According to YouTuber, the estimated driving distance of Ford’s all-electric F-150 Lightning basically gets cut in half in 30-degree weather.
Posted BY: Adan Salazar
A YouTube content creator discovered the driving range of Ford’s Lightning EV truck is significantly reduced in cold weather conditions.
According to YouTuber Tyler Hoover, the estimated driving distance of Ford’s all-electric F-150 Lightning, which is displayed to drivers in the vehicle’s instrument cluster, basically gets cut in half in 30-degree weather.
The cut in driving range was immediately noticeable upon Hoover dropping his daughter off at school, where the YouTuber commented, “That school run was only 2 miles… I think we started with 149. We’re at 143.
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“So 7 miles of range to go 2 miles, unloaded. There’s no trailer back there. It’s just cold outside.”
Driving to another location, Hoover observed he’d used up 50 miles of range to complete just 32 miles.
The range decreased further as Hoover headed back home driving against the wind, where he used up 40 miles of range just to travel 15 miles.
After the vehicle’s “low range” warning popped up, the YouTuber compared the disastrous results of his current demonstration to another recent test where he discovered the Lightning’s driving range was cut when trying to tow a car on a trailer, noting even in that test the warning didn’t pop up until he was home.
“Wow! That’s not quite as bad as towing a light load, but that’s still really, really bad,” Hoover summarized.
Arriving back home, Hoover noted, “We started with 149 and we went 64 miles. So that’s 120 miles of range in 60 or so miles – doing nothing. It’s just cold outside.”
After the demo, Hoover admitted the person he co-owns the Lightning with was considering selling the vehicle due to the driving range.
“He drives around all day for work. He’s a liquor rep, stops in dozens of liquor stores over the course of a week. So he is barely keeping up when it comes to charging at home and the range of this truck in winter, and it is stressing him out. So he’s not sure if he wants to keep this thing anymore.”
Tips provided by Ford for increasing driving range during cold weather include charging it while not running the vehicle’s heater, prompting Hoover to quip, “So when you’re waiting to charge your car be as cold as you possibly can so it charges quicker. Really?”
The video ends with Hoover deciding he’s going to trade the vehicle in for the GMC Hummer EV, which appeared to handle the cold weather much better.
The YouTuber’s latest test comes after he showed the Lightning “can’t do normal truck things” when he attempted to tow a car from one location to another.
In the event someone was trying to tow something, “You would be stopping every hour to recharge, which would take about 45 minutes a pop, and that is absolutely not practical,” he noted in that case.
Imagine living in a harsh climate and buying an EV vehicle only to discover your car’s driving distance is cut in half when you need it most. That’s sadly a reality for many Americans who’ve been duped by the EV craze.
Some insulation around the battery would help a ton. They have liquid cooling already so heat in the summer is not an issue with them. Maybe a small heater pack when plugged in to charge, like a semi uses when it is sitting in the cold to keep the diesel fuel from slushing etc.
That’s not the problem. You can precondition the battery while it is plugged in instead of reducing range. In any case that is only a small part of the range reduction.
Heating that huge cabin to 78°F in cold weather is. You’re dressed for winter. Turn the heat down. It will help.
Also, this range reduction in cold weather is not some well kept secret. He could have just asked an EV owner. It is a well understood fact.
I had an opportunity to spend an afternoon with a pre-release version of a loaded Mach-E in February of 2021. It never got above 5°F that day. I found a screen showing where the energy was going. 40% to heat the cabin to 66°F. Another 5% for thermal management of the battery.
You should have listened to us conspiracy theorists.
OK, with an EV in winter you have the option of
A) going somewhere
B) heat
C) light
pick any two.
No, not correct.
Light? Like headlights and taillights? They consume such a small amount of energy it is not even worth mentioning.
Go somewhere? If your daily commute is in the area of 220 miles or more in very cold weather you may need to do some planning.
Heat? There’s the rub. I cited an extreme circumstance that I experienced. I think the OP may not be telling the whole story. He said the ambient was 30°F. That is a long way from 2° in my example. And if he was heating the cabin to say 78° that would be extreme. The energy needs go up exponentially as it gets colder. I can travel in 30° weather and heat the cabin to a comfortable 65° and take a relatively small hit. Maybe 15%-20% tops. I use the fine heated seats and steering wheel which take relatively little energy to stay quite warm. As I mentioned, If it is cold outside you are dressed for it. 65° is quite comfy.
Don’t forget, your ICE powered cars take a big efficiency hit cold weather. Especially for short trips. I’ve always have seen a big reduction in fuel economy in cold weather. Often as much as 30%. So…
I point all of this out to try and dispel many of the myths and FUD going around. We can’t have an honest conversation of the pros and cons of EVs without the facts. EVs are not for everybody. However if you are a two car family you should at least consider one of them to be an EV.
Then there are the pros of an EV. I am not a high mileage driver yet I save an average of $120 per month on “fuel” costs. Then there is the maintenance. Routine maintenance is change the cabin air filter every two years. Optionally rotate the tires if wear dictates. That’s all. No fluid changes, filters etc. And then the heat or AC is instant. No waiting for here engine to “warm up”. I just open my app and command the car to pre-condition and in minutes I’m ready to go
Just get a regular truck. Beside cold or hot weather problems. EV are not good for serious driving or for emergency use. Beside that you are basically just paying for and driving around sitting on a very large battery with wheels. That tend to blow up sometime and like a battery. Will die like batteries do and end up paying almost as much as the vehicle cost to replace it. You will also be wasting days off your life every year waiting around for it to charge up vs. filling up a gas tank. The only EV’s that has been made that work and does what its was design to do are only golf carts, wheelchairs and RC cars but even they have their limits.
WWG1WGA
So much FUD and misinformation. I don’t even know where to start.
just getting a regular truck. Beside cold or hot weather problems. EV are not good for serious driving or for emergency use. Beside that you are basically just paying for and driving around sitting on a very large battery with wheels. That tend to blow up sometime and like a battery. Will die like batteries do and end up paying almost as much as the vehicle cost to replace it. You will also be wasting days off your life every year waiting around for it to charge up vs. filling up a gas tank. The only EV’s that has been made that work and does what its was design to do are only golf carts, wheelchairs and RC cars but even they have their limits.
Duped by the EV craze, and not for the first time. EV insanity has occurred before…