991.1 PADM fault

[douglas.elder]

Hi,

I'm super excited to have finally joined the world of Porsche but after only 2 days of getting my 991 Carrera, the dreaded PADM fault came on. The car has now been with Porsche Perth for nearly 5 weeks with no sign of the part arriving. They have been pretty poor at communicating but seems the issue lies with the manufacturer which is ringing alarm bells for future ownership if parts aren't readily available for a car that is only 10 years old. Has anyone else had similar issues? Is this a sign of things to come?

Thanks,

Doug

 

[stephen.robins]

Hi Doug,
I recently had a PADM fault on my 981 Boxster S. I contacted my local OPC (Porsche Newcastle) last Monday, the car went in last Wednesday and they diagnosed that both mounts were faulty including one that had already been replaced in 2022. The replacement parts were ordered and fitted yesterday. The total bill was about £3,000 but all covered under the Porsche warranty. Whilst I'm not certain, there is a good chance that the mounts are the same on your 991.1 as I know that many components are the same between the 981 and 991.
I'm not sure why there is a 5 week wait and I would also point out that you can still drive the car with the fault as the mounts default to their softest setting.
Hope that helps.
Steve

 

[Contraband]

It’s a common shared part throughout the range I believe.
I was told it reverts to the stiff setting, not soft as mentioned above.
Anyway, the car is still perfectly safe to drive so I’m not sure why it’s been left at the dealers for 5 weeks.
My car was fixed at Perth. They diagnosed the fault, sent me away, ordered the part, called me back in when it arrived.
PADM faults… it’s not if, it’s when!!

 

[douglas.elder]

Thanks Steve. They declared the car off road to try and speed things along with Porsche but that hasn't helped at all. They are saying there is a specific component needed on back order with no estimated date given, which might be the difference, but I've decided to take the car back anyway as I'm really missing it!

 

[Motorhead]

Hi Douglas,

PADM failure isn’t unique to 911s; it’s common on Caymans and Boxsters too, although the spec most likely is slightly different owing to them being mounted on the engine in 911s and the transmission on the mid-engine cars. Some time ago I believe that Porsche were looking at revisions - and an alternative supplier! - and supply was limited, and unfortunately this appears still to be an issue in your case.

PADM mounts contain magnetorheological fluid, and although I can’t say for certain, I would have thought that PADM failure would result in the mounts remaining in “soft” [unactivated] mode. Whatever the case, it would seem that it’s perfectly safe to drive the car with the fault.

Jeff

 

[Chappelle]

Quick Google and I've read of a Chinese chap re-engineering and selling the sensors that fail for something like £100

 

[douglas.elder]

Thanks for the responses. Great to see such an active community.

I went up to speak to them today and apparently 2 days before I brought the car in, they had them in stock. It sounds like it's the 991 specific component that needs to be manufactured, the part itself seems to still be available. I would have brought the car home but they hadn't got the message about doing my brakes so looks like I'll be driving again tomorrow! Who knows when I'll get it fixed but sure my excitement will hide my lack of dynamic mounts.