Fisker’s Hollywood-Approved Electric 'Karma' Car Recalled

3:57 PM PST 1/2/2012 by Gary Baum

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Fisker Automotive

The green vehicle, praised by the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and John Lasseter, has been determined to be a fire hazard.

Electric carmaker Fisker has announced that the entire 239-vehicle run of its luxury Karma plug-in hybrids have been recalled due to a fire hazard stemming from incorrectly positioned hose clamps within certain high-voltage batteries.

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The vehicles, which retail at $103,000, have proven popular with Hollywood. Leonardo DiCaprio and John Lasseter are fans, and Ashton Kutcher’s Internet mogul character on Two and a Half Men, Walden Schmidt, rides the car on the CBS sitcom.

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Fisker filed an official report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, noting that the improperly positioned hose clamps could potentially lead to a coolant leak from the cooling hoses, thus causing an electrical short and then a fire.

The automaker says it discovered the issue in mid-December when employees at its Finland assembly plant noticed coolant dripping. No consumer complaints had at that point been voiced to the company, according to Fisker.