Fisker Karma's Batteries May have Potential Safety Issue

It may be little consolation to LG Chem, which manufactures the Chevy Volt lithium-ion pack that is currently under investigation by NHTSA, but GM’s hybrid isn’t the only one facing a battery-related fire risk.

Another maker of batteries for hybrids and electric vehicles, A123 Systems, announced that it has discovered a “potential safety issue” in batteries supplied to Fisker Automotive.

A123 Systems also provides battery packs to other carmakers and has recently announced the development of a proprietary lithium phosphate technology, which will be used by GM’s next generation of electric vehicles starting with the Spark EV, that is superior to lithium-ion batteries.

CEO of A123 Systems, David Vieau, said in a memo the problem that afflicts Fisker's luxury Karma sports sedan concerns the “misaligned” hose clamps of the battery pack cooling system

This may cause a coolant leak, which in turn, can lead to an electrical short circuit – something that you definitely don’t won’t in any car, let alone in one sporting a battery pack bellow the floorpan.

Vieau said that less than 50 cars were affected and that A123 Systems has “already developed a confirmed repair for this situation”, which is already implemented. He added that, despite this setback, his company’s relationship with Fisker “remains strong”.

The first Karma rolled off the production line of Valmet in Finland last March, but deliveries of the US$97,000 extended-range plug-in hybrid began in October.

Current production rate of the Karma is 25 units a day and may rise to 60 units in 2012, according to company founder and CEO Henrik Fisker.

This is the second setback for the Karma, which it saw its announced 100 MPGe (2.3 lt/100 km) consumption practically halved by the EPA after it was certified at 52 MPGe (4.5 lt/100 km).

Story References: Bloomberg

 

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Court Dismisses First Sudden Acceleration Case Against Toyota Over Technicality

The sudden acceleration issue is still troubling Toyota, which has already paid $50 million in fines and recalled almost 8 million vehicles in the US alone in 2009 and 2010. The Japanese carmaker still has to face the lawsuits brought about by citizens and their families affected by the issue which, according to estimates, could cost the company as much as $10 billion.

However, the first sudden acceleration lawsuit lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge who ruled that it should have been filed in Utah instead of California. The case is about Paul Van Alfen and passenger Charlene Lloyd, who were killed in 2010 when a 2008 Camry driven by Van Alfen hit a wall in Utah.

The judge ruled that the warranty claim didn’t meet the required $50,000 USD threshold for damages as the plaintiffs couldn’t count potential personal injury or punitive damages in this case.

“Plaintiffs are unable to reach the jurisdictional threshold of $50,000 in damages,” said U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna. “The case is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.”

“We are pleased this jurisdictional issue has been resolved and that the court agrees with Toyota that the proper forum for this case is the Utah state court”, said the company's spokeswoman Celeste Migliore.

The dismissal due to the lack of jurisdiction does not mean it's the end of the case. Mark Robinson, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, said: “I am drafting a new complaint right now in which the dealer will not be named as a defendant and everything will be cured and the suit will go forward seeking punitive damages and everything else.”

Story References: Bloomberg

 

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Nearly 300,000 Chrysler and Dodge Minivans Recalled Over Airbag Issue

The Chrysler Group has issued a recall on 299,718 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans from the 2008 model year to fix a problem that could cause the airbags to deploy unexpectedly.

The automaker said that the issue is related to the Occupant Restraint Control (ORC) modules that controls the airbags. According to Chrysler, the OCR module may have been exposed to moisture. If this happens, it could lead to the airbag warning light going on while in some cases, the airbag could deploy for no reason.

Chrysler had previously recalled the same batch of vehicles in January of 2011 to replace the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) drain grommet, which had the potential to leak moisture into the area of the ORC module.

The company said that its engineers determined that "that the printed circuit board in ORC modules previously exposed to moisture could delaminate over time, despite the elimination of the source of prior moisture".

The Detroit automaker added that it is unaware of any accidents or injuries related to the condition in vehicles that have had the prior recall completed.

“Despite the lack of field reports, we believe it is in the best interest of our customers to replace these modules to ensure the proper functionality of the minivan’s advanced safety system,” said David Dillon, Head of Product Investigations and Campaigns.

The majority of the affected minivans were sold in the United States, but Chrysler said there are also 50,251 vehicles in Canada; 3,748 vehicles in Mexico, and 13,633 export models.

The company will begin sending letters to the owners of the affected models in September to schedule an appointment with dealers to replace the OCR modules free-of-charge.

 

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