I have a 2010 997.2 C2S with 1,500 miles. I bought it brand new from a dealer in San Diego and had it shipped here to New Hampshire.

Obviously the car isn't driven much. But I do get it out often to "breathe" but it's my baby.
I took it in for an oil change at the local dealer. Told me about fuel pump recall. Had to order one. In the interim, car wouldn't start. Intermittent turn key and lights come on but nothing.
So I brought it in when I finally got it started. Left it. Replaced fuel pump. Sourced intermittent start as a "clutch relay switch". Ordered one and fixed it.
When I picked it up 2 weeks ago, the manager told me that when they changed the fuel pump, they had to drain all fluids. Said that I may get a low coolant indicator because the system would burp. Said if that happened to bring it in and they would top it off. I drove the car home about 8 miles.
Today I drove it for the first time on Easter Sunday for a spin around town. After about 3 miles and 15 min, the low coolant light came on. Then the temp gauge flashes the red warning light constant on and the temp needle is pegged to the right.
I stopped let the engine cool. Drove a mile or so home. It came on again.
I noticed the fan that usually comes on when I stop the engine in the garage didn't come on. No signs of overheating...just the red warning light and gauge reading hot.
I can't wait for the dealer to open in the AM. What do you guys think? Never had this issue before they changed the fuel pump. I think they screwed up something in the cooling system. Can I damage the engine with it that hot although for a short period?
I don't dare drive it 8 miles back to the Porsche dealer. These guys are Audi and Porsche and I'm starting to think they don't know what they are doing.

 

Do NOT drive it. Have them send a flat bed to pick it up. You can damage the engine driving it right now.

 

I would say it did exactly as they said it might. There was probably an air pocket in the coolant system and when it purged you were low on coolant. Check your reservoir and if it's low add some distilled water. Otherwise, do as stated above. Nothing to be irritated with the dealer about.

 

With the engine cold you can fill the coolant tank. Let the engine get back to operating temperature shut off and let it cool back to ambient and top again. That should pretty much take care of the issue. This is what I did after having my coolant drained by a body shop that did some repairs to my right front including a new radiator on my '09' CS2.

I'd do the above with a 50/50 mix of Porsche coolant. I wouldn't opt for the towing. I'm not sure about your fan issue. I doubt you have an engine issue.

 

^^^ But it was not just a low coolant light.....His temp gauge pegged! That's bad.

 

I had the same thing on my 09 S. My temp gauge pegged too. I drove my car less than 2 miles and stopped. I called my service advisor and he told me follow the procedure I noted above. I did and then took the car in for a check. They found nothing wrong with my car.

For the OP I'm sure he would want to follow through with a trip to the dealer to get the situation on record as it was the result of a service related issue.

 

they flatbeaded the car in this AM to the dealer. Just called. Said they topped off fluid and the guage and overheat warning light came on. They got a code that said that the sensor was bad. Ordered one for tomorrow.

So hopefully that means that the engine didn't overheat although guage and warning light said so.

fingers crossed that's the issue.

I'll just say this....a new car with 1,600 miles on it and that's 3 issues: fuel pump, clutch switch, and now a sensor in the cooling system. I love Porsches but geeeeezzzz. Those around me who envy my bling car are like..."really?...........my Ford ran 225k miles with nothing but an oil change".

 

I'm calling my local Ford dealer and trading my GTS for a problem free Focus

 

So I think the only relevant issue here is the coolant level from the fuel pump change. They had to remove the hoses and thus drain the coolant when putting in the new fuel pump. That usually leaves air in the system, so once you drive it around a bit, the air works its way up to the reservoir tank and the fluid level will drop to the correct, but low, reading.. That sets off the low coolant warning. Perfectly normal.. so then you top off the coolant.

If you have no coolant leaking out (puddles?) then its just that.. get the coolant topped off, or do it yourself. Not really an issue.... though I'm not quite sure why service departments don't just idle the car to work out the air a bit while they have the car.

When you don't drive the car much, it may take longer for the air to work its way to the expansion tank to trigger the need to have the coolant topped off. I've had this same issue with other makes of cars when the coolant system had to be partly drained to do some work.

 

agreed that is hopefully the issue. But you'd have to say it was pretty coincidental and alarming that with the coolant down just a bit, the temp gauge suddenly pegged with a solid red warning light. After driving a couple of miles. That's what caused the panic.

Supposedly it's a bad sensor. But getting the low coolant warning and then a few minutes later that temp guage pegged and red was a bit freaky.

 

Not sure why you would be frustrated with he dealer. They're used to working on cars that are driven not stored for years and then started up on a few times a year. Driving the car might improve things a bit and at the very least would force you to put fresh gasoline in the tank every now and then. If you're going to store it for long periods you should consult an automotive museum about the best methods of doing same.

 

trisilver, Are you on the coast or in So. NH? I use the local shop here in So. NH and just picked up a 997 from a dealer out of state, keep up posted on your progress. I also have an S5 for DD, my experience on both sides has been mixed, although mostly good on the Porsche side

 

+1 - drive it.

 

"They're used to working on cars that are driven not stored for years" as well as museum comments.

okay guys.....it is two years old this month. It is in my garage all winter but I start it and take it out and since we didn't have a new england winter, I drove it about once a week to dinner. So it isn't sitting in the garage for years. It's out all spring, summer and winter. just about town so the mileage is low.

Southern NH dealer is in Stratham. My take is they are mostly Audi. They have one certified Porsche mechanic. I'd like to get it over to Nashua but not as convenient and a much larger dealership.

Frustrated with dealer? 1) EVERYtime they have a warranty fix (fuel pump, clutch switch, and now cooling sensor. It's an extra day while they order it. This is a 2010 997.2 come on, stock some parts.
And after dealing with loaner car and the whole fuel pump thing, and getting the car back and taking it out for the first time, I've got a temp guage that's pegged with a red warning light.

How about testing the thing out. And when I talk with the service manager, I get the sense that they are just hooking it up to a diagnostic machine and looking for a fault. That is pretty much his quote. How about somebody actually fixing it?

Car with 1,500 miles and I'm waiting another day and ferrying cars back and forth.

1 mechanic, no parts.

Got it?

 

I understand how you just expected a little more from the dealer as far as being thorough. It will get fixed. I am glad you posted this because when I bought my CPO 09 with 5K miles and had a 1500 mile ride home, this explains alot for me. I kept looseing small amounts of coolent and couldn t find a leak. It drove me nuts and I was worried a little..No overheating. But they did a fuel pump change during the CPO inspection and that explains what was happening to me. Plus I had a new cap put on the tank. There was an updated cap at some point.