Dissol

Currently clocking up 175 000km with my 991.2 C2, and still loving every single km. What is less nice is the rather large prices being quoted by Porsche for parts. After this sort of mileage, one would expect a failure or two, but hopefully nothing terminal. The car is still strictly maintained by the dealership. The latest issue is annoying and intermittent (although becoming sadly more regular). After starting the engine I get a warning that the oil pressure sensor is malfunctioning, and while the car is safe to drive i need to take it to the dealership. It was coming due for a service, so i warned them ahead of time about the fault. It does not happen every trip (which makes me think it could just be a connection issue rather than actual malfunction…). But they had the car for the day, and took several (expensive!) hours to strip down to get to the oil sensor merely to confirm what I had told them the screen had said. Now they have come back with a price for a new sensor…R25 000 (roughly US$1300 / €1300 / £1000). That is for the part…i shall have to pay the (expensive) hours again. So the questions.
1. Has anyone had this problem before?
2. Is it likely to just be a connection issue, as some trips it works (more often it does not work…and it feels so wrong to drive a car with an oil pressure gauge on zero!)?
3. Any cheaper (non OEM) alternatives?

Otherwise thanks for your help.

On some unrelated news, this could be an exciting week as a colleague and myself are off to see the local organisers of a major hillclimb event which takes place here in South Africa. We are hoping to get permission for me to compete in the hillclimb (not in my Porsche, sadly, but it is my daily driver and I don’t think I want to risk it, but with a specially prepared Subaru STi. They have already sounded positive as we are hoping to raise awareness around disability. I am a wheelchair user and need hand controls. The idea is that the safety car will follow me up the hill, with some burly muscle, who would be able to extract me, if i get it wrong. Of course, i (and my mechanic team) are aiming for nothing less than a class win and new record time!

SpeedCircuit

$1300 for an oil pressure sensor is highway robbery.

An oil pressure sensor should cost tens of dollars, not 4 figures. I would find an alternative or buy a used sensor at that price point.

Edit: Not sure if this is the correct part for you, but just as an illustration:

https://www.pelicanparts.com/byv-911...nsors-switches

asellus

It shouldn't take "several hours" to get to the oil pressure sender. Not the one I'm looking at, at least -- it's on the back side of the oil filter housing from what I'm seeing here. That's like ten minutes of work to get to.

Even still, the book says it's 1.1 hours to replace it. That likely includes bay setup/teardown which most shops consider to take 30 minutes. The part's list price is $240.

$1300 is nutty. I'd also ask them very specifically why it took them several hours to remove two fans, a plastic cover, and a loose piece of plastic intake piping.

Dissol

Thank you all for your help. These are the sorts of frustrating issues that I often find I must deal with. Being a wheelchair user, I often am unable to check out what I am being told, and as such I become an easy target to be ripped off. I am still not convinced the sensor itself has failed as it appears to work around 25% of the time. But I do find it unnerving driving an engine which has an oil pressure gauge reading 0! I have had too many old agricultural vehicles where that could have been an accurate reading! I had an old Land Rover where you could assume it had oil in the various gearboxes, transfer boxes and axles as long as it was still leaking out of all of them. If you came to it and there were not various small puddles of oil, then you knew you needed to check it! I am quite **** about this engine too (my target is 1 000 000km) so I don’t rev above 4000 until the engine has reached 90°C, and also let it cool down before switching off (which is why I hate the auto engine stop!).

IXLR8

That is what I thought too until I saw the installation on the Pelican Parts site. Its a 911, what about it is easy to work on.

IXLR8

same here. Coming from the aviation world, I respect my engines and I always put at least 20 kms on it till all coolant and oil have reached operating temperatures and have cycled through till I bring the RPMs up.

Dissol

I am pleased I am not the only person who is careful when using my car. Luckily, I am the only person who drives this car. So I baby it until coolant and oil are up to temp. In fact, I have never used the launch control on this car, because the loads through all the transmission must be hectic. Leaving the “line” the “normal” way is quick enough for me.

SpeedCircuit

Sounds like it might be time for you to find a good independent shop and give up on your dealership.

Dissol

Agreed, however, here in Cape Town, South Africa, there are very few decent independent specialists. And, aside from the gouging prices, I have been extremely well looked after by the Porsche dealership. I knew when I bought a Porsche, that I would be stuck spending over the odds for parts and service, but I can generally live with that. But in emergencies, they have been remarkable. I once had a flat tyre, in the middle of the country, literally in the middle of nowhere, at 4am. The tyre sealant gunk didn’t work, so I phoned Porsche, and they immediately dispatched a Cayenne with spare tyres. He drive at over 200km/h for 3 hours to get to me. Another time, I got rear-ended by an eejut in a Citroen. Hard hit, which I think wrote his car off. Luckily no airbags went off in my car, but I drove straight to Porsche, who immediately pulled other cars off the hoist put my car up removed the rear bumper to check for damage. The big cross member had taken the impact and I could drive the car. No charge for that, which took up quite a few people, but I got piece of mind to be able to continue using the car. So as with everything, life is a balance. But I will try to get the price of the sensor down, with some of these quotes!