NHTSA Complaint #11639616 — 2023 FISKER OCEAN

On January 30, 2025, around 7 PM, my Fisker Ocean experienced a critical failure while parked at Ralphs Market in California. The 12-volt battery died, which completely disabled the vehicle's door locking and unlocking mechanisms, leaving me, my elderly mother, and my young son trapped inside for about two hours. There was no manual override option to open the doors or rear hatch from the inside. My mother, who had a triple bypass surgery three months ago, began feeling dizzy and distressed as we remained trapped. To minimize her stress, I asked everyone to stop talking until help arrived. Even more concerning was that multiple attempts to open the doors from outside also failed. The Uber driver, my son (who was outside), and AAA all attempted to open the doors, but none of them were successful. The door handles were in the "up" position, which should have indicated that the doors were unlocked and could open, yet they remained completely stuck. Eventually, AAA arrived, but due to Fisker’s unusual hood design, I had to instruct them to remove two bolts to access the 12-volt battery before they could connect a portable charger and restore power to the doors. This is a serious safety risk that could be life-threatening in an emergency such as a fire, crash, or extreme weather event. If we had been in a more urgent situation, there would have been no way to escape. The 12-volt battery failure has happened multiple times before, but this was the first time it occurred while I was inside the vehicle, leading to entrapment. There were no warning lights or error messages prior to the failure. The vehicle simply lost power without warning, causing a total failure of all exit mechanisms. I have not yet had the vehicle inspected by a dealer or independent service center regarding the entrapment issue, but I plan to report it. However, since Fisker has filed for bankruptcy, there is no way to contact the manufacturer for assistance or resolution. I strongly urge NHTSA to in