PORSCHE PRESS RELEASE

[Grant]

Hi Guy's just for info. here's an official press release "hot off the press!!!

Porsche Boxster is "defect defiant"

Stuttgart. The Porsche Boxster is the winner of 2005's respected car report conducted
by the German Technical Inspections Association (TÃœV). With a defect rating of 2.6
per cent, the mid-engine sports car displays the fewest significant defects in one of
the TÃœV's main inspections. For this reason, the Association's engineers have named
the Porsche Boxster as "defect defiant" and thereby as the best car in the group of
two to three year old vehicles. Positions two and three of this category went to the
Mazda Demio (defect rating of 2.8 per cent) and the Audi A4 (defect rating of 3.2 per
cent). For the second year running, the Porsche 911 won first place in the group of
eight to nine year old as well as ten and eleven year old automobiles.

 

[Guest]

Aye - great if you have a 2-3 year old Boxster. They don't tell you that once they get to 4 years old, the rear plastic window splits, the electric window stops working and the steering falls apart, all within weeks of having an £800 service done! Well at least that's what's happened to me in the last month.

Just bad luck perhaps... or maybe sabotage from one of my jealous neighbours!

 

[JCB..]

They don't tell you that once they get to 4 years old, the rear plastic window splits, the electric window stops working and the steering falls apart, all within weeks of having an £800 service done!

4 Years 9 months with 73,000 miles and.....

on both seats the leather became detached from the rear of the seat - fixed by PC FOC.


Defect Defiant

JCB..

 

[Guest]

I wonder who did the research[]

 

[Buzz]

Hi all,

As a newby,this is the first page I've read so hope Porsche are right......my new Boxster S is coming on Fri!!

Cheers,

Buzz

 

[kitchens]

Welcome

Buzz it will hopefully be.. ..light years away before you have a problem....enjoy you car .

Brian

 

[Need4Speed]

Well this is a surprise considering the RMS issue has affected so many 986 & 996 owners!

I think Porsche's attitude towards the RMS issue is an absolute disgrace. They could learn a lot of lessons in proper customer service and goodwill from BMW, who had their own engine nightmare with the Nikasil issue during the 90's: http://www.lestac.co.uk/bmw/nikasil.htm#what_is

The RMS issue is probably wider spread than we imagine as the majority of affected owners are oblivious to the issue. ie Typical owner takes his/her car for a service, OPC later contacts him/her to advise they need to "replace an engine seal" under warranty. Typical owner is like yeah great"¦end of story. So unless the RMS issue gets wider media coverage, this issue will remain unknown to your typical 996/986 owner.

My RMS was replaced during the 24K service @ 20,500 miles November 2003, a few weeks short of the cars 2nd birthday. A few weeks earlier I had noticed a tiny drip of oil on the garage floor and mentioned this when booking the car in for the service. My local OPC contacted me and advised that a main seal had weeped and would be replaced under warranty. I questioned this and was advised this was a rare problem as only a few cars had been found to have been fitted with faulty seals, which would be replaced with a new design type seal. At the time I was unaware of the RMS issue but only found out about it the following year while browsing the web.

12 months later"¦I was advised by my local OPC when collecting my car from it's 36K mile service that the RMS is leaking and needs to be replaced for a second time. So 12 months and only 4K miles later, the RMS is apparently leaking again even though I've been keeping a close eye on it and there hasn't been a singe oil drip on the garage floor.

Anyway, I missed the opportunity to extend my original 2 year warranty and despite chasing Porsche-Ah to renew it, I sort of gave up and then overlooked it due to a busy period in my life. Consequently this resulted in the renewal then being subject to an OPC pre warranty inspection test. I then decided against going for the warranty renewal and blowing £850+ on the basis if it breaks I'll pay to fix it. Effectively this gamble/oversight had paid off save for the minor RMS leak!

To end on a happy note"¦Porsche Cars GB have pledged 75% towards the RMS replacement labour costs. Not too bad considering I purchased my C16 car on the Tourist Delivery Programme.

 

[MARK H.]

ME AGAIN...EXCUSS MY MECHANICAL IGNORANCE..BUT WHAT'S RMS MEAN?....I SPENT £50K LAST MAY BUYING A TOP SPEC'D OUT BOXSTER S WHEN I CAME INTO SOME MONEY. I BOUGHT A PORSCHE BECAUSE I WAS LED TO BELIEVE IT WOULD LAST ME 20 YEARS PLUS...READING THEIR BLURB ABOUT "MORE THAN 2/3'S OF THE CARS WE'VE EVER PRODUCED ARE STILL ON THE ROAD TODAY" AND THEIR PROVEN RELIABILITY ECT.
I AM NOT WEALTHY BUT AM AN AVID CAR LOVER AND MY CAR IS NURTURED TO THE POINT WHERE MY GIRLFRIEND HAS GROUNDS TO GET JEALOUS.
I CAN ASSURE YOU,I WILL NOT BE VERY IMPRESSED IF I HAVE RMS PROBLEMS..WHAT-EVER THAT IS!
I HAVE HAD MANY OTHER NICE CARS IN THE PAST...WITHOUT ANY "HORROR STORIES"
IF THIS TURNS OUT TO BE THE FIRST ONE..I WILL NEVER BUY PORSCHE AGAIN!
BUT THEN AGAIN,I WAS LED TO BELIEVE I WOULD BE ABLE TO OWN THE CAR UNTIL IT WAS A CLASSIC.
THE CAR IS 9 MONTHS OLD WITH 3,000 DRY MILES ON THE CLOCK,AS IT'S MY "SECOND CAR" - NO PROBLEMS YET...BUT NOW I'M WORRIED...HEARING ABOUT RMS PROBLEMS!![:-]......BEGINNING TO THINK I SHOULD HAVE SAVED THE MONEY INSTEAD!!!

 

[Michael Downing]

Now now.

I'd be as upset as the rest of you if my expensive car had a serious problem. And for those who do have a problem, they can be serious.

BUT ... this research is by TUV, who are fiercely independent and known to be rigorous. It is therefore to be respected. It tells us that our cars are indeed reliable.

That does not in any way mean that when things go wrong, the problem is trivial. Nor does it mean that I am unsympathetic. But it does mean that it is rare.

 

[MARK H.]

THANKS FOR THE REPLY...BUT I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT RMS STANDS FOR!
FROM ALL THE TALK OF RMS..SURELY A PROBLEM HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED THAT PORSCHE SHOULD PUT RIGHT?
SOUNDS LIKE SOME SORT OF DESIGN OR COMPONENT FAULT TO ME AND IF SO,SURELY PORSCHE SHOULD PUT IT RIGHT WITHOUT ANY COST TO THE CUSTOMER?
IF THIS IS A KNOWN FAULT THEN WHY DON'T THEY PUT IT RIGHT?
IF IT'S A FAULT THAT HAPPENS AS A RESULT OF HOW THE CAR IS DRIVEN,HOW DO I AVOID IT HAPPENING TO ME?[&o]

 

[Michael Downing]

RMS=Rear Main Seal.

It seems that it is prone to leakage, allowing oil to reach parts it shouldn't.

My guess is that cars with repeat RMS failures have something else wrong with them that is causing the RMS failure. Whether that is prompted by the loss of oil following the first RMS leak is an open question.

In essence, keep an eye on oil levels and watch the garage floor.

 

[MARK H.]

THANKS AGAIN.....I WILL KEEP AN EYE ON MY GARAGE FLOOR!!![]

 

[NicD]

Mark,

the series of threads on RMS are the longest on the Forum, just do a search.

Opinion is, there is northing you can do as a driver or owner to cause or not an RMS failure

I am happy to talk with you - my phone number and email is in the P Post magazine.