The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a fourth investigation into the Fisker Ocean SUV, this time to investigate multiple claims of “inadvertent automatic emergency braking.”
The agency’s Office of Injury Investigation (ODI) said it has received eight complaints about these braking incidents, three of which reported injuries. The ODI has already launched investigations into the car for complaints of loss of braking, the vehicle flipping and doors not opening. There have been no recalls for the SUV.
NHTSA said the complaints allege owners experienced sudden activation of the automatic emergency braking system at times when there were no other vehicles or obstacles in their cars’ path. “Brake applications range from a momentary, partial application that results in a rapid loss of speed to a full application that brings the vehicle to a complete stop in the lane,” the agency He wrote.
The Ocean SUV is Fisker’s debut electric vehicle and has been the source of many problems for the struggling startup. Owners began reporting instances of sudden power loss and brake problems with the SUV almost immediately after Fisker’s Ocean mission began last year, a TechCrunch investigation revealed in February. The company also struggled to meet domestic sales targets and eventually suspended production after selling fewer than 10,000 units.
Fisker is now on the verge of bankruptcy. She has hired a restructuring officer and is looking for ways to keep her business alive while lenders circle her. The company also faces a number of lawsuits, including one from the engineering firm that helped it develop a planned low-cost EV and truck, and at least 30 lemon law complaints.
The Ocean has been on the road for far less time than the EV debuts of some of Fisker’s rivals, such as the Rivian and Lucid, but owners have logged many more complaints with the NHTSA about this car. At the time this story was published, NHTSA’s database showed 135 complaints about the Ocean.
By comparison, Rivian has shipped more than 80,000 EVs since 2021, and NHTSA has only received about 50 complaints. Lucid has delivered more than 12,000 Air sedans and customers have recorded 35 complaints.
