The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened one third investigation on EV startup Fisker’s Ocean SUV, this time focusing on problems with opening the doors.
NHTSA’s Office of Defect Investigation (ODI) says in a new release that it has received 14 complaints from owners who were unable to open the doors of their Fisker Oceans, either from the inside or the outside. The agency says the complaints show an “intermittent failure” of the door lock and handle system. The complaints also raise the possibility that the emergency override mechanism is also not working.
Customers have reported getting stuck in or out of their cars at Fisker for months, according to internal documents that TechCrunch exclusively reported on in February. Some of these incidents are related to the pesky Ocean Keychain. But the new safety sensor suggests a deeper problem with the SUV’s doors. The inquiry is characterized as a “preliminary assessment”, which the ODI usually resolves within eight months.
The Ocean SUV is already being investigated by the ODI for problems with its braking system and complaints about the vehicle rolling on rough surfaces. The company has not issued any recalls for the Ocean. Fisker told TechCrunch that it is “fully cooperating with NHTSA on this matter.”
The third detector opens as Fisker is on the edge of the cliff. It stopped production on Ocean in March and reported just $121 million in the bank. Fisker still has thousands of Ocean SUVs in inventory that it’s struggling to sell, either directly or through its nascent dealership model, and recently cut prices up to 39% in a desperate bid to generate sales. It was recently delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. A potential partnership with Nissan fell through, jeopardizing an attempt to secure $150 million in bailout funding.
This story has been updated to include a comment from Fisker.
