Fisker has made a lot of news lately, most of it better than this story, since they are the hot electric car maker on the market these days. You may have read recently about the Fisker Karma that burst into flames on the side of a road on August 10th. Many people assumed that the fire was caused by the large battery pack that powers these sleek machines, but the investigation seems to indicate otherwise.
Surprisingly, Fisker executives determined that a cooling fan was the culprit behind the fire. Fisker has decided that the sealed component here had an internal fault, thus causing it to fail and overheat, starting a slow burning fire. A recall will be coming shortly for those “lucky” enough to have already received their vehicles.
A portion of the official company statement has been posted below.
Fisker has already contacted its retailer network. Customers are expected to be contacted by retailers, ahead of their receiving formal notice from the company by mail, to have the cooling fan replaced with a unit that meets the required specifications. At the same time an additional fuse will be installed for added protection.
In their investigation, independent experts established that the incident was not caused by the Lithium-ion battery pack, new technology components, engine component packaging or unique exhaust routing of the Fisker Karma.
“We are committed to responding swiftly and decisively to events such as this to ensure total customer satisfaction,” says Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, Henrik Fisker. “This incident resulted from a single, faulty component, not our unique EVer powertrain or the engineering of the Karma. As this situation demonstrates, Fisker Automotive is dedicated to doing whatever is necessary to address safety and quality
concerns.”
The owner of the car involved in the Woodside incident, Mr. Rudy Burger commented: “I have been incredibly impressed with the way Fisker has handled this incident. I have personally started seven technology companies and know from direct experience that the US needs more innovative companies of this type, especially in the automobile sector.
“Fisker is a great company and one that I am personally planning to invest in. I look forward to getting behind the wheel of my next Fisker.