Michael Accardi 
Assembly of the Ford F-150 Lightning in has come to a halt while the automaker investigates a potential problem discovered with the truck’s battery pack. The sale of trucks already on dealer lots will be allowed to continue, meaning the problem isn’t serious enough to issue a stop-sale order.. However, trucks in transit have been placed on stop-ship, meaning those waiting for a Lightning in transit should expect to wait longer.
A Ford spokesperson confirmed the production pause, explaining the F-150 Lightning’s potential battery issue was found during pre-delivery quality inspections when one vehicle displayed a battery issue, but further confirmed to the Detroit Free Press that the issue at hand was actually a battery fire at the plant.
Production is expected to be suspended through at least the end of next week. While Ford is staying quiet regarding the nature of the issue, the company has said that the findings of the investigation will be applied to the F-150 Lightning’s battery production process. The company has said it’s not aware of the issue in the field, believing the problem is localized to a specific batch still under corporate control. It also said it isn’t aware of any trucks in customers’ hands experiencing the problem.
However, our sources on the ground have relayed several stories of F-150 Lightnings laid up at dealerships awaiting battery cell replacements. Trucks are displaying an OBD-II error code which indicates unstable battery voltage, meaning a deviation in a particular cell voltage has been detected when referenced against the rest of the cells in the battery pack as monitored by the Battery Energy Control Module.
Trucks at the dealer level are waiting to receive a cell transplant which involves the removal of the battery pack and physically opening the pack to change the cell in question. It’s unclear if the issue being reported on the ground is similar in nature to the issue detected at the factory. If the issues are unrelated that could mean Ford is actually dealing with multiple battery issues on the F-150 Lightning.
This news comes less than a day after Ford announced a new battery manufacturing plant in Marshall, Michigan. The facility is scheduled to open its doors in 2026 and will build nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) batteries as well as lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.
