The defect
Karma Automotive (Karma) is recalling certain 2012 Fisker Karma vehicles ever registered in the states of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia. These vehicles are equipped with air bag inflators assembled as part of the passenger frontal air bag modules, used as original equipment or replacement equipment, that may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, temperature and temperature cycling.
The risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Karma has notified owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag inflators, free of charge. The recall began March 25, 2019. Owners may contact Karma customer service at 1-855-288-6109. Karma's number for this recall is 5.84.17.001.01.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by ODI
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Fisker Karma | 2012 |
Components: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fisker Karma | 2012 | 6 | 5 |
Other air bags recalls in 2019
76 of the 880 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2019 concerned the air bags; Karma Automotive LLC filed 10 campaigns in all.
| 19V910000 19 Dec 2019 | Subaru of America, Inc. |
| 19V892000 16 Dec 2019 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 19V885000 12 Dec 2019 | Chrysler (FCA US LLC) |
| 19V868000 6 Dec 2019 | Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC. |
| 19V862000 4 Dec 2019 | Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. |
| 19V852000 26 Nov 2019 | BMW of North America, LLC |
| 19V853000 26 Nov 2019 | BMW of North America, LLC |
| 19V851000 26 Nov 2019 | BMW of North America, LLC |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2019