The software limiter could have long lasting effects for Ocean owners down the line
1 hour ago
All cars need maintenance, but it’s commonly believed that certain performance features will always function properly with proper care of the vehicle. In the case of the Fisker Ocean, one such performance feature, launch control, has a lifetime cap of 500 launches. Now, one YouTuber’s review is bringing this and some other concerns into focus.
The Fisker Ocean marks the brand’s debut in the SUV market, having been on the market for just a bit over a year now. In 2023, it rolled out over 10,000 production units. Reviews have been mixed and the cars have some interesting and quirky features. Limiting an owner to 500 launches for the life of the car is just one of those quirks.
We contacted Fisker, and a spokesperson told Carscoops that “500 is a conservative limit, benchmarked against other boost modes. We estimate the powertrain would likely pass more Boost Mode usage, but we have not yet tested the full durability cycle with more than 500 boost modes included.”
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Read: US Probes Fisker Ocean After Owners Report EVs Rolling Away
It’s worth noting that 500 launches is actually quite a substantial number, and it’s unlikely that a large percentage of Ocean owners would ever reach that limit. For one thing, this isn’t a track-focused car or even a sports sedan; it’s a crossover. Secondly, the conditions required to use launch control aren’t readily available on every drive. Add in the lack of desire to launch the car for many users and it’s not wild to believe that 500 is more than sufficient for the life of the car.
At the same time, it could be that cars with a known history of launches will end up being worth considerably less than otherwise identical examples. It’s plausible too that someone will find a way to hack the software and set that counter to whatever they want.
What happens when a user exhausts their final boost mode engagement? Evidently, Fisker isn’t certain yet, but there might be options to purchase more. “We have not yet defined this, but we are exploring ways to make more activations available, following further testing,” the spokeperson told Carscoops.
Notably, this isn’t the very first time that an automaker has used technology to track how many times a car has been “launched.” Audi did it back in the late 2010s with the S6 sedan. In that case, though, special software is required to determine how many launches are stored in the car’s memory.
According to the reviewer, Marques Brownlee, professionally known as MKBHD, this car is the “worst” he’s ever reviewed due to numerous software bugs. The video is worth a watch as it’s a good example of just how many issues some cars have despite being in production for over a year now.