sschechter1

I’m a former 993 owner and I‘ve gotten the bug again. So I’ve been looking for a 991 coupe. I thought I had found the perfect car, even arranged the trade so we packed up and drove for 3 hours to look the car over.

it was a beautiful, very clean inside and out, C4S, 2013 and had reasonable mileage, about 25 K. I test drove it for about 20 minutes and everything felt great. Handling was tight and no unexpected noises. So we headed back to the dealer’s lot and I began to go over my inspection checklist. I went around the exterior - everything fine. Then I went back inside and began to look over the engine readings. First thing I look at was the oil level under the Vehicle display. OOPS. The gauge showed NO green except the oil pan. No green bars and the warning to add oil.

As background, the dealer had sent me records of oil filter and oil change (9 quarts, if I remember correctly) just 2 days before. So when I saw the gauge showed no oil, I freaked. Neither I nor the sales guy could see any evidence of oil on the ground. So I’m about to abandon the vehicle and he’s making all kinds of excuses, none of which made sense to me. Then he took the car back to the shop and had the tech add one more quart. He brought it back out and finally, the gauge was registering OK (about 4 bars). I started and stopped the car about 5 or 6 times, each time checking the oil reading and each time OK. By this time I was sufficiently alarmed about the mysterious missing oil, so I ended up passing on the deal. I ended up just driving home, of course, disappointed.

In reviewing what had transpired, I kept going over possible scenarios, one of which I still find hard to believe: that the mechanic had simply failed to put any oil in the vehicle. I’m not nearly knowledgeable enough to figure other possibilities. I’m wondering if I made the right decision. I’d appreciate any input you guys might have.
Thanks,
Steve

NF4710

Why not get a PPI and have it checked out? Could have been an error with servicing it. These cars aren’t known for oil leaks.


Cheers,
NF

the_buch

I've had a skilled independent Porsche shop underfill my 2017 by two litres. Following the service the gauge showed full but these gauges do some weird averaging over time before they settle in on the truth. It could be a simple mistake and a really good PPI will show any issues. By the way, there's no way they put nine quarts in if they were short by at least one.

duxsi

I seem to recall that it's only about half a quart between full and empty.
Common occurrence during oil changes.
Whenever I change my oil I drive around the block, let it sit, and recheck oil.
Usually requires a top-up..

CayenneBlack

Sometimes these cars need to be driven a little (could be hours or good amount of miles) before the oil gauge register correctly. Stupid, but it is whAt it is.

Arxigos

+1

If you do the oil change and don't bring the car back to normal operating temps, its not gonna update the oil gauge.

icanthelpit

Have them drain, measure what comes out and refill as necessary. If they want to sell the car, they will do this. Tell them you want to watch this being accomplished or move on to the next car.

sschechter1

OK, it sounds like the oil sensor “fluctuations” are possibly what I was seeing. It’s just that after driving it for 20+ minutes, I’d expect the gauge to have settled. But when they added the 1.2 quarts back in, it did register from then on.

I couldn’t arrange a PPI for a couple of weeks, but it sounds like that would be the first thing to do. Thanks.

991.1 Guy

this happened to me. A 1 liter under fill is easier to deal with than overfill. The warning will come on very quickly so no damage I’m sure

Stealth 993

I also went from several years in 993's to no Porsche, to the 991. It's much bigger then the 993, and a little less analog, but it sure is fast and fun!

The oil levels in these cars suck! If they just did a oil change and the car was not driven until hot and then let to sit, the gauge would not register. It should be part of the oil change to reset the oil gauge. But it's a time thing, and we all know how lazy the dealers have become. It's .5l from no reading to full. These cars are super sensitive to overfills. Nothing like the good old days of a 1.5m dipstick.

I would not worry about it all that much. I'm sure there was enough oil in there, and would not pass on a otherwise good car due to the gauge not being reset.

911.

If the car truly didnt have oil in it, you would have known by the time you got back from your 20 minute test drive, if youd make it back.

Sucks that it was a 3 hour commute each way for ya.

sschechter1

Thanks for the replies. Yes, if I had known how sensitive the oil sensor was or that there was a “reset” procedure or at least, a practice, I would have purchased it. I sure felt like dog s... going back home with no Porsche.

But it’s still there. I’m thinking... just hate that 3 hour drive each way. (The way back probably will be much better.)

911.

If it checks your boxes, and its still CPO, use this opportunity to see if they are willing to discount it a bit more or even come to you (delivery)

slimmn

I agree with several of the earlier posts about the sensor not updating fast enough. I just bought my 991.1, so I can't comment on the Porsche's oil sensor, but this issue sounds very similar to my 2006 BMW 330 and 530, both with the electronic oil level sensor, which I hate.

On both BMW's, 1 quart is the difference between full and the pan (which to most people looks empty). Sometimes it updates after you drive it for 10 mins, sometimes it doesn't update till an hour later, or kill the engine, and then restart and drive it again for few minutes. Drives me nuts. In your case, I think it just haven't hit certain conditions yet needed to reset. Good luck with your decision.