Shortlived Boxster engines survey

[derf]

Originally Posted by blue2000s

I think what I'd take away from your conversation is that dealers want to sell new cars and will take every opportunity they can to try to get you to dump the old one. Also, never take advice from the dealer, their motivation probably doesn't align with yours.

When thinking of the thousands of dollars the dealership made from my warranty repairs, (some of which the car did not need). Now that the intermediate shaft went, the dealership tells me -- junk the car.

I've never lost an engine or the depreciation on any of my cars as I have on the 2003 Porsche Boxster witn tiptronic.

Unforgivable

Cars I’ve owned

1959 Jaguar XK 150 Drop Head Coup
1964 Jaguare XKE
Triumph TR3, TR4, Spitfire
Porsche 928
1988 BMW M5, 1997 BMW M3, 1980 BMW 323, 1991 BMW 325i,
1996 Toyota Tacoma
2009 VW TDI

And many more.

[J Tinsby]

Originally Posted by derf

When thinking of the thousands of dollars the dealership made from my warranty repairs, (some of which the car did not need). Now that the intermediate shaft went, the dealership tells me -- junk the car.

It's easy to see why you are upset, any right thinking person would feel the same way. I totally agree that you have every right to expect something exceptional from Porsche not substandard in it's design. It doesn't matter the frequency of the failures in the entire world, you are the the latest one to experience it and yours is the only opinion that matters.

There was a time when I bemoaned selling my 2004 550 Boxster Spyder Anniversary Edition, until I was made aware of the IMS trouble. Now I'm glad it's gone, someone got a beautiful car but they also got the IMS with it.

Between the "D" Chunk cylinder problem and the IMS it makes me wonder how Boxsters are so prevalent.

I have never experienced a catastrophic engine failure on any of the 40 cars I have previously owned. Granted they weren't all Porsches but still and all never a failure in even the most lowly of them, right up to the most expensive.

Just goes to show you don't always "get what you paid for."

I wish you well and maybe you can find a cheap solution to get out of the pit of despair you find yourself in currently.

Whoever at Porsche thought that sealing grease in a bearing and then immersing it in hot engine oil and expecting the grease to stay IN needs to seek help. Too bad no class action suit was ever started when the problem first appeared.

Good luck with it all

[Bobiam]

J. Tinsby said...."Whoever at Porsche thought that sealing grease in a bearing and then immersing it in hot engine oil and expecting the grease to stay IN needs to seek help. Too bad no class action suit was ever started when the problem first appeared."

Does sort of make me loose faith in their vast engineering knowledge and big R&D budget. Think about it.....They put a bearing inside of an engine that could easily deliver continuous lubrication to it, but choose to put seals on it and give it a few drops of grease to last it the car's lifetime. Yeah, ya can do this with a water pump.....but not an intermediate shaft that handles the timing chain!!!!!! The warrantee on this item should have been extended to 100,000 miles. Not all of their customers can afford to throw away a car worth $10,000-30,000. Porsche couldn't even create the fix that aftermarket shops did! But that would require admitting that they designed a time bomb defect into the motor.

[buckstr]

I don't know the cause yet, but my engine died last week after a bit over 25K miles of routine, occasionally sporty driving. The only warning was a loud ticking sound about 2 miles before it shut down entirely. It turned over once or twice after shutting down but never fired. I'm now also facing the "Do I replace the engine?" question. All of the comments on this forum don't give me a warm feeling about buying a remanufactured engine that's worth as much as the car.

[bcuster]

I bought the 02 S with 45,000 miles...perfectly maintained...all records at local Porsche dealer. Last week I hear some slight "ticks" coming from the engine compartment. A few miles later a bit louder...call dealership to schedule coming in the next day...on the way home a little louder and power drops. Stop car and call the tow wagon....every bit of oil put in by dealership the previous week during 10K oil change runs down the tow bed as it heads to the dealership. IMS failure..thank God for the warranty..will let everyone know how this story ends :
:ah:

[Paul]

Originally Posted by buckstr

I don't know the cause yet, but my engine died last week after a bit over 25K miles of routine, occasionally sporty driving. The only warning was a loud ticking sound about 2 miles before it shut down entirely. It turned over once or twice after shutting down but never fired. I'm now also facing the "Do I replace the engine?" question. All of the comments on this forum don't give me a warm feeling about buying a remanufactured engine that's worth as much as the car.

Having gone with this personally and with others, my advice, don't spend another penny on it. Immediately auction it the way it is. Consider it totaled and run away.

Even a used motor will result in costs higher than the value of most Boxsters.

[Rob175]

I wonder what percentage of Boxsters NEVER experience an IMS failure? Even if hundreds have experienced failure that might only be a very small percentage......just curious.

[Bobiam]

Originally Posted by Rob175

I wonder what percentage of Boxsters NEVER experience an IMS failure? Even if hundreds have experienced failure that might only be a very small percentage......just curious.

I attended a half day program on this subject by a very experienced Porsche aftermarket mechanic in CT last year. Double row bearings some engines (see class action suit to determine which you are) will likely give you a minute or so notice as the first half of the bearing falls apart and makes a racket with the second half keeping the alignment of the shaft in tact. Single row bearings will fail almost instantly, so when you hear it, it could already be too late to save it.

All of these sealed bearings will fail eventually!!! It's a matter of when. And the "when" is a mystery, but over 50,000+ miles makes it more likely. He also said that this is the only application of a sealed bearing inside an engine that he has EVER encountered on any engine anywhere. Thanks, Porsche engineers!!!

[BugsFerBrains]

The '04 Boxster Spyder I just purchased came thru the PPI with flying colors, boosted by the fact that a new engine was installed by a Porsche dealership in June 2012. The reason for the new engine was a catastrophic IMS Bearing issue at 36,085 miles.
I recently read that all engine replacements after 2006 had the IMS issue addressed and therefore should be a non-issue going forward.
I've been able to acquire the service records of this work and it reads 'replaced with a remanufactured.'
But, in the back of my mind, this issue is still wearing on me a tad.
What do you guys think?
Any and all input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.