For the last two months or so I’ve been running in stealth mode (battery) only because of a “reduced performance” error message. The error message goes away and only comes back when I go in sports mode and the ICE comes on. After a short period of time the ICE goes off and the “reduce performance” error message comes back on. As long as I stay in stealth mode, battery only the message will eventually go away and I’m fine. It will sometime do this in hill mode without the ICE.
Volts and resistance at the front inverter connection are in normal range which indicate the problem may be the front inverter. I’m absolutely sure that it’s not the battery. I get great battery range.
Last night coming home from the casino I under estimated the distance left on the battery to get me home without the benefit of the ICE. With the lights on at night the battery drains much faster than normal.
However, when the battery indicated zero miles left the Fisker still allows you to use the reserve state of charge and you can continue to drive a great distance. I drove at least 8 miles in this state and still had more reserve left according to the indicator on the dash. This was a pleasant surprise.
I have an appointment next Thursday to take my car in for repair. I will make a decision if I’m going to do this. I’m very reluctant because I’ve lost confidence in the dealerships ability to service the vehicle. They sale and service Bentley’s and other exotics. They didn’t have the Fisker franchise long enough and I don’t have the confidence that they can properly service the vehicle.
I asked the service rep what are to other Fisker owners in the area doing and he said they are selling their vehicles. I said, selling them to who, they will still have to have someone to service them.
They made it clear to me that they would see what they can do but will not offer any assurances that they can fix the vehicle or any guarantees on any repairs they make. They really prefer not to service the vehicle but if you drop it off and leave it and don’t bug them they will see what they can do.
I have 4 alternatives I’m considering:
1) Do nothing for the time being and enjoy stealth mode only. It appears from my experience last night I can drive more than 50 actual miles in battery mode alone considering the reserve capacity of the battery.
2) Fly and experience technician in to repair the vehicle. Hey, I may come out cheaper than messing around with the dealer here and I’ll feel more confident in the repair. It is not and intermittent problem as it was before. It almost certain to occur as soon as the ICE comes on or placed in hill mode.
3) Transport the vehicle to an experience technician. Either harleyguy or Lomax and transport it back.
4) Fix it myself. I would need the Fisker’s proprietary code reader instead of the generic reader I have. If it turns out to be the front inverter, which I suspect it is, it doesn’t appear to be an easy job. I was once an auto technician but that was many years ago and I would need a lot of instructions. (I’m a tax accountant, licensed by the U.S Treasury as an Enrolled Agent and would prefer to stay in my lane).
If anyone have any other ideals or know someone in and around the Michigan area that can help offer assistance I would appreciation it. If you are in the Detroit Michigan area and you owned a Fisker you are either not having any problems with your vehicles or are looking for the same solutions I am.
Samuel
