Ford contacts 100 Lightning customers for battery glitch that may disrupt driving

Ford Motor Company confirmed Friday that some electric F-150 Lightning pickup trucks currently in the hands of customers may have a battery complication that can prevent the pickup truck from shifting into drive or cause it to gradually lose power while driving.

“We monitor vehicle data to help ensure our vehicles are performing as expected in the field. We have identified that (in) some vehicles, their high-voltage battery is not performing as intended, which could result in a performance degradation,” Martin Gunsberg told the Detroit Free Press.

The automaker is aware of an estimated 100 vehicles potentially affected but Ford cannot definitively say how many more may have a faulty battery because these issues are detected through vehicle data monitoring, Gunsberg said.

Customer vehicles are linked through cellular connectivity to Ford, as designed, and that signals data that detects emerging problems so they may be addressed without delay, Ford CEO Jim Farley has said.

“In this case, a driver may receive an alert in the vehicle through a message display system on the dashboard, and the vehicle will begin to reduce power to allow the customer to drive to a safe location,” Gunsberg said.

When data flags the company to a potential battery module problem, Ford reaches out to the customer to alert them to the situation, Gunsberg said.

CNBC first reported this latest battery issue, noting the automaker began issuing customer service action notices to dealers and customers in late January.

Ford is offering to replace these parts free of charge and will use the parts collected to further evaluate how they function in the field. A number of customers may not have experienced a problem but Ford will alert them anyway to an issue if the vehicle data indicates the potential for concern.