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Similar to my experience when I installed Zunsport grilles on a 2015 BGTS, regarding the center grille. Did the installation and the clips/anchors were firmly seated but whenever the front end touched (i.e. steep driveway, curb, parking lot bumper, etc.) the center grille would pop out. Got to the point where I was almost paranoid when I parked the car. Inevitably, I forgot or failed to notice once when the center grille popped out and it was gone. Didn't bother to replace. The side grilles worked fine. I didn't do the air intake grilles.
I got the "Euro" clear LED front turn signals and replaced the "USA" style orange ones but with an orange exterior color, the "USA" style lights look good.
Original owner on mine chose to delete model designation on the rear trunk lid (i.e. there was no "Boxster GTS" on the trunk lid). I chose to get some "GTS" letters and had them installed on the rear, between the spoiler and the license plate and the result was pretty good. Was more appealing to me than with letters mounted on trunk lid.
Nice looking buggy. Seeing the results of the side intake scoops has me thinking I might look into getting some for my Spyder (the successor to the 2015 BGTS). The orange accents of the interior look good and I can only imagine how much Porsche gouged the original owner for it; on my Spyder, the original owner chose the option where the ventilation louvers are Guards Red instead of the standard black and the window sticker lists that as costing $1200.00. I've looked into getting the seat belts changed from standard black to Guards Red. Strangely (to me at least), it costs about $300 to do that as an ordered option when buying new whereas dealer wanted close to $2K to do it aftermarket. Hard to think of another manufacturer that plays the option game as much as Porsche.
Don't even bother with talking to the dealer for a seatbelt swap. Just remove and ship the spools to seatbeltplanet.com and they will respool them in your desired color/pattern and ship them back to you for a few hundred dollars
They really liked their orange. I'll keep an eye out for the front center grille potentially popping out. I had a 997.2 GT3 before this car and compared to the GT3, the GTS is like driving an SUV when it comes to front-end clearance and driveways. I'm considering making some changes with the rear badges on the trunk. It looks cluttered right now. In general I prefer a cleaner look so I will probably delete the Porsche and Boxster badges and move the GTS to the upper rear bumper, similar to what you did. Thanks for the inspiration!
Originally Posted by DrBillyD
Similar to my experience when I installed Zunsport grilles on a 2015 BGTS, regarding the center grille. Did the installation and the clips/anchors were firmly seated but whenever the front end touched (i.e. steep driveway, curb, parking lot bumper, etc.) the center grille would pop out. Got to the point where I was almost paranoid when I parked the car. Inevitably, I forgot or failed to notice once when the center grille popped out and it was gone. Didn't bother to replace. The side grilles worked fine. I didn't do the air intake grilles.
I got the "Euro" clear LED front turn signals and replaced the "USA" style orange ones but with an orange exterior color, the "USA" style lights look good.
Original owner on mine chose to delete model designation on the rear trunk lid (i.e. there was no "Boxster GTS" on the trunk lid). I chose to get some "GTS" letters and had them installed on the rear, between the spoiler and the license plate and the result was pretty good. Was more appealing to me than with letters mounted on trunk lid.
Nice looking buggy. Seeing the results of the side intake scoops has me thinking I might look into getting some for my Spyder (the successor to the 2015 BGTS). The orange accents of the interior look good and I can only imagine how much Porsche gouged the original owner for it; on my Spyder, the original owner chose the option where the ventilation louvers are Guards Red instead of the standard black and the window sticker lists that as costing $1200.00. I've looked into getting the seat belts changed from standard black to Guards Red. Strangely (to me at least), it costs about $300 to do that as an ordered option when buying new whereas dealer wanted close to $2K to do it aftermarket. Hard to think of another manufacturer that plays the option game as much as Porsche.
Thank you for sharing all your upgrades and install notes. The car looks awesome and love the color...so unique. Have the ducktail on my Cayman as well and switched up the rear lettering. Keep up the fun changes!
The backstory: I'm the second owner and bought my car from the Porsche dealer in Dallas April 2021. It's also a CPO car and was certified by the selling dealer. Shortly after picking up the car and driving it home to OR, I tried the Sport+ button and realized it wasn't working. So I finally scheduled an appointment with my local Porsche dealer in Bend a few weeks ago to see what they could find out. First they tried to diagnose the issue, to no avail. Then they decided to order a new Sport+ button. I brought the car in today to have the new button installed but unfortunately it did not fix the issue. Their service tech checked the entire system: wiring to the button, DME, modules, logs, and did not find anything out of place, no error codes, etc. Everything is in place and functions as expected on the car except Sport+.
The service manager speculates that maybe Porsche is somehow disabling Sport+ remotely because apparently my car has wireless connectivity for roadside assistance and other stuff via some satellite network. I'm not sure about that. Regardless, he contacted Porsche NA and is asking for advice on what my options are. Based on the Stop-sale which affects my car, the dealer in Dallas should have not sold the car to me, but they did. I suspect they were not aware of the stop-sale when they sold the car.
I am wondering if I am treading in some legal grey area. From a consumer standpoint, I bought a CPO car that is not 100% functional and so far, the dealer can't seem to fix it. From Porsche's standpoint, the car should have never been sold. But now we are in a quandary. I just want Sport+ to work as the Porsche gods intended. And I am not giving it back, so I wonder if there is an impasse and what my options are. I welcome any feedback and advice.
Ugh.... your characterization of the situation of a grey area seems appropriate. What a PITA.
I'll say that I have a 2016 Spyder, acquired before the stop sale order due to the emissions issues in sport/sport + mode, and my car has not had the sport + mode remotely disabled. I'm not going to say it's impossible, but the remote disable scenario would seem improbable.
Unfortunately, it might be that your only option would be to "wait and see" what Porsche comes up with regarding this issue. Other than that, maybe contact some of the aftermarket ECU tune vendors and see if they have any options? IIRC, weren't you planning on doing and ECU tune at some point?
"The service manager speculates that maybe Porsche is somehow disabling Sport+ remotely because apparently my car has wireless connectivity for roadside assistance and other stuff via some satellite network."
Would Porsche be tempted to or legally allowed to disconnect Sport + if the vehicle owner was scheduled for service, during this time period of "Stop Sale"?
Ugh.... your characterization of the situation of a grey area seems appropriate. What a PITA.
I'll say that I have a 2016 Spyder, acquired before the stop sale order due to the emissions issues in sport/sport + mode, and my car has not had the sport + mode remotely disabled. I'm not going to say it's impossible, but the remote disable scenario would seem improbable.
Unfortunately, it might be that your only option would be to "wait and see" what Porsche comes up with regarding this issue. Other than that, maybe contact some of the aftermarket ECU tune vendors and see if they have any options? IIRC, weren't you planning on doing and ECU tune at some point?
Good luck.
Agreed, I don't think it is possible for Porsche NA to remotely disable any feature. My local independent who is a former Porsche tech said that remote connectivity is not possible on my generation. I am going to explore having my local dealer reflash the DME back to its original state (assuming it has somehow changed since it was sold). Maybe that will fix everything.
Originally Posted by Snip's
"The service manager speculates that maybe Porsche is somehow disabling Sport+ remotely because apparently my car has wireless connectivity for roadside assistance and other stuff via some satellite network."
Would Porsche be tempted to or legally allowed to disconnect Sport + if the vehicle owner was scheduled for service, during this time period of "Stop Sale"?
I'm not sure what Porsche is legally allowed to do. I do suspect if they have the ability, they can make changes to the DME at any time, whether that is done remotely or hardwired when the car is in for service. Supposedly, Porsche NA will release a "fix" for the Sport Plus button by end of this year. I suspect it will be a DME software change to remap the variables for throttle, tranny, stability and traction control. Or they might permanently disable Sport+. If/when that happens, I will not want that flash, assuming I can get the original DME flash back on my car.
The backstory: I'm the second owner and bought my car from the Porsche dealer in Dallas April 2021. It's also a CPO car and was certified by the selling dealer. Shortly after picking up the car and driving it home to OR, I tried the Sport+ button and realized it wasn't working. So I finally scheduled an appointment with my local Porsche dealer in Bend a few weeks ago to see what they could find out. First they tried to diagnose the issue, to no avail. Then they decided to order a new Sport+ button. I brought the car in today to have the new button installed but unfortunately it did not fix the issue. Their service tech checked the entire system: wiring to the button, DME, modules, logs, and did not find anything out of place, no error codes, etc. Everything is in place and functions as expected on the car except Sport+.
The service manager speculates that maybe Porsche is somehow disabling Sport+ remotely because apparently my car has wireless connectivity for roadside assistance and other stuff via some satellite network. I'm not sure about that. Regardless, he contacted Porsche NA and is asking for advice on what my options are. Based on the Stop-sale which affects my car, the dealer in Dallas should have not sold the car to me, but they did. I suspect they were not aware of the stop-sale when they sold the car.
I am wondering if I am treading in some legal grey area. From a consumer standpoint, I bought a CPO car that is not 100% functional and so far, the dealer can't seem to fix it. From Porsche's standpoint, the car should have never been sold. But now we are in a quandary. I just want Sport+ to work as the Porsche gods intended. And I am not giving it back, so I wonder if there is an impasse and what my options are. I welcome any feedback and advice.
I think it is coding related. Looking at the build sheet you listed earlier, your car was optioned for the Sport Tailpipes and not the full sport exhaust system. However, looking at your switch console, the previous owner definitely did the full PSE retrofit later on, which is why you have that switch there. They might have forgotten to reprogram the control unit with the Sport Chrono function enable code when they installed the new switch panel that contains the PSE switch. The service manual instructions state "On vehicles with the equipment variant SPORT/SPORT Plus/Sport Chrono Plus, a function enable process must be carried out after replacing the switch console."
On your most recent visit to your local Porsche dealer, they installed a new Sport Plus switch. I'm almost certain they ordered a complete switch console since Porsche doesn't sell the individual switches. So they most likely just installed the new one in there instead of reusing your old one and only swapping out the Sport Plus switch itself. Maybe they "forgot" to carry out the function enable due to the stop sale, since they would have to request the vehicle's original Sport Chrono enabling code from Porsche HQ. Your dealer's not lying to you when they say that there are no error codes, because it wouldn't show up as a fault code. It was likely just not reenabled correctly whenever the PSE retrofit took place. And maybe their hands are tied trying to reenable it for you correctly, because the stop sale is restricting the activation of the Sport Chrono feature on cars that go in for service at the dealer. Either way, I would try to get a copy of the VAL that they generate. The report will show you specifically if Sport Chrono is enabled or not. Look for it under the sections for the PCM control unit, as well as the Air Condition control unit. It'll look something like this.
Thanks for the info! It's my understanding that all GTSs have PSE as standard. I don't believe it was retrofitted. Also, in my recent service when they installed a new Sport Plus button, it actually is an individual button, not an entire console. In the 997, it is a complete single unit, but apparently the 981 has individual buttons. That is what the service manager told me. I am taking my car back in on Thu to have the DME reflashed to its original state when it was sold. If any changes were made to the DME between new and now, it should be fixed. I'll keep everyone posted.
Originally Posted by Visual
I think it is coding related. Looking at the build sheet you listed earlier, your car was optioned for the Sport Tailpipes and not the full sport exhaust system. However, looking at your switch console, the previous owner definitely did the full PSE retrofit later on, which is why you have that switch there. They might have forgotten to reprogram the control unit with the Sport Chrono function enable code when they installed the new switch panel that contains the PSE switch. The service manual instructions state "On vehicles with the equipment variant SPORT/SPORT Plus/Sport Chrono Plus, a function enable process must be carried out after replacing the switch console."
On your most recent visit to your local Porsche dealer, they installed a new Sport Plus switch. I'm almost certain they ordered a complete switch console since Porsche doesn't sell the individual switches. So they most likely just installed the new one in there instead of reusing your old one and only swapping out the Sport Plus switch itself. Maybe they "forgot" to carry out the function enable due to the stop sale, since they would have to request the vehicle's original Sport Chrono enabling code from Porsche HQ. Your dealer's not lying to you when they say that there are no error codes, because it wouldn't show up as a fault code. It was likely just not reenabled correctly whenever the PSE retrofit took place. And maybe their hands are tied trying to reenable it for you correctly, because the stop sale is restricting the activation of the Sport Chrono feature on cars that go in for service at the dealer. Either way, I would try to get a copy of the VAL that they generate. The report will show you specifically if Sport Chrono is enabled or not. Look for it under the sections for the PCM control unit, as well as the Air Condition control unit. It'll look something like this.
Thanks for the info! It's my understanding that all GTSs have PSE as standard. I don't believe it was retrofitted. Also, in my recent service when they installed a new Sport Plus button, it actually is an individual button, not an entire console. In the 997, it is a complete single unit, but apparently the 981 has individual buttons. That is what the service manager told me. I am taking my car back in on Thu to have the DME reflashed to its original state when it was sold. If any changes were made to the DME between new and now, it should be fixed. I'll keep everyone posted.
Ah that's right, completely forgot PSE was standard on GTS models. Either way, somehow the Sport Plus got disabled, I imagine even a reflash might require the activation code to get the feature working again. Hopefully there's no shifty business involving the stop sale to prevent reactivation.
Congrats!!! Sweet ride and the orange is great fun.
Now you're making me seriously think about getting those GTS rear tail lights. My 981 Boxster is yellow, so the GTS tail lights really pop with a lighter car color. (If any reader has a yellow Boxster with those GTS lights, please post them!). Again, welcome and wishing you many fun miles ahead!
My 2016 Boxster GTS will be for sale soon. The only delay is getting the clear/clean title in my hand. I just got the title from the dealer I bought it from in April 2021! I'm in the process of registering and titling the car with the State of Oregon and supposedly will have title in hand in a couple weeks. I will be posting ads on RL and Autotrader, but my fellow 981 brothers and sisters get an exclusive heads up in this sub-forum. PM me if you have questions for fastest response. I don't check this forum often.
I'm selling because I came to realize that as amazing and fantastic as the Boxster is, I am a 911 guy at heart and I recently picked up a 2011 Carrera GTS and no longer need/want the Boxster. It is in excellent condition and the ONLY issue is that the Sport Plus button does not function. I've tried resolving the issue with my local Porsche dealer in Bend but they don't have the expertise that a dealer in a larger market might have. I was planning on taking it to a dealer in Portland or Seattle to resolve. I suspect it is just a software matter. Either way, it is covered as a CPO car and just needs the right tech to figure it out. I'll post more pics shortly. Thanks for looking.
Price: $80,000
Location: Bend OR
2016 Boxster GTS
PTS Gulf Orange
Miles: 33,787
CPO until April 2023 and transferable to new owner
Mods:
Boxster Spyder rear duck tail spoiler. Original rear spoiler included
So I discovered today that the Stop-sale does not apply to cars with manual transmissions. I still need to figure out why Sport Plus doesn't work on my car but at least I know it is likely not related to the stop-sale.
05-10-2021, 11:47 AM
PM me if you have questions for fastest response. I don't check this forum often.
