Unfortunately then , Porsche owners need to consider a full warranty or take a risk on the engine failing and a 10 k repair bill , possibly offset by some Porsche GB goodwill. Working as an engineer in industry i'm perfectly aware that bearing failure is random , but more prevalent in early life and again at end of service life. Random failures (at 30k )ocurring in significant numbers , and i would suggest that 200,000 units is small beer compared to the number of 1.8t VW units produced that do not have this issue , implies there is something incorrect in design or manufacture of the bearing.
My suspicion is the bearing is either incorrectly sized for its loading , or there has been some defect in the material or manufacturing process. As to the intermediate shaft , again this could be due to multiple reasons , but the symptoms of failure tend to suggest a weakness in the part at a certain point. Again , this could be due to sub standard materials in the casting process, or poor machining and assembly.
With such uncertainty and significant cost if the item fails , this problem should be recognised by porsche and some official statement made. With each failure reported , the confidence in the brand is knocked. Only by admitting to the issue and identifying how it has been remedied will the bad press go away and potential loss of sales avoided. Porsche have little to gain over curbing losses on used car sales , but if the brand starts to get a reputation for unreliability it will take years to lose.
Competitiors are now offering a viable alternative to the 911 , porsche need to be absolutely sure , brand confidence is strong. Issues with unconfirmed engine releiability are not going to enhance sales.
I'm not trying to scaremonger , just identify that there appears to be something amiss with this model engine resulting in abnormal numbers of these units failing prematurely. As a porsche customer , I would like some assurances that I do not need to budget for a 900 pound warranty each year , and possibility of being stranded as a result of ownership. Not all cars fail at 30k , why is this not publicised and put those with cars that have nothing to worry about at rest. I suspect only when the cost of putting the cars right (a recall or agreement to repair) is outweighed by losses in brand confidence will Porsche release the true figures and reasons for failure. In the meantime sweep it under the carpet , and pretend there are not really 200,000 + porsche customers going to give the brand bad press for an unexpected and premature engine failure on a car just out of an already short warranty.
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