First986NJ

I've seen the brakes freeze up on them...and they throw drive chains a lot if you drive them hard.

Dan87951

Was Porsche willing to help you because its still fairly new car with low mileage? Or did they say tuff luck you are on your own?
Such a bummer I remember reading the post when you got the car. Hope all goes well for you. Did you contact the dealer you got the car from just out of curiosity? Thats one thing that scares me about a boxster..

perfectlap

Is this engine a Valmet build or one of the German ones? Is this a tip? What sort of history does the misus have with driving non-automatic sports cars? Does she short shift/ watch that the oil temp comes up before opening up the engine? Lease returns can be scary because you have no idea of the driving habits of the previous owner.

senna21

Ummm... no. Let's put it this way since Honda has been building VTech engines, some 15 million, they've never had a single failure. (Click here and go 3:55 into the video) With today's quality control I find it extremely alarming that an engine with so few miles could fail, and more importantly for a mechanic that works on a lot of Porsche Boxsters to say he's seen a few. That does not inspire confidence.

Yes any engine can fail if it's been neglected over many miles. But, this is a fairly low mileage example that had apparently been well cared for.

Tierce

they should have had a boxster S in that video, then there would have been nothing to complain about, except price maybe, but then again, buy a preowned.

I almost bought an S2000, and what Clarkson didn't explain is that, yes it goes to 9000 rpm, but it doesn't make any power below 6k, so it's a pain in the **** to drive in traffic.

JMHO

Dan87951

totally agree! No wonder 996's are so cheap now days..

perfectlap

wow not a single S2000 engine has gone into the recycling bin? I find that suspcious. Particularly given how many are autocrossed and tracked. All engines have breaking points. Defies logic..

senna21

Well, the Japanese are known for detuning their engines. For example, the 3sgte in my MR2 Turbo can take up to 450hp before you have to start to change out the internals (rods, pistons). The stock cooling system on it has been proven to be good to 500hp. The ECU is also programmed to run on the safe side (on the rich side) and knock response is quick and effective. Stock boost is set at 10psi but the stock turbo can go to 15-17psi before it creates a lean mixture issue. See what I mean? I suspect the VTechs in the S2000s and other cars could actually make more HP than they currently are but Honda has chosen to restrict the HP to ensure greater reliability.

I just find this kind of failure without some sort of foreign debris causing it more than puzzling.

AlpharettaRK

Just googled "Honda S2000 engine failure" - there's no shortage of tales of woe out there ($8000 for a rebuild???). I have no doubt Honda makes a great engine but"15million They've never had a single failure" is outrageous and absurd on the face of it.
I am curious to see if we can learn the root cause of this.
Cheers
Randy

PTEC

Yeah if you believe that I've got some ocean front property here for you in Kansas that I'll sell ya real cheap.

Mr Michael B

Thanks for all of the interest.

I never really considered contacting Porsche for a warranty repair. Its out of warranty. The previous ownership looks to have been nice enough to the car. Oil was changed, car is in nice shape overall. No complaints and no history of major issues from day one. Additionally I cant see how anyone could have ever known this was about to fail so I dont realistally expect anything from the dealer it was bought from - I have not even let them know it failed.

My wife is pretty good with a manual trans. I was driving when it happened...

Dan87951

I would let them aware of the issue if I was you worst they can say is no. An extra $1-2k in kick back would help. Good Luck with it.

Mr Michael B

Thank you but... Nope. It has nothing to do with them.

That is what is wrong with today’s society, everyone wants to just place blame on someone else. I don’t roll like that. I am man enough to just fix it. Its my car and (in this case) nothing was done to justify anyone’s expense but mine. That is just the way the ball bounces. Sometimes it’s to my favor, sometimes its not.

I shutter the thought if someone else had bought this car & this happened. The sad law suits would have started and the nastiness would have begun.

Would it not be a better world if everyone in the world just manned up like me in similar circumstances? I hope my example of how I handle this shows some litigious person how to act appropriately.

Rant over. Back to the wrench.

Dan87951

I think you completely miss-understood the point of my post. In my post anywhere does it place blame on anyone? I’m merely pointing out that the fact the dealership my have some sympathy on your case!! Settle down…

perfectlap

Yeah Porsche have been known to grant some good will engine repair bill credit. This definitely sounds like a worthy situation. No need to bring in lawyers, you should stand by your product like some auto companies that are now offering lifetime power train warranties.
It's only in Porsche's interest to show some good will in the face of record profits . A new Porsche car buyer will be less likely to buy if he/she feels that when it comes time to sell the car to the 2nd owner, out of warranty that he'll have fewer buyers.
People buy out of warranty Lexus cars all the time and don't lose a wink of sleep.