Powertrain Malfunction

[IRE]

I have had my F-150 Lightning for 7 weeks and have clocked 3,600 miles.

While driving yesterday, a warning came up on the dashboard saying to take the truck in for service and power dropped such that one could only crawl along. I stopped at the first light. Powered off and on. Power came back but the warning light (orange spanner) persisted so I gingerly drove home.

My Ford App on my phone declared that there has been a Powertrain Malfunction / Reduced Power. The warning illuminates when the system has detected a powertrain or a four-wheel drive fault which means I need to contact the dealer ASAP.

Has anyone seen this?

IRE

 

[Davidf]

My lightning did the same thing . I didn’t drive it for a few days and when I jumped back in the truck it was cleared and has been fine ever since.

 

[Kstype]

This happened to mine and mine also cleared on it’s own - I made an appointment with dealer anyway and they advised there was a Ford Power Up that was in the process of installing and that was the likely cause.

 

[IRE]

The fault cleared overnight. I still took it into the Ford dealer where I bought it. They reported a number of other alarms in the system, test drove it for 30 miles for two days. Fault did not return and they declared that it was good to go.

Looks like consumers are testing Ford's hardware and software. Hopefully this will not happen again.

Incidentally, I was surprised to see that this is a very common problem reported on a number of F-150 Lightning forums.

 

[ICED Lightning]

I think we may start to realize that, like the 'dummy lights' that happen frequently on ICE vehicles, like the scorned 'check engine' light, are rarely dangerous, urgent, or anything of real relevance to the driver.... continue on.
I don't think that there is anything, as a driver, that you can do, that would somehow 'harm' the truck, if you simply continue pushing the GO pedal...


hopefully my Lightning's 'check engine' light will not come on simply because I forgot to turn the gas cap enough times : )

 

[jfdjr35]

My powertrain malfunction light has come on and the dealer has diagnosed a faulty engine coolant control valve. Apparently the part is in high demand and will take at least a week to arrive at dealer.
Has anyone else received this diagnosis?

 

[JazzyJeff]

My powertrain malfunction light has come on and the dealer has diagnosed a faulty engine coolant control valve. Apparently the part is in high demand and will take at least a week to arrive at dealer.
Has anyone else received this diagnosis?

Mine came on last Thursday as well! Are you sure yours was for engine coolant control valve and not battery coolant control valve? I only drove it locally since Thursday when necessary as dealer couldn't fit me in till Monday morning. There is no power reduction and truck drove like new. When truck would sit a bit and then I would start it, no warning light. But after a moment, or when i changed into different gear, powertrain malfunction warning came back..

Took it in to dealer this morning and got diagnosis about faulty battery coolant control valve. It was stuck in "closed" position. I am at 29K miles. They told me same thing that part back-ordered and they are reaching out to local dealers to see if anyone has one available. They will call me tomorrow.

They insisted I needed to leave it there as it's not safe to drive and were worried it could catch fire. They offered a shuttle ride home or told me to contact my insurance company to get a loaner. ??? Rates are up, their new and used lots are jam packed, yet they don't have any loaners (idk why they can't just give out their used cars or one of the the three demos for sale as loaners to people like me with serious warranty issues). But they got scared after I insisted that I wasn't leaving my lightning until they get a part because i NEEDED a car to drive to work and get kids around. 15 minutes later, hey suddenly "found" a demo loaner for me, which I am happy with.

Keep me updated on your progress @jfdjr35 and I will post mine as well.

 

[jfdjr35]

Thanks for sharing your similar experience. Mine has been at the shop for a week now, but fortunately the dealer immediately offered up a loaner Edge.
My dealer originally thought the issue was related to Customer Satisfaction Program 23B70, which is the replacement of the battery monitor sensor. They did this replacement and the "powertrain malfunction / reduced power" warning is still on.
They said the default codes are showing a faulty coolant control valve.
I'm only at about 6K miles.

 

[jfdjr35]

Three weeks in the shop and still no part! Called Ford and they said projected to come off backorder March 26th. They said they would "emergency escalate", whatever that means.

 

[jfdjr35]

2023 Lightning is still in the shop! Latest update is part will not be available until March 29th, even with escalation. That will make the repair 7-8 weeks!

 

[Doug O]

Was at a wedding engagement pary yesterday on the PCH in Malibu, Ca, afterward the Valet brought the truck over and said it wasn't working properly. The truck would only go a few miles per hour. After doing some troubleshooting and making sure it wasn't in valet mode , I got a message on my Ford app saying "powertrain malfunction/reduced power." Could not get the truck to go more than 5 mph.
We were 80 miles from home so he had a call a tow truck through the Ford pass app. That took 2 and 1/2 hours. Uber ride was $200 to get home.
When the app asked for the option of where we wanted the truck to be towed. Our only option was the closest Ford dealer which was 9 mi away from Malibu in Santa Monica, ca When the driver came I asked him where they were taking the truck and he said Santa Monica Ford on Santa Monica boulevard. I Checked the app this morning and the location of the truck on my app was not where they said they took it. It was in some repair shop parking lot. I called Ford and they said because it's Sunday we can't get a hold of of the tow company but she told me they received a picture of the truck in a parking lot surrounded by other Ford cars. So she thinks it's at the Ford dealership. I told her I doubt that's true because on my app it shows the GPS location and it's not in Santa Monica, California it's on 43td st in Los Angeles. She was very polite and then called the Ford dealership but only sales were there, no service because it was on a Sunday and they couldn't find my truck. So she said you're right. It probably went to the tow company parking lot for some reason and she said to call back tomorrow on Monday. I can only imagine if I was on some longer trip like skiing that we often do and got caught somewhere out on a desolate highway. I read one Lightning account online with this same issue and he waited 5 hours before somebody finally came to pick him up. Yikes. Anyway, so far this process has been so disturbing and frustrating to say the least.
The Ford app you essentially don't talk to anybody. It's all just hiring third party tow trucks and not everybody's on the same page. At this point I still don't even know where my truck is. I think I have an idea, but for such an expensive truck a 2022 Ford Lightning Platinum it's a little disheartening. Tomorrow starts the dealing with the dealership, my warranty, trying to get my money back for the Uber ride home, getting a loaner car and of course getting my truck fixed!
Prior to this I had no problems and there were no recalls to be done. It was recently serviced about 6 weeks ago. For reference, truck has about 18,000 mi on it.