(NewsWorthy.news) – Electric vehicle manufacturer Fisker issued a recall on June 28 of 12,523 SUVs worldwide after a fault was discovered that can cause exterior door handles to get stuck. Fisker will use a “specialized force checking tool” to check all exterior door handles on the Ocean EVs.
8,204 of the SUVs are affected by the recall in the US, in addition to 3,806 in Europe and 513 in Canada. An estimated 2.5% of the vehicles could contain the fault, according to the company. Fisker stated that the problem is caused by a “malfunctioning mechanism”.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration forced the company to issue the recall because the fault means that drivers can become trapped inside their vehicles. The recall comes shortly after the startup manufacturer filed for bankruptcy following poor reviews and three recalls of its Ocean SUVs in one month.
The company stated that after inspecting the handles on the recalled vehicles it would replace the faulty ones free of charge. Customers have filed over 100 complaints with US regulators. Problems reported included the front hoods of the vehicles springing up when driving at high speed and vehicles losing power. The company’s Ocean SUVs were once considered a possible rival to Tesla’s Model Y vehicles.
As the company faces four NHTSA inquiries, customers have formed the nonprofit Fisker Owners Association to push for ongoing access to vehicle parts and services. Henrik Fisker started the company after his previous startup – Fisker Automotive – filed for bankruptcy in 2013. The company produced the Fisker Karma hybrid EV, but a combination of skipped loan repayments, missed production deadlines and a number of management issues led to the collapse of the company.
Fisker now faces similar problems. Though the company is looking into options to survive with scaled-down operations, the company can only use its cash through June 28. The company’s bankruptcy filing came after efforts to find investors were unsuccessful.
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