u/No_Series_4448

TL:DR I just had battery module 6 replaced and now the guess-o-meter's range is showing abnormally high and my battery consumption seems less than it used to be.

2023 Lariat ER. The truck was only charging to 80% so I took it to Ford and they said one of the battery module's failed. 3 weeks later they replaced battery module 6. When I picked the truck up yesterday they had only charged it to 65% and the range was reading somewhere around 200+ miles. I remember thinking, "That seems high". I drove ~40 miles home, plugged the truck in, and set it to charge to 100% to confirm the battery is repaired.

This morning when I unplugged the truck it was indeed at 100%, hooray, and my range was showing 366 miles (picture included)! I've never seen it that high. I went about my morning commute, ~45 miles. When I got to work the battery had gone from 100% -> 92% and the range dropped to 331 miles (picture included), which is still higher than I've ever seen it (pre-battery complications).

What's also weird is my commute to/from work consistently uses 15-17% battery but today it only used 8%. I understand efficiency fluctuates with the seasons and driving habits but I've never, ever, seen my work commute take less than 15% battery. Using only 8% is unfathomable to me.

I'm hoping the issue is the guess-o-meter's data is skewed because I drove the truck for ~2 months on the failed battery module. All I know is I've driven the truck 85 miles since the battery has been repaired and my range estimates are crazy high.

I have a 2023 Lightning Lariat, and I genuinely love the truck. When we bought it, we didn’t have a boat—but that’s changed. We picked up a boat last year and have now gone through a full season with it. I trailer it every time we use it.

For local ramps on the Chesapeake Bay, the Lightning works great. I can get there and back without needing to charge. The problem comes with longer trips—places like Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania, or running offshore in Maryland. On those trips, I have to stop and charge, which is a hassle when towing. I end up detaching the trailer in a parking lot, charging, then hooking everything back up. Some trips require 2–3 charging stops, and realistically I only get about 155 miles per charge while towing.

What should be a 6-hour round trip can turn into 9 hours, which isn’t exactly enjoyable.

That said, there’s still a lot I love about the truck. The power and acceleration are incredible. Charging at home is far cheaper than gas. The Lariat trim is comfortable and well-equipped. Overall, it’s been a great vehicle.

So this is where I go back and forth. The truck has about 35k miles, and I only owe $34k on it. Realistically, we’d only take these longer towing trips maybe five times a year. The practical side of me says to keep the Lightning, spend the ~$35k to finish paying it off, and just deal with a handful of longer travel days each year.

But the other side of me is tempted to switch to a gas truck—something like an F-250—so I don’t have to deal with the charging hassle at all. Honestly, if I had the boat first, I probably wouldn’t have chosen the Lightning, simply because of the limited towing range.

Financially, though, the switch is tough to justify. I’d likely get around $40k on trade (which stings, considering I paid $79k new), leaving me about $6k positive on the loan. But then I’m turning around and buying a $60k+ truck and starting over with a much larger loan. In the long run, I’m essentially doubling what I’ll spend on a truck—going from about $35k remaining to $60–65k again.

On top of that, the F-250 wouldn’t be as nice in terms of features unless I spent even more, and I’d be going back to higher fuel costs, oil changes, and general engine maintenance. The Lightning, by comparison, is incredibly low maintenance.

So it really comes down to whether the added cost is worth the convenience. I’d be paying significantly more for a less comfortable truck, just to gain range and eliminate charging stops a handful of times a year.

I know this is ultimately a personal decision, but I’d be interested to hear how others would think about it.