Much like a real-life sea, the Fisker Ocean’s start has been rocky. The crossover released to multiple failed flip attempts, only to be beset by issues around little things like “moving the car.” Now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating issues around the Ocean’s ability to not move.
A series of complaints sent to NHTSA revolve around “unintentional vehicle movement,” according to Reuters. Those four individual complaints have now led to an investigation surrounding 4,000 vehicles — all concerning their ability to shift between gears. From Reuters:
The NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation received four complaints “alleging unintended vehicle movement” related to the 2023 Ocean model.
The complaints alleged an inability to shift into the park mode or into the intended gear, which could result in an unintended vehicle movement, the U.S. auto safety agency added.
One of the complaints alleged an injury, the NHTSA said.
The story of a faulty or imprecise shifter leading to injury isn’t a new one. It’s the same situation that killed Anton Yelchin — a shifter that made drivers think they’d put the car in park without ever actually doing so. While that issue happened as electronic shifters were just rising to the mainstream, this Ocean problem may be similar.
The Ocean uses a stalk-mounted shifter, which while smaller than any SUV or truck’s implementation, should be at least conceptually intelligible to most drivers. Whether the issue here stems from the shifter itself, a misleading gear indicator on the dash, or something within the drive unit remains to be seen.
The NHTSA investigation should shed more light on the issue — if one exists — but owners can mitigate any risk by double-checking their gear position before stepping out of the car. Better safe than sorry.