jcf7

I just had my 997 washed by hand and power washer and when I drove away the "System Malfunction Go To The Workshop" light came on. It's a beautiful Sunday morning and the manuel is telling me to take it to the dealer. Could something have gotten wet? Any quick adv would be helpful. thx

Gary R.

To be honest I would check all the vitals and ignore it for the day as it is the exact symptom of the "car wash failure" that many have gotten. Some sensor up front gets wet and trips the computer.

Bring it in tomorrow when you are supposed to be working...

jcf7

Gary, thanks. If the light stays on, I am taking the day off tomorrow to get it fixed. I'll wait awhile before I take it out today.

MJones

When was your car produced?? (Mfg date is on the drivers door placard)

MMD

So sorry to hear this, scary stuff.

Who washed it? If you told some stranger to avoid that area on the hood, he probably blasted it good.

What's with using a power washer? I believe it would dull and scratch the paint as it aggressively blasts away grit on the surface. Car is small, probably not that dirty, so maybe just wash by hand.

jcf7

The car was produced on 11/29/04.

It wasn't really a power washer. My automatic car wash guy, used his power hoses to wet it down and then took it off the belt and finished by hand. No danger in the "power" of the washer, just things getting wet.

MJones

From another thread:Let us know if indeed this is the case with your car...or anything else

baboou

Check the Spare Tire thread below around page 3. Gradyex had the same problem after a wash. The good news is Porsche has finally isolated the problem (as reported in the tread) to a emergency trunk release solenoid. Originally it was thought that a computer board needed replacing. Now Porsche is canceling orders for the board and sending new solenoids.

Please keep us posted after you get the car to your dealer.

jcf7

Baboou, thanks. It seems that I can at least enjoy driving it today. I'll take it to the dealer tomorrow and let you know what happens.

MMD

Been thinking about your car's problem all day jcf7 and all I can come up with is perhaps Porsche Central has figured it out by now and, with a quick fix, the trouble will go away for ever.

A while ago a guy on this and another board went nuts with this problem caused by water intrusion.

Got my fingers crossed for ya.

jcf7

Just returned from the dealer. they replaced a module of some sort in the trunk area and sealed something or other. The light is off.

Gary R.

That's good jcf7, I hope its really "fixed" and not just patched. Be sure to let us know if it happens again.

ossi

Welcome to the club. As you know, Skip and I had the same problem. i would be surprized if the module change fixed it as the actual problem, which was fixed on my car, is the following:

* they need to replace the fornt latch solenoids/actuators (NOT ONLY the latch assembly) the original solenoids have leaky seals for most of the early production cars due to a bad lot of these solenoids.

good luck

jcf7

ossi, the dealer wanted to keep the car over night, as he felt that the problem may not have been solved. As he said it was ok to drive, I took it and will return if the warning light comes back on. I'll let the board know. thanks.

jcf7

ossi, you're right. Although the malfuntion light has not come back on, the dealer just called me and explained that they sent an email to Porsche last night and Porsche responded with exactly your suggestion. I read him your post and he said you "hit it right on the head". Thank you.