How do you think it broke in the first place?
woah - never hear of that, are you referring to aluminum structure?Recently, the steering wheel on my Karma went 'cockeyed'. In order to drive in a straight line, I'd have to point the steering wheel as if I was going to veer to the left. Also, the Traction Control Warning Light would come on even though I was simply driving in a straight line.
I took the car to Alex Pop at Elite Motors OC. He diagnosed a broken front subframe. Alex said the only new subframes that were available were bound for Fisker to be used in new vehicles. So we welded the part which failed again in a few weeks. My steering wheel is once again listing to the left.
So far, Alex has been unable to source a new subframe despite multiple calls to The New Fisker (or whatever they're calling themselves these days). Now, I'm reaching out to the community here to inquire about whether any other dealers/certified service providers have a lead on a new subframe or even an intact subframe from a damaged Karma.
I would appreciate any help I could get. Thanks!
It's a steel tubular structure in most cars. Usually there are two subframes, a front and rear. Makes assembly and repair of major components easier. From Wikipedia:woah - never hear of that, are you referring to aluminum structure?
There is a pothole that goes across an entire lane of traffic, and I have little choice but to navigate it every day. I think I just drove over it too many times and, given that the car weighs 5 million tons, the subframe eventually failed.How do you think it broke in the first place?
There is a pothole that goes across an entire lane of traffic, and I have little choice but to navigate it every day. I think I just drove over it too many times and, given that the car weighs 5 million tons, the subframe eventually failed.
The only symptom was that positioning the steering wheel in a way that you would think would send it straight ahead would cause it to veer right. The only way to get it to steer straight was to tilt the wheel as though you wanted to veer left. There were no noises.For the rest of us who hit potholes here in California (Gov. Brown, are you listening?), did you have any symptoms besides the left-canted steering wheel and the TM warning light?
For example, did your Karma want to veer to the right or left? Did it make any "clunking" noises during turns?
This is getting a bit off-topic, but in case California Karma owners are wondering why we still have so many streets in disrepair . . .And the pothole in question is in West Hollywood which means it is a responsibility of city, not state, government.
Harleyguy, you are, as always, totally AWESOME! Thank you!!!!I might know of a sub available I will call Alex and tell him who to call
No idea. Haven't checked into it yet. My goal is to get the car repaired and keep it, but without a new subframe, I can't do that.If you were to sell how much would you ask with the broken sub-frame? Thanks