Porsche orders stop-sale on certain models for performance option causing them to create excess emissions

When one eager buyer rolled up to their local Porsche dealership looking for a used 911 sports car, they told Insider the dealer wouldn't give it up. They logged onto the Porsche forums and saw they weren't alone.

"My dealer won't sell me a [2014 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S] with Sport Chrono due to a stop-sale, which applies to a ton of cars Porsche makes," they wrote in an email to Insider. "There's speculation all over Rennlist but nobody knows for sure what's going on, other than it's been going on for months."

Insider reached out to the dealership for confirmation of the failed transaction, but has yet to hear back.

But indeed, a November thread on Porsche enthusiast online forum Rennlist read: "Stop Sale Campaign on 911 with Sport Chrono?"

"I have had my 2016 [Carrera] 4 GTS [Cabriolet] at my local dealer for a consignment sale," user Teambell wrote. "Today I was told they have to take it off the market as a corporate stop sale campaign related to the Sport Chrono package. Does anyone know any details about it?"

Insider reached out to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which typically handles sales and recalls. The agency declined to comment on the issue. But a Porsche spokesperson did, confirming that there is indeed a stop-sale and has been one since November 2020.

It applies to "certain older vehicles in our dealer partner's inventory equipped with the ... Sport Chrono Package," the spokesperson told Insider in an email.

The Sport Chrono Package was an option you could get on your Porsche that let you pick different electronic driving modes. "Normal" was for everyday driving, "Sport" was designed for the twistier roads, and "Sport Plus" was meant for extreme driving, as you would do on a racetrack.

But, as Porsche recently discovered during its routine review, there was a slight hiccup in the plan. When driven in "Sport Plus" mode, certain Sport Chrono Package-equipped cars built within a specific time frame emitted more nitrogen oxide than permitted.

"Porsche proactively informed authorities and continues to work to review the issue," the spokesperson said. "Both the 'Normal' and 'Sport' modes were found to be compliant with all known emissions standards based on testing performed by the company — as was 'Sport Plus' mode on many models tested.

"In any case, we have no indications that cars currently in production are affected."

The stop-sale affects 911, Boxster, Cayman, Cayenne, and Panamera models from model years 2012 to 2016. The tricky part, though, is determining which of those cars are affected, as not every car listed was fitted with the often optional Sport Chrono Package.

And even if they were fitted with the package, "not every model line we've tested is affected," the spokesperson said. "So, it really goes down to us testing every model derivative. We're being cautious."

"I can understand why some of your readers would be concerned," they went on. "To be clear, our dealer partners are buying all used Porsche cars as they usually would, and the cars in customers' possession remains safe to drive — what the dealers have paused is selling the specific cars in their inventory affected by this until the software on these cars can be updated."

Porsche is working on a software update that it will apply to the cars before they are for sale again. Eventually, the automaker will also perform the fix for customer vehicles as necessary.

The spokesperson did not provide a timeline for when Porsche expects the update to be completed and carried out, but assured current owners this wasn't a safety issue for them.

"The cars affected by this – all of which were developed and sold years ago — remain safe to drive," they said. "This does not affect new vehicles."