E that burned had hit something in the road that punctured the battery.

The old punctured battery tale, that one has been used by Elon / Tesla many times, unfortunately my orthopedic surgeon buddy had the first Tesla to burn, his recollection of events differs slightly from Tesla's.

 

[azbill]

The old punctured battery tale, that one has been used by Elon / Tesla many times, unfortunately my orthopedic surgeon buddy had the first Tesla to burn, his recollection of events differs slightly from Tesla's.

Well, I have seen the result of a punctured battery in an RC aircraft. And after the fact, I found out the company producing the plane had a service bulletin out to trim a screw that was in a spot that it could puncture the battery. They actually replaced my plane at no charge after it was burned to a crisp.

 

[Carac]

There is now a Ford initiated stop-sale on Lightnings or at least they're stopping deliveries. Ford Holding Back New F-150 Lightnings Due to Unknown Battery Pack Issue

 

[Tom E-Tron]

There is now a Ford initiated stop-sale on Lightnings or at least they're stopping deliveries. Ford Holding Back New F-150 Lightnings Due to Unknown Battery Pack Issue

This battery thing is likely a bigger deal than Ford is letting on, 1 fire no biggie, but if another one burns, they will have some explaining to do.

 

[Tom E-Tron]

Well, I have seen the result of a punctured battery in an RC aircraft. And after the fact, I found out the company producing the plane had a service bulletin out to trim a screw that was in a spot that it could puncture the battery. They actually replaced my plane at no charge after it was burned to a crisp.

Me too, I have a fleet of model planes, and have certainly had a few fires, speed controllers and batteries

 

[Dark-Fx]

This battery thing is likely a bigger deal than Ford is letting on, 1 fire no biggie, but if another one burns, they will have some explaining to do.

Ford says they already figured out the root cause. But I agree that if that's the case, there's some issue that must potentially be present in other vehicles for them to issue a stop sale.

 

[Tom E-Tron]

Ford says they already figured out the root cause. But I agree that if that's the case, there's some issue that must potentially be present in other vehicles for them to issue a stop sale.

Ya, ford is lying on knowing root cause this quick, that is impossible. It is possible they found some anomaly, but that is not guarantee of root cause. GM first said Bolts just needed software updates ... Remember. and Elon said nothing is wrong, car ran over a semi suspension part in the road, even though the driver does not remember hitting anything.

 

[HVACman]

Ya, ford is lying on knowing root cause this quick, that is impossible. It is possible they found some anomaly, but that is not guarantee of root cause. GM first said Bolts just needed software updates ... Remember. and Elon said nothing is wrong, car ran over a semi suspension part in the road, even though the driver does not remember hitting anything.

Exactly. After reading Ford’s “found the root cause” release, it sounded like PR double-talk. Essentially, they said they found the root cause, but have to complete their investigation to find the root of the root cause. When you find that the problem’s roots have roots, a quick application of engineering Roundup may not resolve the problem.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Ya, ford is lying on knowing root cause this quick, that is impossible. It is possible they found some anomaly, but that is not guarantee of root cause. GM first said Bolts just needed software updates ... Remember. and Elon said nothing is wrong, car ran over a semi suspension part in the road, even though the driver does not remember hitting anything.

GM might have known what the problem was but their solution to fix it in software was an actuarial decision. Only the people responsible for making the decision know.

 

[Tom E-Tron]

Exactly. After reading Ford’s “found the root cause” release, it sounded like PR double-talk. Essentially, they said they found the root cause, but have to complete their investigation to find the root of the root cause. When you find that the problem’s roots have roots, a quick application of engineering Roundup may not resolve the problem.

Thinking of root cause and battery fires, a certain airplane company has still not released an official root cause of their lithium ion battery fires a decade ago, they just implemented dozens of potential fixes, and put the battery in a 1/2" thick stainless steel enclosure with titanium vent pipes going overboard to vent the energy if another battery "vents". Several batteries have "vented" since then, about like engineers expected.


The bottom line is that Lithium Ion Batteries operate best when they are close to thermal runaway (warm) and once in a while they go too far, and if the support systems don't get cooling to an overheated cell quick enough, poof...

 

[Nebula1701]

Ford F-150 Lightning Recalled For Battery Issue That Halted Production

A handful of electric F-150 Lightning trucks were shipped to dealers with a potential defect in the battery cell. That has prompted a recall.

www.motor1.com