Projected maintenance question

[BrianRPrice]

Lee,

I have a couple of technical questions about the projected maintenance over the Karma's lifespan.

1) Here in the hot climate of DFW, car batteries are frequently doomed to no more than 4-5 years of life; frequently 3 years is all one can expect from a battery. Given Fisker's reliance on battery power, what is the projected life for the battery bank, and what would the projected cost be on replacing failing cells? On a related point, how are bad batteries to be detected on an operational basis?

2) What kinds of maintenance should an owner expect, and, again in a related point, what kind of facility will be needed to service the new Karma?

3) Realistically, what kind of annual mileage is the Karma designed to handle? Many EVs I've explored project between 1500 and 2500 charges, which is about 5-7 years, which is only about 125,000k miles. I guess this point is simply a restatement of question #1--my apologies.

Thank you in advance,

Brian R. Price

[Lee Brennan]

Brian,

I know that one of the weaknesses of Lithium batteries is their susceptibility to heat. I've read somewhere the projected life expectancy of the batteries but I don't recall off the top of my head. It may actually be in some of the info I've posted here on this site. I'll find the answer for you when I've got more time later tonight. As far as a failed battery pack goes I imagine replacement would be quite expensive as the battery runs along the center of the vehicle. Unless they have designed it such that you can drop it down out of the vehicle you might have to do some interference removal. Not to mention the cost of a new battery itself. As far as failed cells go a simple Battery Monitoring System is not hard to implement and I'm sure the vehicle has one.

Honestly I think that maintenance for this type of vehicle is going to be less than that of a normal gasoline vehicle. Obviously though your standard garage isn't going to know much about fixing an electric motor and I wouldn't take mine to anything other than a Fisker dealer.

[Lee Brennan]

Brian, I found some more information for you.

From a press release dated 5/12/08:
"Preliminary testing of the lithium-ion battery that powers the Fisker Karma has indicated a life expectancy of an estimated 10 years." Key words "Preliminary...has indicated...estimated"

I have heard a quote of $18,000 for the battery.

Hopefully this answers your questions somewhat. Let me know if you have any more.

[kabalah70]

Also, the car batteries used to start automobiles are drastically different than the lithium batts used in this car, which as of now, are going to be A123 Systems' LiFePO or Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries, which have a nice temperature performance range.