[kabalah70]

Turned my car in today for the MIL (Malfunction Indicator Light), the technical term as per the OBD-II Scanner, or what other people hear are calling the CEL (Check Engine Light) and my jerky window.

Got driven home by one of Huntsville's Fisker trained techs, who is the lead Porsche tech too. He said sometimes the windows have too much pressure against the seals, this causes the jerkiness and also when it presses against the upper seal, is the cause of much of the wind noise around the B-pillar that many have been experiencing.

We talked about CAN buses a bit and some of the troubleshooting issues that some people have been having trouble with the fact that the modules actually do have a 'mirror' to see that a signal gets sent and if that module next down the line fails to respond the module that transmitted throws out a signal fault error causing people to want to replace that module, when in fact, it is the next module down that has the real problem.

Just got off the phone with my area rep from Fisker Consumer Affairs, they are regionally assigned now. The techs are working on the Solar Energy screen, but it will not be in 6.15. Remote Cabin Preconditioning has been put on hold, meaning it is not being worked on until other high priority issues have been resolved. I asked if that means if it will ever get fixed and basically the blurb from the manual was paraphrased, that the manual was accurate at the time of printing, but for improvement sake things may change without notice or obligation. If remote cabin preconditioning does not get turned on soon, I plan on filing a fraud claim with the FTC regardless. As the spirit of the claim is that the changes are for improvement sake, and deletion of a major convienence feature is not an improvement. I asked, that since the solar energy screen is not working I have no way of knowing whether my solar panel is a paperweight, and finally, with both of these feature inop, I asked if the solar panel was running the fans to circulate air for the battery and interior when the car is parked, which is also a stated feature, I thought, but I don't have my Touchscreen Users manual because it is in the car.

Has anyone experienced the fans running while parked yet, I can't remember, and I don't want to wait until summer to find out it doesn't work?

 

[Nimisys]

As of 614.2, if you leave a car parked in the sun, you will hear the HVAC blower come on. The engine bay fans are also a lot more active, but that is also due to the warming weather

 

[kabalah70]

Nimisys,
Is there a way to tell the difference between 6.14.2 and 6.14 because my dealer service manager said today that they installed the lastest version 6.14 and I am wondering if he dropped the .2 or not. You mention the 10 second secret screen in the other link, so if you answer my question there regarding version numbers please disregard here. By the way, thank you for being a wealth of knowledge, I have learned much more about this car from your insight.

 

[Nimisys]

614.2 is the same as 614. there was an initial release of 614 data files, then those were updated to 614.2 data files when it was officially released a few days later. it was similar for 613 and 613.5, for the consumer the .X doesn't really matter. the Nav Screen only shows the radio software version, it won't change if other modules are programmed. Besides function checks (prior to 612, the horns would sound after a hard reboot for example) the only real way to tell the software versions is to check the modules through the data link connecter

 

[kabalah70]

So, I pick up the car Monday. My two damaged parts (driver's side window chrome and floorboard) are on order. The washer fluid reservoir now has a union elbow in it to prevent kinks that prevent filling. The passenger window got some clear grease and some silicone on the rail. My vibration turned out to be a loose flange on my left resonator box of the muffler and not heat shielding. Finally, I have 6.14.2, for better or worse. As I have said elsewhere, they are working on the solar panel screen, but it will not be in 6.15, and the remote cabin preconditioning is on hold indefinitely. So, I don't think my car can get much better. When it returns, I plan on resetting the trip odometer and calculating my electric range and cost per mile, my gasoline only mpg and cost per mile, and keeping a running total average of fuel cost per mile.

 

[matrix]

The washer fluid reservoir now has a union elbow in it to prevent kinks that prevent filling.

Is this an official Fisker campaign item now, or was this done by the dealer at your request?

 

[kabalah70]

I requested it and the dealer contacted Fisker about what to do, whether or not it is a campaign fix like the heat shield supposedly is, I don't know. Just like I don't know if I have an old or new muffler. This is stuff Fisker should be telling us, but according to Consumer Affairs they want the info to go thru the dealers. I told them that there are no checks and balances for the consumer that way, they are completely at the mercy of the dealer for good service. Fisker obviously does not care as much as Tesla or Apple about a common customer experience. That would be like buying an ASUS motherboard from NewEgg and expecting me to get all my support from NewEgg. The manufacturer must have some responsibility to the owner.

 

[SoCalGuy]

I requested it and the dealer contacted Fisker about what to do, whether or not it is a campaign fix like the heat shield supposedly is, I don't know. Just like I don't know if I have an old or new muffler. This is stuff Fisker should be telling us, but according to Consumer Affairs they want the info to go thru the dealers. I told them that there are no checks and balances for the consumer that way, they are completely at the mercy of the dealer for good service. Fisker obviously does not care as much as Tesla or Apple about a common customer experience. That would be like buying an ASUS motherboard from NewEgg and expecting me to get all my support from NewEgg. The manufacturer must have some responsibility to the owner.

Totally with you on all of those points. It's like me obsessing on my Macbook Air - I wanted to know if it had the faster Samsung HD or the slower Toshiba (and the Apple store guys had no clue what I was talking about)... thank goodness for the Web where those of us who care can share information. I wish Fisker would provide more guidance to all of us with known issues and planned improvements (for example, word on the street is that the range-charge mode in Sport that we all experienced on the roadshow cars may be coming back at some point).

 

[ffcars]

Just like I don't know if I have an old or new muffler.

This is just speculation, but when they did their EPA/CARB testing they probably had the old muffler installed on the test car. When they decided to change the muffler design, they either had to redo the tests, which takes a lot of time and money, or they asked the EPA for an exemption.

I doubt they retested because they would have to use another new car and then put at a lot of miles on it; which takes time. For me to test my scooters and motorcycles it takes about 2 months of riding by one of the employees in the lab to accumulate enough miles.

I think for under 150cc we need 7,500 miles and for 250cc to 151cc it's like 15,000 miles. Big motorcycles take more, but I'm not sure. I would guess 20,000-25,000 miles. For a car, I know it's more than a motorcycle or scooter. I think they have to test the "life" span that is expected.

By the way, I use a lab in Napa, CA. The lab hires retired guys to come in every day, pick up a motorcycle, scooter, or exotic car (gray market) and put miles on it. I can't think of a better job than getting paid to ride around Napa Valley on a motorcycle!

During our accumulation, the rider comes in the lab to have the bike tested at certain mileage points; as required by the EPA. If at any time they have a problem with any emissions part or if the vehicle doesn't pass the test, they have to stop the testing. If a part has to be replaced, we might have to start the test over. But sometimes the EPA will allow us to change the part.

Once our tests are complete and we are sure the data will meet the EPA/CARB requirements we send the data in and wait for our certificates. We can't start building any new products or model year without the cert in hand. Once we are done with the testing, we cannot change any parts. We provide the EPA with a list of parts and part numbers. If they check one of our bikes coming into customs, it better have matching part numbers. And yes, they do this and when they do they completely take the vehicle apart to verify compliance.

What baffles me more is how did the complete a whole EPA test cycle with the check engine lights coming on? Each time that happened they had to stop the test, see what caused it, document it and not proceed until the solution was found. So how did they get an EPA cert with the check engine light coming on? It makes no sense to me, but maybe I don't understand how car testing goes.

So the short answer is, I would bet 100% of the imported vehicles have the same exhaust system.

 

[ct-fiskerbuzz]

By the way, I use a lab in Napa, CA. The lab hires retired guys to come in every day, pick up a motorcycle, scooter, or exotic car (gray market) and put miles on it. I can't think of a better job than getting paid to ride around Napa Valley on a motorcycle!

I'd rather drive the car, but, how does one get this gig?

(Then again I'm sort of hoping to semi-retire to New Zealand someday somehow. But a backup plan is always good. )

 

[SoCalGuy]

Just like I don't know if I have an old or new muffler.

So the short answer is, I would bet 100% of the imported vehicles have the same exhaust system.

...except Fab's dealer told him he had the 'old' muffler and needed the 'new' one... and that is an imported car...

 

[kabalah70]

So, got my car back today. I had to redo most of the settings, the window is fixed, I haven't tried Sport mode to see if I get any vibe noise, no glitches yet, except that leaving from work I had to power down ACC mode for a second and power it back up to activate the Ease of Entry return to driver preset seat positions. Other than that, the most noticeable thing is that the occasional digital burp while listening to USB music has become rather frequent to the point of making it unenjoyable to listen to. That sucks. Maybe I will have to subscribe to Sat radio and maybe that is the conspiracy theory reason for the downgrade in USB audio quality. Mawahehahaha.

 

[SoCalGuy]

So, got my car back today. I had to redo most of the settings, the window is fixed, I haven't tried Sport mode to see if I get any vibe noise, no glitches yet, except that leaving from work I had to power down ACC mode for a second and power it back up to activate the Ease of Entry return to driver preset seat positions. Other than that, the most noticeable thing is that the occasional digital burp while listening to USB music has become rather frequent to the point of making it unenjoyable to listen to. That sucks. Maybe I will have to subscribe to Sat radio and maybe that is the conspiracy theory reason for the downgrade in USB audio quality. Mawahehahaha.

Do let us know about the noise/vibration in Sport - that's a big issue for me. Thanks!

 

[dennis]

Do let us know about the noise/vibration in Sport - that's a big issue for me. Thanks!

My car is at the dealer now to get the inertia reel on the driver's seatbelt fixed. While it is there, they plan to finally resolve the engine vibration issue. They told me last time that the exhaust heat shield portion of the problem was resolved, but they still had to address the strut that connects under the dashboard as a further source of vibration. I will let you know how it goes when I get the car back on Wednesday.

 

[kabalah70]

So, I drove in Sport mode today. Pencil in a metal-bladed fan noise still there in the same place. Looks like I will be going back in for 6.15 and some heat shield bending. Also, it was high 70 degree F today with the car parked in the sun. I got into the car after it sitting for several hours and it was hot. I never heard any fans or pumps running, so, IMHO, the cooling that is supposedly provided by the solar panel ain't working. I don't have access to the manual at the moment to see what exactly is said about it, but I would imagine that the controls for it were supposed to be on the Solar Energy screen which does not work.

 

[dennis]

My car is at the dealer now to get the inertia reel on the driver's seatbelt fixed. While it is there, they plan to finally resolve the engine vibration issue. They told me last time that the exhaust heat shield portion of the problem was resolved, but they still had to address the strut that connects under the dashboard as a further source of vibration. I will let you know how it goes when I get the car back on Wednesday.

Well, they fixed the seat belt and two other Day One issues with my Karma:

1) Erroneous TPMS fault indication
2) Key only working/being detected when very close to the front driver's side of the car. This turned out to be a loose connection in the coax cable that runs from the sensor in the headliner to the Vehicle Control Module.

They also replaced the mirror motors (again), and advised me to not use Auto-Fold until it is confirmed that there is a software fix for this issue.

The vibration under the dash when the ICE is running was not addressed. I needed to get the car back and it is a 1-2 day process to fix this since they have to remove the dash to get to the bolts that hold the struts that are causing the problem. So this will get fixed when I take the car in for the 6.15 upgrade.

I feel good that the dealer, working with HQ, has been able to diagnose and fix Day One issues with my car.