I pull my 997S out of the garage to wash and wax. All done, I pull it back in to the garage, and then I get this System Failure - visit workshop on teh dash. This guy on Rennlist had this happen to him 8 times, and is fighting to get a refund on the car. I am pretty freaked out now. The car has 750 miles on it. I won't be able to get it to the dealer as my work schedule demands late hours. I am not even sure if I should drive it. Does anyone have any info on this? Can I drive the car? Am I doomed with this Gremlin?

 

Alot more cases than Skip's have been reported (all after washing the car - I guess Porsche doesn't wash the "R&D" cars). It doesn't seem to be something that prohibits you from driving the car though.

 

I didn't get "system failure" but I did notice a cough in the exhaust after washing which I'm sure was computer related. I'll keep you posted if it happens again.

 

I did get a puff of white smoke when starting it.

 

What happened to the "system failure problem"?, is the car operational ? Never heard of this.




Roy
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05 Seal Grey 997

 

When you open the rear bonnet, on the left is the open air intake. Is it possible water is getting in there from the screens in the louvres ?

 

It's been that way for 6 years . Never a problem with the 996 series. Has nothing to do with water through rear louvres , as there is a drain hole in the air box bottom anyway , should too much water get sprayed during washing in that area .
The posts with Skip seem to be something to do with the electrical circuitry and water in the new retro- style front trunk lid . I wonder if the 987 Boxster will have the same problem, as it shares the new lid.

 

Car is in the shop. Service manager says there is a sporatic (sp)communications problem with the control unit. It does not affect driveability. They need to order a new control unit. There are none in the U.S. I must wait to get the part from Germany.

 

I was talking to a mechanic I know at my dealer. They have 4 control units on order. He said it is ok to drive the car. He also said something about the front trunk latch being involved but I did not understand it.

 

It's a communication problem between the various sensors and ECU. The front trunk lid is one of the culprits that has popped up frequently. The ECU is located inside the car behind the dash I believe, as they told me that they had but the interior back together and I can pick up the car until the part comes in. I am scheduled for Jan 27th. I will report any news after I get the work done. Hopefully I can hit 2000 miles and get an oil change while I'm there. (I always change it after I break my cars in)

 

The workshop message has to do with a Grounding fault at the front hood latch. The control unit that has been mentioned is located on the right fender side in the trunk.
PCNA is aware of this problem and has come up with some kind of unofficial fix, which in time may become a TSB.
Up until reciently techs had really no idea of how to take care of this issue, and would end up just clearing the fault with the PIWIS, out of sight, out of mind.
Interesting to note PIWIS is very menu driven and you can go down level to level for info. When I saw it in action there were some areas where you would go down a level and the info came up in German... hmmm the PIWIS software is not quite ready for the US techs

 

I got the same ckeck engine message yesterday...... I was bummed. Hopefully Porsche can rectify this problem soon

 

Any idea what the "unofficial fix" consists of?

 

Had your car (front hood latch) been subjected to water spray from a hose or heavy rain before the fault message occurred?

 

My car had been sitting in the garage for about two weeks and when I started it the check engine light came on.