Nothing major so far. Cigarette lighter burnt out early on, and there've been a couple intermittent squeaks up in the dash. Not unusual for a truck, and the dealer is good about tracking them down and fixing them.
This truck is somewhat of a contradiction, I must admit. It's nowhere near as useful as a "real" truck, and doesn't handle anything like a "real" sports car. But, it's an awful lot of fun, and quite reliable so far.
I should mention that I do not own this truck -- my boyfriend received it for a graduation present, courtesy of his parents and I. It was his dream truck, and he's quite happy with it.
The ride is somewhat stiff, but generally smooth enough for comfort. The interior is typical Ford -- ergonomics and materials are not all they could be, but not terrible, either. I must say that I have never sat in a truck that is so comfortable.
Handling is much better than any truck I've ever driven. It lacks that disconnected, floaty feeling of any large vehicle. It's still a big heavy truck, no doubt about it, but it's a sports car of a truck. As I said, a contradiction!
The engine is something else. Huge power, enormous torque. If you like the sound of a big bellowing V8, you'll love the sound of a Lightning.
We've taken it on a few long road trips. This is just about the perfect vehicle for that, believe it or not. Fast, powerful, comfortable, and nice and high of the ground. I was pleasantly surprised how well it did over long distances.
Around town? Well... If you live in the country, you know about guys and their trucks. Everyone stares, since there don't seem to be many of these around. Must be good for the boyfriend's ego!
Gripes? Nothing you wouldn't expect, I suppose. It sucks down gas like there's no tomorrow, and I have a feeling it'll need new tires (which cost a fortune!) before too long. Massive torque + 25 year old guy = big smoky burnouts, which just kills the tires! Definitely not something I'd buy for it's utility either, if you know what I mean. As you'd expect, it's very twitchy in the rain, and when it snows he'll be commuting in my Subaru, I'm sure.
Overall, my boyfriend really loves it, and I like it enough, too. If you like trucks, but want a sports car, and can't decide -- think about a Lightning. It's quite the fun, somewhat quirky vehicle.
All I can say about this truck is "Awesome".
This truck is my dream truck. It's got power no other truck has. It's got a body of a musculine design like a new a new bull kid in town per say. It's got that new and upgrade clear tail lights which will turn anyone to look twice on the truck. I mean with a 380 hp supercharged engine, I feel like I'm the king of the road. I've raced so many sports car such as Porche Boxters, Hondas, Corvettes, Dodge trucks, Lexus, Mercedes. These are few, but they can't beat my acceleration torque which scares them when they hear the engine screaming like a loud growl. This is it. This is the sport truck of the century!!
In the last five months I have had 4 coils go out and the repair is expensive. It concerns me about traveling long distances.
Yeah, the coils on Ford vehicles are generally a problem area - Ford knows it and won't do much about it. I'd advise you to replace all of them at once with OEM or better aftermarket units, and make your you use some kind of sealing grease to keep moisture out. Excellent review, by the way. Hope you continue to have loads of fun destroying Honda's with it!
Well all I can say is wow!! you may not think this is true, but here goes. I bought a used 1999 red lightning last summer. a good buddy of mine got it from a good friend of his a few months before. my friend Ricky bought the truck & did not even know what is was. all he knew was it was real fast & it was red. rick left the truck with me for a few weeks so I could enjoy it. then after that he got it back & he told me he was tired of buying gas. since rick new the past owner I got all of the OEM paperwork & invoices for upgrades & repairs this guy had bought it new & used it for work! the truck is like brand new & being an ASE certified master tech even I could not get over how nice it really is. now that I have gone on so long its time for the unbelievable part it has 161,000 miles on it. it has no squeaks or rattles & it runs & drives new. I can't understand it, but its true. everybody that has ridden, driven or looked at it thinks the miles are 50 or 60k. hats of to SVT/Ford this thing is just too good! I wish I could have bought it new. I would recommend the purchase of a lightning to anybody. thanks for letting me babble on. sorry for the bad spelling, gramer and all that school stuff cars have been a high priority for me all my life and school work sucked. Bubba one st. Pete fl.
Hey guys, I was wondering if any of you had a problem with your ford lightning using oil?
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