Incident: Fisker Karma Luxury Car Software Malfunction During Consumer Testing

Published Date: 2012-03-08

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident with the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid car occurred during Consumer Reports speed testing this week, as reported in the article published on 2012-03-08 [10668]. Estimation: Step 1: The article was published on 2012-03-08 and mentions that the incident happened during the same week. Step 2: The incident occurred in the week of 2012-03-08. Step 3: Therefore, the software failure incident with the Fisker Karma plug-in hybrid car occurred in March 2012.
System 1. Karma plug-in hybrid car software malfunction that triggered warning lights and froze navigation systems [10668] 2. A possible defect in batteries made by A123 Systems that could cause a coolant fluid leak and electrical short circuit [10668]
Responsible Organization 1. The software failure incident in the Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid car during Consumer Reports speed testing was caused by a software malfunction that triggered warning lights and temporarily froze navigation systems, leading to the car's failure [10668].
Impacted Organization 1. Fisker Automotive - The software failure incident impacted Fisker Automotive as their Karma plug-in hybrid car failed during Consumer Reports speed testing, leading to negative publicity and further damage to the company's image [10668].
Software Causes 1. Software malfunction triggering warning lights and freezing navigation systems, leading to a recall in January [10668].
Non-software Causes 1. The failure incident with the Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid car during Consumer Reports speed testing was attributed to a problem with the car's battery, specifically the battery light coming on during the test and the car subsequently failing to restart [10668].
Impacts 1. The software failure incident with the Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid car during Consumer Reports speed testing had a negative impact on the image and reputation of the struggling electric car startup [10668]. 2. The incident added to the woes of Fisker Automotive, which was already facing challenges such as changing its chief executive, halting work at its U.S. plant, and renegotiating the terms of a significant loan from the U.S. Department of Energy [10668]. 3. Fisker had to recall some Karmas previously due to a software malfunction that triggered warning lights and froze navigation systems, indicating a potential impact on customer satisfaction and trust in the brand [10668]. 4. The software failure incident led to delays in the evaluation and testing of the Fisker Karma by Consumer Reports, affecting the assessment process of the vehicle's performance and reliability [10668].
Preventions 1. Implementing thorough software testing procedures before releasing the car to consumers could have potentially prevented the software failure incident [10668]. 2. Conducting more extensive quality assurance checks specifically focused on the software components of the vehicle could have helped identify and rectify any potential issues before they led to a failure [10668]. 3. Regular software updates and patches to address any known software malfunctions or bugs could have been implemented proactively to prevent such incidents [10668].
Fixes 1. Conduct a thorough assessment to identify the source of the problem that caused the Karma plug-in hybrid to fail [10668]. 2. Dispatch engineers to examine the car and diagnose the software malfunction that triggered warning lights and froze navigation systems [10668]. 3. Implement software updates or patches to address any identified software defects or glitches that may be causing the issues [10668]. 4. Ensure proper testing and quality assurance processes are in place to prevent similar software failures in the future [10668].
References 1. Consumer Reports speed testing 2. Fisker Automotive 3. Fisker engineers 4. A123 Systems 5. Statements from Fisker 6. Statements from David Champion, senior director for Consumer Reports' automotive test center 7. Statements from various individuals mentioned in the article 8. Previous recalls and issues related to software malfunctions in Fisker Karmas

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization (a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization: The article mentions that in January, Fisker halted Karma sales for four days to fix a software malfunction that triggered warning lights and temporarily froze navigation systems. This indicates a previous software failure incident within the same organization [10668]. (b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization: There is no specific mention in the article about similar incidents happening at other organizations or with their products and services.
Phase (Design/Operation) design, operation (a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the article where Fisker had to halt Karma sales for four days in January to fix a software malfunction that triggered warning lights and temporarily froze navigation systems [10668]. (b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is evident in the article where during Consumer Reports' speed testing of the Fisker Karma, a light on the dashboard came on indicating a battery issue, and after the test, the car could not be restarted, highlighting an operational failure [10668].
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) The software failure incident with the Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid car during Consumer Reports speed testing was within the system. The article mentions that in January, Fisker halted Karma sales for four days to fix a software malfunction that triggered warning lights and temporarily froze navigation systems [10668]. This indicates that the software issue originated from within the system of the car itself.
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions, human_actions (a) The software failure incident in the Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid car during Consumer Reports speed testing was not explicitly attributed to non-human actions. The article mentions that a light on the dashboard came on during the test, indicating a potential issue with the battery, but the exact cause of the failure was still unknown and being assessed by Fisker engineers [10668]. (b) The software failure incident in the Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid car during Consumer Reports speed testing could potentially be linked to human actions. The article mentions that Consumer Reports engineers were calibrating the Karma's speed when a light on the dashboard came on, and after the test, officials were unable to restart the car. This could suggest that the failure was related to the testing process or handling of the vehicle during the test [10668].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) software (a) The software failure incident in the Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid car during Consumer Reports speed testing was not specifically attributed to hardware issues. The article mentions problems with the battery light coming on the dashboard during the speed test, but it does not directly point to hardware as the contributing factor for the failure [10668]. (b) The software failure incident in the Fisker Karma was related to a software malfunction that triggered warning lights and temporarily froze navigation systems in January. This software malfunction led to a halt in Karma sales for four days for fixing the issue. Additionally, the article mentions that the breakdown of the Consumer Reports car is more bad news for Fisker, which has faced software-related problems in the past, such as the software malfunction triggering warning lights [10668].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious (a) The articles do not mention any indication of a malicious software failure incident related to the Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid car during Consumer Reports speed testing [10668]. (b) The software failure incident with the Fisker Karma was non-malicious. It was described as a software malfunction that triggered warning lights and temporarily froze navigation systems, leading to a recall in January [10668]. Additionally, the incident during Consumer Reports speed testing was related to a light on the dashboard coming on, indicating a non-malicious technical issue with the car's software [10668].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) accidental_decisions (a) The software failure incident related to the Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid car during Consumer Reports speed testing does not seem to be directly attributed to poor decisions. The incident was more related to technical issues with the car's battery and software systems, such as a software malfunction triggering warning lights and freezing navigation systems [10668]. (b) The software failure incident appears to be more aligned with accidental decisions or unintended consequences rather than poor decisions. The article mentions issues with the car's battery, coolant fluid leak, and electrical short circuit, as well as problems with new technologies, which are not necessarily linked to deliberate poor decisions but rather to technical challenges and unforeseen issues [10668].
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) development_incompetence, accidental (a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the article as Fisker had previously halted Karma sales for four days in January to fix a software malfunction that triggered warning lights and froze navigation systems [10668]. This indicates that there were issues in the software development process that led to malfunctions in the vehicle's software system. (b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is highlighted in the article when Consumer Reports engineers were calibrating the Karma's speed on the test track, and a light on the dashboard indicating a battery issue came on. Despite completing the speed test, the car could not be restarted after being parked, suggesting an accidental software failure [10668].
Duration temporary The software failure incident related to the Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid car during Consumer Reports speed testing was temporary. The incident involved a software malfunction that triggered warning lights and temporarily froze navigation systems, leading to a temporary halt in Karma sales for four days in January to address the issue [10668]. Additionally, during the speed testing, a light on the dashboard came on, indicating a battery issue, and the car was unable to be restarted after being parked, suggesting a temporary software-related failure [10668].
Behaviour crash, value, other (a) crash: The software malfunction in the Fisker Karma caused warning lights to trigger and temporarily froze navigation systems, leading to a software malfunction that resulted in the halting of Karma sales for four days in January [10668]. (b) omission: The software failure incident did not specifically mention any instances where the system omitted to perform its intended functions. (c) timing: The software failure incident did not involve timing issues where the system performed its intended functions too late or too early. (d) value: The software failure incident included a software malfunction that caused warning lights to trigger and temporarily froze navigation systems, indicating incorrect performance of the intended functions [10668]. (e) byzantine: The software failure incident did not exhibit behaviors of inconsistent responses or interactions that would classify it as a byzantine failure. (f) other: The software failure incident involved a light on the dashboard coming on during a speed test, indicating a potential anomaly in the system's behavior that was not explicitly categorized in the options provided [10668].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence delay, theoretical_consequence (a) unknown (b) unknown (c) unknown (d) unknown (e) The software malfunction in the Fisker Karma caused warning lights to trigger and temporarily froze navigation systems, leading to a delay in Karma sales for four days while the issue was fixed [10668]. (f) unknown (g) The article does not mention any real observed consequences of the software failure incident. (h) The article discusses potential consequences of the software failure incident, such as delaying the testing process and affecting the evaluation timeline of the Fisker Karma by Consumer Reports [10668]. (i) unknown
Domain transportation (a) The failed system was intended to support the transportation industry. The incident involved a Fisker Karma luxury plug-in hybrid car failing during speed testing conducted by Consumer Reports [10668].

Sources

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