May
5
997 engine failure – fact or myth?
We’re hearing reports of engine failures on 997s, with number-six cylinder bore failing.
We’re naturally cautious of scaremongering, as the Internet is great at blowing things out of proportion, so we’re researching this carefully to find out if there really is a problem.
So, if you’ve had trouble with a 997 engine, please get in touch with Total 911, telling us about your experiences.
my 997 c4 engine 22k miles just failed today. Check engine warning then 2 minutes later it blow out smoke and stopped.
now I am waiting for the repair
How soon will you update your blog? I’m interested in reading some more information on this issue.
I have a 997 2S Auto with 33K. I was told by my Porsche dealer a bolt came loose in the drive and put the chain out. Now I need the engine replaced. They will not do it under a warranty. Not good enough Porsche. This should not happen to a full porsche servive history car and then be told to sod off. Think again when you want to buy that dream car. Top of the list in JD Power????? I’m not the only one with this problem.
Isaac, have they told why they wont cover it? even if you are out of warranty they need to step up to the plate. I have a 997S 05, engine failed at 11,000 miles. They replaced the engine, i have 16,000 miles now. I know someone his engine recently failed less than 2000 miles on his 08 997. i am nervous as warranty is about to expire in a year or so. in 2002, my boxter engine failed at 15,000 miles. They also replaced the engine. when i moved on the car had 100,000 miles. I owned 3 Porsches, (2) 911 and a boxter S. 2 of the 3 had engine failures.
the truth is my confidence is somewhat shaken, the touble of it all 911s are absolute joy to drive but at what cost. If Porsche is consistent in handling these failures when they occur, that will restore some of the confidence. Hearing some of the horror stories Porsche wont stand behind their product is devastating.
I will keep on driving Porsche if an engine fails and they refuse to fix, without a doubt i will file a lawsuit and make sure the world hears about it.
If a class action is formed, i will join and state the facts of my experience. it seems you have a case against Porsche since they left you out like that. My advice attempt to work with them to resolve this matter, if they refuse, move forward with a claim. Get couple people on board to form a class action, i will join.
Can anyone recommend a Extended Warranty Company that will cover this damage?
Thanks
Stephan
pellegrini_stephan@hotmail.com
Try Tech9
Phil
I have had a 2009 model 997 C4S for three months. Last night the engine died on me with 1300 MILES on the odometer. Check engine light went on, “engine emergency/take car to workshop” message on dashboard, etc. I have treated the car like a gem since I got it and was driving it relatively gently during the break-in period.
The dealership has it now and said that it was possible the car needed a “system update”. Waiting for more details. “System update”??? For $110,000, I need more reliability than this!
Would love to hear any thoughts or opinions, as I’m a first time Porsche owner.
The answer to the question is clearly “YES” there is a long history with documented evidence of the same design flaw(s) engine failures over and over. Either it’s a cracked cylinder or Intermediate shaft problems. Which mean in most cases and eventual engine failure.
have a 997 C2, took it to the dealers for an intermitant misfire on bank 2 low on compression on all three cylinders. Paid the bill drove car 1 mile down the road filled the steet with smoke hydrauliced. recovered the car back to the dealers on removal of spark plugs number 6 cylinder dumped oil out. awaiting to see if porsche will contribute to repair. I’ll let you know how i get on.
Please allow me to share my experience’s with my 2007 Carrera 4S. Purchased new. Gentle break-in for 3000 miles. I’m the only driver, ever. Oil/filter changed at 3500 miles just to be safe. Driven 2-3 times a week. At 6k, alternator fails. 7k, rear spoiler won’t retract. 9k strange noise coming from left rear wheel area. Rear wheel bearing failed. 13k, right front radiator fan stops working. All is well until 15k service. Manager calls to tell me the rear main seal is just starting to leak and when the tech drained the motor oil, the oil was slightly “milky”, meaning a coolant leak somewhere in the block. Oh joy! Lucky for me the car is still in warranty and honestly, the dealer has been wonderful. They had the car for two weeks. Besides the new engine, they replaced the output seals on the transaxle, replaced both rear shocks (signs of leakage showing) all under warranty. They delivered the car to my home in an enclosed trailer!! Once backed out, I could see they had done a complete detail job on the car! Absolutely spotless! Thanks guy’s! However, I just don’t trust this car anymore. I have decided to just drive it and if it has one more major failure, it’s history. I’ll keep you posted.
24K and the engine is gone???? I drive my car on the track and take very good care of it… (2007 C2S) Now I’m replacing the engine. Very strange. At first, the dealer said i needed to replace the coils & plugs.
i have a 2002 C4S with full main dealer history totalling £16000 of service reciepts,at 48000 miles whilst traveling at 20 mph warning light came on.pulled over next minute loud noise from rear.had car recoverd to porsche centre,was told that water leaked into pot five and would need to replace the engine,porsche offerd no help what so ever,and the bill has reached over ten thousand pound so far and yet to be running.porsche say that there in no fault with the engine,yet the replacement they have sent has been modified to stop such fault.i would be more than willing to take on porsche in court if anyone else would like to do so.as i do believe it would need five or six cases to get anywhere.please feel free to contact me garylittlefield@hotmail.co.uk
My blog on my 996 engine failing has had a lot of comments with similar issues. Check it out for more info:
http://www.devwebsphere.com/porsche/2006/08/engine_failed.html
C4S CATASTOPHIC ENGINE FAILURE……i have two carrera cabriolets…both purchased new from dealer….a 2004 c4s, and a 2005 carrera……this week at 26000 miles, turned the c4s on (50 degrees f outside) and immediately heard ‘clang clang clang” noise in engine…shut down within two seconds total….no warning lights…had towed to dealer….no oil on ground…car had run beautifully the day before in 100 mile interstate trip…car computer had no red line activity…i have babied car…warm car up …not a race guy…..dealer has called and “engine blew up”…”metal pieces all over inside”…..oil all over floor of shop (had not turned car on yet)….they theorized maybe intermediate shaft or bearing or ????……jury out…and awaiting word…ENGINE CLANG CLANG NOISE IDENTICAL TO SOUND ON THE 26 SECOND VIDEO ON BLOG OF “PORSCHE ENGINE FAILURES”…ANY IDEAS ANYONE?….will keep all posted…and i have two of these porsches…confidence shaken here….
2007 C2S engine failure at 18,000 miles. Downshipt from third and the engine stopped. Cranked engine and clank, clank, start, clank clank. Dealer said number 5 was scored? Replaced engine under warranty. They have a boat-load of engines in the back coming and going to Germany. The dealer didn’t fuss and it took a week. My 2006 Cayman at 17 k had no problems
My 2005 C2S with only 18000 miles was idealing at a stop signe in a parkin lot when I heared a clunking noise.Towed to a dealer, they told me I need a new engin.I Love the car and it’s fun to drive. PORSCHE name used to carry a lot of weight, are they folwing G.M.’s footstepes?
2002 996 Carrera cabriolet 48K miles. Regular servicings, no mj problem until check engine system light came on two nights ago. You know the rest of the story. $16K estimated for a new engine. Or junk it and get $3K. Nice. Seems like this trend has not been fixed in 996 or 997. Unless covered under EXTENDED warranty, u may want to stay away, b/c “there is no substitute,” for a new engine.
Had an auto 2005 Porsche Carrera. Loved this car but took it on an interstate trip and engine blew at 11,000 miles. Intermediate shaft failed…started with a scratching noise in rear…then all oil ran out
on the ground. Surprised that this is not widely reported on reliability info online. Porsche replaced engine and was great paying for loaner on trip BUT engine fails on this car at LOW mileage. Traded car for a Cayenne 2008…now with 17,000 miles…runs perfect…great vehicle and handles like a 911 in sport mode.
05 C2S 14000 miles check engine light take to workshop. I have taken pristine care oil change every year or 3000 miles. Diagnosed valve sleeve on bank one 3rd cyl. seems strange but have no choice need to drop engine & inspect . Not happy will keep you informed
05 C2S CPO, bought a month ago. CEL came on flashing. Roadside Assistance towed to dealer. Somehow a rear tie-rod was cracked during transport. CEL wasn’t on for them. Later in the day when dealer was moving car, CEL came back on. Next day they replaced all 6 coils. Picked it up. Two days later CEL came on again. Dealerr picked it up and brought me a MALIBU to drive. Car has been there for two days now. They remapped DME and tested fuel. Apparently no CEL on now. They will see if it comes on during a cold start today. They keep talking about how rich these cars run. Very mad at this situation…. the whole reason I bought a certified pre-owned car was that I thought it would be excellent mechanically, which Porsches website states.
i have a 05 997 c2s cab.48,000 miles.bought new.fully serviced.never been on track.bore number 4 gone.told will need new engine.i will never buy a porsche again after this unless porsche do some good will gesture.when you spend this much on a car you expect it to last more than 4 years!!!!
The only way Porsche can be forced to compensate owners for these defects is for the news media to write about the problem. I encourage each victim above to send an individual account of their story to Joseph White, the auto writer at the Wall Street Journal, joseph.white@wsj.com. Tell him that The Journal needs to look into this. If you know of others with similar problems, get them to write as well. There are many more episodes like this on other sites, including ppbb.com, boxa.net and 986forum.com. As you may know, the engine failure issue affects Boxsters as well as 997s. Individual complaints will get you nowhere. Lawsuits are expensive. Just look at how bad publicity has forced Toyota to act here in the U.S.
All victims should be compensated fully up to a reasonable mileage limit and all others with engines containing the engineering defect should receive extended warranties. That’s the least Porsche can do. Porsche owners are not test drivers for the company. We’re not paying our hard-earned money to absorb the risk from an inherent design defect.
Good luck getting something published in the WSJ about problems with Porsches. Porsche advertises in the WSJ regularly with large half-page adds. Newspapers are dying because they are losing advertising revenue to the internet, so any newspaper is unlikely to write a hard driving (no pun intended) article about one of their golden egg gooses.
I have a 997 Carrera 4S 2006 i bought it with 11k on the clock in December 2008, it has full service history with Porsche. 3 weeks ago my engine started knocking, this knocking got progressively louder over the next few days. I took it in for it’s second service with 29000 miles on the clock, and asked Porsche (wilmslow) to have a look into the noise (i was expecting noisy tappets). The engineer fired up the engine and immediately shut it down, which i thought was a bit odd?!? He new exactly what it was. They told me they would have to take the engine out and have a look. The result was scoring in cylinder 1 which was destroying the engine. So i spoke to several independent experts who informed me that there is a fault with the 911 (997 model) and the newest model doesn’t suffer with it because Porsche have done something about it (this didn’t help me!). After 2 weeks of debate with who was paying the bill I am now £5073 lighter as Porsche wouldn’t foot the total bill saying it is out of warranty. This is true it is out of warranty, however a car that has only done 29000 miles should not have complete engine failure and certainly not one that has a reputation of being the reliable sports car. Yesterday I collected my car and the salesman who had been handling it didn’t even bother to come and see me. This just isn’t acceptable so today my Porsche WILL be traded in. My dream car was a 911 it certainly isn’t anymore.
I currently have DEC 2005 reg 997CS coupe which now needs a new engine after 12,000 miles with scoring to the bores and cylinders, it sounds strangly like the same problem Neville had. Like many of you I am facing a bill for over £6k even after the offers from Porsche. The garage is gallantly trying to fight my case with Porsche.
I have an 05 C2s 997 with 20,000 miles and full OPC service history.I have owned it for 1 year & 5 days, I know because the warranty was only for 1 year so its 5 days out of date! I was sat at traffic lights on red today when heard a horrid clanking noise from engine and it stalled, no warning lights came on but when I had a look under the engine, oil was pouring out at an alrming rate. Am waiting to hear from them tomorrow as the car has been put on a truck and delivered to them. This is my first Porsche and reading of these engine failures I fear this is terminal & will cost me circa £10k.
Just found out the problem is an intermidiate shaft breakage. Looks like it will be a new engine needed. Will let you all know Porsches reply as soon as I have it although I have been happy with the service of Porchse OPC Nottingham so far. Lets hope they agree that £75k cars should not need a new engine every 20,000 miles!
Good news, Porsche have agreed to pay 80% of the parts costs & 70% of the labour costs. Still cost me about £2,200 but could have been much worse.
On 4:30pm Friday, May 7th, 2010, as I was turning into the parking lot of my office right after a visit to a business partner less than 5 miles away, I heard a loud rattling noise from the rear of the car. Thinking that I might be dragging some foreign object on the ground, my colleague, who was the passenger with me at the time, suggested immediately that we should stop the car to inspect the undercarriage. We found nothing. Upon restarting the engine the loud noise and shaking resumed and we stopped the car immediately and pushed the car to a parking spot. I called my mechanic who is close by and he advised that I tow it to his shop immediately.
Upon cursory inspection of the vehicle, my mechanic said that my car suffers from a blown engine and is probably one of the unlucky victims of the IMS problem.
After having owned a 996 coupe (purchased new in 1999) and a 996 cabriolet (purchased from a friend in 2001) both of which have served me reliably until I sold them, I am utterly dismayed to see a premature engine failure with this 997 at a mere 41600 miles and in such a short time after the 4 year comprehensive warranty expired and this car hasn’t even reached 50000 miles yet. I have owned the car since Nov 2005 and I have taken meticulous care of it. The car has never been modified. I have never raced the car nor have I ever put it on a track. This car has never had an accident, collision, or even pot-hole incidents of any kind.
Upon reading some forums at the suggestion of some fellow Porsche owners, I am quite disappointed to note that this IMS problem is not uncommon and that I have not been advised of this during the warranty period. Right before the warranty expired, I even took the car to Carlsen Porsche and asked if my vehicle has any outstanding recall or service campaign items I should be aware of, and the answer was that there was none. I am shocked to see such sudden catastrophic failure with such low miles on the engine especially when it has never been over-revved and it has been well-serviced.
The car was not even driven more for more than 20 feet after the rattling noise started as we were actually pulling into the parking lot when the failure happened, and there was no hint of overheating or other anomalies prior. I felt very fortunate that the failure didn’t happen while we were on the freeway 5 minutes before that otherwise there could have been an accident that might put our lives in danger.
I have emailed Porsche USA and will call them 1st thing Monday morning to discuss my options. For now, I feel devastated.
I have been dreaming of the day when I could finally afford to put a Porsche 911 in my third bay. I’m now 43 and after thirty years of dreaming the time has come…or so I thought. After carefully researching the engine failure topic and the shameless behavior of Porsche I will certainly never purchase any of their products. How is it that no consumer protection agency of any state has not come down hard on these folks.
We purchased a used 1999 996 with 27K miles and drove it 40K more over 4 years. It experienced an engine failure on startup in our garage. We wrote to Detlev von Platten the CEO of NA Porsche and was told flatly that the car was out of warranty. It seems to me someone should bring class action against Porsche. I would be glad to be the representative for class standing should a(an) lawfirm like to take them on for their obvious product failures, lack of recall, inconsistancies in treatment of product owners for the already established remedy for warranty and solutions.
May 23rd on a trip from Chicago to down state Illinois to speak at a State Bar seminar my 2002 911 with 25,000 checks out at 70 mph. NThe power was just gone; no smoke, clanking or anything. Coasted into a farmer’driveway near Macomb, Illinois. He was working on his tractor. He said with a grin, “boy, I can probably get you $195.00 a ton for that thing.” After a $500.00 tow to a dealer,the diagnosis is catastrophic engine failure; new engine 20k; remaned about 16.5k. The farmer’s deal sounds good about now.
Since no spam is allowed, I will say nothing about Porsche other that that they now have a bitter enemy and I will be sure never to miss an opportunity to warn any and all about their inferior, overrated product.
Have owned 911’s since 1966, currently driving 2006 C2S with 40k mi and no major probs but i have had to have it towed to the dealer for repairs on a regular basis since it was new… may as well own a ferrari
May 2010. Just had a new engine installed in my Gen I 997 C2S (first registered Nov 2004) with a smidge under 40k on the clock following cylinder 6 liner failure and subsequent catastrophic engine failure. Car out of warranty following PCGB raising the price for extended warranty to £1,595 from £895. This follows a warranty claim for a RMS failure after approx 30k miles. Car purchased (2007) and exclusively maintained at stiplulated service intervals through OPC centre. After much discussion, ended up with a 50:50 good will fix from Porsche but left me with a £5,000 dent in my finances to get the car back on the road. Credit where its due, the OPC Service Manager was exemplarary in his endeavours to obtain an improved good-will offer. Having spoken directly with Porsche Customer Services, the good will extended by Porsche depends on age of the car (if out of warranty). Somewhat arbitrarily, the cut off is 5 yrs from initial registration. This probably explains why Dean got an improved offer given his car <5yrs old.
Damn, sounds like a pattern. My well maintained 05 2S started making light rattling noises while driving to work. I also remember thinking maybe I’d caught something in my right tire or under the car. I arrived at work just a few minutes later, got out to inspect under the car. I saw nothing caught, but oil rapidly started pouring out from the engine. I had it towed immediately to Porsche. Now I’m told I need a new engine at 38,800 miles.
Well, about 6 weeks ago I purchased a 2005 911S with 8000Km- Gorgeous car, my retirement gift to me. Took it an initial road trip last week from BC to Oregon USA. Engine started making noise on the freeway. Got it to a garage and it was pouring oil out of the back of the engine. These engines hold a lot of oil so there was a big mess. Believe it or not, the gas station did not have a spill kit. A local shop came and got the car and helped with the clean up. Had it hauled to the Porsche dealer in Portland Oregon and got the news that it would require a new engine. UGG. The Service Manager has been wonderful. He gave us a new Audi A3 for a loaner and told us to continue our trip. That was really good but now our car is in Portland and we are back home waiting for the news. We were told that Porsche would cover this but we have not had this confirmed. I just cannot believe that the intermediate shaft could fail and cause a total failure. Not only that, but it seems to happen quite a few times. I was looking at a web site which shows how the bearing fails from lack of lubrication. This is a design problem and should be fixed quickly. It seems a lot of people are out of pocket big time as a result of this issue. I don’t think a new engine will resolve the bearing concern. I might get lucky and have one that does not get this problem but it certainly shakes your confidence when an engine drops at 11K.
What was really surprising was the web site suggested that driving the car hard made the problem less likely because of the way the lubrication works at speed. Those of us who do not push the cars end up with this unhappy and costly problem.
My 2005 997 S had intermediate shaft failure at just over 12K miles and 4 months after factory warranty expiration. Dealer feels that early ‘05 engines had undersized bearing that has since been corrected.
Like everyone above, I am awaiting a new engine which will be covered by the Easy Care extended warranty I purchased (lucky!), except for my out of pocket on towing, alignment and deductible of approx $1000 USD.
I have called Porsche Customer Commitment who has assigned me a case # and they will advise if they will cover these costs. Also, I am interested, but not optimistic, to see if they will acknowledge that they have an issue with this engine.
My story is very much similar to JLW. 2006CS with 35500 miles just prior to Nov 09 storage. Had Dealer go though the car because Nov was the expiration timeframe. No mechanical findings, however, they found defective steering wheel– replace under warranty. Took it out of storage 4/2010. Fluids maintainded, stored winters, never any temp/pressure/light/oil burn issues. Dealer maintained. Never raced. My retirement ‘baby’. Put about 1500 miles this Spring/Summer(have some other cars). Driving about 35mph in the ‘city’. Engine light comes on , minor-but noticeable sounds. Immediately called the dealer and he said ‘don’t drive it’. So, I am waiting for the bad news. Out of warranty.
I am fortunate we were not on our long overdue road trip. What a mess for a $100,000+ car. Thoughts and advice would be appreciated.
Regards,
jack
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