Yahoo Autos 2024 Ford Lightning 'stop-ship' is reportedly due to a headlight concern
The time-consuming, and occasionally painful and expensive fact of the matter is: You don't know what it will take to fix a problem until you've fixed the problem. Ford CEO Jim Farley rightfully talked up the numerous quality control processes put in place to ensure the 2023 Ford Super Duty came off assembly lines without any hitches other than a two-inch hitch receiver. We're sure the new methods have helped. Even so, the 2023 F-250 Super Duty has been hit with eight recalls so far, the most recent in December 2023 affecting nearly 18,000 trucks. Since pickups are not just Ford's bread and butter, they are the Dearborn manufacturer's dairy farm and wheat fields, the 2024 F-150 and F-150 Lightning are enduring the strictest scrutiny. Ford put a stop-ship on the Lightning on February 9, without giving a reason, telling Yahoo Finance, "We will ramp shipments once quality checks are completed."
Sam Fiorani, VP of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, told the Detroit Free Press, "We're being told it's an electric connection with the headlights," and, "It's a new part for the 2024 model. The connector apparently can leak water and short out the lights. They'll flicker or turn off."
A Ford spokesperson hasn't confirmed that issue, and wouldn't offer a potential date for lifting the stop-ship. The first Freep piece makes it appear the F-150 Lightning is having the headlight issue. However, we can't see any difference in the Lightning's headlights across model years, whereas the ICE-powered 2024 Ford F-150 does have new headlights. A follow-up Freep piece from today writes, "Also, as part of the 2024 F-150 standard quality checks, Ford is addressing potential issues with head lamps as part of production review prior to shipping to dealers."
