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We are considering purchasing a 997.2 or 991 GT3, and I have heard some nasty stories about the front axle lift being an issue. The last thing I want to do is to get his with a massive repair bill on something I won't ever use. It seems that many cars are outfitted with the axle lift. I my friend had a Lexus SUV and the "air ride" lift failed; even being a Toyota product, it was an $8k fix.
Can someone estimate the failure rate on these, and the approximate cost to fix? I saw a Techart package, but it was $20k. If it were to fail, would it affect any other function of the car? Would you recommend to definitely steer clear of any car that has the axle lift option? One of the reasons I have always been attracted to modern 911's is their relative reliability when compared to other brands. The last thing I want is a poorly designed part leading to a very expensive failure.
I've had two 997RS 4.0 front lifts fail this year. That said, I have front lift on a few other 997 and 991 cars that have been without issue. In summary, 997 4.0s have an unusually high failure rate of hydraulic front lift.
My 2 cents.
Vivian
I seem to hear of 997.2 lifts failing much more than 991 lifts. I think they improved the design. Mine failed and was repaired under CPO warranty. It seems most failures I know of are due to a relatively inexpensive position sensor going bad. I've heard of dealers trying to charge like 18 grand for a new lift installed. If I was in the market for another 997.2 I would prefer a car without the lift.
997 lift sucks. system is pretty simple. most of the electronics are at the combination pump/unit, and then the special shocks. The pump runs right next to the water lines in the center tunnel and my shop techs see these failed ALL the time. they suspect it's heat related due to the location of the electronics/pump.
I bought my car 2.5 years ago with a lift not working but I did not care as the car came with a recent CPO and I therefore got it fixed under CPO shortly after purchase.
1 year later I did the service at the local P Zentrum, mostly to extend again the CPO another 2 years. Among other things, they re-enabled the TPMS (was deactivated by previous owner as he used other wheels).
Fast forward to june this year, we did a road trip through the Alps, Switzerland, France, Italy and back to Switzerland.
During this trip both failed again.
Lift will not go all the way up and you cannot get the car down. The only way to have the car go back down is to exceed the speed threshold. On rough roads with work in progress that can be quite nasty.
TPMS on the other hand decided to suddently show 3 wheels completely flat on start up and display a warning. Pressure was correct after couple of seconds on display but warning never left.
best to assume it will die and/or work intermittently (mine is in that state).
there is a very good thread on here discussing front end lift failures.
and one member was able to get his system working again by replacing one of the switches.
much less expensive alternative to what Porsche Dealer will suggest.
I bought a 2010 GT3 with a front axle lift back in March. Since then, I've noticed weird behavior with the lift. For example, when I start up the car in my garage, I will activate the lift, and the yellow light on the button will be lit. Then, after I get out of my driveway, I will try to lower the lift, except I'll notice that the button light is not lit anymore. I then have to hit the button, the light usually comes back on, then I hit the button again, and then the lift will go down (I often hear a "hiss"). Also, it seems like sometimes when I use the lift, the word "lift" will show up on the dash. Other times it won't.
This has been more annoying than a real problem. I'm hoping these aren't signs of an imminent failure. Otherwise, I really appreciate having the lift, given that I live north of ATL, where it's very hilly.
So, if it does go out, can I easily set it up to be in the "down" position without screwing up my suspension? I could care less about it working, but I don't want some weird "stuck in the up position by default" issue.
if you don't push the button the car will just stay down. it will not go into the lifted position on its own.
so if you don't really plan to use it, the only downside to a car with lift system vs one without it is some extra weight.
if you do push the button and the car goes up but you don't get the "Lift" light -- which sounds like what bittrl1000 describes and which is what I see on my car from time to time -- the car will go back down once you go over 41mph (or thereabouts). sometimes you won't get the "Lift" light right away but it does come on later. if that happens, then a push of the button will also lower the car. that's when you'll hear the "hiss" of the system venting the air.
It seems unlikely to me that a system like the front axle lift would get permanently stuck in the "up" position. I don't have any knowledge specific to this system...it's just my guess.
Mine also doesn’t always go down when I press the button,but always goes up when needed and down when past x speed, so even when not working exactly as it’s supposed to, it still performs its job of giving more clearance.Unless it stops going up, I’m inclined to not bother fixing it.
07-13-2018, 03:24 AM
How common are Axle Lift malfunctions?
