Scheduled maintenance question for new Boxster owner
 

I am a new Porsche owner and have a 2015 Boxster (Base, automatic transmission), I bought it "certified" from a dealer with 19,000 miles and have had it for slightly less than a year. I have driven only 1,200 miles and had no problems whatsoever. I now notice the scheduled maintenance message. Given the limited usage, is this something I have to do per the recommended maintenance schedule? I do not expect to drive more than 5,000 miles this year. Thanks for your advice.

My advice is to help the car deliver a long and trouble free service life to at least follow Porsche's recommended service schedule. (As an aside I did Porsche one better with my 2002 and changed the oil/filter every 5K miles instead of the factory schedule of 15K miles oil and 30K miles filter and drove my Boxster 317K miles.)

I'm not familiar with the 2015 MY service schedule but I suspect there is at least an oil/filter service required every year if one doesn't drive the number of miles to trigger an oil service based on miles in that year.

So even though you drive 5K miles a year an oil/filter service once a year would be called for.

Be aware brake fluid (and if the car equipped with a manual transmission the clutch fluid) should be flushed/bled every 2 years, regardless of miles. Do not dismiss this service as just Porsche seeking to gouge you out of your hard earned money.

Believe it or not I let this go about 2.5 years with my 2002 Boxster and the clutch action and shifting action were affected. (The shifting action was affected because the clutch wasn't fully releasing when I pushed the clutch pedal down all the way.) At the time the car had quite a few miles on it and I thought perhaps the clutch or even the transmission was just wearing out but the SA looked up the car's service history and noted the brake/clutch fluid flush/bleed was overdue and suggested that before doing anything else. I agreed and the transformation after was remarkable. It really drove home how the brake/clutch hydraulic fluid is affected by exposure to moisture, which it can't help but get as the fluid reservoir is open to atmosphere. Might also point out while the clutch operation was clearly affected by the old fluid the braking action didn't appear to be affected at all. (However, I'm sure had I visited the track and really used the brakes the brakes would have likely manifested some clear signs of fluid degradation.)

Not sure what steps you will have to take to keep the battery charged up. These batteries like regular use. They do not like to sit, although this can be mitigated to some extent by the use of a good battery charger/maintainer. Often a car that is not driven very much gets used for short trips. These are hard on the battery (and the oil too) as the battery runs down just sitting. Then the engine is started and the battery is down even more. If the car isn't driven long enough the battery isn't fully replenished and it begins its downward spiral.

(Years ago shortly after I bought my new 2002 Boxster the local Porsche dealer approached me asking if I wanted to buy a low miles 968. It was owned by a woman who seldom drove it and as a result it was in about once a year with a dead battery. The dealer wanted me to buy the car as it knew I would drive it. I toyed with the idea but was looking for a "winter" car and didn't want to expose the 968 to the ravages of KC MO area winters. In hindsight I wish I had bought the car.)

Be sure you avoid parking the car under trees or plants that shed plant litter. This litter can make its way to the body water drain collection basins and plug the drain hole and rain or wash water can collect and flow into the cabin. The security module is located on the cabin floor under the driver's seat and any water in the cabin ends up there almost certainly will ruin the security module.

Also, keep an eye on the radiator ducts. The radiator fans suck up all kinds of trash that collect in the radiator ducts ahead of and under and between the A/C condenser and the radiator. This doesn't appear to affect cooling to any noticeable degree but the stuff gets wet and corrosion can arise which can ruin a condenser or radiator. When I would take my cars in for say an oil/filter service I'd ask the tech to remove the trash. He had an air nozzle with a hose that he could use to blow the stuff out without having to take off the bumper cover.

Thanks Macstar. I will follow your advice.