Fisker Fires

[bonnie]

It will be difficult for Fisker to blame the owner in this case - instead of in a closed garage, this was in the open, in a public place. Anyone want to take bets on if they'll say 'potential vandalism'?

 

[AnOutsider]

It will be difficult for Fisker to blame the owner in this case - instead of in a closed garage, this was in the open, in a public place. Anyone want to take bets on if they'll say 'potential vandalism'?

I'd hope they would have learned their lesson from that.

 

[sp4rk]

I'd sooner have a Leaf whose "only" problem seems to be battery capacity issues in Arizona heat ... rather than this.

Then again, this is not a "Tesla is better than Fisker" pat on the back time as Tesla doesn't have enough "S"'s delivered to make comparison ... but they can compare the Roadster.

This is bad PR for the EV industry as a whole ... naysayers yelling "EV's catch fire".

 

[AnOutsider]

This is bad PR for the EV industry as a whole ... naysayers yelling "EV's catch fire".

"EV"s with internal combustion engines.

 

[Lloyd]

"EV"s with internal combustion engines.

Speculation, but I believe they will find that the issue is a poorly designed engine and catalytic converter compartment, with inadequate insulation, separation and venting around the critical components.

 

[doug]

Now with video. (Image links to an external site.)

More Bad Karma for Fisker as Another Model Goes up in Flames - Carscoop

 

[Adm]

Just makes me wonder... were there no fire extinguishers around? I have 3 in my office and workshop and each one of them would have done the job....

 

[doug]

Jalopnik has a statement from Fisker:

We have confidence in the Fisker Karma. Safety is our primary concern and our Fisker staff have been in contact with the customer and are investigating the cause. We are also employing an independent fire investigation representative to assist in the root cause analysis. A further statement will be issued once the root cause has been determined.

 

[doug]

Just makes me wonder... were there no fire extinguishers around? I have 3 in my office and workshop and each one of them would have done the job....

If it were my car, I would have run back to the grocery store to get a fire extinguisher while on the phone with 911.

 

[Doug_G]

If it were my car, I would have run back to the grocery store to get a fire extinguisher while on the phone with 911.

Maybe you should just call Jalopnik.

 

[bonnie]

Wonder how many Fisker owners are now parking their Karmas outside, instead of in the garage?

 

[Doug_G]

Wonder how many Fisker owners are now parking their Karmas outside, instead of in the garage?

All of the smart ones, apparently.

 

[CroDriver]

Just makes me wonder... were there no fire extinguishers around? I have 3 in my office and workshop and each one of them would have done the job....

We must have a fire extinguisher in every car here, and they have to be checked and certified every year.

It could still have been power electronics or the charger (even the coolant leak recall for risk of fire from shorting the batteries). Given the car was burned completely last time, it's pretty much impossible to tell just from the pictures.

This time it's pretty clear the fire came from the engine compartment (the smoke started there and the fire damage is isolated to that area).

AFAIK, most of the High-Voltage stuff is in the rear. The motor controllers are behind the rear seats. Still, the generator inverter is in the engine compartment.

 

[dsm363]

This has to be very worrisome for the company and the people who own the car. I'm not sure something like this could be fixed easily for the cars that are out there without a major redesign but that's just a guess.

 

[doug]

There were some issues with the cooling fan motors. I suppose that could be a source of ignition. Things are really packed in there.

 

[Grendal]

If this was the Bieber's Fisker then they could blame it on the paparazzi.

The reality is that car fires happen all the time in gas cars (at least 700 a day in the US) and it never makes the national news.

 

[vfx]

Is this new incident statically relevant? How many fires happen to cars delivered up to the quantity Fisker has delivered?

What if this was a new Scion, or a Cube, or Prius C? Do they burn at 1 per thousand?

 

[smorgasbord]

There are about 250M cars in the US. There are about 250K car fires in the US each year. That's about a 1/1000 ratio, but less than 6% of those cars are new, and I suspect more fires happen in older cars than newer cars.

A sample of 2 cars in 2K isn't significant, but one can't help but speculate on the similarity of these two instances: Car driven, parked, and then caught fire within a half hour (or less).

 

[raymond]

We must have a fire extinguisher in every car here, and they have to be checked and certified every year.

I *almost* made a bad joke about the quality of cars on the roads in Croatia. :smile:

 

[Grendal]

There are about 250M cars in the US. There are about 250K car fires in the US each year. That's about a 1/1000 ratio, but less than 6% of those cars are new, and I suspect more fires happen in older cars than newer cars.

A sample of 2 cars in 2K isn't significant, but one can't help but speculate on the similarity of these two instances: Car driven, parked, and then caught fire within a half hour (or less).

This seems like a bad part that under certain circumstances will catch fire. Discovering where the fire originated is absolutely critical. It could even be a part from the ICE and have nothing to do with the EV aspect of the car.