Porsche 911 Turbo owners have reported 11 equipment related problems since 1996. Table 1 shows the 1 most common equipment problems. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's equipment (11 problems). For details of each of the problem category, use the links in the table.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Equipment problems |
I was driving on interstate 15 northbound when I felt the rear end of my car slip. I was traveling at approximately 70 mpg in 5th gear on a 68 degree evening. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw smoke / steam coming out of the engine compartment. I pulled over as soon as I could, which was approximately 1 minute later. This is exactly what happened in NHTSA action pe13009.
I was driving my car on city streets when a warning message appeared on my dashboard indicating that I should check my engine coolant level. I drove on for a short time (a few minutes) and then parked briefly, shutting off the engine (again for a few minutes) to consider the situation and to call the service department of my dealership (which was closed since it was late in the day). As I was close to home, I decided to drive the car there. About five minutes later, the warning message changed to an indication that the engine temperature was too high. I immediately pulled over and arranged to tow the car to the dealership. There the problem was diagnosed as a failure of a coolant pipe that led to coolant loss, which requires an estimated $7,500 in repair work. I have since learned that this is a recognized problem with the model, make, and year of my car. An NHTSA report has been filed about this, with an action number of pe13009 (opened on April 26, 2013). While I was not driving at high speed and there was no crash, fire, injury, or fatality associated with this event, this issue poses significant safety risks given how quickly thte vehicle's engine temperature exceeded safe operating limits. Under higher velocity conditions the situation could have posed significant risks to my and others' safety. I have brought this to your attention given that it is a recognized and ongoing issue with this make, model, and year car and that it appears to be caused by a fundamental design flaw.
I noticed a small pool of coolant underneath the engine compartment. Upon further research I believe the car is suffering from a common problem of the cooling fixtures that are glued onto the motor rather than welded. Amazing that a car this expensive would have such a poorly thought out problem like this. I will take the car to the dealer for estimates but I understand that an engine removal is required and all coolant fixtures need to be welded. This is a rather expensive repair for what appears to be a very flawed design. I have driven the car only a few times since the first incident and notice a pool of coolant every time the car is parked. I will not drive the car until fixed as I understand the coolant leak can be a hazard to be me while driving as well as the cars behind me if I suffer a catastrophic coolant loss.
While driving on the highway a catastrophic failure occurred in the coolant system. One of the aluminum hose fittings that is epoxied into the aluminum housing broke free causing engine coolant to empty out of the engine onto the highway in a matter of seconds. The rubber hose did not fail and it was still connected to aluminum hose fitting that broke away from the housing. I pulled the car off the freeway immediately to prevent further damage to the car. Further inspection at the dealer service center showed there was very little to no coolant left in the entire system.
After a routine drive after an oil change service a large amount of coolant spilled out from underneath the rear of the vehicle. Under closer examination of the vehicle found loose/broken coolant fittings from behind the alternator and somewhere in the back of the engine bay. Engine will have to be removed to pinpoint the source of addtional leaks.
Factory connection at coolant pipes had come apart due to poor manufacturing process, use of glue. Weeping of coolant at connections. Had shop weld coolant pipes to rectify the imminent issue.
I took my car to the dealer for a routine inspection. They called me to inform me that one of the fittings holding my coolant hoses had come loose and this was causing a leak of coolant into my engine compartment. They told me that it would not be safe to drive the car without replacing the coolant hose fittings since it would spray coolant all over my tires and the road. They said that coolant spilled on the road would make it very slippery and could cause cars following me to crash. The dealer replaced all fittings and hoses on the car.
On 06/09/12 (w/ approx 47k miles) the car began leaking coolant while traveling on the highway. The rate of this leak was slow and would have taken several hours to completely drain the coolant from the vehicle. The car was still under warranty at the time of this issue. On 03/29/13 ( w/ approx 54k miles) my pregnant wife and I were a few miles from entering the highway when the car begin to leak coolant very rapidly. Another motorist flagged me down and alerted me to the issue almost immediately after it happened. I pulled over to find a large puddle of coolant underneath the car. Also, please note that the coolant did appear to get on the passenger side rear tire. I consider myself extremely lucky that this incident occurred just before getting on the highway and not on the highway. Someone could have been seriously injured had this coolant leak occurred a few minutes later. The car was not under warranty at the time of this issue. After experiencing this second coolant failure I began to do research and discovered that many other owners had reported similar problems.
My car suffered a catastrophic loss of coolant at highway speed. I was driving and suddenly a plume of smoke appeared in the rear view mirror. I thought that my engine had blown and I pulled the car off of the road. Turns out that smoke was actually steam! I had the car towed to an independent shop where they diagnosed the problem as the water console fittings having blown out. They explained to me that these fittings were held into the console with an epoxy from the manufacturer, and that the epoxy eventually fails. Fortunately, I was going straight when the coolant escaped or the result might have been much worse. The shop repaired my console by replacing the fittings and aluminum welding them in place so they could not fail again. They had to lower the engine to do this. They also told me that there were a couple of other fittings that were similarly epoxied in place on the top of the engine that should be welded too. They said their experience has been that failures of those upper engine fittings have been less common. I opted to not have those fitting welded at that time as the shop would have had to completely remove the engine at considerable additional expense. They recommended I have them welded if ever the engine was removed from the car.
I was cruising with the family at 65mph and heard my belts squeel and then stop after 2 or 3 seconds. About 20 seconds later a low coolant light came on and my temp light was blinking. Temp was only around 195 to 205, pretty far from the red. I immediatly pulled over and shut it down. There was a lot of coolant leaking, a large trail followed me off the interstate.
Driving on private road and a radiator hose (in front of car) came off causing immediate and rapid purging of coolant on to all 4 tires and me spinning off of the road. Fortunately only into the grass on side of road. Car was flat bedded to mechanic for repairs. Spent several hundred dollars on repairs. Have since spent thousands on additional preventative measures due to mechanics alerting me that the hoses in the rear will let go and cause coolant loss. Had to pay for engine removal and welding of lines for my safety. Costs was well over $3000.