J. Kid

A question for all those Do-it-yourself types. Has anyone just left the "Service Now" warning go without bothering to buy a durametric (or begging a repair shop) to reset it? I went throught the annoying "ticking time bomb" stage i.e. service due in 30 days, 29...28...27 etc. It was a bit anticlimatic when it hit 0 and the car still work. Now I just get "Service Now" that disappears on it's own pretty quickly. Most of the time I don't even notice it as I fire up the car and by the time I finished backing out of the driveway and look forward it's already off.

So anyone else out there doing their own service and not bothering to get the warning reset? If so does the service light get progressively more annoying as time goes on?

Thank you USMC_DS1 for organizing the DIY index and for all those who have posted a DIY Thread. So far I've used that index to change my Brake fluid and Oil in the last week and found them very helpful. If I tackle a job not in the DIY index I plan to take pics and start a thread.

Spokane5150

Mine is doing it right now. The maintenance interval needs to be reset. You either need to find someone with a Durametric Pro or by a Durametric for yourself $350 and reset the computer. You could also take the car in for an oil change and the dealer will do it for you.

http://www.durametric.com/default.aspx

Mike in CA

Since I do my own oil changes, and don't own a Durametric, I have this issue occasionally. My dealer will reset my reminder message for free but since he's 45 miles away it's not always convenient to drop by. Last time I went 6 months before getting it reset. The only downside is that the countdown to your next service won't start until the previous message has been cleared.

As long as you keep track of time/mileage yourself, the next time you do a change get the message reset ASAP and you and the reminder computer will be back on the same schedule. If your dealer is a hard case about it, you're stuck with buying a Durametric, paying him to reset if for you, or waiting until you have some other service requirement. AFAIC, the annoyance factor of seeing the message is a non-issue.

Poshaman

My dealer charges $200 for an oil change. Since my car is out of warrenty, I am planning on doing my own oil change from now on and invest the saving on purchasing a Durametric.

Spokane5150

I think it's a good idea to do you own oil changes. You can inspect the undercarraige and check your filter for metal to keep an eye on that IMS. I'm doing my oil every 5k miles. Do as much as you're comfortable with. I replaced the air filter, cabin filter, spark plugs and wipers this time around. Easy work but I now understand why the dealer charges $850 to change the plugs.

Poshaman

I had to pay $1600 to get 40k service just a few months ago at the dealership. It included plugs & brake fluid. I know that was pretty expensive but I am kind of glad that I've got those out of the way.

Spokane5150

You really need to be comfortable with this kind of work. You don't want to screw anything up or damage/break parts. My dad owned an auto repair shop so I used to wrench for him when I was a kid (13-21 years old). He paid me $15/hr. so I used to role in the dough (I thought). I realized soon that auto repair wasn't for me but I remember the basics and I'm not afraid to tackle these small projects myself. I actually like doing them myself because I know the job is done right; even though the sparks plugs were a nightmare to replace. I'll bleed my brakes in the spring.

Poshaman

If it was a nightmare for you to replace spark plugs, it means it would be impossible for me to do it myself so I won't even think about it. I will just do diy oil change in 5k miles. By the way, tech-check guy at the auto cross told me that I would need to replace front brake pads soon. How difficult is it to do that diy?

Spokane5150

Check ou this like for the brakes.

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...-tutorial.html

Poshaman

Thank you so much. I will watch them tonight to see if it's something I might be able to do myself.

USMC_DS1

I ignored the "service now indicator" at 1st but it got annoying after awhile so I purchased the Enthusiast version of the Durametric tool after a month especially as I intend to keep the car for years to come... I had similar diag tools for my BMW so not a big deal. BTW, stay away from the Durametric tools listed on ebay... they look like the real deal but they're knock offs which only save you about a $100. You'll want the real tool and support from Durametric from time to time with what the codes mean, other functions, questions, etc when it really counts. Plus not a good idea to hook up a knockoff tool to the car's ECU(brain) from an unsupported tool... who would you call if the tool somehow smokes your ECU. The folks at Durametric are very responsive and provide great customer support. Well worth the price.

JKid, the Durametric tool will also allow you to flush the ABS if you want to completely bleed the brake system and there are other nice functions besides reset which are listed on their website. BTW, nice looking bike on your Carrera. What is it? How do you like the bike rack on there and which one did you go with - Porsche, Thule, etc? I just ordered some new roady shoes and ICLIC pedals with the intent of dusting off my old Felt 55 after many sedate years behind the keyboard. May need to get a set of racks someday. My younger boy went to college with my old Thule's.

vern1

The service now comes on for a few seconds then its off. Dont even notice it now. Unless you have other uses for the durametrics its an awfully expensive way to get rid of a 5 second message. This assumes u r doing your own maintenance and not just ignoring it cause u dont want to go to the dealer

Minok

The only concern I'd have with not getting it reset is that you might become desensitized to the notification message and then when another notification occurs that needs more immediate attention you may not react to it in a timely fashion.

J. Kid

Thank you for all the advice!

It sounds like Vern & Mike's "service now" message hasn't gotten more annoying with time & that is some consolation for the fact that Porsche isn't making it easy for the DIY types.

I checked the durametric website...apparently it doesn't work on a mac without purchasing additional software to emulate a PC. Since I have little use at this time for the cable other than the 5 second service message and a more thorough brake fluid flush (since I plan to flush 2-3 times per year this isn't a huge concern of mine) I may wait and see if I can find someone in the local PCA who owns a windows based laptop and wants to go in on a cable with me.

J. Kid

USMC,

The rack is factory cross bars from Suncoast, bought my fork mount trays from the local bike shop (Yakima). The setup works great. Front wheel fits nicely in a wheel bag on the back shelf area. I'm carrying a bike 2x per week from April Til October so I'd miss out on prime driving season in the Carrera without the rack. It has surprisingly little extra wind noise (as long as you leave the sunroof closed) so I leave the rack on all the time. I'll take the rack off just during the winter.

Bike is a specialized Roubaix built up with SRAM Red and Reynolds carbon tubulars. I have a thing for well made machines.