981 3.4s oil change interval ???

[BoxsterLL11]

Does anyone have the definitive answer as to what the oil change intervals should be?
Had my Boxster serviced by a local indy for two years and each time they reset the oil service it pops up 12 months later even when the first time they did it they thought they has changed it to 24 months in the software so as to coincide with the intermediate/major services.

From November last year I started to service the car myself and I reset everything when finished.
But of course the oil service warning has just popped up again.
Now since last November I have done less than 1500 miles.
But the engineer in me (was a mechanical engineer for 40 years) tells myself to change it 12 monthly regardless.
What is the official oil change interval?
What do other DiY owners do with the oil changes?

Went and bought 2 x 5 litres of Mobil 1 3000 X1 5w-40 yesterday when I realised I still have about 7.5 litres of the same oil from what I had bought just over a year ago.

 

[Motorhead]

Keith,

If you check in your service booklet I think you’ll find that the official oil change interval is 2-years/20,000 miles, with Mobil 1 0W-40 being the recommended oil. You are of course at liberty to change the oil more often but based upon the quality of the current synthetic oils and modern filtration systems and manufacturing methods Porsche will have established by thorough development testing that their recommendation is more than adequate for prolonged engine life for general motoring purposes.

Jeff (Retired Mechanical Engineer [])

 

[BoxsterLL11]

From one retired mechanical engineer to another, thanks Jeff for your input.

I have searched through the forum threads and the topic of 12 monthly oil service warning lights come up quite frequently.

So why does service documentation say 2 years when the software keeps bringing it up at 12 months?

Quite accept the proviso that today's oils are a much higher quality and engine production tolerances too have improved no end.

But call me old fashioned, .........

Having done less than 1500 miles in the last 12 months then I really think my Mobil 1 in the engine will be fine probably till November 2022.

But old habits die hard.

 

[Motorhead]

I think that the reminder interval has been set incorrectly at some time Keith, probably in error by a technician at a previous service. I’m sure that if you had the right diagnostics (Porsche’s own very comprehensive system is called PIWIS) it can be changed to 2-years.

A Porsche dealer will be able to change it for you but they’ll charge the earth (£150+ per hour labour is now typical) but if you have a local Porsche Independent they may be more accommodating. DIY scanning tools are available but I don’t know if they would do the job since they have limited functionality. Someone like iCarsoft may be able to help. They offer a Porsche-specific scanner.

Jeff

 

[AndrewCS]

Keith ... you have answered your own question

Given your background it must surely grate that you do not cover more miles ...

 

[BoxsterLL11]

My Porsche indy did service the car for 2 years and thought they had changed the oil service lamp interval to 2 years but whatever it was they did, didn't work.

I bought a Boxster specific ICarsoft "magic box" last year to do a diagnostic check and lamp resets but I think oil service interval changes are not within their capability.

 

[malarcy]

Once it's been "set" - can you display "how long to my next service" ( you can on the 987.2 - I assume you can on the 981 ) - that will give you miles and days - miles is variable ( it counts the cold starts and short runs amongst other things) - but days is a timer..... not much use now if it's just asked of course.....

The "how many days" varies by country - some hotter climates have shorter intervals - not sure of the specifics on the 981 - but on the 987.2 there are 2 settings in the instrument cluster - one is "it was serviced " and the other is " ask for a service every.....". The 981 appears to be more complex.

The "has been serviced" bit now knows Main, Intermediate and Oil Services - see this link https://uk.autologic.com/news/how-to-reset-the-maintenance-interval-message-on-porsche-models) for an example.....

It's possible that some finger trouble has happened in the past and the wrong setting has been "done" and the car has been told to expect an oil change every 12 months - you need a PIWIS scanner to have a proper look at the config thats in there.... I found this tech bulletin that shows "howto" with a PIWIS.

http://australiancar.reviews/_pdfs/Porsche_Boxster-Cayman-911_981-991_WE02_201404.pdf

You need an indy or an OPC to have a look at the "intervals" and "country codes" that have been set

And I reckon where others have had a similar problem and have reported that "the OPC had to reload all the software" that in reality - the above is what they have actually done.

 

[Boxstercol]

Oil change is cheap enough & in my view sensible preventative maintenance annually.

Regardless how good modern oil is, there will still be moisture content in it, especially if left for 2 years. There are some threads on 911uk with oil analysis & it’s quite clear how the oil degrades.

I always ensure that an oil & filter change is carried out in between services, regardless of mileage.