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Consumer Reports gets its Fisker Karma back after servicing

Last week, we brought you the news that the Fisker Karma being tested by the people at Consumer Reports ran into mechanical issues during the routine initial stages of testing, forcing the group to send their new electric luxury car back to the dealership for repairs but they have their Karma back this week – with a brief explanation of what went wrong.
Our 2012 Fisker Karma test car

Fisker ran into some negative press last week when the Consumer Reports-owned Fisker Karma stopped running during speedometer calibration testing (you can read more about the initial reports by clicking here). The Karma became undrivable, leaving CR no choice but to call the company and have the Fisker sedan trucked back to a dealership for inspection and repairs. Last night, less than a week after Fisker’s initial reports of problems with the Karma sedan and only 48 hours from when the company took the car back, the dealership had the long-and-low electric sport sedan back to the Consumer Reports people to continue their testing.

Consumer Reports explained in last night’s announcement of receiving their Fisker Karma from the dealership that a “fault was found in the battery and inverter cable”, also mentioning that the dealership was able to duplicate the problem while the Karma was in their possession. There was no further information as to what type of “fault” caused the replacement of the battery pack and inverter cable but that was what the automaker changed to get the Consumer Reports Fisker Karma back up and running. This would have likely been a 5 figure repair in term of dollar value but the fix was fully covered under the standard vehicle warranty.

Consumer Reports will now continue the initial “check-in” procedures that every vehicle undergoes before beginning the actual testing on which the consumer watch dog group bases their recommendations and reports. It will be interesting to hear what CR thinks of the Fisker Karma after the entire testing process has been completed. I have had the pleasure of logging a fair number of miles in the electric luxury car and I found that the Karma provides a luxurious ride and plenty of fun to drive factor. However, the CR people look for far more than just a nice ride and good acceleration so there is no way to know just what the opinions at Consumer Reports has to say about the unique electric luxury car with a range extending gasoline engine after their initial problems.

Source: Consumer Reports

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