[grid1]

Hey everyone,

new to the forums. i just picked up my karma last night. i took delivery and didnt know the standards do not have backup cameras or navigation. can someone tell me how/where id go about getting these in the los angeles area?

 

[Fabulist]

Hey everyone,

new to the forums. i just picked up my karma last night. i took delivery and didnt know the standards do not have backup cameras or navigation. can someone tell me how/where id go about getting these in the los angeles area?

Welcome to the forum and to the great experience of Fisker Karma ownership. There has been a fair amount of discussion about this topic, for example on this thread.

The short answer is that it is theoretically possible to upgrade the software on a Karma to enable the Nav system, but the Standard trim Karma is physically missing the backup camera, so upgrading to the backup camera, while possible, it is a much more complex process.

 

[Karma 2012]

Grid1,

Congratulations on your purchase. I have a standard with Nav and backup camera. The wires are already there. Nav may need a upgraded module. Where are you located?

 

[CA_MP4]

Mind you, a lot of people find the Nav rather cumbersome, I personally find the back-up camera next to useless (too dark, lousy resolution) - maybe not worth the coin and hassle.

 

[grid1]

Grid1,

Congratulations on your purchase. I have a standard with Nav and backup camera. The wires are already there. Nav may need a upgraded module. Where are you located?

I am located in Los Angeles (Century City). Did yours come standard with the Nav and camera? Money is not a worry as I am keeping the car for the long haul.. Also, does your Siruius radio work? Like i said the display and song display were on there was just zero signal. Maybe it just needs a refresh when i connect service. I just dont know where to turn about the NAV and camera. Since all the dealers are gone and parts/mechanics are sparse, not sure how to go about it. i did search the threads and none have been definitive about where and how getting nav and camera can be done. Just disappointing to find a car that is over 100k new with optional Nav? Thats crazy considering it is just not active

 

[Karma 2012]

My Nav and Camera were installed afterwards. You are not missing much as far as the Nav goes. I find myself using my phone more often. The backup camera wires are already there, however, we will need the gurus to chime in regarding installation and upgrading your module. I know this is not much help, but it is definitely possible to have both in the Karma Standard. I am in Atlanta, GA, and I am fortunate to have a dealer that still service Karma. Make sure you take a few photos and post your beautiful car here

 

[AlJOHN]

Contract the Dealer in Atlanta. They installed b/u cams on Standards. After the installation, it automatically activated the Nav System. I understood the wiring was already there.

 

[Harleyguy]

Sorry guys it takes special software or replace the CIU from a Eco sport the back up camera cost around $1000.00 without installation . If you replace the CIU from a Eco sport and at some point you update the CIU you will loose the backup camera . The standard cars a different CIU

 

[Fabulist]

Sorry guys it takes special software or replace the CIU from a Eco sport the back up camera cost around $1000.00 without installation . If you replace the CIU from a Eco sport and at some point you update the CIU you will loose the backup camera . The standard cars a different CIU

I thought at least part of the Nav software was installed on all the cars, because on the Standard models, just like the Sport and Chic models, you don't have a compass heading indication until after the GPS satellites are acquired. In other words, instead of using a Compass sensor, the car has to calculate the heading by using the GPS location data. So there has to be a GPS receiver and at least enough software to get the current location and do the calculation every few seconds. The Nav software would use the same location and calculations plus a mapping database to show your location on a route and calculate the route to your destination.

 

[Harleyguy]

From what I was told by the engineer that was part of the revamp of the new system the base Karma isn't setup for Nav . But on the other hand I had a base Karma having the overspend fault . After many software upgrades in order to remove the over speed voice I had to install a new CIU before I flashed it to 510 I needed to go into settings and turn off the over speed warning the car had NAV after upgrading the CIU to 510 it lost the NAV . I'm as confused as the next guy at this point . But they did mention the base car doesn't have NAV but has some basic features of a NAV car.

 

[Fabulist]

From what I was told by the engineer that was part of the revamp of the new system the base Karma isn't setup for Nav . But on the other hand I had a base Karma having the overspend fault . After many software upgrades in order to remove the over speed voice I had to install a new CIU before I flashed it to 510 I needed to go into settings and turn off the over speed warning the car had NAV after upgrading the CIU to 510 it lost the NAV . I'm as confused as the next guy at this point . But they did mention the base car doesn't have NAV but has some basic features of a NAV car.

Newer cars have a compass sensor that lets you keep using the NAV system inside a parking structure or in a tunnel when you lose contact with the GPS satellites. Karma engineers tried to be clever and just use the existing GPS receiver and a little bit of software to eliminate the need for a compass sensor, but of course that created new complications. I am guessing they did not expect to sell too many Standards, so they did not see it as a big problem, but that's just speculation.

 

[Harleyguy]

Yes all the CIU have that built into them we used to have a forum member here that would be able to clear all of this up. I keep in touch with him matter of fact he no longer works for Fisker which is very unfortunate . He took over the job of getting the CIU back on track

 

[Fisker_Fan]

Yes all the CIU have that built into them we used to have a forum member here that would be able to clear all of this up. I keep in touch with him matter of fact he no longer works for Fisker which is very unfortunate . He took over the job of getting the CIU back on track

I'm here...
To clear it all up, all Fisker CIUs are equipped with the hardware and software for both Nav and Backup camera. It is through a software coding that enable/disable those 2 functions. This is how it is done in most automotive companies to save cost.
Only Fisker tools can enable or disable these functions.
The only real difference in hardware is between the European units and North American units, and this is due to Sat Radio Receiver.

About the compass:
The Fisker Karma does NOT have digital compass onboard. It utilizes GPS reception to calculate headings.
It also has accelerometer/gyroscope inside of the CIU that performs dead-reckoning algorithm when the GPS reception is lost. This is evident if you drive the Karma into a parking structure, you'll lose GPS reception, but you will see the navigation still tracks the vehicle's heading (at least for a while until the error accumulates too far).

 

[Harleyguy]

Thank you for finally clearing this up .

 

[Karma 2012]

Another note of observation, if you happen to install the GPS without the back-up camera, you will see a blue screen when you are driving in reverse.

When I purchased the Karma Standard in 2011 new, I had a lot of problem with the Nav lady coming on the speaker, even though Nav system is not activated. I guess I was fortunate to be one of the early adopters, and Fisker provided me Nav system and back-up camera several months later for the troubles that I had.

 

[Harleyguy]

Another note of observation, if you happen to install the GPS without the back-up camera, you will see a blue screen when you are driving in reverse.

When I purchased the Karma Standard in 2011 new, I had a lot of problem with the Nav lady coming on the speaker, even though Nav system is not activated. I guess I was fortunate to be one of the early adopters, and Fisker provided me Nav system and back-up camera several months later for the troubles that I had.

That was fortunate my customer wasn't that lucky it would of been cheaper for Fisker to turn on the GPS then what we went though to get the over speed voice turned off .

 

[Fabulist]

I'm here...
To clear it all up, ...

About the compass:
The Fisker Karma does NOT have digital compass onboard. It utilizes GPS reception to calculate headings.
It also has accelerometer/gyroscope inside of the CIU that performs dead-reckoning algorithm when the GPS reception is lost. This is evident if you drive the Karma into a parking structure, you'll lose GPS reception, but you will see the navigation still tracks the vehicle's heading (at least for a while until the error accumulates too far).

Thanks for confirming this. In my experience, the dead reckoning algorithm is not the most accurate one, or maybe it is the accelerometers. I have been driving into and out of Boston pretty frequently, which means that I spend a fair amount of time in tunnels, particularly when going to and from Logan airport, and the Nav system shows me driving through solid rock or the Charles river about 15 seconds after the GPS blackout. As problems go, it is a pretty minor one, but it's still pretty amusing to watch the map showing you driving through water. I hope it never actually happens.