Terrible Experience with Engine Replacement Under Warranty
 

Note: I also posted this to reddit.com/r/cars but I wanted to share it here since it's regional and this is a Porsche forum :)

TLDR - Engine killed itself and I needed a fully engine replacement that wasn't covered under warranty and terrible communication/service from Porsche throughout the entire process.


Over this past summer I've had an absolute *terrible* experience with Porsche Canada. I wanted to make this post to bring awareness to the issue.



I've had my 2017 Cayman S since new. I follow all the maintenance and do most things ahead of schedule since I track the car. Everything is always done either at a dealership or a reputable shop that specializes in Porsche/racing/track days. Nothing has ever been neglected and everything is maintained and inspected regularly (due to track days).



In June 2020 I had a complete engine failure on track. I was driving 8/10ths at Mosport and in the middle of turn 1 the car lost all power and every possible warning light came on. I costed the car to a stop and had the tow truck come get the car off the track. The car wouldn't turn on at all so I called a flatbed and the car was sent to Porsche Center North Toronto (I was told on the phone from 1800-PORSCHE that this is the only dealer they could send it to because of distance from the track).



Porsche Center North Toronto (PCNT) got the car and told me they'd look at it. It took weeks until they finally dropped the oil pan and found *chunks* of metal inside and told me it needed a new engine. Since the car was under factory warranty, I thought this wouldn't be a big deal. However, due to a suspension modification, Porsche Canada was denying the warranty. They told me it would be ~$25k for a new engine and there's basically nothing they could do.



Now, you should also know that PCNT is a corporate owned dealership. Porsche Canada is actually based out of the same building. So it's a corporate building/dealership in one. I escalated it as much as possible within Porsche Canada but no luck. Even though it's an engine failure and my car was completely stock except for suspension mod (DSC controller if you're interested), they wouldn't warranty it. I didn't even have track tires on during that day and it was using PS4S in stock sizes. Also, no engine modifications on the car.



Dealing with Porsche Canada and PCNT was a NIGHTMARE. I have never experienced such bad service from ANY dealership. Responses back to me would take days. People just wouldn't reply. I would have to reach out for updates on my own. In total, it was sitting at PCNT for around 4 months from June - September. During this entire time I cannot say one good thing about how the situation was handled. In September, I decided I'll pay out of pocket and just want the car back at this point. There was absolutely NO WAY I was giving any money to PCNT after this terrible experience. I told PCNT exactly what day and time I'll be there to pick up my car and have it towed. When I arrived, I had to wait 45mins to see my "service advisor" even though he KNEW I was coming to collect my car and have it towed. Garbage service all around.



I had the car towed to Downtown Porsche and had an *amazing* experience with them. I got referred to a service advisor there and they were the best person I've ever dealt with at any dealer. Incredible service and he kept me up to date during the entire process and helped me out wherever he could. Can't say enough good things about the service provided from Downtown Porsche.



I've had the car back for a couple weeks now, with a new engine replaced out of pocket. I always thought Porsche was a great brand with great service and didn't think this would be a big deal. If you are in the Toronto area I would absolutely stay clear of PCNT. I'm not sure what I'll do with the car at this point. I was planning on ordering a GT4 this summer but then all of this happened. I'm not even sure I want to stick with the brand anymore, which really sucks because the Cayman is actually a great "value" when it comes to the driving dynamics and overall package.



I think I'm more upset at how poor the communication/experience was. Once the car was at Downtown Porsche, I'd get updates every couple days and things were moving super quick.... It took forever for PCNT to even start giving me proper updates. This is basically an awareness post that even the great brands with a good rep are sometimes absolute trash and terrible to deal with. I'm happy to answer any questions you guys might have. I've got nothing to hide and not trying to unintentionally bash them - I'm just telling you the facts and what happened.

Why didn't you tow to Hunter and have the stock suspension reinstalled?

Surely it would have cost less than $25k

That's a bummer, sorry to hear that. I didn't think they could tell you swapped in a DSC controller without physically looking for it..... hum.....

Is that the 2.5l 4 cylinder turbo engine? 25k seems a lot sorry to hear about this, now I got me thinking I should rethink my next purchase.

Hum...$25K, I might have consider a LS1 swap...damn even a Honda K-series

But did they not honour the warranty because of the suspension or because it blew on the track? I thought track use invalidated the warranty

You might want to consult a lawyer and discuss this situation with them. Denying your warranty on the engine, citing a minor modification to the suspension as grounds for denial, seems unreasonable but what do I know. What I do know is that if I were you, I would have already consulted a lawyer with experience in this space before stroking a cheque. Good luck to you sir. This whole story makes my insides hurt, it's the worst nightmare scenario for anyone with a car still under warranty.

Plenty of GT3 owners, some who I know personally, have had their engines replaced under warranty after on-track failure. Without challenge or grief.

By the time I found out it would need a new engine, PCNT already flagged the car. Otherwise yeah 100% I would have taken out the DSC controller. It only take 2 mins to swap it. Plug and play.

Same. Which is why I didn't think this would become a huge deal. That's why I wanted to make this post and bring awareness to it. Never thought I'd have to deal with this headache over a small suspension mod....

PCNT made it sound like it was because of the suspension mod. Even though hardware wise its 100% stock porsche SPASM parts.

Coming from a prior occupation where I continually dealt with warranty situations on behalf of countless major mfg's .... I can tell you the proof is in the fine print and everyone put's the modification clause into their warranty statements. The difference is usually if the failure is not related to the modified component and or the modification is not extreme in most cases as non oem components are considered as modified components even if they are for example very reputable and used by the oem like Bilstein shocks ...the warranty will either be covered entirely or partially as we call in the business a "policy adjust" by where normally the customer pays for the labor and the parts are covered under warranty.

There are factors that come into play regarding as mentioned above .....
1. How many products have you purchase thru this brand -History / Loyalty / How much you spent ... Ie top of the line / base model etc.
2. (Very Important) Dealer servicing history ..... If the car has been serviced elsewhere this becomes much more difficult.
3. Car mileage / condition and usage / amount of remaining warranty
4. Proper escalation process and how much you contest their warranty rejection based on the factors above.

I have personally tested Porsche Canada on warranty rejects of my own and initially they bucked back but in the end ended up covering my claims entirely after some persuasion. In general car mfg's always buck the warranty claim initially and if escalated properly in many cases do end up being covered.

Just helped a friend on her blown Hyundai engine where they rejected the claim because she took the car elsewhere for oil changes ..... I advised her on the escalation process , they replaced the engine and the car still was not running properly and they said they could not do anything further. In the end they ended up giving her a new / demo as a replacement .... She was so happy ....

If you sue,
Porsche has to prove the modification caused the failure, which it didn't.

Consult a lawyer.
Get your money back.... less legal fees of course.

Id lawyer up and prepare to sue. They need to 100% prove the suspension caused failure. I've been through this with a client and a Z06. I can recite the entire story

As ive said many time before and this shows it once again . There is nothing magical about the Porsche brand , they have great marketing to have you believe such things. they are just another company moving over priced iron and try to get out of as many warranty claims as possible.

i am however goin gto play the devils advocate on this one as I am thinking how could Porsche possibly claim it led to engine failure .. Il do my best ...

"The DSC behaved in a manner not approved by Porsche, causing the car dynamics to shift outside of designed parameters and caused an oil scavenge failure. " This oil scavenge failure due to the extreme g forces experienced and tilt caused by the DSC controller resulted in catastrophic failure to the engine, "

they dont have to prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt because you modified the car, they just have to provide reasonable doubt, especially as noted above the modifications piece is in the purchase contract.

aka ... we just dont wanna pay .