2017 991.2 Targa 4s Roof Problem ! Help !
 

Hello, firstly let me introduce myself,
My name is Steve and i am from Tel-Aviv , Israel , I currently have a 2017 991.2 Targa 4s , a 2015 Macan S and a 1979 911sc Targa, i am 31 ,happily married and have a little 1 year old girl and a little boy on the way for July....

I received my 2017 991.2 Targa 4s around November 2016 and have around 8k miles on it, i love the car, but since delivery i have had a problem with the targa roof, every once in a while when i try opening the roof, the glass cover in the back opens but the targa roof stay stuck on the car and the PCM display says ' Targa roof control fault service required'. If i give the roof a little help with my hands than it eventually detaches from the car and all goes fine. This is really annoying , have any of you had similar issues ? any ideas as to what could cause this problem ? there are currently only two 991.2 targa in the whole country and we only have one Porsche dealership in Israel and they cant find the problem for now. i am bringing my car in soon for the 10k servicing, hopefully they will be able to find a solution.

Thanks for your help !

Steve

Mine's a 2014, and the top goes up and down all the time and I have never had an issue. I would certainly ask that they fix it and provide you with a loaner until they do.

This happened to me after a dealer tried to resolve squeak/rattle issues by putting some kind of adhesive spray on the seals around the top of the windshield.

Cleaning this off and lubricating the seals with silicone resolved the problem.

Curious if you have any squeak/creak/rattle issues. Mine's a 2014.

Any solution to your issue? Happened to me today so I used the friendly search function..... It’s was 52 degrees at start-up this morning. I hope it’s an easy fix I can handle on my own, the local dealer service department doesn’t like to do warranty work.

Would love to hear more. Happened to me last night. Same model: 2017 991.2 Targa 4S. SO frustrating...

Other than taking it to the dealer I would lube all of the parts that move, and as mentioned above use some spray silicon on the seals, windshield header, top, etc. I use my top every time I drive the car and have never had any problems with the top sticking/not retracting. And as I just posted in another thread if one does not have the SmartTop module you are missing out!

I have the exact same car and have owned it for two years. I rarely drive with the top up and drive at least every other day. Went down to the beach two days ago, top down. PArked, put the top up, walked on the beach, came back and tried to retract the top. It unlatched and then stopped with an error message. I quickly ran it back and then when I got home tried to retract it. This time nothing happened and I got the message you got. Well, I took it to the dealer and they said there had been a service notice about this and what to do if a customer came in with the problem. Of course, when I got to the dealer, it retracted perfectly!

Anyway, they lubed and adjusted it and now all is good. Short of the engine, this is the most complex system in the car--expect issues. After you get past them, retract the top and drive--this will make you forget about the issue and remind you why you bought a Targa ;)

Service Notice? Anyone have it? I searched online and could not locate any.

I looked as well. Also, it may have been something under the recall radar, like “only when a customer reports an issue.”

I’d just like to see the service manual entries for ‘adjust and lube’.

@Bob Z. - I received this letter from Porsche earlier this year. Please see attached.

Thanks - did you have it done? If so, any difference?

First, thanks! This is probably what the service tech was talking about.

Second, when did it arrive? I ask because we have been away from home since February and my guess is that it could be in the huge pile of mail that has been accumulating.

Third, "30 minutes to 5 hours"!? Jeez, lou-eez! It took them less than an hour on mine, of course, 2014-2019 is quite a year range and my 911 is near the end.

@Bob Z. and @box - The dealer stated that the inspection in my case did not show any issues and that everything was as to specifications.

I received the letter in Mid February.

We need a 'Magic Trick Targa' subforum
 

I think we ought to have a subforum for 'Magic Trick' targa top 911s. When Porsche first came out with the articulated top, the Porsche engineers dubbed it the 'Magic Trick'.

I've always liked that designation and enjoy showing it off. Given how dated it is (and it is still here in the 2020 992 Targa), it really never ceases to amaze. Having owned a "remove folding targa top with wrench and store in frunk" '85, this one has been a joy for me although I have always worried that at some unpleasant place and time (pouring cloudburst on a backcountry road) the top might turn on me.