Normally I had wash my car, but after driving it for three days in the rain and near ballparks it was covered in a fine silt that didn't want to wash off. So I figured screw it and went to a decent touchless car wash. As soon as I pulled out there was a little idle hopping, I'm somewhat used to this as I've had a P0491 / P0492 I've been working on since I got the car (half my secondary intake system is new now).

When I got on the highway however the power started cutting and the engine even shut down. I pulled over restarted and things seemed to stabilize. When I got home I checked the codes and had:

- P0491 / P0492 (nothing new here)
- P1109
- P1508

The P1109 and the P1508 appear to be MAF related, and while I do have an EvoMS intake it all looks dry. This is the second time through this car wash spaced about a year apart and it has happened both times. Just wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences?

Going to a car wash can be avoided but I'd hate to see this start to happen in bad rain storms.

 

its probably the huge amount of water being forced into the rear deckled vents thus into the air box. i have used a similar system but have mafless and no air box so no issues.

you might try a hand wand power wash to get the silt off. same theory but you can direct the stream away from the decklid

 

from a potential buyer, posts like this worry me.

what year is your car ?

I was under the assumption 996 have great reliability and to stay away from the 964's. But if you can't even take a car through a car wash , this is nuts ?

Its stories like this that make me question purchasing a 996.

 

i've been thru those 5$ car washes a 1000 times and never an issue.
i would look elsewhere for the source of your cels and chalk that up to coincidence.

add: i have a modded dual yet oem *intake* LOL airbox too

 

Don't use my car as an example, I've got that 1 in a 1000 that has endless issues. If you look up all the "common" problems I have had them all. Still an awesome car and worth the frustration.

Do yourself a favor and check for:

- Leaking hydraulic rams as repairing them is about a grand
- Second gear popout issue
- Coolant leaks, either the reservoir or the lines. Ideally the lines are welded or pinned

Those are the ones that hit me hard anyway and they can all be common

As for all the comments that this is just me, figured! One day I'll get this girl running smooth for me. Till then I'll just have to enjoy the 95% of the good things about it.

 

Never use the drive through/touchless car washes for my Porsches. Body shop buddy tells me the wax is "hard" and not good for the car. There is the issue of clearance too.

I've used the DIY car washes many times and the only symptom I get after washing the Turbo is the belt slips some upon restart.

The car is in for plugs and I talked to the tech about coils and exposure to water from car washing and being left out in the rain and the tech said while the belt can get wet from a wash the rest of the engine generally remains dry. However, I did notice when I first bought my car (used) the air filter element was stained like it had been wet in the past. I do not know how this came about but since I've owned the car and subjected it to many washes, and rain, the element has never shown any signs of being wet.

The drive through/touchless car wash water applicators I've watched really spray the water in different directions. I would hazard a guess that water is getting sprayed where it shouldn't be sprayed. Does the air box show any signs of having water in it?

 

Just a few droplets nothing that should be an issue, and that's just in the box not actually on the filter. Obviously it is somehow though. I avoid these damn things as much as possible but I didn't want to spend 5 hours washing. Lesson learned going forward!

 

i go thru them about once a week. but never use anything other than the soap/water = NON deluxe wash lol.

most of them are engine on but why not try it with a plastic bag over the air box inlet(s). i get water but it's sitting at the bottom of the air box ( never wet element ) and i just wipe it dry. again, the water isn't causing cels. thats probably just your demon seed tt lol

 

So the touchless carwash work on the principle of pressure washing to clean but from all variable angle to get your car clean. The possibility of water getting into strange places at great force are there to potentially cause a problem. I once had one of those touchless get water into my coil packs , enough to get it replaced in my Audi S4 once.

 

Yea, looks like I'm going to skip the power wash going forward. Not a big deal since I don't like them for the Turbo anyway. Good to know that I continue to have the "Demon Spawn" Turbo.

 

^ lol i will continue to use them since washing your car in kali may soon ( if it's not already? ) be a ticketable/fineable offense, owing to the drought.

still, hard to imagine a coil getting wet from a car wash lol given the germans propensity toward mfg'g all weather vehicles, but hey. who knows.

 

May be the gail force of those touchless nozzles can do the trick... I've also seen similar fubar on coilpacks when engines are steam cleaned an they are not properly covered. Water leaches down into the areas that coils are plugged in causing failure.

 

i can definitely see that happening with steamcleaning! it's the main reason i haven't done mine! as my engine is filthy from letting my rms slow leak for a year+! and i want to hold the pressure washer myself when it gets done lol

just hard to imagine a coil in our cars getting wet at a coin wash, but stranger things have happened, i'm sure

add: you guys warned up in NorKal yet about hoses and washing your car in your driveway.. yet?!

 

A little simple green and motor cleaner combo and wash with garden hose= not as good as power washer but engine will look 100% better. Could also do at car wash just don't get too close as to keep water pressure in check. Sorry to hear about the water shortages it must stink not being able to wash car etc..

 

Where I am we supply you guys with our well water and dam so they are a little more liberal with us. That being said, our lake now shows about a mile of shoreline from lauch ramp starts. Some areas are so steep that you need four wheel drive to launch and getting worse.
We are not in the counties and cities towards bay are where they are rationing :

http://www.acwa.com/content/local-drought-response