981 S faults not picked up by diagnostics
02-25-2019, 04:25 PM
#1
3rd Gear
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
981 S faults not picked up by diagnostics
Hello,
I have a 981 Boxster S with a PSE, always been serviced on time and no expense spared. Always warmed up before driving hard. It is on 57000 miles so slightly higher than most out there, but not massive.
I noticed around 6 months ago that the exhaust was no longer popping like it used to on overruns. I took it to Porsche who said that they couldn’t fault it as the valves were opening correctly, and there were no error codes being thrown up on the diagnostics machine. The engineer said possibly a spark plug could be to blame if it persists, as the artificial pops created by the ECU wear down the spark plugs in other cars, but unlikely as they were changed with the service 2 years prior and should last many miles. I thought that I must be imagining it, so I didn’t think much more of it.
Another strange thing which happened was that around 2 weeks later, I heard a loud pop, followed by a hissing, then loud squeals until I turned the car off. I then turned the car back on after waiting a little while, and there were no more squeals, no warning lights or faults on the dashboard. I called Porsche Assist who said that if there were no warnings to carry on my journey, so I did and have heard nothing since, so thought maybe something small was sucked into the side intake and found its way out.
The other day, after driving hard for about 10 minutes, I noticed suddenly that the car didn’t seem to sound as loud going through the rev range - it used to have a much higher pitched scream as you went past 4-5k revs, whereas now it sounds very muted and deep, like a turbo for example. It also doesn’t feel as quick as it used to so has lost some performance. I am too scared to push it any further in case it damages anything further, but again, no warning lights on the dashboard, and no error codes when I took it to Porschacare a couple of weeks ago for a quick once over.
I’m convinced there is something wrong with the car now, but not sure why there aren’t any error codes showing. I have read about VVT solenoids possibly being an issue with higher mileage cars, and that they sometimes don’t show up with any warning lights when fail, but not sure if this sounds like that as I am not very mechanical. My other options are spark plugs, coil packs, a vacuum hose leak, or vacuum valves/pump failure, but I have been told all of these should throw up a warning light or error code on the diagnostics machine. If anyone has any idea what it sounds like, I would be hugely grateful! I also have a Porsche warranty - does anyone know if any of these are covered under that? And how to go about pushing for them to find an answer if they keep saying there are no faults on the diagnostic machine?
Thank you!
I have a 981 Boxster S with a PSE, always been serviced on time and no expense spared. Always warmed up before driving hard. It is on 57000 miles so slightly higher than most out there, but not massive.
I noticed around 6 months ago that the exhaust was no longer popping like it used to on overruns. I took it to Porsche who said that they couldn’t fault it as the valves were opening correctly, and there were no error codes being thrown up on the diagnostics machine. The engineer said possibly a spark plug could be to blame if it persists, as the artificial pops created by the ECU wear down the spark plugs in other cars, but unlikely as they were changed with the service 2 years prior and should last many miles. I thought that I must be imagining it, so I didn’t think much more of it.
Another strange thing which happened was that around 2 weeks later, I heard a loud pop, followed by a hissing, then loud squeals until I turned the car off. I then turned the car back on after waiting a little while, and there were no more squeals, no warning lights or faults on the dashboard. I called Porsche Assist who said that if there were no warnings to carry on my journey, so I did and have heard nothing since, so thought maybe something small was sucked into the side intake and found its way out.
The other day, after driving hard for about 10 minutes, I noticed suddenly that the car didn’t seem to sound as loud going through the rev range - it used to have a much higher pitched scream as you went past 4-5k revs, whereas now it sounds very muted and deep, like a turbo for example. It also doesn’t feel as quick as it used to so has lost some performance. I am too scared to push it any further in case it damages anything further, but again, no warning lights on the dashboard, and no error codes when I took it to Porschacare a couple of weeks ago for a quick once over.
I’m convinced there is something wrong with the car now, but not sure why there aren’t any error codes showing. I have read about VVT solenoids possibly being an issue with higher mileage cars, and that they sometimes don’t show up with any warning lights when fail, but not sure if this sounds like that as I am not very mechanical. My other options are spark plugs, coil packs, a vacuum hose leak, or vacuum valves/pump failure, but I have been told all of these should throw up a warning light or error code on the diagnostics machine. If anyone has any idea what it sounds like, I would be hugely grateful! I also have a Porsche warranty - does anyone know if any of these are covered under that? And how to go about pushing for them to find an answer if they keep saying there are no faults on the diagnostic machine?
Thank you!
