Update on the Fisker Karma fires
This Monday we told you about the peculiar hybrid vehicle fires that just seemed to spontaneously appear as result of being submerged during Superstorm Sandy. Fisker suffered the most damages, with sixteen Karmas going up in flames, but now we have the company’s official announcement in regards to these fires, and the results aren’t as bad as one might’ve initially thought.
According to the company, only one of the Karmas actually caught on fire after saltwater left corrosive residue on the vehicle control unit. The control unit then shorted out and caused a fire, which was then spread to the nearby cars, because of the very heavy winds. While this is truly a very weird happening, it means that the other fifteen burned Karmas actually survived being submerged in salt water, so that’s actually a good mark for Fisker.
We also reported that a couple of Toyota Priuses caught on fire as well, but we also got word that a few gasoline-powered cars were also part of this automotive fire. More importantly the report from Fisker debunks the myth that there was an explosion as result of the burning vehicles, and also that the lithium ion batteries – which were thought to be a possible cause of the fire – did not in fact contribute to the fire.
Now some of you might find it odd that an investigation lead by the company’s whose vehicles went up in flames, found only one of the sixteen to have actually go up in flames due to a short circuit – at first sight it does look a bit fishy, but you should also be aware that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – NHTSA – was involved in the investigation as well, so there is no chance that Fisker was not truthful in their report.
