[Spathi]

I have an Ocean Blue one - I guess I also have a lot of questions. Here are the three I've got on my top list:

1. On the settings->solar-panel menu in the book, there are options to look at the Day and Month. Not in the actual car, however.

2. Has anyone ever had their Fisker stolen? What is the real risk here? I don't even know how good the security system is (I've never heard the alarm, etc.) I assume there's no way to get a beep of any kind over 3g when it goes off.

3. Flooding is a common issue in South Florida. This is a low car. . . has anyone had a flooding issue with their Fisker?

4. Also, does the solar panel work when the car is off, or only when it's "on"?

Thanks!

 

[LonePalmBJ]

I have an Ocean Blue one - I guess I also have a lot of questions. Here are the three I've got on my top list:

1. On the settings->solar-panel menu in the book, there are options to look at the Day and Month. Not in the actual car, however.

2. Has anyone ever had their Fisker stolen? What is the real risk here? I don't even know how good the security system is (I've never heard the alarm, etc.) I assume there's no way to get a beep of any kind over 3g when it goes off.

3. Flooding is a common issue in South Florida. This is a low car. . . has anyone had a flooding issue with their Fisker?

4. Also, does the solar panel work when the car is off, or only when it's "on"?

Thanks!

Welcome to the forums!

Here are some answers to your questions:

1) The Solar Screen is *supposed* to display how much electricity is being produced and has been produced by the solar panels, along with some guidance about which months will provide the most solar energy. Currently however this screen is broken and does not show any real information. It is just a static picture that does not change, and there are no options or settings for it. Fisker is aware of this issue and will be addressing it in an upcoming software update.

2) I've not heard of a Fisker being stolen, but I would imagine that the car would not be very likely to be stolen. They are too rare and easily traced. Exporting a stolen car to a foriegn country is likewise unlikely as there is no way to get service or support for the vehicle currently except through official Fisker channels. The security system is pretty basic and does not offer any messaging capability.

3) I've never heard of a flooding issue. The Fisker has 5.5" of ground clearance, which while low is no lower than most sportscars. There's nothing unusual about the Karma that would make it more prone to flooding. Since this is an electric car however and the battery sits at the lowest point it would be particularly stupid to drive this car into water more than an inch or two deep, or to drive into puddles of unknown depth. I expect the car protection circuitry would immediately shut down the car, so while you would be safe you would be stuck on a Karma-shaped island.

4) Even though the solar screen is disabled the solar panels themselves are functioning. They generate electricity whenever there is sunlight hitting them, whether the car is on or off. The intention is for them to generate electricity to recharge the low voltage battery and ventilate the car while it is parked and off.

 

[Fabulist]

I have an Ocean Blue one - I guess I also have a lot of questions. Here are the three I've got on my top list:

1. On the settings->solar-panel menu in the book, there are options to look at the Day and Month. Not in the actual car, however.

2. Has anyone ever had their Fisker stolen? What is the real risk here? I don't even know how good the security system is (I've never heard the alarm, etc.) I assume there's no way to get a beep of any kind over 3g when it goes off.

3. Flooding is a common issue in South Florida. This is a low car. . . has anyone had a flooding issue with their Fisker?

4. Also, does the solar panel work when the car is off, or only when it's "on"?

Thanks!

Welcome to the forums!

Here are some answers to your questions:

1) The Solar Screen is *supposed* to display how much electricity is being produced and has been produced by the solar panels, along with some guidance about which months will provide the most solar energy. Currently however this screen is broken and does not show any real information. It is just a static picture that does not change, and there are no options or settings for it. Fisker is aware of this issue and will be addressing it in an upcoming software update.

2) I've not heard of a Fisker being stolen, but I would imagine that the car would not be very likely to be stolen. They are too rare and easily traced. Exporting a stolen car to a foriegn country is likewise unlikely as there is no way to get service or support for the vehicle currently except through official Fisker channels. The security system is pretty basic and does not offer any messaging capability.

3) I've never heard of a flooding issue. The Fisker has 5.5" of ground clearance, which while low is no lower than most sportscars. There's nothing unusual about the Karma that would make it more prone to flooding. Since this is an electric car however and the battery sits at the lowest point it would be particularly stupid to drive this car into water more than an inch or two deep, or to drive into puddles of unknown depth. I expect the car protection circuitry would immediately shut down the car, so while you would be safe you would be stuck on a Karma-shaped island.

4) Even though the solar screen is disabled the solar panels themselves are functioning. They generate electricity whenever there is sunlight hitting them, whether the car is on or off. The intention is for them to generate electricity to recharge the low voltage battery and ventilate the car while it is parked and off.

One additional note on 1 and 4: See this post on how to tell when the solar panel is generating power via the power flow display screen.

 

[kwsmith007]

I live in South Florida as well...Welcome to the exciting world of Fisker ownership!

Relative to the flooding issue, as I'm sure you recall we had some torrential rain on Saturday night and as luck would have it I had to drive to Miami Beach early Sunday morning, What I didn't know was that there was some flash flooding massive puddles on South Dixie US-1 between the last exit and the entrance to I-95 Northbound ramp. I got trapped and had to traversed a 4-6 inch deep puddle (Lake) about 25 yards across. I drove REALLY slow and made it across with no problem, (I was sweating it the whole time!) which is more than I can say for some ICE Sports Cars I have owned. So at least for one case of a Miami monster flash puddle the Fisker came through.

 

[Spathi]

LonePalmBJ, kwsmith : Thanks for the notes!

kwsmith: Where did you purchase your Karma? At the place in Bal Harbor (which is where I got mine)? Also, I assume you've applied for the HOV sticker Florida allows?

 

[kwsmith007]

I bought mine from the Fisker Miami main showroom, which is an extension of Warren Henry Volvo-Jaguar. It's the same people as the Bal Harbor Shop guys. I'm assuming you bought it from Robert Manrique, he recently moved his office from the main Warren Henry location to Bal Harbor full time as I understand.

My experience with Fisker Miami has been fantastic BTW. Did they offer you Flat-Bed and loaner car service to anywhere in South Florida? They gave me this and if they didn't offer it to you I'm sure you can get it by asking.

And no I haven't applied for a Hovercraft sticker for three great reasons:

1) I'm lazy and hate dealing with government employee feather merchants.

2) I live in the South Gables and work by Metrozoo and almost never drive I-95 and on rare times I do, I can drive in the HOV lane with my Sunpass transponder for a buck.

3) The Fisker is such a beautiful car I can't imagine putting a stupid florescent green sticker on it!

 

[kwsmith007]

Since your new here I will save you a ton of time reading about all the funny Software quirks and such. All the old pros will jump in I'm sure but this is what I have learned first hand and with my car.

1) Make sure your car has Rev. 6.15 Software loaded on it. If you just got it I'm sure it does but you might want to call the Fisker service manager and make sure. It's much better than 6.14.

2) EVERY time you shut off the car for more than a very short time lock the car so that it can soft reboot. The software at rev. 6.14 for sure and probably 6.15 to some extent is not durable for things that seem like memory leakage and stack overruns. The longer it runs and starts and stops the more errors start to show up. My experience has been that if you just shut the car off and lock it every time you drive it, it will be MUCH more reliable and less quirky.

3) DO NOT USE THE BLUETOOTH AT ALL. When it works the Bluetooth phone totally sux anyway. For now listen to Satellite radio and use you phone by putting it on speaker and tucking it in the sun visor. With 6.14 the Bluetooth IO caused massive problems including running the 12 Volt Battery down. It's bad Mojo don't use it.

4) Many people will tell you the order you lock the car and put in on charge and unlock the car and take it off charge makes a huge difference in software quirkiness. I do it totally random and have noticed no statistical difference.

5) I don't know if it's a problem with 6.15 but with 6.14 their was a killer failure that would strand you, lovingly called the PRND Fault. You guessed it...Park-Reverse-Neutral-Drive the "transmission" would need to be rebooted. Read the thread on resetting the PRND Fault and remember it.

Those are the really big things. I'm sure I add a couple more but go with these for sure.

 

[LonePalmBJ]

Since your new here I will save you a ton of time reading about all the funny Software quirks and such. All the old pros will jump in I'm sure but this is what I have learned first hand and with my car.

1) Make sure your car has Rev. 6.15 Software loaded on it. If you just got it I'm sure it does but you might want to call the Fisker service manager and make sure. It's much better than 6.14.

2) EVERY time you shut off the car for more than a very short time lock the car so that it can soft reboot. The software at rev. 6.14 for sure and probably 6.15 to some extent is not durable for things that seem like memory leakage and stack overruns. The longer it runs and starts and stops the more errors start to show up. My experience has been that if you just shut the car off and lock it every time you drive it, it will be MUCH more reliable and less quirky.

3) DO NOT USE THE BLUETOOTH AT ALL. When it works the Bluetooth phone totally sux anyway. For now listen to Satellite radio and use you phone by putting it on speaker and tucking it in the sun visor. With 6.14 the Bluetooth IO caused massive problems including running the 12 Volt Battery down. It's bad Mojo don't use it.

4) Many people will tell you the order you lock the car and put in on charge and unlock the car and take it off charge makes a huge difference in software quirkiness. I do it totally random and have noticed no statistical difference.

5) I don't know if it's a problem with 6.15 but with 6.14 their was a killer failure that would strand you, lovingly called the PRND Fault. You guessed it...Park-Reverse-Neutral-Drive the "transmission" would need to be rebooted. Read the thread on resetting the PRND Fault and remember it.

Those are the really big things. I'm sure I add a couple more but go with these for sure.

You'll also learn that everyone's experiences and the voodoo that works for them varies. For example, I use bluetooth all the time for BT audio and for phone calls and have no issues. I also never lock the car in my garage prior to charging (actually I've never even heard of that) but I do let the car go completely to sleep (fan off, PRND light off) before plugging in. Takes about 2 minutes for the car to sleep. I do agree that 6.15 seems to be the most stable software and you should make sure it's installed.

Brent

 

[kwsmith007]

Just for info I got the idea of soft rebooting every time from both Nimisys and Harleyguy. For me it made a world of difference. Also LonePalmBJ I would love to use bluetooth but it was such a mess on 6.14 I have been scared to death to try it on 6.15 seeing as how EVERTHING else is working great on my car. Are you on 6.15 or 6.14 and did it work for you on 6.14?

 

[LonePalmBJ]

Just for info I got the idea of soft rebooting every time from both Nimisys and Harleyguy. For me it made a world of difference. Also LonePalmBJ I would love to use bluetooth but it was such a mess on 6.14 I have been scared to death to try it on 6.15 seeing as how EVERTHING else is working great on my car. Are you on 6.15 or 6.14 and did it work for you on 6.14?

I'm 6.15. I used BT a little on 6.14 but stopped after hearing the issues others were having. I say give BT a shot.

I think the only difference in our approach is that it seems you think you have to lock the car in order for it to soft-reset and I think you just need to let it go to sleep. Otherwise I think we do pretty much the same stuff. I don't rememebr Nimisys or Harley (or my local dealer) saying to had to lock it for the soft-reset to happen, but maybe I missed it. All I remember was the suggestion to lock while charging so that you don't accidentally open a door and wake the car, but that's now fixed if you have the separate SW patch that came out just after 6.15.

Brent

 

[EVer1]

BT working fine for me on 6.15
Spathi, I suggest getting a packet of your dealer's cards. You won't believe the time you're about to spend talking about your car with folks admiring it at the grocery, at the soccer pitch, at your club - everywhere. When you don't want to chat, you can hand them your dealer's card and suggest they call for a test drive!

 

[kwsmith007]

Hmmm...I'm not sure if I have the SW Patch, maybe I'll try your method. BTW did you ever have a PRND fail and do you know if it's fixed in 6.15?

 

[ct-fiskerbuzz]

It's easy to remember the reset sequence for the PRND fault, because it's just PRND spelled backwards: press and hold D, then press and hold N, then R and finally P. (OK, you have to remember the "for about 3 seconds" part too.)

 

[LonePalmBJ]

Hmmm...I'm not sure if I have the SW Patch, maybe I'll try your method. BTW did you ever have a PRND fail and do you know if it's fixed in 6.15?

I've only seen the PRND issue once, and it was the day after they installed 6.15

There's some evidence that the 6.15 install itself generated some "one-off" problems in the next 24 hours of operation.

 

[kwsmith007]

Cool thanks...BTW I tried the Bluetooth today with my iphone 4S with the following results...

Phone works properly from a hook-unhook perspective.

Music streams from phone to car no problem.

Phone book downloads correctly and dials correctly

Streaming music quality perfect.

Hands free telephone absolutely terrible quality, tried everything to improve sound quality on Bluetooth...no luck.

Soooo...still no go on Bluetooth for phone but maybe for music.

 

[Spathi]

Bluetooth works fine for me with the version the dealer shipped to me last week (with the new car) using an iPhone 4S. That said, I don't know if they pre-installed 6.15 or not. I'll have to check.

 

[kwsmith007]

If the Bluetooth works well at all then I'm sure you have 6.15, as I understand it one of the most screwed up things in 6.14 was the BT implementation. As I said it was totally unusable in my car with 6.14.

 

[Fabulist]

If the Bluetooth works well at all then I'm sure you have 6.15, as I understand it one of the most screwed up things in 6.14 was the BT implementation. As I said it was totally unusable in my car with 6.14.

The experience seems to vary a lot from owner to owner. I am on 614 and my BT phone connection is actually quite useable and I have had conference calls in my car during my morning commute without any problems. I can even use Siri through BT pretty effectively.

The streaming music is a lot worse (understandably since there is a lot more data transferred when you are streaming two channels of music rather than a single channel of speech) but the speakerphone function worked fine for me. As others have pointed out, there are cars with better BT speakerphone functionality, but there are also many that are worse.