- Thousands of Fisker Oceans are fitted with faulty water pumps that could send the crossover into limp mode.
- If this occurs, the Ocean can only travel at speeds of 10–20 mph.
- The water pumps will be replaced free of charge and notifications will go out next month.
Fisker might be bankrupt, but the problems continue to mount as the company is recalling 7,545 Oceans from the 2023 and 2024 model year. They’re equipped with an electric water pump that can fail and cause the high voltage battery management system to enter limp mode.
According to the safety recall report, limp mode is activated when there is a communication loss on the vehicle’s Local Interconnect Network 6 bus. When the water pump fails, it causes a loss of communication and forces the vehicle into limp mode.
More: Bankrupt Fisker Recalls 12.5k Ocean EVs Over Faulty Door Handles
If that wasn’t bad enough, Fisker’s limp mode is aggressive and limits battery power to just 8.5 kW. This, in turn, limits the crossover to approximately 10–20 mph (20–30 km/h).
Needless to say, this creates a huge problem if you go into limp mode while traveling at highway speeds of 70+ mph (113 km/h). As the report notes, this can “create hazardous conditions, particularly in scenarios where higher speeds are necessary to keep pace with traffic or to maneuver safely.” It goes onto say the Ocean’s extremely low limp mode speeds can lead to “dangerous situations” as “other drivers may not anticipate such a reduction in speed.”
Fisker first became aware of the issue in November of 2023 and started an investigation. Multiple other water pumps appear to have failed in the following months, but the company isn’t aware of any accidents or injuries related to this issue.
As part of the recall, the water pumps will be replaced with new ones that feature “improved conformal coating coverage.” Owner notifications are expected to be mailed out in August and a Technical Service Bulletin suggests the issue also impacts 3,763 Oceans in Canada and Europe.
