Ford Recalls F-150 Lightning Trucks Over High-Voltage Battery Defect and Risk of Fire

Ford Motor Company has announced a safety recall for a small number of 2023 F-150 Lightning electric pickup trucks due to a defect in the high-voltage battery system. The recall, identified as 25V-272 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), affects only three vehicles in the United States and stems from a manufacturing oversight that could increase the risk of fire or loss of vehicle power.

The issue centers around the battery junction box within the vehicle’s high-voltage battery pack, where missing or improperly torqued retention nuts on the bus bars could result in electrical arcing. Such arcing raises the potential for a fire and could trigger a warning message—”Stop Safely Now”—on the instrument cluster, potentially leading to a sudden loss of motive power. This sequence of events could increase the likelihood of a crash, although Ford reported no known accidents or injuries associated with the defect.

The vehicles in question underwent a rework operation during battery assembly, where one or more of the retention nuts may have been mistakenly removed and not properly reinstalled. Ford traced the issue using plant records and confirmed that the affected battery packs were not distributed as service stock. Despite only three U.S. vehicles being impacted, the company is taking precautionary steps by notifying owners and scheduling dealer inspections.

Ford dealers will inspect the battery junction boxes and confirm that all retention nuts are present and torqued to the correct specification. If any nuts are found missing or loose, further repair will be conducted. Until final repairs are completed, Ford may offer rental vehicles at no charge to the affected owners. Notification letters to customers are expected to be mailed between May 19 and May 23, 2025. The company has also reminded customers that repairs related to this issue, if already completed out-of-pocket, may be eligible for reimbursement under Ford’s existing recall reimbursement policy.

Article by multiple RFHC contributors, based upon information from a Part 573 Safety Recall Report issued by the Ford Motor Company and submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

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