Ford F-150 Lightning production was halted as there were issues with batteries. It is not known that the automaker located the source of the issue. Now, the automaker is resuming production. It was known earlier, however, some more details are not revealed.
The Detroit Bureau said at the time that Ford was “holding (both production and shipment) of vehicles” while it investigates the issue. Although sales are still open, and no action is being taken for any of the Lightnings that have already been delivered, Ford said it was “not aware of any incidences of this issue in the field.” The battery issue was found “in a pre-delivery quality check,” according to the company. Ford spokesperson Emma Bergg said, “We believe we have identified the root cause of this issue. By the end of next week, we expect to conclude our investigation and apply what we learn to the truck’s battery production process; this could take a few weeks.” According to the Wall Street Journal, Ford says, “We have no reason to believe F-150 Lightnings already in customers’ hands is affected by this issue.”
Battery production
Now Reuters is reporting that Ford is on track to resume production of F-150 Lightning pickup trucks on Monday and is recalling 18 of them due to a battery cell manufacturing defect. The recall announced on Friday related to production over a four-week period that began at the end of last year. Ford said it had recently established “that 18 vehicles containing cells from that four-week period had made it to dealers and customers.” Ford said it will replace the battery packs in those 18 vehicles but said it is not aware of any fires or any injuries related to the recall. One truck caught fire in a holding lot in Dearborn, Michigan, on February 4 and spread to two other trucks parked nearby. The company halted production the next day.
The announcement last Friday said, “the root cause identified was related to battery cell production at the SK On plant in Georgia.” It went on to say a joint investigation involving Ford and SK On had “confirmed the root causes” and the two companies have “implemented quality actions.” Ford said Friday it still has not set a date for resuming deliveries but said production is on track to resume Monday with a “clean stock of battery packs.” Ford clearly learned from the Chevy Bolt battery fire fiasco of 2021, which took many months to resolve and involved instructions to park the cars outside and limit charging to 90% or less. It was a black eye for Chevrolet and LG Chem (now called LG Energy Solution), one that Ford seeks to avoid.
