rmillnj

My odometer now reads 99,888 miles and tomorrow morning, with a bit of luck, it will go over the 100,000 mark. But the last two weeks have not been kind to my 1999 C2.

First the battery had to be replaced. It was 4 years old and was not holding a charge so well

And then today the ignition switch went. Got in the car and didn't have any A/C. Parked it and found out I could not get the key out of the ignition easily. Once out it does not want to go back in. Retreated into the house to immediately read up on the forum about ignition switches. It is nice to know this is a common easily fixed problem.

Called my service manager at the dealership and if I can get the key back in, for $416 he will fix me up in the morning. He told me he sees a lot of this particular problem and has a stock of 6 replacement switches on hand. He says I should be able to force the key back in and start the car. If not, we will looking at a nice flatbed ride.

I was looking forward to proclaiming another 1999 C2 hitting the 100,000 mark, but having to hit the mileage driving in for a fix was not in my plans.

ScottArizona

I recall hearing you can use an audi or vw switch in lieu of a porsche switch (they are the same), and save a bundle. I've also heard its not a tough diy job. In the grand scheme of things, these aren't catastrophes by any stretch of the imagination. Good luck.

justinbig87

Yep, I picked up the switch (not the whole housing) on ebay for ~$20, looked on Renntech for the DIY, and did the fix myself in about 30 mins. Pretty easy DIY, and saved a ton of money by not taking it to the stealership.

edit; Oh, and Congrats on 100k!!!

rmillnj

I was debating going the cheaper route. I asked my service manager about it, but he feels it is better to replace both the ignition switch and the locking mechanism. I noticed that this issue was talked about in some of the other posts. I am not mechanically inclined enough to want to frustrate myself with that kind of a job. With my luck I would get halfway through it and not be able to finish and then be in even worse shape.

Duffs4

I did my ignition switch for $30 and half an hour of discomfort and contortion. If you have a little patience it's not a tough job.

GMS

Replacing the electrical part of the switch doesn't fix the problem in the long term. That's why Porsche updated the part.....

rmillnj

I will be driving the car into the dealership in the morning. Played around with the switch a bit and managed to get it so the key goes in and out ok now. Only problem is that now the odometer display stays lit. I thought about disconnecting the battery or pulling the fuse but figured with a brand new battery it should not drain the battery overnight. I might be cursing in the morning if it doesn't start.

I know I might have got away with just doing the ignition switch, but I figured since no one wants to buy my car I will be driving it for a long time to come and don't want this to happen again.

Since the dealership is about 60 miles away, I should be right at 100,000 by the time I get home.

munro86

When your under there looking up at the switch, its a good idea to have a little mirror to hold at an angle so you can see the screws that you have to undo. From memory, the screws had a dab of red paint on them to aid in seeing them clearly I presume.

Serenity Now

I tripped the 100k mark a couple months back. No issues other than a water pump replacement, several alignments, and a turn signal switch replacement. (knocking on wood as I write this).

rmillnj

$415.50 and 2 hours and the switch is fixed. And we turned over 100,000 miles this morning and the car is running great.

I asked the service manager how many of these ignition switch jobs he does. I was a bit surprised when he told me he averages about 10 a month and that is why he had 6 of these in stock.

I couldn't resist and asked him how many engine replacements he was doing. He claims he has only done 2 in the last year. He also told me their price for an engine replacement was now $15,000. I bet he wishes he was doing 10 of those a month instead of the ignition switches.

Tippy

I was told the same thing (by a Porsche Tech) but many here have had success with just the ignition switch.

I got flogged on another ignition switch thread BTW.

GMS

If it's your car and you are doing the work, then replacing only the switch is fine.

Shops have to offer a warranty, so replacing only one piece of a part that has known problems, which Porsche produced an complete updated part to cure, is not something a repair shop wants to get involved in.

rmillnj

Right, my new switch comes with a two year warranty. I guess before when they only replaced the switch they had to redo a lot of them, so now Porsche will only do the job replacing both the switch and locking mechanism.

What is scary though, is that it looks like most of these original switches in the early years will eventually fail. It might make sense to just go ahead and replace it at a certain mileage and avoid the potential hassle of it failing some place or time that really is inconvenient.

Tbred911

way to go ! 100,000 and still going strong... bravo!