From Rennteam:

997 brethren suffer RMS too, appears systemic

I can now officially verify for everyone that Porsche has NOT fixed the RMS problem on the 997 (and, now, I should add, presumably, the new Boxster).

My car (launch 997s) now has just over 7,150 miles on it and I took it to my dealer this morning to have the oil changed. I also asked them to take a look at everything else to make sure there were no problems. In the process of doing that, the mechanic spotted slight RMS leak. The necessary parts are on order now and the dealer is going to fix it ASAP early next week. Of course, I grilled my service advisor about the situation, explaining it was unacceptable and they said they are going to take care of it. He said they frequently fixed this same problem on base 996s (as I knew) but he explained that they key was fixing it early on. He said some customers with out-of-warranty 996s or Boxters would be told about an RMS problem but would not fix it due to the price (about 10 labor hours), which only compounded problems for such owners later down the road. Based on the experiences the rest of you have had (and what you have read), it would be good to develop a consensus about how "serious" this problem really is, given the launch of a new generation of 911s by Porsche.

This, of course, raises another issue. I definitely will NOT keep this car outside of warranty.
__________________
Austin
infestation@mac.com

'05 997 Carrera S
Black/Black
__________________
'04 GT metallic silver 40th anniv. 911 (The Beast)
'96 Arena red 993 C4S (The Beauty)
'70 Adriatic blue 914-6 ('Lil B*stard) BEST FACTORY 914/6 @ 2004 914 MIDWEST CLASSIC
'71 Canary yellow 914 (Yellowbird)
Ex '91 Black 964 C4 (The Queen)
Ex '70 Ivory 914-6 (The organ donor)

 

lj,
Did you see any oil on your garage floor?

 

Ben,

I had the same problem on a MY2000 Boxster S which needed to be adressed twice.. So far The 01- turbo and 02 996 have been leak free but RMS problems seem to plague Porsche, I dont know why this issue was not dealt with ont the 997. One would figure Porsche would be concerned about this chronic problem affecting Customer satisfaction #'s and frequency of warrantee calims..

You make a great point .. Porsche will feel the effects of these problems now and for the future.. I wouldnt keep that car once its out of warantee either

 

Same problem since 99.... Sounds like a FixOrRepairDaily........

 

that post was a repost from "Austin" on another board. i don't have a 997, and don't plan to ever buy another 911 until they fix the 8 or 9 model year RMS problem.

 

actually it started a couple years earlier in the Boxster

 

OK, I've got an S on order. WTF is RMS? What do I have to look forward to?

 

Steve,
That would be a Rear Main Seal Leak. Very Very common on the 996's and requires the engine to be removed from the car at the dealership and the seal replaced!! I believe some motors were actually replaced due to it also at some point!!!
Its not a big deal, the dealer will take care of it, just a paint.
Evan

 

Hold on there buddy.

NO engine removal.

It's a problem existing where the engine and tranny meet. There are two circles facing each other, seal is in the middle.

If the two circles are not concentric (measured to the 100th of a millimeter), then you can have problems. It's just a seal, so don't sweat it.

The seal is replaced, the housings are cleaned, the tranny remounted to the engine block, done. About 4 hours of work, all warranty.

IF the measurements come in and show the 'out of round' is beyond Porsche's tolerance limits, the engine is replaced.

Think of it as measuring a clock from center to 12, center to 3, center to 6 and center to 9. Then the high and low are compared. If there is more than .30mm difference, it is engine replacement. If not, new seal, bolt it together and march on.

No biggie really, as long as it is under warranty. But keep in mind, even if you leak and it is below the tolerance level, it CAN grow. That will suck.

 

HAHAH Yea Eric is correct. Steve (FlyingLow) is my uncle, I was giving him a hard time
Or maybe I am just a drama queen
Evan

 

yeah, no big deal except it will hurt resale values as the stinch of a reputation for flawed motors (and complete indifference about it) in all boxsters and non GT/TT 911s (986-7, 996-7) hangs around porsche's neck. bmw managed to make their E46 M3 motor a bit too high strung and after it's propensity to grenade became too common to hide, they stepped up and a) did a recall and have at least attempted - on a couple of different occassions - to fix it and b) extended the warranty to 100k miles. geez, can't porsche at least act like they care about their customers too?

"No biggie really, as long as it is under warranty. "

i've got a friend who had to pay when his was out of warranty.

 

If this is a known and ongoing problem, Porsche should step up and extend the warranty. If not maybe a class action suit would be needed, or maybe they found it is cheaper to settle on a one by one basis.

 

Thanks Evan. Anybody know if there is a GAY yellow TT with black wheels for sale? GAY vanity plates a plus.

 

Don't start Stevie
Evan

 

There is one in Palm Beach that was going to be for sale.. But the guy's boyfriend threatened to break up with the him if he sold it.

Rumor is it handles great off road too....