Fisker Karma Resistant, Not Immune to Bricking

Sami Haj-Assaad
by Sami Haj-Assaad

Following the Tesla ‘bricking’ story from last week, we reached out to Fisker to see if its cars are prone to becoming a useless block on four wheels.

Roger Ormisher, director of Fisker global communications, told us that “the Karma’s battery only depletes to about 15% state of charge”

Similar to the Chevrolet Volt, the Karma uses a gas generator to help extend the vehicles electric range.

Tesla ran into some hot water when a customer left their Roadster discharged and unplugged for two months. When the customer tried to charge the car again, it wouldn’t take a charge. When the car was taken to Tesla for repairs, it was estimated to cost $40,000 to fix.

Fisker made sure to point out that its battery is “a different composition to that of Tesla’s meaning that it takes many months to fully discharge even if it is not plugged in.”

While that doesn’t mean the Karma is completely immune to ‘bricking’ it does offer some peace of mind to owners. We guess the Biebs can go on tour for a few months with his Karma unplugged, but we wouldn’t recommend it!

Sami Haj-Assaad
Sami Haj-Assaad

Sami has an unquenchable thirst for car knowledge and has been at AutoGuide for the past six years. He has a degree in journalism and media studies from the University of Guelph-Humber in Toronto and has won multiple journalism awards from the Automotive Journalist Association of Canada. Sami is also on the jury for the World Car Awards.

More by Sami Haj-Assaad

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