Sooooo I have a 2012 991S, one of the first models sold in Feb 2012. I thoroughly enjoy the car - as a DD, take the kids to the park, weekend toy, etc. I even do a few PCA DE events a year. Added an FVD exhaust, purchased and installed through a Porsche dealership, since it was missing PSE.

Was at Lime Rock a few weeks ago with the PCA and had a check engine light come on at the beginning of the event. Took it to the dealer and was told it was a bad spark plug, same plug that had an issue 2,000 miles ago. Upon further investigation, the rest of the plugs were fine just the spark plug for cylinder 3 was involved. Turns out this cylinder has been throwing "soft codes" for almost a year, and the coil and spark plug were changed a year ago.

So cylinder 3 has been having issues for over a year and has had the spark plugs changed 3 times and the coil changed once. The service dept looked through all the info and determined that the fuel injector is the likely culprit, especially since the spark plug was burning too quickly and unevenly.

The service dept at Town Porsche in NJ sent this info to Porsche and they are "reviewing" the claim. Turns out, and I quote my service advisor, Porsche "feels that PCA DE events may have caused this problem. Or maybe its your aftermarket exhaust".

Any suggestions on what I should do?

 

First thing to do is wait.
Every claim that I've put in (from a leaking master cylinder to a faulty changeover valve) has had to be "reviewed". They eventually came back acting like they did me a bloody favor saying its been approved.

I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this is to be expected from this pathetic and arrogant company.

The aftermarket exhaust was their immediate get out of jail card, no matter how unrelated it may or may not be. The fact that they installed the damn thing has obviously been swept under the rug.

Secondly, based on the fact that YOU were honest enough to divulge the fact that you took the car to the track gave them yet another reason to potentially deny.

REMEMBER, THE SLIGHTEST OPENING WILL BE USED TO GET OUT OF THEIR WARRANTY COMMITMENTS.

My advice is to wait for the final decision, escalate up the scum chain and finally (if necessary) get a lawyer. But remember, this is NOT the fault of your dealership but the arrogant a-holes running this company.

Question: When did the exhaust go on and when did the soft codes start appearing?

 

Racing events are hard on car parts without a doubt. I don't know about the PCA DE events though. Is it just driver education or does it involve racing maneuvers etc?

FWIW, my car insurance will not cover any damage that may occur in racing events either.
Leases typically prohibit racing too. I would probably steer clear of a car that had been on the track, or driven hard if I was in the market for a used 911.

So I am not surprised they are giving you a hard time since they know your participation history, as well as aftermarket parts.....even though the car is clearly defective and you have a valid complaint.

 

Super,

PCA DE events are just drivers education. Not racing. They make that abundantly clear on all the paperwork. I do get separate track insurance as my auto policy surely would deny a claim if it occurred on a track, regardless if it were autocross or drivers education. This isn't really an insurance issue, just a warranty issue.

FWIW, the initial technician mentioned that he saw an unusual amount of 991's with cylinder 3 issues.

 

Thank you for the explanation. I do hope everything works out in your favor quickly.

 

I don't get it - Porsche is a race car meant to be pushed. Go to a DE event where you learn how to drive properly and push it and they are using that as an excuse to not take care of your car - you gotta be kidding me.

 

http://www.german-autobahn.eu

Tell them about this great road in Germany where you can drive a car real fast. Sort of like a real long DE course. Tell them that you have heard about folks who dare to drive their Porsches on this road

Tell them that they really don't want to give you any opportunity - nick murray - to tell then entire world - nick murray - that the engine that they put into a Porsche sports car - nick murray - is just not strong enough to handle- nick murray - a few laps at a track- nick murray .


Seriously, be polite and firm. Call Porsche North America Don't wait for the dealer to help you. Get past the "what is your mileage" askers at Porsche NA and talk to the decision makers. Softly repeat the phrase, "you know you make the greatest cars in the world, I just do not understand how driving the car as it is supposed to be driven can cause a failure" until they give in.

 

Is the open warranty claim for the replacement of the fuel injector?? I can't understand how an exhaust would cause this problem. I think you wait. If they deny the claim, make them give you an exact explanation of the basis of the warranty claim denial. What was it about the exhaust or DE that "caused" the failure. Then I am afraid you will need to go out of pocket for a lawyer. You'll get jerked around without one. Fingers crossed that they just do the right thing.

 

Typical corporate bureaucrats. I am sure Porsche will step up to the plate but it is maddening that one who ponies up the money to buy one of their race-bred machines has to put up with this type of BS.

 

An exhaust has nothing to do with plugs, coils or injectors.

Never, ever, tell a dealer that you do anything but drive your car like a granny. What is to be gained? "the coolant light came on" is obviously better than "the coolant light came on while doing 160 on the back straight at Monticello". Why put yourself in the position to have to argue that the car was designed for it?

 

Porsche is good at talking out of both sides of their mouth - when you have a problem and you say you pushed it, they blame it on you for pushing it too hard. When you have a problem because you baby it (ie the 2500-3000 rpm stumble), they blame it on you for not driving it hard enough. You can't win.

 

+1 - don't talk too much at the dealer.
++1 - cat back exhaust is irrelevant. See Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (google)

Anytime a dealer or Porsche corporate wants to see how you are driving the car its a simple flash download of your DME, which has recorded all your rpms, what gear you were in, and how long at that rpm. I can even get that information myself with a hookup of a Durametric cable and laptop. So forget about telling them you were driving like an old lady, they can easily read how the car has been used.

Don't negotiate with a Service Advisor. Take the car to them under warranty and tell them to fix it. Plain and simple. If the Service Advisor balks, the discuss with the Service Department Manager, then escalate to the Porsche USA Zone Manager if need be. A dealership has no interest in denying you a claim, they get paid by Porsche - its in their interests to work on your behalf to fix your car. What they don't want to do is perform warranty work on the car and have payment denied by Porsche, then they eat that - so they want clean work and clean claims. Pretty simple.

 

I agree for the most part, however this isn't a prius. It's a freaking 911! It's SUPPOSED to handle sporty driving

Also, keep in mind when I say "track" I mean Porsche Club of America (PCA) driver education events, many of which are dealer sponsored

And I'm sure speed, RPM and other paramers are logged somewhere in the ecu so they can probably figure out exactly how I was driving anyway.

 

OK, whatever. It's your car, tell the dealer whatever you like.

It doesn't matter whats on the DME, because it's OK to drive it however you want. As soon as there is a record of you mentioning 'track' or 'event', you've just made your life unnecessarily more complicated.

 

I don't think they will use track driving to deny this claim.
They just like to make customers worry.
They will give you some grief, over the exhaust, mostly because they think you should have put on a PSE.

I believe they will be fair to you.
If they have a documented history of this failure, you will be covered.
Just hope you are not the first one.