By all accounts, the Fisker Karma is one hot car. For a couple of owners though, perhaps it’s too hot.
Similar to a situation in May, when a Karma caught fire for no apparent reason in a Texas garage, another has burst into flames in a Woodside, CA parking lot. Rudy Burger was returning to his car after grocery shopping when he caught in the act of self-immolation. According to Jalopnik, he immediately called Fisker, which, in turn, advised him to call 911.
Firefighters arrived quickly and the flames were subdued before much more than just the front driver’s side was consumed. Considering that the A123 Systems‘ battery runs down the center of the car under the passenger compartment, it is possible that the pack was not responsible for the blaze. Wired got a statement from Fisker, which furthers this line of thought. It reads, in part:
Fisker understands damage was limited to the driver’s side front corner of the car, away from the lithium ion battery and electric motors. The car was not being charged at the time.
In an electric vehicle, immediate suspicion is focused on the battery and high voltage components. The location of the damage to the vehicle in this incident appears to rule out that suspicion. Fisker has not had any battery or high voltage fire incidents with any of its vehicles.
Fisker has hired “an independent fire expert to assist the investigation” and says that once the probe is complete and the cause pinpointed, it will issue a statement on the matter. Fisker’s current statement – and a video of the Karma conflagration – is posted below.
from Autoblog