Kennyt4545

Took it into my Indy to check on a airbag fault code and his computer wasn't able to detect it and he said I have to take it to Porsche. This made me sick to my stomach as I could feel my wallet emptying as the words came out of his mouth.

Any advice on what to watch out for? Put a sign on my *** that says "exit only"?

996AE

Second opinion before heading to stealer.

Lots of good shops in SD.

KNS

If you must take it to the dealer, have them read the code only then leave. Take it back to the Indy and tell him what it is.

Kennyt4545

any that you would recommend in the North County area?

My guy said sometimes their software does not receive all of the required info and it would be scrap shoot to figure it out.

Thanks for any info

Dennis C

I don't consider this to be "really bad news".

I've worked with my local dealers for quite a few repairs and I've found them to be reasonable, competent, and not overly expensive. There are a few repairs where an independent mechanic has been a better option, but for something like an airbag fault code, I wouldn't be too worried.

Macster

Had a bit of airbag trouble recently with my 2002 Boxster. My experience you might find of some value.

Airbag light came on. Took the car to the dealer -- I only have my cars serviced/repaired at the dealer -- and tech reported no airbag error code.

He told me he went through the usual things like seat belt connections and what have you and found nothing amiss.

The tech then spoke with Porsche and Porsche advised replacing the airbag controller. He ordered a new one but did *not* link the new controller to the car just installed it and turned on the key and confirmed the airbag light still on. The problem was not the controller which was removed from the car and placed back in stock.

The tech believed the problem was with the instrument cluster.

Briefly, the airbag warning light -- like other warning lights -- is wired (so to speak) so when the key is turned on the light (LED) receives power and comes on.

When the engine is started the airbag controller in this case after it goes through some basic checks and finding no errors sends a command to the cluster to turn off the airbag warning light. This is done by the cluster sending a command to an I/O controller chip to direct this chip to raise an output line that breaks the ground connection between the LED and ground. So even though the LED has power all the time with the ground connection no longer connected the LED is dark.

What apparently had happened is the I/O controller chip suffered a failure of the pin which is the ground of the airbag LED and this pin could no longer be set high.

Now it just so happens that the tech reported another Boxster came in for service and he asked the owner if he could remove his car's instrument cluster and install it in my car just to test this airbag light thing. The car would not be driven. The other owner graciously agreed -- I'd thank him but the tech did not tell me his name for privacy reasons -- and the tech reported the airbag light of the other cluster was dark.

I looked into a cluster repair and found a place, VDO Repair, in (at that time) Lake Havasu City AZ. Sent the cluster there and it came back but after the cluster was back in the car the air bag light was still on. VDO Repair told me it found nothing wrong with the cluster and didn't charge me for the repair.

So I lived with the airbag light on for a while.

Then it was time for the car to go back in for something else. Again after speaking with not VDO Repair, but now AutoParts.Repair, (same company but with a name change and relocation to Las Vegas NV) I had the cluster sent in for repair again. Again it came back and after the cluster installed in the car the airbag light still on.

Do not remember the discussions with any real detail but the cluster repair place tech believed the problem with the wiring in the car.

I spoke again with the Porsche tech and he assurred me the problem was not with the wiring but with the cluster and he's seen this before from cluster repair shops.

Once again I spoke with the instrument cluster repair shop and was told a possible fix involved getting a donor cluster and either swapping parts or digitally moving all that made my cluster unique to my car -- mainly I think the odometer mileage -- to the donor cluster. I noted this for future reference but declined to ship the cluster there a 3rd time.

Instead I bought a used cluster from Parts Heaven ($395 I think, for reference even with a discount a new one from Porsche would have cost me $2600) and had the used cluster installed. The tech was unable to -- as I suspected -- change the odometer reading in the "new" cluster to agree with the old cluster's odometer reading but otherwise the used cluster was just fine.

And *no* airbag warning light.

A minor problem is of course the "new" cluster odometer is not correct. The old cluster was removed with around 310K miles on it while the "new" cluster was installed with just over 95K miles on it. (I wrote down both the old cluster mileage and the new cluster mileage and have these in my file and the tech noted these values on the service paperwork so I have that too in my file.)

But just before the old cluster was removed I had the Boxster's oil/filter service done at ~310K miles. The new cluster went in with its reading just a few hundred miles over 95K miles. So this is close enough that if I have the oil/filter service done at "100K" miles the every 5K mile oil/filter service stays on schedule so that's kind of nice.

My biggest disappointment is I will no longer be l to post able to post pics of the Boxster hitting new big miles milestones as I continue to drive the car and rack up the miles.

911searcher

I'm sure this doesnt help but ..
My airbag light went on after my battery died.
It stayed on until the Indy reprogrammed something.

ADias

Precisely!

Ynot

Smart move, the indy labor will always be cheaper.

user 72902

When it comes to electrical gremlins I think the dealer is the best bet. They have the most extensive equipment and tracking an intermittent electrical issue is one of the the most difficult problems to fix.

ADias

Not always true. In certain cases, the reverse could be true.

Iceter

Taking your car to the dealer for diagnosis and then refusing the suggested service and taking it to an indy is a good way to get your dealer to tell you to suck it the next time you take it in...

...especially if the indy can't fix the problem or winds up making it worse.

It's also a good way to pay through the nose. Alot of places will eat all or part of the diagnostic time because they are making some money on the fix. If you take it to two places, you'll have to pay the full hourly rate for both diagnosis and the fix.

Not to mention the added aggravation of taking your car to two places.

This sounds like a bad idea unless your local dealer is known to be shady.

Kennyt4545

Thank you all for the advice and different experiences on your cars.

For now I am going on go with the advice from my Indy as he does work with the local dealer (Hoehn Porsche in Carlsbad) and although he does realize they do charge more than he does for almost all service work he will send his customers there when he feels it is beyond his abilities. And this guy has been in business for I believe 40 years or so n San Diego county and I do trust him 100%.

So it goes into the dealer a week from tomorrow. I will post on here what they find out and the cost to repair. I'm a little concerned as it seems there are issues with these airbag faults and they can be a bitch to figure out.

I love these cars but my god they seem to have some irritating problems at times. I dont know what it is but warning lights drive me nuts

996AE

Funny.

I love my wife but she has some irritating problems at times.

Sorry, I couldnt resist.

hacker-pschorr

Actually quite the opposite, especially when the word intermittent comes up. My local shop sees quite a few cars the dealers cannot fix. Once the factory diagnostic equipment cannot find the problem, they are out of ideas. Time to get out the multi-meter and do things the old fashioned way.