djantlive

Try a different dealer to fix it if you can. I think the tech at the dealer you are taking it to may not know what's wrong. Also contact PCNA to see what they can do for you. If they don't know, they can't help.

Sorry to hear about your issue. Try solving the problem through different angles instead of keeping hammering in the same direction. Good luck!

fahren affair

chronic problems like these often have more to do with the dealer, than the car. i've encountered revisits like yours b/c the car gets sent to the same mechanic over and over. cause is usuallly incorrect diagnosis. coupled with an all-new design, they may not know how to effect a relatively 'easy' fix. good luck!

jcnesq

Skip - thanks for sharing your experience. I can really appreciate your patience and waiting to "go public" - I think that is a mark of someone who really does love p-cars and is not anxious to bash them. And I don't blame you at all for finally getting this out in the open. I would have been livid well before the 7th visit.

Thankfully, so far I have had no problems except one little rattle that I am going to fix myself with a tiny piece of the fuzzy side of velcro (great stuff); I'm now at 2,600 miles or so.

I have always had good luck and the ability to jump in the p-car every morning and drive them daily without problems is one thing that makes them very special. I HATE having to leave my car at the dealer on a regular basis and, if I was suffering the same problems as you, I would be on a plane to Stuttgart for a major confrontation. Porsche holds itself out as a super high quality maker, and they need to live up to their history and claims.

I think you are about at the lemon stage with your car, and I'd sure be looking at the CO lemon law and at least setting the stage. I have heard stories where PCNA has come through and, for a loyal owner like you, it seems you are about at the point where they ought to offer you a new car or refund.

I went through a similar problem with the 04 Cayenne S, as have many. It is frankly unacceptable that there were so many common problems with them. While truthfully a few days at the dealer to have all the recent TSB's done probably would have fixed it, all my wife did was whine and, because of the problems, which made the car a lemon in her eyes, and also to some extent to get her a bunch options I didn't get her originally, we swapped it for an 05 Cayenne S. Pre-delivery, the dealer had to do something like 15 or 20 TSB's on the 05, which shows how many lingering problems there still were with the CS's. Thankfully, the 05 does drive better and seems to have all problems resolved, but it was an awful long time coming.

I think Porsche is somewhat at a crossroads. They are living on a long and mostly well deserved history, but there's a fine line between maintaining that and heading down a path that will gradually erase it. There's nothing wrong with profits and I don't want them to go bankrupt, like they almost did in the early 90's, but their business is built on a reputation that they need to keep. As much as I love these cars, if problems like yours were the norm, the time would come when I would give up and seek out something else.

BTW, someone mentioned a transmission replacement above; don't remember if that was 996 or 997, but I mention it because in my 04 Targa I had a new transmission installed only a month after delivery - however, in that case, I understand a supplier made a bad batch of synchros which was the cause of the problem.

Good luck - hope you get beyond these problems really, really quick.

infestation

Skip,

I symapthize with the problems you've been having, so when you hear from Porsche, let us know.

The day after I got my car, it started leaking coolant and within a few minutes it had dumped all of its coolant (the coolant line hadn't been properly plugged in at the factory; my tech said Hans must have been drunk that day). Needless to say, I had to get the car towed. I was extremely pissed off by the experience but driving the car every day since then has more than made up for it.

We expect a lot and that's part of the problem but when we purchase any utility (every car is a utility, even the fun ones), we expect it to work.

I've also had two computer fault problems, both within the first week and a half of owning the car--the first was caused by the spoiler not wanting to operate properly and the second was due to the whole computer system going haywire. Each time, my dealer--Autobahn--fixed the problem and since then I have had no problems whatsoever. I now have just over 4,500 miles on the car.

Let us know what happens. I hope you don't have anymore problems.

DoubleNutz

Perhaps I should just kank my order for a year or two, and put my 2 grand dp towards a '05 C4 or something that the bugs have been worked out of.

I really want a 997 C4 anyway.

Sobe

Skip I had so many problems with one of my cars a few years back Porsche gave my dealer a credit to sell me my next Porsche at dealers cost and made sure it did not come out of his allocation . I think this is something they do a lot when someone is really upset with a real problem . If you have any more problems do what I did and say you will just deal with it while they work it out but put it in writing that you get your next car at dead cost . This is a solution that cost Porsche nothing and assures them you will keep buying their cars .

Vino

Skip,

Go to the owner of the dealership and he will make sure things will be fixed. He will listen........I know him, good guy.

If the car cannot be fixed, a simple call to PCNA should clear everything up and you should have a new one on order or your money back within 10 days. I think you are almost over qualified for a buy-back J/K!

I also would like to say in your defense, I am happy you came out publicly with these issues and let some of us potential 997 owners know what's going on. Otherwise, it just may be the stupidest problem that is causing the "fault light" to pop up.

Tour18

Hey RR, do you own a Porsche?

csertich

Skip,

Sorry to hear about the problems you are having. I believe I recall your posts when you first got the car. You shared your enthusiasm for the car with us then and I appreciate your follow up with your current situation. I think sharing the information you have about your car is just what a forum like this should be used for.

Good luck,

chuck

nyca

could I ask - what exactly is wrong with your car? what are they fixing each time you bring it back? or is it just a computer error?

the car is brand new, if its just a computer error, then its likely there will soon be a flash upgrade for the ECU. anyone who develops software knows, version 1.0 never works perfectly.

Tour18

NYCA has a very good point there. I'd be flat broke if I didn't have an ODBII analyzer so I could reset things...

nyca

if you read some boards on the new MB E Class, they are still spinning out ECU flashes for a whole host of things - brakes, radio, etc - and the car is in YEAR #3 of the model run.

mooty

RR, skip has lots of porsche experience, i would take his word with respect. and myself have had over 8 porsches, 4bmw, 2 audi, 3 honda, 3 mbz, 6 mazdas, 2 acura , 2 lexou us, 1 cadillac, 1 buick, 1 chevy and you know what, porsches do visit shop more than any other cars i have owned. i personally don't mind that. but the fact is, porsches do visit shops a lot....

dualblade

i don't see how this man can post a specific experience with a specific car and you can counter with "information" on a brand in general. whether or not porsches are reliable or not is irrelevant if his car is not. he does not have to post what was wrong each time because maybe he doesn't know or care. i think he probably does, but it is not necessary that an owner becomes a technician. you should be able to buy a car without it having any immediate problems. furthermore, if your car has issues and you bring it in to the dealer, it should be fixed on the first or maybe second try. 7 times is unacceptable and is a real inconvenience. what if this was his only car and he needed it to get to work? most of us have secondary vehicles to use, but porsche does not get to use this crutch to their benefit. they are professionals and should treat him with the respect that a customer deserves. they should not be given 7 tries to fix a problem - at that point they take back the car and give him another one. then they have all the time they need to troubleshoot the problem

tlark

The E-series is a POS, I was going trade my Lexus in one one and they gave me one overnight. Beautiful lines, bad car.......don't mention it in the same sentance w/Porsche, its not a good thing.