My 2005 C2S has about 33k miles on it and will be running out of warranty this fall. It's been a great car but the PSM failure light has come on about 6 or 7 times in the last year and the dealer has replaced the sensor each time. The failure light came on again this AM, and made me start to wonder....what if this never goes away?

 

in ca, the dealer has 4 attempts to solve the problem in the first 18 months or 18,000 miles. it could be less if the mechanical failure could cause death or serious injury. you can also make a claim if the dealer has the car in their possesion for a total of 30 days or more. also the statute of limitations is only 4 years.

 

Since I'm out of the 18k/18months range, and i'm the 3rd owner of the car, am I out of luck? Unsure if traction control failure would qualify as something that causes death or series injury....

 

http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/general/lemon.php

 

firstly, this law is specific to CA. you would have to check to see what applies in your state. secondly, if you were in CA, although the statue of limitations is 4 years to file a claim, i would guess that unless the dealer had been given opportunity to fix the defect withing the first 18 months, you are SOL. then again, i'm not a lawyer, it's just my opinion.

 

a car will never become a lemon or orange or apple....
a lemon will never become a car also....
but yours also can't become a lemon.....
find another dealer to fix it....it could be fixable....

 

I've litigated a few lemon law claims. Very state specific. Given the facts above, I think you're out of luck pursuing that angle: 1. Too much time; and 2. Not a substantial impairment to value. Sorry, my friend. =(

 

on the bright side if its failing a few times per year at least the work and part have their own coverage right?

Clearly the problem might not the the sensor, I would try another dealer.

 

I went through the Lemon process with my E46 M3. In Florida, the same problem has to persist a minimum of three times (that prevents the vehicle from performing as it should) within the first two years of ownership before one can qualify for a Lemon. It was not an easy process for me, as BMW was very uncooperative. However, the situation was finally settled and I ended up purchasing a 997 (which had "check engine light" problems but I never opted for the Lemon because of Porsche's excellent customer service). Anyway, its a fairly simple process to do on your own. A close friend of mine went through the process with his 350Z and was successful. As for me, my case nearly went to arbitration (settled the day of) but I was lucky. If you find that your State laws do not give you lemon rights for this matter, then I would not only seek another dealer for repairs, but I would also contact the Regional Director for Porsche North America and explain the situation. That's what I did, and my situation was made a top priority. Thankfully, they were able to solve my problem and have my car back on the road. Best of luck.

 

Porsche is very good about these things. Not just solving the problem, but providing good customer service. Once again, I wish you the best of luck.

 

maybe it's a sign to trade it in for a MY09

 

Thanks for the input, everyone. Local dealer knows my issue well and said they'd contact Porsche. I'll keep this string posted on results.

 

I can't help you with the lemon law but I do think I know what the problem is. Let me quess, light comes on when you start up then tends to go off. After a while it starts staying on. If you let it go long enough everyhing on your steering console, windshield wipers, blinkers, etc. stops working. Take it to the dealer for a reset and it cures the problem temporarily.

The tilt angle sensor needs to be replaced. I took mine in a half dozen times and it spent over 30 days in the shop. They replaced everything else first, software, computer, sensors, etc. After the first time I took it in I put a query up on RL and a tech came on and told me what the problem probably was. I passed this on to my local dealer and it only took four more trips before they replaced this part and, so far, problem solved.

 

Thanks for the detail! I talked to my dealer about this and he said it more likely has to do with a turn angle sensor or something. The difference between my experience is that only the PSM failure light goes on and only when i go over bumps on the freeway 40+mph. They are replacing the entire PSM until now...so hopefully that will do the trick.

 

My previous BMW had 3 failures within 12 months of the same issue. Lemon'ed it.