In its blog posting, Consumer Reports indicated that it has had other bad Karma experiences. "We encountered other problems with a Karma press car that visited the track for a few hours, and we have heard of problems at press events," the blog stated. "In addition, we see that some owners are experiencing a variety of issues, as evidenced by forums, such as FiskerBuzz.com."
The incident is bad news for Fisker, which took a hit late last year when it revealed that it was building its luxury plug-in hybrid in Finland, after being awarded a $528.7 million Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) loan from the US Department of Energy. In a statement issued last year after receiving the loans, Fisker said the money was used to create jobs in the United States and "not a single dollar of the DoE loans has been, or will be, spent outside of America."
The Karma is a luxury plug-in hybrid that operates on the same principal as the Chevy Volt. Its patented EVer powertrain uses a 20.1kWh lithium-ion battery pack and 336V electrical architecture to get a 50-mile all-electric driving range. Its two-liter, direct injection, four-cylinder engine gives the Karma a total range of 300 miles.
Champion says the public shouldn't judge plug-in hybrid technology based on this incident alone. Consumer Reports has tested Chevy Volts for over a year without a technical incident, he told us. "It's just really difficult for a startup company on its first car to get everything right. But this is a little bit beyond that."
Correction:
The original version of this story stated that Fisker used its US Department of Energy loan to fund production of the Karma automobile in Finland. It did not. Design News regrets the error.
Related posts:
For an up-close look at the Chevy Volt, go to the Drive for Innovation site and follow the cross-country journey of EE Life editorial director, Brian Fuller. In the trip sponsored by Avnet Express, Fuller is taking the fire-engine-red Volt to innovation hubs across America, interviewing engineers, entrepreneurs, innovators, and students as he blogs his way across the country.
When you say "bricked," does that mean the battery pack died and has to be replaced for $40,000 and isn't covered by the warranty? Seems like we just discussed this very same problem with the Tesla.
Yes, we did cover it. But the Tesla story said the battery became a "brick" in that it was totally useless and had to be replaced for $40,000. We don't know in this case if it is another bricked, useless battery that has to be replaced, or--like you say--the car itself just has an electronic problem and needs to be fixed.
I suspect that, because it is Consumer Reports having the problem, that Fisker will fall all over themselves to straignten it out at no charge under warranty. I wonder if they would do the same for any other consumer?
I agree that they wood fix it under warantee. They will do the same for its clients, as if you look at their names, I'm sure that their attorneys would demand that.
As you may recall from the Tesla story, Tesla doesn't replace a bricked battery pack under warranty, no matter how old the car is. Even if it's only a few weeks old, like this Fisker. So it's not a certainty that Fisker will replace it for free. Being Consumer Reports, of course, I'm sure they will--but what about others?
I do feel that due to such a response to this issue all ove the net, Fiscar would do all possible to look good. When it come to Tesla, I was very surprized by their negative treatment of consumers. I'm sure they will lern or be gone.
Now there are a lot of players that will have electric cars or hybrids to compete with Tesla, so if they do not change their attitude, they will become history.
My Macbook had a glitch too, big deal. Besides a mandatory recall which is common for new cars, each of the Fisker Karma's (that's two now) that needed service since have been directly somehow related to Solyndra. Political football? Yeah slightly. These cars are made in the same factory that produces Porsche Cayman, a car that also had its glitches in the beginning (google it). No evidence of bricking here mate, sensational journalism is all.
I doubt if the battery here costs $40K to replace, like in the Tesla. The Tesla is an all-electric vehicle. This battery is smaller. On the other hand, if the electrical system completely froze up it may not be cheap. I think one of the problems with these vehicles is the battery technology that requires active measures to keep it running.
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