Spoiler Failure
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Good question, when I asked, the dealer didn't seem to keen on fixing it. He seemed concerned about the risk of damage removing trim etc to make any adjustments and given it all worked fine didn't think the risk of taking it apart for a small adjustment was worth it. Basically if it got worse or stopped working they would fix it...
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Good question, when I asked, the dealer didn't seem to keen on fixing it. He seemed concerned about the risk of damage removing trim etc to make any adjustments and given it all worked fine didn't think the risk of taking it apart for a small adjustment was worth it. Basically if it got worse or stopped working they would fix it...
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This usually means someone left the spoiler open during fall, and leaves are trapped inside and started decaying. The rotten leaves then jammed up the drain hole and caused a flood inside the spoiler compartment. When the motors are suspended in water long enough, spoiler failure starts. To fix that, the best choice is to upgrade to Turbo with 9xxresearch.com coming to you ... https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...our-house.html
I can see only drivers side top part moving few millimeters and that's it, then when I push spoiler button again that part moves back those few millimeters....
So I want to ask You Anthony, maybe you know from your experience what spoiler parts I should expect to be broken or cleaning will fix this issue ?
Don't really want to start to dismantle spoiler without knowing what parts I should have to be ready to replace, if possible to know in advance, of course .......
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Mine Turbo spoiler got stuck in fully open (extended) position, but I don't get "Spoiler Failure" message on the PCM screen when I'm trying to retract it by pressing spoiler button.
I can see only drivers side top part moving few millimeters and that's it, then when I push spoiler button again that part moves back those few millimeters....
So I want to ask You Anthony, maybe you know from your experience what spoiler parts I should expect to be broken or cleaning will fix this issue ?
Don't really want to start to dismantle spoiler without knowing what parts I should have to be ready to replace, if possible to know in advance, of course .......
I can see only drivers side top part moving few millimeters and that's it, then when I push spoiler button again that part moves back those few millimeters....
So I want to ask You Anthony, maybe you know from your experience what spoiler parts I should expect to be broken or cleaning will fix this issue ?
Don't really want to start to dismantle spoiler without knowing what parts I should have to be ready to replace, if possible to know in advance, of course .......
This is also why when you see a Panamera with extended spoiler at low speed, it's usually because it's broken.
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As for you, if you engage me to fix it, I will make you an offer that you cannot refuse.
Last edited by atwong1; Jun 16, 2021 at 06:36 PM.
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Yes I remember, Porsche Service Center when I arrived first time has mentioned to me about do not keep spoiler extended,
I used to retract it once in a while but later somehow stopped doing it ....
Thanks Anthony, but I live in Europe .... 
I used to retract it once in a while but later somehow stopped doing it ....
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Which country? I have already done a couple in Canada, France and UK. They were long flights but if they trust me so much with their Porsche's who am I to judge?
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Thank You Anthony, but I have a solution already
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaip%C4%97da
... just in case
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaip%C4%97da
... just in case
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Help
So my luck wasn't as good as yours with the dealer fixing it so I have to fix this myself so does anyone know how I can fix it what do I need because I have taken it to several places and they all charge me for the diagnostic for it but no solution and it's very annoying on high way the code keeps coming on and I can't see the gps I don't wanna have to buy new spoiler if so what's the part number I would need
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Holy Thread resurrection Batman
Spoiler Alert
I've just bought a 2014 970 S E hybrid. Had the spoiler error at 60mph. Water ingress due to PO not maintaining car properly, blocked tail gate drainage holes.
No motor response to the manual switch or holding it down 10+secs, would get flashing light but no noise. Spoiler stuck in the retracted position.
It was easy to sort and didn't cost a penny. Quick rundown here to help any further readers:
I removed the interior trim around the rear windshield, start at the top central piece levered off with trim removal tool, then the 2 side pieces by hand, On the remaining piece, unscrew 2 T40 torx, open the two tiny covers in the corners and remove 2 more torx, pull the 2 rubber shut bumpers off (harder than you think, use lever with protection behind), continue to remove the panel, disconnect lighting cables. Disconnect spoiler cable going through rubber sleeve in the centre, unclip that cable from the gate using levers. Undo 6? 10mm bolts and 2 nyloc nuts. Carefully rotate the whole unit out.
The central box at the bottom of the unit houses the electric motor. Unclip the box, disconnect the cable. the motor has flex drive cables at each end, these just pull out of the ends of the motor. I removed the dripping wet rusted motor, used a pair of good pliers to open the crimped top, prised it apart with a screwdriver, eased up the plastic insert, pulled the spindle out and cleaned the living daylights out of it all with contact cleaner. Whilst I had the spindle out of the motor I put back between the 2 flex drives and rotated it by hand to open up the spoiler a bit to make access easier when reassembling. (might be able to use.the 2 white plastic screw heads near the spoiler hinges to do this but I don't trust 8 year old plastic screws)
I reassembled everything, connected the spoiler cable to the car, and before fitting everything back I tried the button and the motor ran!
Saved somewhere between £1700 to £5000 depending on who you ask. I actually found someone selling a clean motor on eBay. so I bought that as a backup for £150.
All much more simple than you'd expect, never done it before, was all done in an hour and a half. Speed along by not stopping to take photos, sorry.
Now, I wish that was the end of the story...but no.
The spoiler retracted and now it's right back where it started, won't extend at 60mph, button won't move it, though I do now know the motor is working and I can hear it start and stop. I wonder if it now needs calibration or reset via the OBD2.
One thing I must say, this car is built really well, all the parts that are meant to come apart do so without breaking or loosening, and more importantly, go back together well too.
hopefully this helps someone with a similar issue before needing to shell out exorbitant repair costs.
I've just bought a 2014 970 S E hybrid. Had the spoiler error at 60mph. Water ingress due to PO not maintaining car properly, blocked tail gate drainage holes.
No motor response to the manual switch or holding it down 10+secs, would get flashing light but no noise. Spoiler stuck in the retracted position.
It was easy to sort and didn't cost a penny. Quick rundown here to help any further readers:
I removed the interior trim around the rear windshield, start at the top central piece levered off with trim removal tool, then the 2 side pieces by hand, On the remaining piece, unscrew 2 T40 torx, open the two tiny covers in the corners and remove 2 more torx, pull the 2 rubber shut bumpers off (harder than you think, use lever with protection behind), continue to remove the panel, disconnect lighting cables. Disconnect spoiler cable going through rubber sleeve in the centre, unclip that cable from the gate using levers. Undo 6? 10mm bolts and 2 nyloc nuts. Carefully rotate the whole unit out.
The central box at the bottom of the unit houses the electric motor. Unclip the box, disconnect the cable. the motor has flex drive cables at each end, these just pull out of the ends of the motor. I removed the dripping wet rusted motor, used a pair of good pliers to open the crimped top, prised it apart with a screwdriver, eased up the plastic insert, pulled the spindle out and cleaned the living daylights out of it all with contact cleaner. Whilst I had the spindle out of the motor I put back between the 2 flex drives and rotated it by hand to open up the spoiler a bit to make access easier when reassembling. (might be able to use.the 2 white plastic screw heads near the spoiler hinges to do this but I don't trust 8 year old plastic screws)
I reassembled everything, connected the spoiler cable to the car, and before fitting everything back I tried the button and the motor ran!
Saved somewhere between £1700 to £5000 depending on who you ask. I actually found someone selling a clean motor on eBay. so I bought that as a backup for £150.
All much more simple than you'd expect, never done it before, was all done in an hour and a half. Speed along by not stopping to take photos, sorry.
Now, I wish that was the end of the story...but no.
The spoiler retracted and now it's right back where it started, won't extend at 60mph, button won't move it, though I do now know the motor is working and I can hear it start and stop. I wonder if it now needs calibration or reset via the OBD2.
One thing I must say, this car is built really well, all the parts that are meant to come apart do so without breaking or loosening, and more importantly, go back together well too.
hopefully this helps someone with a similar issue before needing to shell out exorbitant repair costs.
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Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 7
From: Callaway, MD
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Thanks for re-igniting this thread! My 2014 PTTS spoiler had been intermittently asserting the spoiler failure but I could manually raise and lower with the switch. It recently stuck the the up position but it’s really stuck now! The drains are clear but I’ve read multiple scenarios where the motor is susceptible to corrosion which I’m not sure why Porsche didn’t install it sealed to prevent water intrusion!
Spoiler Alert
I've just bought a 2014 970 S E hybrid. Had the spoiler error at 60mph. Water ingress due to PO not maintaining car properly, blocked tail gate drainage holes.
No motor response to the manual switch or holding it down 10+secs, would get flashing light but no noise. Spoiler stuck in the retracted position.
It was easy to sort and didn't cost a penny. Quick rundown here to help any further readers:
I removed the interior trim around the rear windshield, start at the top central piece levered off with trim removal tool, then the 2 side pieces by hand, On the remaining piece, unscrew 2 T40 torx, open the two tiny covers in the corners and remove 2 more torx, pull the 2 rubber shut bumpers off (harder than you think, use lever with protection behind), continue to remove the panel, disconnect lighting cables. Disconnect spoiler cable going through rubber sleeve in the centre, unclip that cable from the gate using levers. Undo 6? 10mm bolts and 2 nyloc nuts. Carefully rotate the whole unit out.
The central box at the bottom of the unit houses the electric motor. Unclip the box, disconnect the cable. the motor has flex drive cables at each end, these just pull out of the ends of the motor. I removed the dripping wet rusted motor, used a pair of good pliers to open the crimped top, prised it apart with a screwdriver, eased up the plastic insert, pulled the spindle out and cleaned the living daylights out of it all with contact cleaner. Whilst I had the spindle out of the motor I put back between the 2 flex drives and rotated it by hand to open up the spoiler a bit to make access easier when reassembling. (might be able to use.the 2 white plastic screw heads near the spoiler hinges to do this but I don't trust 8 year old plastic screws)
I reassembled everything, connected the spoiler cable to the car, and before fitting everything back I tried the button and the motor ran!
Saved somewhere between £1700 to £5000 depending on who you ask. I actually found someone selling a clean motor on eBay. so I bought that as a backup for £150.
All much more simple than you'd expect, never done it before, was all done in an hour and a half. Speed along by not stopping to take photos, sorry.
Now, I wish that was the end of the story...but no.
The spoiler retracted and now it's right back where it started, won't extend at 60mph, button won't move it, though I do now know the motor is working and I can hear it start and stop. I wonder if it now needs calibration or reset via the OBD2.
One thing I must say, this car is built really well, all the parts that are meant to come apart do so without breaking or loosening, and more importantly, go back together well too.
hopefully this helps someone with a similar issue before needing to shell out exorbitant repair costs.
I've just bought a 2014 970 S E hybrid. Had the spoiler error at 60mph. Water ingress due to PO not maintaining car properly, blocked tail gate drainage holes.
No motor response to the manual switch or holding it down 10+secs, would get flashing light but no noise. Spoiler stuck in the retracted position.
It was easy to sort and didn't cost a penny. Quick rundown here to help any further readers:
I removed the interior trim around the rear windshield, start at the top central piece levered off with trim removal tool, then the 2 side pieces by hand, On the remaining piece, unscrew 2 T40 torx, open the two tiny covers in the corners and remove 2 more torx, pull the 2 rubber shut bumpers off (harder than you think, use lever with protection behind), continue to remove the panel, disconnect lighting cables. Disconnect spoiler cable going through rubber sleeve in the centre, unclip that cable from the gate using levers. Undo 6? 10mm bolts and 2 nyloc nuts. Carefully rotate the whole unit out.
The central box at the bottom of the unit houses the electric motor. Unclip the box, disconnect the cable. the motor has flex drive cables at each end, these just pull out of the ends of the motor. I removed the dripping wet rusted motor, used a pair of good pliers to open the crimped top, prised it apart with a screwdriver, eased up the plastic insert, pulled the spindle out and cleaned the living daylights out of it all with contact cleaner. Whilst I had the spindle out of the motor I put back between the 2 flex drives and rotated it by hand to open up the spoiler a bit to make access easier when reassembling. (might be able to use.the 2 white plastic screw heads near the spoiler hinges to do this but I don't trust 8 year old plastic screws)
I reassembled everything, connected the spoiler cable to the car, and before fitting everything back I tried the button and the motor ran!
Saved somewhere between £1700 to £5000 depending on who you ask. I actually found someone selling a clean motor on eBay. so I bought that as a backup for £150.
All much more simple than you'd expect, never done it before, was all done in an hour and a half. Speed along by not stopping to take photos, sorry.
Now, I wish that was the end of the story...but no.
The spoiler retracted and now it's right back where it started, won't extend at 60mph, button won't move it, though I do now know the motor is working and I can hear it start and stop. I wonder if it now needs calibration or reset via the OBD2.
One thing I must say, this car is built really well, all the parts that are meant to come apart do so without breaking or loosening, and more importantly, go back together well too.
hopefully this helps someone with a similar issue before needing to shell out exorbitant repair costs.
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Joined: Dec 2022
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It is sealed, just obviously not well enough. Forgiven in my case as it was probably completely submerged.
My spoiler, after I did that work, wouldn't move. So I ended up using the new motor I bought, guess what, it ran, but still wouldn't work off the switch and I still got the error. But then after a couple of days, I went to take it in for an MOT at a Porsche specialist. As I started, the spoiler retracted. I don't know if clearing the codes using my OBD worked or if the system just reset itself? I bet the old one I cleaned up would have worked too in the end.
Besides connection/control from the switch to the connector in the tailgate, the only parts of this that look like possible failures are 1) the motor, 2) the scissor mechanism joints, and 3) the worm gear actuators. All of those were covered in crud on mine. There are removable covers on them all but the ones on the worm gears are incredibly hard to take off without breaking the tabs, so I left them alone and shot the mechanisms with lithium spray grease, I did the same on the joints of the scissor system. The motor, most likely your issue, I actually think the old one would have worked after a while, like the new one did.
you can either try stripping it and sorting it with contact cleaner like I did, you need strong hands, decent pliers and a gentle touch not to make a hash of it. Or, the guy I got mine from seems to have another:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285105932...39HEFdYvAAAAAA
So, if you're not covered by warranty and you don't like the sound of a few grand to replace the whole system because fo £20 quids worth of electronic equipment failure.. have a go. let me know if you want any help. It was a bit of a pig to get out. It helps a great deal if the spoiler is stuck extended rather than retracted..
My spoiler, after I did that work, wouldn't move. So I ended up using the new motor I bought, guess what, it ran, but still wouldn't work off the switch and I still got the error. But then after a couple of days, I went to take it in for an MOT at a Porsche specialist. As I started, the spoiler retracted. I don't know if clearing the codes using my OBD worked or if the system just reset itself? I bet the old one I cleaned up would have worked too in the end.
Besides connection/control from the switch to the connector in the tailgate, the only parts of this that look like possible failures are 1) the motor, 2) the scissor mechanism joints, and 3) the worm gear actuators. All of those were covered in crud on mine. There are removable covers on them all but the ones on the worm gears are incredibly hard to take off without breaking the tabs, so I left them alone and shot the mechanisms with lithium spray grease, I did the same on the joints of the scissor system. The motor, most likely your issue, I actually think the old one would have worked after a while, like the new one did.
you can either try stripping it and sorting it with contact cleaner like I did, you need strong hands, decent pliers and a gentle touch not to make a hash of it. Or, the guy I got mine from seems to have another:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285105932...39HEFdYvAAAAAA
So, if you're not covered by warranty and you don't like the sound of a few grand to replace the whole system because fo £20 quids worth of electronic equipment failure.. have a go. let me know if you want any help. It was a bit of a pig to get out. It helps a great deal if the spoiler is stuck extended rather than retracted..
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Joined: Mar 2023
Posts: 1
From: Liverpool
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Bosch motor
Great thread joelondon I’ve been searching for parts and found this
https://cars245.co.uk/item/bosch-0390204035-control-blending-flap/
is it similar to the one you stripped?
thanks M21
https://cars245.co.uk/item/bosch-0390204035-control-blending-flap/
is it similar to the one you stripped?
thanks M21
Last edited by Johnny Hotspur GT; Mar 10, 2023 at 11:41 AM.