Official "Cause" of Two Karma Fires Announced

Fisker Announces Cause of Karma Fire in Woodside, CA

Last Weekend's Woodside, CA Fire and Fire in Texas Last May, Both Involving Karma's Are Not Related

Fisker, the manufacturer of the Karma Sedans involved in two recent parking lot fires, announced yesterday that the two fires were unrelated.  

According Fisker, last weekend's fire in Woodland, CA was caused by a defective low temperature cooling fan located in front of the wheel and had nothing to do with the lithium ion battery configuration which was originally thought to blame after another fire happend in Texas last May.  

In an article at Autoblog written by Sebastian Bianco, Fisker announced a voluntary recall that involves some 2,400 Karma sedans with the suspect cooling fan.  

"As the latest statement makes clear, and as we expected, the parking-lot fire was not caused by the lithium-ion battery. Company co-founder Henrik Fisker said, "This incident resulted from a single, faulty component, not our unique EVer powertrain or the engineering of the Karma. As this situation demonstrates, Fisker Automotive is dedicated to doing whatever is necessary to address safety and quality concerns." 

"Fisker says the supplier is responsible and will work together with the unnamed company to fix the problem. Retailers will contact customers and "this recall campaign is not expected to have a material financial impact on Fisker." The fix entails a new cooling fan "that meets the required specifications" and a new, extra fuse "for added protection." Around 2,400 Karmas are affected by this recall.

According to Bianco, " Fisker is also saying that there is no discernible connection between the Woodside fire and another fire involving a Karma that happened in Texas in May. Fisker spokesman Roger Ormisher told Bloomberg that, "The report for the Texas fire is not in the public domain and we do not have access to it. ... the real root cause [of the Texas fire] is unlikely to be determined."

Fisker Karma Sedans are becomming increasingly popular due to the electric vehicle's ability to be charged using a standard 120V outlet.  Able to travel 50 miles on the lithium ion battery pack which is enhanced by a solar roof configuration, when the battery pack runs low the vehicle's gas powered engine/generator kicks in to provide another 250 miles on a full tank.

See a full overview description of the Fisker Karma at AOL Autos.  These extremely "green" engineered vehicles are the first of their kind in that they charge with a standard 120V outlet, get outstanding mileage, and are extremely environmentally friendly.  They are constructed soley from "eco friendly" products including corn fiber based floor mats, 100-percent recycled post-industry polyester Eco-Suede, and rescued wood trim retrieved from the 2007 firestorm in Orange County, California.

As stated by AOL Autos., "The Fisker Karma is a vehicle that will appeal to any environmentally-conscious consumer".