Indeed. Even in the big city, a power loss would take out cable internet (unless it speaks native cable). So only cell (maybe - towers may be out), landline phone, or, again, maybe, fiber (same maybe as cable) would be available. There's is no conceivable reason to require phoning home (well, I can conceive one reason - subscription 🙁).
@@jameshiggins-thomas9617 My local cable company has backup batteries with their network equipment. They even send out vans to charge the battery if the outage is localized enough.
I own a lightning, although I sympathize with those who purchased sunruns home integration system, that was their decision and most failed to carefully review how that system operates or even the downsides of it At a cost of around $4000 plus installation cost, I knew it was way over priced from the gitgo. Those costs don't include the costs of fords 80 amp pro charger which is also required to operate that backup system which is only included with the platinum at no extra costs. I use a breaker interlock, a generator receptical and connect my truck to my home, which powers all my essential loads using the 7200 watt on board bed power. Works great, and since I'm an electrician only cost me materials to install.
I just purchased a Lightning Lariat and first EV in no small part because of the episodes from Transport Evolved relating their experiences. It is my hope Ford takes note of how TE has helped sell their very expensive product.
I never owned a pickup, but I have a Model 3, and my wife has a Bolt. I love the way EV powertrains perform. Smooth, quiet, torquey, and the 1 pedal driving is the bomb. I also love charging at home, instead of going to a gas station. That lightning is quick, and I can't imagine not loving that frunk and 110/220 power. That thing has a big pack. That's no 12V starter battery.
Ford will have an electric ranger before they have the f150 lightning here in Australia. The new ranger / amarok have been designed to also be electric and Ford Australia says there is no plans at this stage to bring the F150 lightning here. Maybe they will develop the second generation to be RHD as well?
These type of video feel like a real live shot and does not feel pre scripted. More of these would be great as it feel like a genuine you. This video is you at your best more please.
Great overview of the Lightning! You went through everything and plainly explained your experience with each and how the truck has served you over time. I appreciate the lack of blatant fan praise, and the lack of snark, that is pervasive on some other channels! Ford seems to have done a very good job with its first EV truck, but I agree with you that I wish that they would transfer that into something less sizable for those of us that rarely need a full-size pickup but would like the utility that a pickup provides over an SUV or crossover.
Glad the comments are back,keep up the great content. I was really surprised when you said that you'd had experience of your backup power supply not working due to connectivity issues. I had no idea that the electrical network was so poor in the US. I've had one 9 hour outage since I moved into my home 7 years ago and that was after a strom that had category 1 hurricane winds.
Most electric lines run overhead, arnt well maintained, and are often struck by trees or branches falling during storms, or even by drunk drivers crashing into them. I have neighbors who lose power almost everytime the wind blows as there is a stand of dead trees in the neighborhood that everyone refuses to have cut down, with the claim that they "beautify" the neighborhood. Fortunately my power comes from a different direction.
The entirety of the US system isn’t poor, the challenge is it’s a huge country. An act of Congress was needed to get power to more rural areas, it simply wasn’t profitable. The systems installed weren’t inferior, but they were a balance of lowest cost and best service. Many physical challenges pop up, trees, creeks, distance, etc. I live in a big city where the power is city owned. In 40 years my power has not gone out - ever. The system is extremely robust.
I wonder if the number of Ford F150Es produced was a factor in your purchase decision. Was it a temptation to go with the gas powered version to squash the fear that the electric truck might have at best modest production?
Thank you for returning the comment section. I know you and your crew have been targets of some truly uncouth attacks both personal and professional. Keyboard commandos think they are all that but we all know that most of them are nothing in person. Trouble is a very small percentage are just plain nuts and are dangerous. One of the very few things I long for from the past is good manners and personal restraint. Hate speech isn't free speech it's just being a nasty d**k. Anyways thanks Nikki for bringing us such useful and well done content. Love you guys.
Why the hell does the power integration box even need to ask "the internet" for permission to provide power? This sounds like a gross misdesign. Shouldn't it be normal for a house power failure to also take out the internet connection? I'd expect that to be a standard test case for the developers. I really hope they deliver a firmware update that takes care of that.
The Sunrun home integration system is expensive and definitely not required to power your home. I just use the 240 volt 30 amp receptical and it powers all my essentials.
All that required to power your home from the lightning is a breaker interlock system like you'd install to backup your home with a generator and instead of powering your home with a gas generator just plug your truck into that receptical, and use the on board 240 volt 30 amp power from the bed of the lightning. Works great to power all my essential loads, even my 240 volt deep well pump. I install mine, but relatively simple. And even if you would hire an electrician to do the job , I guarantee you it's not going to cost you the $4k plus, that would cost you if you had to install the home integration system. Granted you'll have to flip two interlocked breakers, connect the cables to backup generator receptical and start the truck all manually. With some enginuity and a good electrician you could install an automatic transfer system that would perform everything automatically as long as the truck was plugged in and powered up. I do it all manually which only takes me a few minutes to get everything up and running
Nice job, Nikki! I just hit 10k on my Lightning (with nearly 10k on the Rivian also). I'm going to make a 10k video next week, I'll link to this video also.
Great to see comments back!! 🎉 Great review, thank you. What a shame about the windscreens and the home integration system. Poor design… why does it need to send anything to a server to check? Should be done locally…, I don’t get it.
I am highly anticipating the second generation of this truck with a faster DC fast charging rate. I do spend a lot of time on the road and have the need of a full size truck. I traded in my F350 for a Kia EV6. For most day to day, the Kia has been able to do the transport bit, but in no way can it handle the hauling or working part of what I require. I do believe the smaller electric trucks will soon be on their way, however historically the F150 has been the vehicle of choice in the US for 40 some odd years. It works as a trades vehicle as well as a family hauler.
Any power-switching devices should be local networks at most. Definitely shouldn't need to talk to SkyNet to switch. This seems like a massive design flaw. If they can't rework this, I'd be having them take it off the house too. Edit: I'm over the huge inflated size of pickups and SUVs as well. That F150 is the size of an F-650 or larger of yester year.
Thank you for making this review after your 20k milestone. Please keep them coming! I’m up to 36k miles just 8 months in on my 2022 MX and I’ve gone through a set of snow tires this season around Lake Tahoe. I actually got a small crack (1 inch) in my windshield that’s right above my head within the first 10k miles and I’m extremely fortunate that it hasn’t upgraded itself to a full split 🤞. 😅
One of reason why I love your show is because you breez through these topics easily with such honesty. Been watching your show for a long time now, you are my favorite presenter (perhaps I shouldn't say that). The team is great!
I am glad you brought up the cell connectivity issue. I am a Ham radio guy. When everyone started to move toward 4 and 5G and away from the previous cell systems ,I told people that this would come up in more Rural areas. The newer cell frequencies are affected more by weather ( moisture ) and vegetation. Can you still get hard line or a typical phone line in your area? It would be slow internet but good enough to change over your power. Kind of like the old dish network system. Request over phone line.
They have a wifi link to a nearby farm down the valley and starlink, but when the power fails, so does the power to the farm and that connection goes out. Starlink just doesn't work with this system at all, for some unknown reason.
@Jesper Monsted If they had a regular phone line, those are self powered. They could use the slow data through that to possibly link up maybe. I am an Electromechanical Hugh tech guy. If it was my home , I would just put in a standby Gen set changeover switch and a dedicated sub panel. It would automatically switch over to grid power when it came back up. Sometimes simpler is better.
A related, recent experience: I upgraded an elderly relative out in the sticks last month, from legacy 10mb/s DSL to 100 gb/s fibre to the home (1G is available, but she'll never take advantage of it, so we saved the $20/mo. difference in price by going with the lower rate). We were trying to get TV streaming working better, otherwise the DSL was perfectly adequate. When the installer came to install & connect the fibre termination box, they cut the landline copper *underground* at the house end, and moved her landline appliances to VoiP via the new fibre connection. I was furious: she experiences *at least* a dozen power outages every winter, and the always-powered copper landline has been extremely useful for her at that house for the past 50 years. Now, she only has "landline" phone service when her standby genny is up. I made a stink about it, as that was not revealed in any of the install paperwork we had to sign to allow the shallow trench to be made for the fibre line from the street to the residence, and was not mentioned in any of the three live conference calls I had with the telco's sales rep. The telco also *refuses* to reconnect the landline to copper. They are actively pushing people off of copper, the installer said to reduce the legacy copper maintenance, which dates to 1952 in the area, and for which he claims CO blades are no longer available . . . which is typical, "we don't want to pay to maintain our system" BS. I'll likely install a small UPS on that fibre connection terminator, but I'm still furious.
@@alsavage1 The fiber box is supposed to have a back-up battery: but out installer left it out ("cold weather version" --despite being indoors) to save on cost. I am using a UPS for phone+internet.
Such a beast of a car, saw my first lightening at Fully charged at farnborough recently, such a shame we can’t get them in UK, but might not suit UK roads as it’s so huge! Love it, keep up the great work.
I love the stuffed animals on the dash. I've actually heard of emergency personnel keeping soft toys like that in their vehicles in case they come across or respond to an accident where a child was in the car. It, understandably, helps reduce the trauma they are going through.
Great to hear the review. My wife drives a Mach-e and loves it. Although the software in my Rivian is much better and caused her to put in an order for the R1S.
So what I heard you say, when the SHTF, you need to rely on the internet, a connection to the internet, to send a command to the cloud that goes to a server that then returns a command to let the truck know it's okay to send power to the inverter. And if that's not working, then back up is the cellular network, that most likely will be overloaded or down as well. Who in God's name thought that was a good idea?
@@jmonsted Apparently, it's Sunrun main control system that's wants to be boss. It's not getting the signal back from the cloud to tell the truck to send power back.
Glad you are liking the truck. I wish I could get the cheapest one and potentially replace our old Suburban that is only used occasionally for towing/hauling. The issues with the home backup is terrible. Your theory on why it doesn't work sounds totally plausible. It's curious that it needs to ask the home ship for permission to operate though. That sounds like some sort of subscription service, but you own the system.
Ok, the light rain background has an almost commercial picturist look. Nice. Its interesting that the 12v battery is such trouble to the subsystem management. Feels like the 12 V is the new coin watch battery in other complex systems (laptop, hand held diag stuff, etc..)
Thank you Nikki for you continuing updates. Like your experience our Lightning has performed without issues...and like you we purchased the Ford/SunRun home backup system. As we are located in an urban area, ewe do not have the same problems you have experienced. Going from a plug-in hybrid to the Lightning we knew that we would require additional solar panels and had SunRun install them. When connected to the SunRun panels, the home back system fails. By disconnecting them via the switch on the bottom of the Delta bidirectional inverter the system appears to function properly. With installation completed in Aug 2022, we hope that Ford, SunRun, or Delta can sort this out soon.
Glad to hear your Chevrolet Bolt EV is still working well for you. I just got a notification to take my Chevrolet Bolt in for a seat belt replacement. As for a new battery, I am still waiting to hear from GM about a replacement.
Would love to see a Ford Fiesta EV with 20KWh pack giving 130 mile range for $15,000 also offer a 50KWh long range version for $27,000 for those that want the long range 125 miles would be perfectly acceptable for most people especial if you could rent mobile battery packs to increase the range of your EV for the few days a year you need longer range After a the US tax credit it would only be $7,500..... thats chepaer than most used cars
I also desperately wish for an electric Fiesta sized hatchback! I know the automotive industry in North America is pushing us all to buy giant vehicles because the profit margins are higher, but I live in the city, and giant vehicles are a terrible inconvenience and waste of money for me.
@Dave Bell As a ruel of thumb efficency is porportial to weight A 20KWh EV vs a 60KWh EV would be about ~300kg lighter So going from say 1.6 tons to 1.3 tons = 23% efficency gain So going from 4.6KWh per mile to 5.7KWh x 20KWh = 114 miles Or 25KWh = ~140 miles
@@kaya051285 You've got some "KWh"s in there that should properly be "KW"s, but the crux of the issue is that aero is much more important than weight when it comes to EVs. That said, I've been driving a ~100mi range BEV for years, and it suits for 95% of my miles. I can afford to have an ICE minivan for the other 5%/towing/camping/etc.
Great update, thank you Nikki. I’m surprised that the home power system has to talk to a server to work. Makes it pretty useless if you’re connection challenged like yourselves.
Sunrun's home integration system has had many issues. Personally I've never purchased one I've set up a receptical in my garage that I plug my truck into to power my home with the 7200 watt 240 volt 30 amp receptical located in the bed of the truck. This powers all essential equipment in my home during a power failure. The Sunrun system costs around $4000 and also requires ford 80 amp pro charger that comes with the platinum but will cost you another nearly $3000 if you have to purchase it separately. Now installation costs $4000 - $5000 to install the complete system. Just a worthless system
Thanks for such a useful and complete progress report. Even if Ford/Sunrun/Partner Company can get the system to verify over your ISP and/or cellular it still is problematic. As you point out, in a large event that knocks out power and communication, the system will not be able to verify the capability. It really needs a local capability for this. In systems I have worked on that need to be robust, we typically attempt do some sort of verification but if unable, we store the last verification which has a time-of-death so that it is good for 30/60/90 days but not forever. Seems like this would be a good approach for Ford to push for so their branded system always delivers on its promise.
Hi, I’m a retired Motorola radio system engineer. I would suggest you get a wall mount Yagi antenna tuned to your cellular band, place Yagi high as possible and point to your local cell site. Run a low loss cable from Yagi to your unit, remove cellular rubber antenna on bottom of control box and use a more flexible adapter cable to connect the box to the thicker yagi cable. That should give you a workable and reliable cell phone data connection to the internet.
Love to see your review of your vehicle. I'm waiting on an AWD lyriq myself. Hope to see your review of that and many more vehicles. The lyriq will be my first ev so, I find it a comfort to watch your channel that has people familiar with the systems. I'll keep watching and evolving! Keep up the good work.
You're right. Every day driving doesn't need a 6,000 pound vehicle that won't fit in half of the parking spaces at the mall. For most of my driving I really don't need a vehicle the size of the LEAF. But I can only afford one car and it has to be ready for that 1% situation where I need twice the capacity.
I live in San Francisco where parking is a premium. The main trouble that I have is the height of the truck more than anything else. The Lightning is about 2 inches taller than most parking garages permit.
I'm thinking of convincing my dad to get one of these. But that issue with the cell signal gives me pause, kinda an issue in some places. Still have to rewatch your videos on towing to remind myself how it'll do with his stuff, but it'll be a while yet for him anyways.
That "internet check" is the reason why I only use devices not connected to internet. Anything that goes out is not relevant for me. However, the truck itself looks very solid and as a work horse really relevant. Good purchase. 33k km in less than 1 year - well, I guess one can say you DO use it :)
Impressive review. Thanks Nikki, unfortunately I' ll never be able to drive such a truck in Europe . We problably don' t need these kind of large vehicles in our city centers😅
That is so wierd that the power would have a data dependency... Aurely there must be a way to disable that requirement? Imagine a cabin in the woods with zero data, the system would never work there? Maybe pull out some wire shark and intercep the communications. Sigh, thats a real shame.
If Ford provided a method for the F-150 to connect to wi-fi, the power system wouldn't need to "phone home" to a faraway server. It could simply connect to the F-150 locally and get the info needed to perform the switchover.
@@JREwing78 all we need to do is ask, "how do traditional generators handle this", and there is no reason the Lightning can't (couldn't have, can't be updated to) do it that way. Or actually the inverter component or bridge component that has introduced this crazy data dependency. All the lightning does is provide a massive battery to the inverter via the CCS port. There is no need for any networking at all. The CCS already has the EVSE & DCFC communication protocols. Who EVer designed this to require the internet needs to be fired. If power is out, how can they expect the internet to stay running. If the lightning backup power needs the internet. Before it can give backup power. Circular dependencies are stupid. It hurts my brain, I can not _ enough...
I think I mentioned before when you started having the whole house backup system on the house that the truck talks to (or doesn’t talk to) that you can use the power inverter, or Pro Power as it’s called on truck itself. The plug in the bed is 249v from 7-9kw depending on which pro power setup you have. Then just have a generator plug connected to your Span panel or panel you want to backup. I think you have an auto transfer switch as well? If not even a manual transfer switch will allow you to disconnect grid ( when it’s down) and allow to power your critical loads with truck. Then when grid power comes back on you flip the transfer switch back to grid. Much simpler than all that other house hardware that’s not working.
This will be the fallback, i'm sure. Ideally, the smart system would've done all of this automatically. That's what Ford got paid thousands of dollars for.
Good review. Thanks for pointing out the stupid design of the home integration system. I too live in an area with frequent power outages. When our power goes out we lose internet and we have no cell connectivity other than one bar on the third floor of the house. So that system as currently configured would not work for me at all. Fortunately, I have a stand alone backup system tied into my solar panels that will run the house for 3-4 days in winter and indefinitely in summer.
The Active Air Dam is not the battery cooling shutters. The Active Air Dam is a skirt at the bottom of the bumper that deploys at speeds over 45mph. It is used at higher speeds to improve range by about 15%. You Tube has some videos on the Active Air Dam deploying. If you get under your truck and look up at the bottom of the bumper you can see the mechanism. Also, you should get wheel locks. They are about $30, those Lariat wheels are not exactly cheap to replace. The only issue that I have had with my Lightning Lariat is when the atmospheric rivers hit California and made it rain for a month straight. There is water condensation in my backup light and it does not want to seem to drain out. I am going to have my dealership look at it when I take my truck in for the wiper motor recall.
An EV rental company had both the F150 and Rivian truck [both in left hand drive] on their stand at Fully Charged Farnborough, UK. Interesting to see them both 'in the flesh' especially seeing so much footage by Nikki here and Tom Mouloghney on his channel. They also had a truck by Maxus [Chinese]. Pity you've had such a problem with the home integration/back up system.
That is so sad about the home backup solution. Hopefully they will fix it with a software update. It would seem that it would be able to communicate directly with the truck over Wi-Fi local network.
Many thanks for your comments about the size and usage of this big vehicle. By the way, I am back to subscribing to your channel after I unsubscribed because of this big truck. Of course I could never forget you all at your channel. You have a good place in my heart. Edit: Oh, believe it or not, it fits so seamless, what a coincidence, in the hour after writing this comment, I discovered your video how it began, it was so heartwarming... wow I'm speechless... It was a few days ago that I thought, I should revisit your channel, I remember this as a good channel, I should consider re-subscribing. And I'm blown away...
Ahhh, I'm confused. Why does the SunRun system have to talk to there server to pull power from the truck. To your point, if your internet also goes away or has poor signal it might not be able to connect. To me this is a Firmware bug. They should, at least have an override that tells the system to pull power from the truck. Or just disable the feature... This is not a hard issue to solve... In my opinion being a Firmware Engineer.
It's remarkable that 12V battery problems seem endemic to EVs, when EV use should be far easier duty than any ICE vehicle. There are no huge starter loads, and there's plenty of power available to keep it from experiencing low state of charge. In the end I guess the solution will be Lithium cells, as Tesla have begun to do.
After taking years to get a "smart plug" working (with Home Assistant) because I did not want it phoning home: I now refuse to buy IoT crap that requires Internet access to work.
Check the 3M double sided heavy duty transparent tape, holds very well in all conditions, even very hot weather. Sticks to anything. Hot gun to remove residue.
Such a cool truck! I'm so glad that it's been good for you. I keep looking at my 1999 Isuzu Hombre mini pickup truck with the "dead" I4 ICE, and the complete 2006 Miles ZX40 sitting in my yard maybe 40 feet apart, and thinking I should "marry" the two. This would be a VERY low-speed, short-range EV, but in my tiny Northern Nevada town, it would suffice for many tasks, and would draw less ire from the anti-EV locals than just running the Miles itself around town...
Very happy for you. It fits your use case. I have forgone my deposit/which was refunded-and am looking for a better alternative for me. The quality issues, dealer issues and absurd prices drove me away. Pun intended
let's be honest: you're not expecting a major earthquake in the next 20-30yrs. you're expecting a major earthquake "at any moment". they cannot be predicted with any reliability. and it is ridiculous that there needs to be an internet connection for the automatic transfer switch to engage. i own a platinum lightning myself, and have not connected my 80amp charger up yet. my understanding was that the transfer switch simply needed it's own power source so that it could communicate with the truck, not internet connection as well. this is a shame that the system was designed this way. it should be the same as any other backup generator that has an auto start function with an automatic transfer switch.
It seems to me that the inetenet connectivity problem of the inverter can be easily solved by replacing this built-in LTE antenna with an external one with high gain on a cable of about 5-10m. If you place the antenna on the roof of the building in the direction of the transmitter cheaply you will gain a lot of mobile signal power.
The Sunrun system shouldn't need to contact a server for anything. There is no guarantee that it will be able to communicate, especially in situations where there are power outages. It should be able to automatically switch when the grid is dead, and/or there should be a manual switch to switch from grid to backup systems. If it needs to request permission for some reason, then it's a bad system, and I would advise people against getting them (against the Sunrun system; not the truck). Chances are unacceptably high that it won't work in a real situation. However, I just saw you have another video "I Was Wrong: How The Ford F150 Lightning Home Integration System ACTUALLY Works", so everyone should probably watch that too. I'll go watch it now.
Unfortunately, that only masks the problem, as she's referred to the due/overdue Cascadian Fault quake (every ~400 years) affecting the Pacific Northwest, that will very likely take out all wireless comms for a period, and which she's mentioned that she's planning around.
@@alsavage1 If the problem is a weak cell sight signal a gain antenna will make a big difference. She said under ideal conditions the signal marginal and in bad weather the signal strength droops below a usable level. A directional gain antenna would easily compensate for the weak signal. If an earthquake damages the cell towers then this won't work, but it would take a very strong earthquake to do so. Another alternative would be a manual override to use in place of the remote interlock. Perhaps the hardware manufacturer could give the installation crew a method of doing so.
That Backup System should have an option to have a stand-alone Operation. Also the mobile connection antenna can be replaced with a cable and a roo mounted antenna.
This is an outstanding review. I was a bit concerned about the issues you foreshadowed with the home backup, but your explanation clarified the reasons. I agree it's a bad design, that has particularly big problems for you and means the backup power is likely not useful in a widespread disaster. I love the clear and thoughtful way you presented the pros and cons of the car, as well as your ending point about whether someone really needs a vehicle this size.
So many people don't realize it, but during winter months ICE vehicles don't get near as good of gas mileage in the winter as they get during warmer weather.
A bigger cellphone aerial may help. We use them on smart meters when the built in aerial is insufficient. Its still a potential point of failure in a natural disaster but it should help in most situations. Like you, I can't believe the unit doesn't communicate directly with the truck.
Required internet connectivity for the Vehicle to Home backup is a non-starter for me. This is the most ridiculously poor design I have seen in anything sold as an emergency back up.
The design of that house backup system is amazingly dumb. It is extremely unlikely that the internet will be working at all after a hurricane or tornado which is exactly when you would need the power to work the most! Terrible thoughtless engineering. I had 12v battery problems with my prius prime. The Toyota electronics hasn't set the charge cycling properly, so it dies after 2-3 years. I put a 10 watt solar panel on the dash and an adapter feeding it into the OBDC port, and have not had a problem after.
Backup system that depends on internet to talk to a car that's RIGHT THERE! That's just idiotic design.
but good for business.
Yes, I hate this type of design. I always assume that the internet will not be available in an emergency.
Indeed. Even in the big city, a power loss would take out cable internet (unless it speaks native cable). So only cell (maybe - towers may be out), landline phone, or, again, maybe, fiber (same maybe as cable) would be available. There's is no conceivable reason to require phoning home (well, I can conceive one reason - subscription 🙁).
@@jameshiggins-thomas9617 My local cable company has backup batteries with their network equipment. They even send out vans to charge the battery if the outage is localized enough.
I own a lightning, although I sympathize with those who purchased sunruns home integration system, that was their decision and most failed to carefully review how that system operates or even the downsides of it At a cost of around $4000 plus installation cost, I knew it was way over priced from the gitgo. Those costs don't include the costs of fords 80 amp pro charger which is also required to operate that backup system which is only included with the platinum at no extra costs. I use a breaker interlock, a generator receptical and connect my truck to my home, which powers all my essential loads using the 7200 watt on board bed power. Works great, and since I'm an electrician only cost me materials to install.
I just purchased a Lightning Lariat and first EV in no small part because of the episodes from Transport Evolved relating their experiences. It is my hope Ford takes note of how TE has helped sell their very expensive product.
Thanks much for the 20k mile update. I've been watching this very closely. You're doing awesome work!
Can't wait until these come to Australia. I'm an ex V8 F150 owner and miss that truck. Just hope the EV price is reasonable when it hits. 👍
We just need some utes here in Oz that are half decent at a reasonable price
I never owned a pickup, but I have a Model 3, and my wife has a Bolt. I love the way EV powertrains perform. Smooth, quiet, torquey, and the 1 pedal driving is the bomb. I also love charging at home, instead of going to a gas station. That lightning is quick, and I can't imagine not loving that frunk and 110/220 power. That thing has a big pack. That's no 12V starter battery.
Ford will have an electric ranger before they have the f150 lightning here in Australia. The new ranger / amarok have been designed to also be electric and Ford Australia says there is no plans at this stage to bring the F150 lightning here. Maybe they will develop the second generation to be RHD as well?
These type of video feel like a real live shot and does not feel pre scripted. More of these would be great as it feel like a genuine you. This video is you at your best more please.
Great overview of the Lightning! You went through everything and plainly explained your experience with each and how the truck has served you over time. I appreciate the lack of blatant fan praise, and the lack of snark, that is pervasive on some other channels! Ford seems to have done a very good job with its first EV truck, but I agree with you that I wish that they would transfer that into something less sizable for those of us that rarely need a full-size pickup but would like the utility that a pickup provides over an SUV or crossover.
Another top-notch report.
Thanks for going so much deeper than pretty much any other channel.
Glad the comments are back,keep up the great content. I was really surprised when you said that you'd had experience of your backup power supply not working due to connectivity issues. I had no idea that the electrical network was so poor in the US. I've had one 9 hour outage since I moved into my home 7 years ago and that was after a strom that had category 1 hurricane winds.
Pretty much all privatized infrastructure in North America is crumbling due to executive incentives based on quarterly stock price results.
Most electric lines run overhead, arnt well maintained, and are often struck by trees or branches falling during storms, or even by drunk drivers crashing into them. I have neighbors who lose power almost everytime the wind blows as there is a stand of dead trees in the neighborhood that everyone refuses to have cut down, with the claim that they "beautify" the neighborhood. Fortunately my power comes from a different direction.
The entirety of the US system isn’t poor, the challenge is it’s a huge country. An act of Congress was needed to get power to more rural areas, it simply wasn’t profitable. The systems installed weren’t inferior, but they were a balance of lowest cost and best service. Many physical challenges pop up, trees, creeks, distance, etc. I live in a big city where the power is city owned. In 40 years my power has not gone out - ever. The system is extremely robust.
Unfortunate that your triple redundant internet system is unreliable. Hopefully something more reliable comes your way soon.
I wonder if the number of Ford F150Es produced was a factor in your purchase decision. Was it a temptation to go with the gas powered version to squash the fear that the electric truck might have at best modest production?
Glad your truck is working out for you.
All comments I've found to this point are positive. How 'bout a bunch of us fans comb the comments and report troublemakers? TE deserves to thrive.
Doing exactly that now.
Absolutely. The community could police out all of the nasty people fairly effectively.
Same here. I've reported a couple today and will keep checking. I love this channel and it's the least I can do.
Thank you for returning the comment section. I know you and your crew have been targets of some truly uncouth attacks both personal and professional. Keyboard commandos think they are all that but we all know that most of them are nothing in person. Trouble is a very small percentage are just plain nuts and are dangerous. One of the very few things I long for from the past is good manners and personal restraint. Hate speech isn't free speech it's just being a nasty d**k. Anyways thanks Nikki for bringing us such useful and well done content. Love you guys.
Great to hear that the truck is holding up well and working well. May the Fourth be with you, and be protected from the Revenge of the Fifth!
Why the hell does the power integration box even need to ask "the internet" for permission to provide power? This sounds like a gross misdesign. Shouldn't it be normal for a house power failure to also take out the internet connection? I'd expect that to be a standard test case for the developers. I really hope they deliver a firmware update that takes care of that.
The Sunrun home integration system is expensive and definitely not required to power your home. I just use the 240 volt 30 amp receptical and it powers all my essentials.
All that required to power your home from the lightning is a breaker interlock system like you'd install to backup your home with a generator and instead of powering your home with a gas generator just plug your truck into that receptical, and use the on board 240 volt 30 amp power from the bed of the lightning. Works great to power all my essential loads, even my 240 volt deep well pump. I install mine, but relatively simple. And even if you would hire an electrician to do the job , I guarantee you it's not going to cost you the $4k plus, that would cost you if you had to install the home integration system. Granted you'll have to flip two interlocked breakers, connect the cables to backup generator receptical and start the truck all manually. With some enginuity and a good electrician you could install an automatic transfer system that would perform everything automatically as long as the truck was plugged in and powered up. I do it all manually which only takes me a few minutes to get everything up and running
Nice job, Nikki! I just hit 10k on my Lightning (with nearly 10k on the Rivian also). I'm going to make a 10k video next week, I'll link to this video also.
Thanks, Tom!
Great to see comments back!! 🎉
Great review, thank you. What a shame about the windscreens and the home integration system. Poor design… why does it need to send anything to a server to check? Should be done locally…, I don’t get it.
I am highly anticipating the second generation of this truck with a faster DC fast charging rate. I do spend a lot of time on the road and have the need of a full size truck. I traded in my F350 for a Kia EV6. For most day to day, the Kia has been able to do the transport bit, but in no way can it handle the hauling or working part of what I require. I do believe the smaller electric trucks will soon be on their way, however historically the F150 has been the vehicle of choice in the US for 40 some odd years. It works as a trades vehicle as well as a family hauler.
Glad comments are back so I'm beaming positivity and love for the channel :-)
Any power-switching devices should be local networks at most. Definitely shouldn't need to talk to SkyNet to switch. This seems like a massive design flaw. If they can't rework this, I'd be having them take it off the house too. Edit: I'm over the huge inflated size of pickups and SUVs as well. That F150 is the size of an F-650 or larger of yester year.
Hi, this is the enthusiastic young fellow that was asking about your truck today at Lowes. Enjoyed your 21,000 mile review.
Thank you for making this review after your 20k milestone. Please keep them coming!
I’m up to 36k miles just 8 months in on my 2022 MX and I’ve gone through a set of snow tires this season around Lake Tahoe. I actually got a small crack (1 inch) in my windshield that’s right above my head within the first 10k miles and I’m extremely fortunate that it hasn’t upgraded itself to a full split 🤞. 😅
Truly helpful for truck aficionados!
One of reason why I love your show is because you breez through these topics easily with such honesty. Been watching your show for a long time now, you are my favorite presenter (perhaps I shouldn't say that). The team is great!
Agreed! It's almost like you have a really knowledgeable friend breaking it down for you.
I am glad you brought up the cell connectivity issue. I am a Ham radio guy. When everyone started to move toward 4 and 5G and away from the previous cell systems ,I told people that this would come up in more Rural areas. The newer cell frequencies are affected more by weather ( moisture ) and vegetation. Can you still get hard line or a typical phone line in your area? It would be slow internet but good enough to change over your power. Kind of like the old dish network system. Request over phone line.
They have a wifi link to a nearby farm down the valley and starlink, but when the power fails, so does the power to the farm and that connection goes out. Starlink just doesn't work with this system at all, for some unknown reason.
@Jesper Monsted If they had a regular phone line, those are self powered. They could use the slow data through that to possibly link up maybe.
I am an Electromechanical Hugh tech guy. If it was my home , I would just put in a standby Gen set changeover switch and a dedicated sub panel. It would automatically switch over to grid power when it came back up.
Sometimes simpler is better.
A related, recent experience: I upgraded an elderly relative out in the sticks last month, from legacy 10mb/s DSL to 100 gb/s fibre to the home (1G is available, but she'll never take advantage of it, so we saved the $20/mo. difference in price by going with the lower rate). We were trying to get TV streaming working better, otherwise the DSL was perfectly adequate.
When the installer came to install & connect the fibre termination box, they cut the landline copper *underground* at the house end, and moved her landline appliances to VoiP via the new fibre connection. I was furious: she experiences *at least* a dozen power outages every winter, and the always-powered copper landline has been extremely useful for her at that house for the past 50 years.
Now, she only has "landline" phone service when her standby genny is up. I made a stink about it, as that was not revealed in any of the install paperwork we had to sign to allow the shallow trench to be made for the fibre line from the street to the residence, and was not mentioned in any of the three live conference calls I had with the telco's sales rep.
The telco also *refuses* to reconnect the landline to copper. They are actively pushing people off of copper, the installer said to reduce the legacy copper maintenance, which dates to 1952 in the area, and for which he claims CO blades are no longer available . . . which is typical, "we don't want to pay to maintain our system" BS.
I'll likely install a small UPS on that fibre connection terminator, but I'm still furious.
@@alsavage1 The fiber box is supposed to have a back-up battery: but out installer left it out ("cold weather version" --despite being indoors) to save on cost. I am using a UPS for phone+internet.
Such a beast of a car, saw my first lightening at Fully charged at farnborough recently, such a shame we can’t get them in UK, but might not suit UK roads as it’s so huge! Love it, keep up the great work.
In the US it is considered a light duty truck. 🤣
@@patreekotime4578 even in Canada
Great update. Thorough. Professional. Honest.
Wonderful video as always. So glad the comments are turned back on. Nice good comprehensive review of your Ford F-150.
As of January, "Ford Maverick Electric & Maverick Plug in Hybrid could arrive next". Fingers crossed.
Thank you, Nikki. So comprehensive. Bummer about the verification failures on the back-up power system. I hope you get that sorted.
u towed house LITTERALLY, i love that shot
Love your work. Both of you. Maybe Blur your plate.
I love the stuffed animals on the dash. I've actually heard of emergency personnel keeping soft toys like that in their vehicles in case they come across or respond to an accident where a child was in the car. It, understandably, helps reduce the trauma they are going through.
I’ve always found having things on the dashboard to be very distracting. Perhaps that’s just me but the reflection is obvious in this report.
Nice to see you are very happy with your truck 😊
Great to hear the review. My wife drives a Mach-e and loves it. Although the software in my Rivian is much better and caused her to put in an order for the R1S.
So what I heard you say, when the SHTF, you need to rely on the internet, a connection to the internet, to send a command to the cloud that goes to a server that then returns a command to let the truck know it's okay to send power to the inverter. And if that's not working, then back up is the cellular network, that most likely will be overloaded or down as well. Who in God's name thought that was a good idea?
Ford, apparently 🤬
@@jmonsted Apparently, it's Sunrun main control system that's wants to be boss. It's not getting the signal back from the cloud to tell the truck to send power back.
Par for the course for the "Internet of Crap". Most "smart" devices phone home for vendor lock-in purposes.
Nice to get the comments back and say - you are all doing a great job - and Fuxx off to all the haters
Glad you are liking the truck. I wish I could get the cheapest one and potentially replace our old Suburban that is only used occasionally for towing/hauling.
The issues with the home backup is terrible. Your theory on why it doesn't work sounds totally plausible. It's curious that it needs to ask the home ship for permission to operate though. That sounds like some sort of subscription service, but you own the system.
Great video! Always love to hear about your F150. ❤
It is great that you finally figured out why the Sunrun system was unreliable. I hope they change it so it can work without Internet connectivity!
Love the cool logical detail in your reports👍🏻
Ok, the light rain background has an almost commercial picturist look. Nice. Its interesting that the 12v battery is such trouble to the subsystem management. Feels like the 12 V is the new coin watch battery in other complex systems (laptop, hand held diag stuff, etc..)
Thats why some companies are switching to lithium ion for it. More expensive to replace, but hopefully less failure prone.
PNW REPRESENT! If the rain wasn't a dead giveaway, the Tillamook hoodie definitely was... as a former Oregonian, I approve
Thank you Nikki for you continuing updates. Like your experience our Lightning has performed without issues...and like you we purchased the Ford/SunRun home backup system. As we are located in an urban area, ewe do not have the same problems you have experienced. Going from a plug-in hybrid to the Lightning we knew that we would require additional solar panels and had SunRun install them. When connected to the SunRun panels, the home back system fails. By disconnecting them via the switch on the bottom of the Delta bidirectional inverter the system appears to function properly. With installation completed in Aug 2022, we hope that Ford, SunRun, or Delta can sort this out soon.
Good show. Liked the Outdoor portion. Really informative for me.
Glad to hear your Chevrolet Bolt EV is still working well for you. I just got a notification to take my Chevrolet Bolt in for a seat belt replacement. As for a new battery, I am still waiting to hear from GM about a replacement.
“Sometimes we can’t fit all our camera gear in the back.” Lol Ya’ll must have an amazing collection of camera gear! Great informative review!
Would love to see a Ford Fiesta EV with 20KWh pack giving 130 mile range for $15,000 also offer a 50KWh long range version for $27,000 for those that want the long range
125 miles would be perfectly acceptable for most people especial if you could rent mobile battery packs to increase the range of your EV for the few days a year you need longer range
After a the US tax credit it would only be $7,500..... thats chepaer than most used cars
I also desperately wish for an electric Fiesta sized hatchback! I know the automotive industry in North America is pushing us all to buy giant vehicles because the profit margins are higher, but I live in the city, and giant vehicles are a terrible inconvenience and waste of money for me.
Really doubt you'd get that range, 5-5.5 mpkWh is about the best for a small EV hatch, so 25kWh would do it.
@Dave Bell As a ruel of thumb efficency is porportial to weight
A 20KWh EV vs a 60KWh EV would be about ~300kg lighter
So going from say 1.6 tons to 1.3 tons = 23% efficency gain
So going from 4.6KWh per mile to 5.7KWh x 20KWh = 114 miles
Or 25KWh = ~140 miles
I'd settle for a Ford Focus EV, preferably with at least some of the nice inverter power from the F-150 :)
@@kaya051285 You've got some "KWh"s in there that should properly be "KW"s, but the crux of the issue is that aero is much more important than weight when it comes to EVs.
That said, I've been driving a ~100mi range BEV for years, and it suits for 95% of my miles. I can afford to have an ICE minivan for the other 5%/towing/camping/etc.
Great update, thank you Nikki.
I’m surprised that the home power system has to talk to a server to work. Makes it pretty useless if you’re connection challenged like yourselves.
Sunrun's home integration system has had many issues. Personally I've never purchased one I've set up a receptical in my garage that I plug my truck into to power my home with the 7200 watt 240 volt 30 amp receptical located in the bed of the truck. This powers all essential equipment in my home during a power failure. The Sunrun system costs around $4000 and also requires ford 80 amp pro charger that comes with the platinum but will cost you another nearly $3000 if you have to purchase it separately. Now installation costs $4000 - $5000 to install the complete system. Just a worthless system
Thanks for such a useful and complete progress report. Even if Ford/Sunrun/Partner Company can get the system to verify over your ISP and/or cellular it still is problematic. As you point out, in a large event that knocks out power and communication, the system will not be able to verify the capability. It really needs a local capability for this. In systems I have worked on that need to be robust, we typically attempt do some sort of verification but if unable, we store the last verification which has a time-of-death so that it is good for 30/60/90 days but not forever. Seems like this would be a good approach for Ford to push for so their branded system always delivers on its promise.
Hi, I’m a retired Motorola radio system engineer. I would suggest you get a wall mount Yagi antenna tuned to your cellular band, place Yagi high as possible and point to your local cell site. Run a low loss cable from Yagi to your unit, remove cellular rubber antenna on bottom of control box and use a more flexible adapter cable to connect the box to the thicker yagi cable. That should give you a workable and reliable cell phone data connection to the internet.
Love to see your review of your vehicle. I'm waiting on an AWD lyriq myself. Hope to see your review of that and many more vehicles. The lyriq will be my first ev so, I find it a comfort to watch your channel that has people familiar with the systems. I'll keep watching and evolving! Keep up the good work.
What a questionable design choice it was to make the backup power system dependent on an internet connection!
Thanks for your support. Me and my work family support & thank you for buying Local 600 DTP for assembling your truck ❤
You're right. Every day driving doesn't need a 6,000 pound vehicle that won't fit in half of the parking spaces at the mall. For most of my driving I really don't need a vehicle the size of the LEAF. But I can only afford one car and it has to be ready for that 1% situation where I need twice the capacity.
I live in San Francisco where parking is a premium. The main trouble that I have is the height of the truck more than anything else. The Lightning is about 2 inches taller than most parking garages permit.
T.E. thanks for the info. I trust you a lot pertaining to the truck
Just a reminder, don't read the comments, but incase you do, much love for the whole team from Australia.
I'm thinking of convincing my dad to get one of these. But that issue with the cell signal gives me pause, kinda an issue in some places. Still have to rewatch your videos on towing to remind myself how it'll do with his stuff, but it'll be a while yet for him anyways.
@12:34, in the US, it's been 120/240v EVERYWHERE since at least the 1950s, though you still hear people say, incorrectly, "220". Sigh.
I wonder how many other F150 Lightening owners with the backup system have had either the same or similar problems getting it to work properly.
You are all loved and valued.
I thought external antenna's died a death, only ever seem them on old cars. Great review.
That "internet check" is the reason why I only use devices not connected to internet. Anything that goes out is not relevant for me.
However, the truck itself looks very solid and as a work horse really relevant.
Good purchase.
33k km in less than 1 year - well, I guess one can say you DO use it :)
Several trips to California helps on that front :)
Impressive review. Thanks Nikki, unfortunately I' ll never be able to drive such a truck in Europe . We problably don' t need these kind of large vehicles in our city centers😅
That is so wierd that the power would have a data dependency...
Aurely there must be a way to disable that requirement? Imagine a cabin in the woods with zero data, the system would never work there? Maybe pull out some wire shark and intercep the communications. Sigh, thats a real shame.
Yeah. It's pretty shockingly short-sighted thinking on the designers' part.
@@sforoushani1 I almost can't believe it... Almost... ;)
If Ford provided a method for the F-150 to connect to wi-fi, the power system wouldn't need to "phone home" to a faraway server. It could simply connect to the F-150 locally and get the info needed to perform the switchover.
@@JREwing78 all we need to do is ask, "how do traditional generators handle this", and there is no reason the Lightning can't (couldn't have, can't be updated to) do it that way. Or actually the inverter component or bridge component that has introduced this crazy data dependency.
All the lightning does is provide a massive battery to the inverter via the CCS port. There is no need for any networking at all. The CCS already has the EVSE & DCFC communication protocols.
Who EVer designed this to require the internet needs to be fired. If power is out, how can they expect the internet to stay running. If the lightning backup power needs the internet. Before it can give backup power. Circular dependencies are stupid. It hurts my brain, I can not _ enough...
Impressively comprehensive.
I think I mentioned before when you started having the whole house backup system on the house that the truck talks to (or doesn’t talk to) that you can use the power inverter, or Pro Power as it’s called on truck itself. The plug in the bed is 249v from 7-9kw depending on which pro power setup you have. Then just have a generator plug connected to your Span panel or panel you want to backup. I think you have an auto transfer switch as well? If not even a manual transfer switch will allow you to disconnect grid ( when it’s down) and allow to power your critical loads with truck. Then when grid power comes back on you flip the transfer switch back to grid. Much simpler than all that other house hardware that’s not working.
This will be the fallback, i'm sure. Ideally, the smart system would've done all of this automatically. That's what Ford got paid thousands of dollars for.
She mentions doing just that @13:04
Good review. Thanks for pointing out the stupid design of the home integration system. I too live in an area with frequent power outages. When our power goes out we lose internet and we have no cell connectivity other than one bar on the third floor of the house. So that system as currently configured would not work for me at all. Fortunately, I have a stand alone backup system tied into my solar panels that will run the house for 3-4 days in winter and indefinitely in summer.
Do you have a link for that dash cam? Or a review of it maybe? Im very fond of something that integrates with minimal modifications...
FYI its on Amazon
Very nice! Love to have y’all back
You mentioned the dash cam that integrates with the truck. Can you provide a link? Great content.
The Active Air Dam is not the battery cooling shutters. The Active Air Dam is a skirt at the bottom of the bumper that deploys at speeds over 45mph. It is used at higher speeds to improve range by about 15%. You Tube has some videos on the Active Air Dam deploying. If you get under your truck and look up at the bottom of the bumper you can see the mechanism.
Also, you should get wheel locks. They are about $30, those Lariat wheels are not exactly cheap to replace.
The only issue that I have had with my Lightning Lariat is when the atmospheric rivers hit California and made it rain for a month straight. There is water condensation in my backup light and it does not want to seem to drain out. I am going to have my dealership look at it when I take my truck in for the wiper motor recall.
An EV rental company had both the F150 and Rivian truck [both in left hand drive] on their stand at Fully Charged Farnborough, UK. Interesting to see them both 'in the flesh' especially seeing so much footage by Nikki here and Tom Mouloghney on his channel. They also had a truck by Maxus [Chinese].
Pity you've had such a problem with the home integration/back up system.
That is so sad about the home backup solution. Hopefully they will fix it with a software update. It would seem that it would be able to communicate directly with the truck over Wi-Fi local network.
Many thanks for your comments about the size and usage of this big vehicle.
By the way, I am back to subscribing to your channel after I unsubscribed because of this big truck. Of course I could never forget you all at your channel. You have a good place in my heart.
Edit:
Oh, believe it or not, it fits so seamless, what a coincidence, in the hour after writing this comment, I discovered your video how it began, it was so heartwarming... wow
I'm speechless...
It was a few days ago that I thought, I should revisit your channel, I remember this as a good channel, I should consider re-subscribing. And I'm blown away...
Lol love the custom plate...
We also have very poor cell service, having to use wifi calling. What you describe on the power backup, would be a fail for us also.
Ahhh, I'm confused. Why does the SunRun system have to talk to there server to pull power from the truck. To your point, if your internet also goes away or has poor signal it might not be able to connect. To me this is a Firmware bug. They should, at least have an override that tells the system to pull power from the truck. Or just disable the feature... This is not a hard issue to solve... In my opinion being a Firmware Engineer.
Having to reach the cloud for the home power backup is really stupid.
SunRun really needs to change that server garbage.. power outage should be all local.. can the software, be upgraded on it..
Can’t they just turn off the required ‘okay’ from a server? Just make it manual?
It's remarkable that 12V battery problems seem endemic to EVs, when EV use should be far easier duty than any ICE vehicle. There are no huge starter loads, and there's plenty of power available to keep it from experiencing low state of charge. In the end I guess the solution will be Lithium cells, as Tesla have begun to do.
I’m also an F150 Lightning owner and really enjoyed your charming video
After taking years to get a "smart plug" working (with Home Assistant) because I did not want it phoning home: I now refuse to buy IoT crap that requires Internet access to work.
Excited to see Ford T3 news.
Check the 3M double sided heavy duty transparent tape, holds very well in all conditions, even very hot weather. Sticks to anything. Hot gun to remove residue.
Such a cool truck! I'm so glad that it's been good for you.
I keep looking at my 1999 Isuzu Hombre mini pickup truck with the "dead" I4 ICE, and the complete 2006 Miles ZX40 sitting in my yard maybe 40 feet apart, and thinking I should "marry" the two.
This would be a VERY low-speed, short-range EV, but in my tiny Northern Nevada town, it would suffice for many tasks, and would draw less ire from the anti-EV locals than just running the Miles itself around town...
Great video report. Glad you have SunRun running up to your place soon.😃
I have a Ford Edge, but I know my next car will be an electric Ford. I hope the new Explorer comes to Canada. Otherwise, it's a Mach E for us 😊
Very happy for you. It fits your use case. I have forgone my deposit/which was refunded-and am looking for a better alternative for me. The quality issues, dealer issues and absurd prices drove me away. Pun intended
let's be honest: you're not expecting a major earthquake in the next 20-30yrs. you're expecting a major earthquake "at any moment". they cannot be predicted with any reliability. and it is ridiculous that there needs to be an internet connection for the automatic transfer switch to engage. i own a platinum lightning myself, and have not connected my 80amp charger up yet. my understanding was that the transfer switch simply needed it's own power source so that it could communicate with the truck, not internet connection as well. this is a shame that the system was designed this way. it should be the same as any other backup generator that has an auto start function with an automatic transfer switch.
It seems to me that the inetenet connectivity problem of the inverter can be easily solved by replacing this built-in LTE antenna with an external one with high gain on a cable of about 5-10m. If you place the antenna on the roof of the building in the direction of the transmitter cheaply you will gain a lot of mobile signal power.
The Sunrun system shouldn't need to contact a server for anything. There is no guarantee that it will be able to communicate, especially in situations where there are power outages. It should be able to automatically switch when the grid is dead, and/or there should be a manual switch to switch from grid to backup systems. If it needs to request permission for some reason, then it's a bad system, and I would advise people against getting them (against the Sunrun system; not the truck). Chances are unacceptably high that it won't work in a real situation. However, I just saw you have another video "I Was Wrong: How The Ford F150 Lightning Home Integration System ACTUALLY Works", so everyone should probably watch that too. I'll go watch it now.
This is an incredible review! Well done.Hello from Nova Scotia Canada, I'm now a subscriber!!
An external larger high gain cell phone antenna attached to the emergency power system might solve the cell phone signal problem. It's worth a try.
Unfortunately, that only masks the problem, as she's referred to the due/overdue Cascadian Fault quake (every ~400 years) affecting the Pacific Northwest, that will very likely take out all wireless comms for a period, and which she's mentioned that she's planning around.
@@alsavage1 If the problem is a weak cell sight signal a gain antenna will make a big difference. She said under ideal conditions the signal marginal and in bad weather the signal strength droops below a usable level. A directional gain antenna would easily compensate for the weak signal. If an earthquake damages the cell towers then this won't work, but it would take a very strong earthquake to do so. Another alternative would be a manual override to use in place of the remote interlock. Perhaps the hardware manufacturer could give the installation crew a method of doing so.
That Backup System should have an option to have a stand-alone Operation.
Also the mobile connection antenna can be replaced with a cable and a roo mounted antenna.
This is an outstanding review. I was a bit concerned about the issues you foreshadowed with the home backup, but your explanation clarified the reasons. I agree it's a bad design, that has particularly big problems for you and means the backup power is likely not useful in a widespread disaster. I love the clear and thoughtful way you presented the pros and cons of the car, as well as your ending point about whether someone really needs a vehicle this size.
So many people don't realize it, but during winter months ICE vehicles don't get near as good of gas mileage in the winter as they get during warmer weather.
What a great update
A bigger cellphone aerial may help. We use them on smart meters when the built in aerial is insufficient.
Its still a potential point of failure in a natural disaster but it should help in most situations.
Like you, I can't believe the unit doesn't communicate directly with the truck.
Required internet connectivity for the Vehicle to Home backup is a non-starter for me. This is the most ridiculously poor design I have seen in anything sold as an emergency back up.
The design of that house backup system is amazingly dumb. It is extremely unlikely that the internet will be working at all after a hurricane or tornado which is exactly when you would need the power to work the most! Terrible thoughtless engineering.
I had 12v battery problems with my prius prime. The Toyota electronics hasn't set the charge cycling properly, so it dies after 2-3 years. I put a 10 watt solar panel on the dash and an adapter feeding it into the OBDC port, and have not had a problem after.