Federal safety regulators have opened an investigation into Fisker’s first electric car because of brake problems.
Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Issue a notice They investigate Fisker’s Ocean SUV Loss of brake performance. The agency is focusing on nine complaints about the issue so far, including one incident involving an unspecified accident and injury.
A Fisker spokesman declined to comment.
The investigation comes as the company faces lower-than-expected demand and failure to meet internal sales goals, which TechCrunch exclusively reported earlier this month.
Fisker reported last month that it had delivered nearly 4,700 SUVs worldwide in 2023. The EV startup, which went public in 2020 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, has begun shipping its first SUVs The Ocean quad in June, about six months after contract manufacturing partner Magna Steyr began building the vehicles. The launch of the sport utility vehicle (SUV) was delayed partly due to… His program was not ready at that time.
Since the car hit the roads, owners have filed 19 complaints with NHTSA for issues ranging from missing brakes and transmission problems to the driver’s door failing to open from the inside and two instances of the car’s hood suddenly flying off on the highway.
NHTSA says the Perimeter can experience a “partial loss of braking on low-traction surfaces, without alerting the driver,” which “results in a sudden increase in stopping distance,” according to braking complaints cited by ODI, which were filed between October and December 2023. Complaints also point to issues with ocean regenerative braking.
The complaint related to the crash was filed in November. The owner reported that they were driving from Washington, D.C., to Richmond, Virginia, in slightly rainy conditions when another car swerved into their path, according to the complaint. The owner said in the complaint that the Ocean’s brakes “shaken and felt more plastic than flexible,” and that the car skidded “as if the tires had stopped.” The low-speed accident was minor enough that neither driver filed a police report, but the complaint states that the other driver has since filed an injury claim with the owner’s insurance agency.
There are four different ones Species Investigation that ODI can open: defect solicitation, initial evaluation, recall inquiry, and engineering analysis. NHTSA says it works to complete defect petitions in four months, initial evaluations and recall inquiries in eight months, and engineering analysis investigations in 18 months. The agency classified the Fisker probe as a preliminary evaluation.