Fisker Ocean Owner Complains About Their EV, Senior VP Shows Up at Their House

The Ocean One was Fisker's way of convincing 5,000 people to buy an all-electric crossover SUV made by a company that rose from its ashes after giving Americans the Karma. That plug-in hybrid sedan was riddled with issues. Not even Justin Bieber and Leonardo DiCaprio taking delivery of one could have saved the car from becoming a flop. It eventually bankrupted the company.

But renowned automotive designer Henrik Fisker wasn't ready to give up on his dreams of building and running a successful car company. Fisker Automotive was sold to a Chinese buyer in 2014 and renamed Karma Automotive. Two years later, in 2016, Fisker Inc. appeared. Henrik Fisker and Geeta-Gupta-Fisker were starting together from scratch. But this time, they decided to go on the all-electric route.

After six years and multiple challenges, the pre-orders for the company's new vehicle were finally made possible. In 2022, the Ocean One was put through its first serious test – finding 5,000 people willing to spend money on a crossover SUV they couldn't test drive. The specs, the looks, the $68,999 price tag, the EV tax credit, and the cool features convinced 5,000 buyers to order the limited-edition Ocean One in under a month.

Fisker was brave in a moment when the car market was in shambles. The ripple effect of constant price hikes and production delays extended to the secondary market, and it felt like everyone was losing touch with reality. Last year, some contemplated selling their used non-special or non-limited-edition car at a profit, while others were trying to figure out how not to spend house money on some wheels.

Remember when a 101,000-mile 2000 Ford Excursion started a bidding war that ended with the winner having to pay $67,500? It was a wild time.

No stopping now

But Fisker knew the risks it was taking. It played it smart too. Putting out a brand-new vehicle that rivals the Tesla Model Y, VW ID. 4, and the BMW iX1 was a great decision. It tapped right into the most popular segment.

Fast forward to today, and Fisker's rushing to put early adopters behind the wheel of its first-ever all-electric vehicle. It has started delivering the Austrian-made Ocean One to customers in Europe in the US. The automaker is prioritizing the West Coast at the time of writing, which makes sense. After all, the Ocean has a California Mode.

But as Elon Musk once said, "Prototypes are easy. Production is hard." Making today's complex cars is not a piece of cake, even though, on average, EVs have 100 times fewer parts than an internal combustion engine-powered car. Avoiding negative feedback from enthusiastic early adopters was inevitable.

One of the 5,000 people who pre-ordered an Ocean decided to join the Fisker community on Reddit and talked about a couple of severe issues they had with the EV. But they weren't ready for what that complaint was going to trigger.

The owner of the 1,032nd One unit explained that the crossover was not letting them engage any other gear than Park and was forcefully braking by itself at random. Moreover, the key fob felt low-quality, the A/C vents weren't opening, and California Mode (a function that opens all the windows, including the rear windshield) wasn't working.

They opened a service ticked where they signaled all the above issues by chatting with an advisor. The automaker nicknamed these workers "Radgivers," just so you know what's what moniker-wise if you intend to become a Fisker owner. The disgruntled buyer waited three days, and there was no confirmation that someone saw what they were dealing with.

Escalating works!

But shortly after taking their grievances to Reddit and talking about invoking Lemon Law, someone at Fisker responded. The owner was called and told that a team would come and fix the problems in less than 24 hours.

Besides that, Fisker Senior Vice-president Dawn Ahmed called the early adopter herself and reconfirmed that someone would come to sort things out. She also talked with this person about their experience and told them what she knew about some common troubles. It wasn't just a courtesy call; this was a full-on discussion.

The next day, two Austrian engineers and an American service technician showed up precisely at the scheduled hour. But they weren't alone. The Fisker executive was there too!

Some early Lucid Air owners can tell a similar story. When the sedan reached early supporters, some reported various issues. Since Lucid aims to be a luxury EV maker, it took care of these customers by sending mobile service units to them. Some, however, were visited by Peter Rawlinson himself.

The CEO assured them he did everything in his power to fix all the errors as quickly as possible. He also collected feedback from the temporarily disgruntled customers and eliminated those manufacturing errors or rushed a software patch that solved whatever didn't work right.

Similarly, Fisker's dedicated team spent around two hours diagnosing the problems, talking with the owner about the SUV, and helping them better understand the EV. They also downloaded and installed a new software version, eliminating a couple of driver-assistance system-related quirks.

Temporary workarounds

The owner learned that Fisker knows about the problematic A/C vents and is getting ready to replace them. That might warrant a recall for all the Ocean Ones out there, but that has yet to be confirmed.

The necessary parts aren't available right now, so the owner uses a screwdriver to open them until servicing is possible. They were told choosing a temporary replacement would be possible, but the reborn automaker will cover $100 of the rental's cost.

Being unable to put the vehicle in Drive or Reverse at times happened because of a seat sensor. Sometimes it may not be able to detect that someone's in the driver's seat. He was told Fisker and Magna Steyr knew about it and recommended the owner move around or jump a little so the seat could detect them. Fisker will also replace the key fob.

The harsh braking situation was due to the overly sensitive ADAS suite. The system may think that a shadow of a vehicle is an actual car and is slamming the brakes preemptively. The owner was advised not to use driver-assistance features for a few weeks until the fix is out.

The California Mode not working was attributed to T-Mobile's poor signal in some areas, which is weird because this feature can also be accessed from inside the vehicle. It could be a safety mechanism that's not working properly.

It's unlikely that every Fisker Ocean owner will receive the same treatment. All this is the industry newcomer's way of making early adopters feel heard and appreciated. It's a great business strategy. Even though fixing every problem this owner reported on the spot was impossible, good PR is always welcome.

If you're an Ocean One owner, expect some important updates soon. Keep an eye on your phone or when you're in touch with a Radgiver.

At the end of the day, one thing's clear - it's the dawn of a new era for the automotive sector. What was once a conservative industry is rapidly becoming a very competitive environment. Those who once ruled the space are now in danger of losing it all to newcomers.