rasetsu

You worked at Nissan in the early 2000s? So was there an issue with catalytic converters breaking apart back then? Do you know if they caused engine failures as a result?

Neither Porsche nor Nissan manufacturers catalytic converters. They obtain them from vendors. I have no doubt that Nissan cheaped out in many ways back in the early 2000s during the Carlos Ghosn years but it's not impossible for a defective part to find its way onto a Porsche or any car. Porsche had to replace GT4 and Spyder engines recently due to defective internal parts. No manufacturer is immune. What sets companies apart is how they handle the issue.

blue17

Nissan had a lot of quality issues back then of their own doing. They were so consumed with getting new product out while cutting costs, it bit them in the rear and hurt their reputation. I remember some people said they'd never buy another Nissan/Infiniti after that happened. They also had ring issues on those 2.5L 4cyl engines too. Yes, they dont manufacture the cats, but they provide the engineering spec they want to the vendor to manufacture the part to. You can only imagine when they're trying to squeeze every penny of cost out the vehicle.

To answer your question about the cats: The story was, there was an ECU ignition timing error that caused the engine to knock so badly that it resulted in a damaged cat. The particles from that damage somehow found its way back into the engine and caused irreparable internal damage.

Not saying Porsche is immune to defective parts either, but I would figure their quality control is several levels higher than Nissan's. When you sit in a Porsche vs. Nissan, there is no doubt you're in a vehicle that's aiming for a higher product target than any Nissan.