GSBruce

- 2014 991.1, bought new 09/2014, warranty expired 09/2018, 13,800 miles
- Both door panels de-laminated to the point of being noticeable in Q4 2019
- My dealer service advisor put in a goodwill request, Porsche offered to replace both door panels if I paid $2,000.00 out of pocket.
- Porsche advised that the cost to me for the 2 door panels and their replacement would be about $4,700.00 or so without their goodwill. My service advisor told me that figure included 4 hours of labor on a job that takes less than one hour. Porsche's offer apparently reflects Porsche's door panel internal cost plus an excess amount of labor. I declined Porsche's "goodwill" offer.
- My service advisor confirmed that the replacement door panels would be the same exact item that was on the car now - that is, there is no new, improved door panel. The original panels de-laminated after ~5 years. The replacement door panels could be expected to likewise de-laminate after 5 years of life.
- I removed my door panels per the Porsche factory manual instructions and also found two youtube videos that show the process. It is very simple to do - remove 4 hard plastic trim pieces, remove 4 screws, unfasten 2 electrical connectors, disconnect the door handle/latch connector.
- I sent my door panels to Pedro's Garage / technolab, pedrosgarage.com, for repair with their technopanel repair process.
- One needs a box 48" long, by 24" tall, by 8" thick in which to ship the bubble-wrapped panels. I could not find a 48" X 24" X 8" box, so I bought 2 50" X 20" X 8" boxes, called "guitar boxes", and split them both along one of their 50" X 8" sides, then joined them together to result in a 50" X 24" X 8" box.
- Shipping was ~ $80.00 via UPS ground and took 2 days Houston, Texas to Tampa, Florida. Return shipping for some reason took 6 days.
- Pedro's Garage / technolab performed the repair the day after they received the panels for $250.00/panel, $500.00 total, and shipped them back to me that same evening.
- Installation was the reverse of removal and was very easy.
- All in cost was ~$75.00 for the boxes, tape and bubble wrap, $80.00 shipping to Pedro's Garage, $500.00 repair, and $80.00 return shipping, or total of ~$735.00

I am pretty put off by Porsche's turning out faulty parts that affect a broad range of vehicles of a certain recent range of production dates, their failure to correct the known defects in original parts in replacement parts, and their disingenuous approach to goodwill.

There's a large quote from Ferry Porsche on the wall of my dealer saying something along the lines of that Porsche's goal is to make cars that people desire to buy and are happy to own. Porsche has fallen far short of these goals.

nolan12

Glad to hear there are other options out there.

BlueShell

How’s the quality of the repair? Do they do anything special in the repair process to prevent them from separating again? Is there a warranty on their work?

Happy to hear there are other options. But just curious to know if this is a permanent solution.

BlueShell

Answered some of my own questions by going on their website. They call it a “permanent” fix because they weld the plastic and also use aluminum reinforcement.

Hoping I won’t have to resort to this but great to hear a more affordable option.

sr5959

Well done!

pfan

Porsche's idea of goodwill: "We apologize for our poor quality, design, and workmanship, so we'll only charge you 50% to make it right."

Porsche's customers always come first, right behind profits.

Bob Z.

They are not the most profitable manufacturer in the world for no reason!

Nice job to the OP for taking the initiative to resolve the problem himself, and I hope others in the future will do the same when they are out of warranty - any way to document this for others as an option?

GSBruce

The repair is not perceptible in any way. The door panels look in all ways like what they looked like before they de-laminated. I'll report back if there is any change over time.

Mojo.K

Isn’t there a curtain airbag there? So metal reinforcement will interfere with airbag deployment?

GSBruce

In the case of my door panels, there is nothing visible in the way of metal reinforcement or anything otherwise added in that area, so I'm not concerned at all about future airbag deployment. They look proper inside and out.

You should call or email Pedro Bonilla with your questions/concerns after you go on his website and check out his credentials. I believe he knows what he is doing. www.pedrosgarage.com I believe he told me that he had about 6 sets of door panels a day coming through his shop.

Bud Taylor

And 4 hours from my house. Porsche replaced mine for free but they are sure to do the same thing again. Now I have an excuse to catch a Rays game and eat at Berns. There ia no velvet like red velvet.

Porsche_nuts

True dat. The other usual explanation for issues from the service adviser is, "It's normal!"

OP - Great find, and happy to hear the panels were fixed. Big cost savings, but then again its money that should never have been spent to begin with.

Upscale Audio

Now if there were a way to repair the de-laminating headlights. They replaced mine under warranty once. Not sure if the problem has been fixed.

Jack F

There is. You gently sand them if this happens. The PPF over this. Problem solved. Quick and easy.

desmotesta

Good Job for an extremely well written synopsis.

Well done tackling it yourself. My '12 991.1S with 25K miles (still CPO) is having both door trims replaced under CPO. total cost is close to $4500 as you mentioned. crazy!

If/when they go bad again, I may pay to have them wrapped in factory matching leather.