The Fisker saga continues with more bad news for Ocean EV owners. The company has issued a second recall that affects all cars sold in the United States in less than a month.
This time, the issue that prompted Fisker to recall all 7,545 Ocean EVs in the country has to do with a communication loss on the vehicle’s Local Interconnect Network 6 (LIN6) bus that can cause the High Voltage Battery Management System (BMS) to go into limp mode, limiting the battery output to just 8.5 kilowatts, which is barely enough to move the car under its own power.
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More Fisker woes
After declaring bankruptcy, Fisker, the maker of the Ocean electric crossover, issued a second recall that affects all vehicles sold in the United States. Almost 7,500 cars are affected, and they all need a new water pump that Fisker says will be replaced free of charge. However, with dwindling financial resources, thousands of vehicles left in stock unsold and a critically low spare parts inventory, it's hard to see a positive outcome for owners.
According to the Safety Recall Report posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website, the culprit for this potentially dangerous situation is the cabin electric water pump, which has a defective conformal coating on the printed circuit board (PCB).
Fisker says it will replace the faulty water pumps with new units that have an improved coating on the PCB, but seeing how the company is currently going through bankruptcy, there’s a chance that some owners might never see their cars repaired for good. And judging by the potential safety risks described in the recall report, it’s not exactly pretty:
There may be a safety concern regarding the vehicle's performance when it enters limp mode. In this mode, the vehicle's maximum battery power is restricted to 8.5 kW, which consequently limits the vehicle's speed to a range of 10–20 mph (20–30 km/h). This reduced speed can create hazardous conditions, particularly in scenarios where higher speeds are necessary to keep pace with traffic or to maneuver safely. For instance, on highways or busy roads, the inability to accelerate beyond this limited speed could lead to dangerous situations, as other drivers may not anticipate such a reduction in speed. This mismatch in speeds can increase the likelihood of accidents, thereby elevating the risk of injury to the vehicle's occupants as well as other road users. Additionally, this limitation can impede the vehicle's ability to perform evasive maneuvers, further exacerbating the potential for dangerous situations.
The first recall affecting all Ocean EVs in the U.S. was issued on June 20. It concerns door handles that can stick and fail to open, which can prevent the driver and passengers from exiting the vehicle in an emergency. The Fisker Ocean has been the subject of four recalls in the U.S., two of which have been fixed through software updates.
Obtaining spare parts, even for simple repairs, has been an obstacle course for Fisker Ocean owners ever since the California-based company started selling its sole vehicle last year. In some extreme cases, cars were declared total losses because repair shops couldn't source simple parts like door hinges.
But there is some hope for people who want to keep their Ocean EVs on the road. The Fisker Owners Association (FOA), which has roughly 2,000 members, has lawyered up in hopes of getting some guarantees about the availability of spare parts and maybe even getting paid out for their vehicles’ warranties.
