At the end of last week, Fisker Automotive recalled 239 Karmas due to a misaligned hose clamp to the cooling system on its A123 System battery packs.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says the recall includes all 2012 Karmas produced between July 1-Nov. 1, and cautions the problem could lead to a coolant leak and even a fire.
Of these cars, it’s believed fewer than 40 have actually been delivered, and the rest are in inventory.
The recall is an amplification of the situation that was preceded by a Dec. 21 notice that the hose clamp problem existed.
NHTSA is not giving Volt-levels of scrutiny at this point, and Fisker says it hasn’t received any warranty claims or other reports, let alone a crash test resulting in fire.
“We identified very quickly what the problem was, and there have been no incidents whatsoever,” Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher was quoted as saying last week. “It’s really important that we actually fixed everything before it became an issue.”
Similarly, A123 Systems says the problem is nothing to worry about.
“We expect this situation to have minimal financial impact on A123, and our relationship with Fisker remains strong,” wrote A123 CEO David Vieau in a consumer notice.
Although too soon to tell, despite the alarming word “fire” related to “coolant” being repeated by NHTSA so soon after similar Volt reports, if a Karma actually did spill coolant and overheat, a potentially resultant fire would not be the same as the Volt has experienced.
Worries about Volt fires follow side-impact crash tests in which the Volt’s LG Chem-celled battery pack was structurally compromised and left charged. It is believed that dried-out coolant might have contributed to the first post-crash fire three weeks later, but that theory is awaiting official determination.
Whether this distinction is good or not remains to be seen. Critics might also say now there is a further way for electric vehicle batteries to catch fire – if NHTSA’s contention that risk of fire is correct.
In any event, it cannot be seen as good news that the only other extended-range electric vehicle for sale in America also has a battery issue that could lead to a fire.
A few weeks ago when the Volt news involved utterance of the word “fire,” it affected some with less than full understanding like an exploded firecracker would affect a flock of geese.
This was evidenced not just by the flurry of over-reactive Volt fire news reports, but a survey by CNW Marketing of more than 3,800 U.S. buyers showed a decline in interest for the Volt following NHTSA’s probe into post-crash battery fires.
On the other hand, some observers have demonstrated a brief attention span as ostensibly bad news comes, goes, and is forgotten – especially if replaced by better news to update the addled minds of a public in the throes of information overload, contradictory reports, and unsure what to believe.
But also still lingering is news that Fisker has had to defend itself against unfounded concerns over taking a $529 million U.S. Energy Department low-interest loan and producing its cars in Finland.
And more likely to stick is criticism that prior to launching the Karma, it inched up its prices from a projected $80,000 range to low six figures just as it was making its first customer deliveries.
The company has had delays along the way for a variety of reasons, but perhaps it is just as well that only around 40 cars have been delivered to date, instead of the 3,000 worldwide deliveries by year’s end it projected just a few months ago.
As of Dec. 21, Fisker had reportedly shipped 225 Karmas to dealers and had 1,200 “in the pipeline,” said CEO Henrik Fisker at the time.
Fortunately for Fisker – and as those more knowledgeable about this technology will recognize – its latest bump in the road appears comparatively small, and can be fixed without re-engineering before more Karmas are delivered – and of interest to GM watchers – before Chevrolet launches its Spark EV which will also rely on A123 batteries.
Further, those belonging to the socioeconomic bracket actually in the market for a Karma for the most part already understand its technology better than average, so we shall see whether this recall for a bug is more than a blip in the scheme of things.
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This entry was posted on Monday, January 2nd, 2012 at 5:55 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
+15
Jan 2nd, 2012 (8:07 am)These are small bumps in the road for both GM and Fisker that will be fixed quickly, IMHO.
A few more model types, and working out the pricing to more acceptable levels for the average buyers, is all that is needed.
Once people see the direct advantages of owning an EREV type vehicle, sales of these cars will skyrocket!
Happy 2012 to all! Year six here at gm-volt.com should be another great one!!!!
C-5277
+17
Jan 2nd, 2012 (8:10 am)Hope the other EV’s are as well built as the Volt. We finally received ours three days ago and the four year wait is finally over! And the car is every bit as wonderful as expected. All you prospective Volt enthusiasts out there, take the plunge–you won’t be disappointed. A very happy New Year to all the Volt faithful.
Jan 2nd, 2012 (8:25 am)Karma had a clear factory defect. Volt *may* have a design flaw. Other than these cars being both high tech, I don’t see a relationship.
+2
Jan 2nd, 2012 (9:33 am)Well written Jeff. It’s hard to even find Volt news articles anymore. I can’t believe how fast the battery hype died….
MrEnergyCzar
+3
Jan 2nd, 2012 (10:12 am)Coolant. Ok, there’s a theme here.
The coolant, in my opinion, helps most in winter to get the battery chemistry to actually work on a cold day. However, in summer, do the cells ever get that hot to really require an elaborate coolant system? (I had heard the Karma was air-cooled – but it appears coolant are in the A123 packs).
Since these casings are designed as air-tight to allow for water not to be penetrateable, I suspect air-cooling of the sealed pack is not possible. The cases are placed into the car construction from the undercarriage.
Engineers – I guess it’s hard to do both a cooling and heating design in one element without a coolant within. I guess you would use cooling fins of aluminum to wick heat away from the cells but it’s harder to heat aluminum fins with induction to bring the cell temps up. Maybe the Leaf got it right (or right so-far) with the heating pad only but not using an explicit coolant-filled system which is causing all this “bad press”.
These aren’t Ferraris and Lamborghinis which people have said require a lot of shop-time to operate. These battery-coolant stories are minimally political if not “paid bashing” for the most part and are a terrific noise about so little. Hose clamps are now a leading automotive story? Outshadowing the news lately that Chevy shipped thousands of Sonics without front brake pads which is hardly making headlines?
+3
Jan 2nd, 2012 (10:42 am)There haven’t been any Volt incidents either. Just post crash test fires.
+15
Jan 2nd, 2012 (11:32 am)Here’s the solution for ALL electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles:
Put a warning label/sticker on the back side of the fold-down sun visors like they used to do with seat belts… and it should clearly state, “IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT OF A COLLISION WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE OR ANY OTHER OBJECT, FOR YOUR SAFETY PLEASE EXIT THE VEHICLE WITHIN 2 WEEKS.”
Jan 2nd, 2012 (5:13 pm)Jeff,
I see an error in this statement:
“But also still lingering is news that Fisker has had to defend itself against unfounded concerns over taking a $529 U.S. Energy Department low-interest loan and producing its cars in Finland.”
I see that a $529 loan is too small to produce any cars, except scale model cars.
What is the correct amount?
Raymond
Jan 2nd, 2012 (7:37 pm)Interesting to me is that Fisker has apparently delivered 40 approximately $100,000 cars.
Jan 2nd, 2012 (7:43 pm)Oh, CNW marketing?? The same fossil-fuel front-group who published that 2005 ‘study’ which said the lifecycle cost of a Prius was greater than a Hummer?
Who gives a crap what nervous ninnies who hate electric cars think? It strikes me as hilarious to think about smug SUV drivers with 30 gallon tanks of fuel at 37 kWh per gallon worrying about fires from 16 kWh batteries which hold less energy than one gallon of gasoline!
Jan 2nd, 2012 (7:43 pm)Raymondjram,
Hi Ray,
Good catch! Funny how I missed that. It’s $529 million.
Regards,
Jeff
+3
Jan 2nd, 2012 (8:09 pm)Got mine on the 29th. Cyber Gray with the 2-tone light neutral/leather interior. Absolutely gorgeous. Tim is 100% on – you Will Not be disappointed – go for it!!