Not impressed so far, Porsche!

[eslai]

I bought my 987S in May. It has about 5300 miles on it.

So far:

1. Stereo was acting weird--it sometimes wouldn't recognize that it had a CD in it when I started the engine. They just replaced the stereo yesterday.

2. Rattle from a loose clip in rear quarter panel. Found and replaced.

3. Rattling windstop--added more felt padding, seems to have fixed it.

4. Not anyone's fault--but I had to replace a tire this week because I got a screw.

And now, the car's popping out of second gear on downshifts almost every single time, or I can let the car coast in second and if there's enough drag from the engine, it'll pop out of gear. It doesn't pop out of gear on upshifts when you're running through the gears.

I don't get it. I don't drive the car any differently than any of my other cars and this happens? I don't know what's up with the tranny. I don't hear any busted teeth on the gears, the best I can say is that it's getting caught up on the million-cone syncros and not actually fully engaging second gear. It doesn't feel any different than it ever had in the past however.

This is seriously killing my happy. Back to the dealership for the fifth time in four months.

Does anyone know if Porsche has a history of this sort of problem?

I can say one thing though--so far Pioneer Porsche's service department has been the best dealership experience I've ever had. I've had plenty of time to get to know them too.

[longislander1]

Sorry to hear about your problems. I only have a squeak in the rear suspension that seems to be diminishing with the miles. There's some slight vibration in the front end, but it seems to happen only on certain pavement, so I'm wondering if it's the tires.

I love the car, but my impression is that it's not as well built as the '95 968 that I sold a couple months ago.

[deliriousga]

Originally Posted by eslai

I bought my 987S in May. It has about 5300 miles on it.

I hate to say it, but you're one of the first model guinea pigs. The 987 was reported to be 80% new from the 986. Every first model car I've ever bought went through the same thing causing me to never buy a first model again. They will fix the problems that show up after the 987 is on the road awhile, but you'll probably be in the dealership more than the 2nd generation and up of the 987 model.

Originally Posted by longislander1

I love the car, but my impression is that it's not as well built as the '95 968 that I sold a couple months ago.

Ditto. The biggest difference I see is the "luxury" is missing. The interior especially is very cheap now where the old models were luxury top to bottom.

[Rail26]

I have about 1500mi on mine and I am now starting to get the windscreen rattle.

It seems like a have a problem with fifth going into fourth. When I downshift it seems like the shifter goes directly into fourth without me putting it there. It just goes a little too easily. I'm not sure if that is the way it is supposed to be or not.

I have the same stereo problem. I thought it might be the cd's I am burning, but if I pull the cd out and put it back in it seems to recognize it.

I am still very happy with the car, but I also expect a little more from such an expensive car.

[Brucelee]

Re: the transmission. It is an all new unit for the 987, sourced from Japan. So, history on the 986 trans will not be useful to you I think.

That said, the trans and clutch on the 986 seemed to be troublefree for the most part.

It was the dreaded RMS that many complain about.

I do agree with the comments on how the interior was redone on the 987, I did not like the direction they took on that. Of course, that is subjective.

The car popping out of second sounds to me like a bad syncro. This usually happens on cars with tons of miles on them, not a new car.

Please keep us posted on what this turns out to be.

Best of luck.

[Perfectlap]

Porsche will always have these issues. They are tiny operation relative to other
sportscar makes like Honda, BMW, etc.
The limited numbers of cars Porsche sells means they'll never have the "hassle free ownership product" that the huge auto makers can produce.

and I think this highlights what a great car the 2004 BoxsterS is.
Most of the gremlins eradicated for a bargain(sort of) price and its only down 22 horses.
I'm sure the 987S will be rock solid car on the reliability/quirk free front in a few years also.and Ditto on the CaymanS.

Look on the bright side...How many people in your life right now(apart from the
P-club and racing) do you know who own a Porsche? Your still the Porsche guy!

I've kept an unofficial tally of compliments since I bought this thing in November of 2004 and I'm passed the 50 mark. All for the price of a fully equiped Accord!

[sawni]

I also have a 05 Boxster-picked it up in June-so far about 4,000 km on it. So
far no complaints-the stereo is a little finicky but otherwise no other issues.
Love the car - great dynamics - taking to the track this weekend - we will see
how is holds up there.

[deliriousga]

Originally Posted by sawni

taking to the track this weekend - we will see
how is holds up there.

Be careful. You may want to ask your dealer about the warranty if you take it to the track. They will void the warranty in many cases if the car is ever tracked so you want to get it in writing if they say they won't void it.

[Brucelee]

First year cars are subject to higher defect rates than those later in the run.

I noticed this in my 03s and 04s versus the first model years.

Faint consolation I know.

[bxstr-lvr]

I own a few limited production cars and this is to be expected. Porsche only sells like 7000 Boxsters in the US, this is a very small sample to draw from. I have had my 2005 Boxster for about 3000 miles now, and its been in the shop once for a few issues.

The cost of a car has nothing to do with the bugs you mention, that is due to the limited number of cars they make. The bottom line is that Porsche is a very reliable limited production car and when there are problems the dealers understand how customer retention effects thier long term profitability and will fix the problems.

I dont consider these to be quality problems, they are to be expected in a first year car.

Scott.

[mrsparkle]

I feel your pain, eslai.

I'm currently waiting for a oil relief valve fix for my 987S and have some other minor problems. My passenger side window is making noise when rolling up and down. Sounds like a 10 year old car window. My bi-xenon headlights make a grinding noise when clicking the key to the right (don't remember what posistion that is) without the motor running. Not sure if that's supposed to happen. And finally, I have a broken "sound" button on my stereo. Its funny because I use that button a lot to change the surround settings.

I have had problems with the cd not playing a couple times but it seems to have fixed itself. I remember that it only happened when it was really hot inside the car. I thought it was the overheat protection feature. I guess I was wrong.

Does anyone know if the dealer in Newport Beach give out loaners? I know Hoehn does.

[longislander1]

Actually, I think the base 987 interior is pretty nice (a lot better than the 986s), except for the standard wheel. The one in my $22K Mazda Tribute feels better. I'm sorry I didn't upgrade to a sport wheel, but then I wonder why I spent $60K and didn't get a better wheel.

Except for the seats, which were the same as a base 993, the 968 interior was actually kind of cheap-looking. Still, that car just had a "beefier" feel to it than the 987, especially the steering and clutch. While the 987 handles beautifully and is very refined, it may be a little too refined and delicate. To my mind, Porsche used to make the cars the way they wanted and if you didn't like it, you could buy something else. Today, they seem a little more mass market. Of course, I'm not out of the break-in period yet, so I wonder whether I'll still feel the same way above 4200 rpm.

[SD987]

The only issues on my 05 base (June purchase, 5000 miles) are:

Wind deflector rattle, it was initially tight but after about 3,000 miles has developed a minor rattle. Not surprising as I've never had a wind/deflector on a convertible (3) not make some sort of noise. Surprisingly I haven't heard the side-mirror whistling that others have complained about.

Right side squealing noise was experienced during breakin, then goes away (seems to be a common phenomenon)

Stereo, i get the 'Stop' message occasionally, just requires disc reinsertion. Burned CDs frequently don't sound as good or skip more than conventional CDs, but this too isn't specific to Porsche.

I did expect the shifter to be a bit better (5 speed). I was having trouble during break-in getting 'locked' out of first, but not anymore, and I stalled out on a 3-N shift once, when it went into fourth instead. One thing I've noted is that the car does not like sloppy pedal/shifter work, so I've had to pay more attention to driving mechanics than in other cars, but this is probably a good thing.

On the plus side, the car seems to drive better after break-in and keeps improving. Performance overall is superior and fuel economy took a dramatic jump for me after 4500 miles from nocticeably poor to acceptable.

I think the interior is nice, clearly just personal preference but I also think that some of the problems we see on on loaded porsches is similar to the issues that have plagued mercedes recently and cars like the new BMW 7 series: The more gizmos and functions you put in a car, the more reliability issues you're going to create.

I also don't think people factor their driving habits into the car reliability equation. For example, I notice a surprising number of stick drivers who don't let the engine wind down and push in the clutch as soon as they start braking or go clutch-move into first instead of move towards first - clutch. These are just a couple examples of the hundres of little things people do different that result in YMMV.

[RandallNeighbour]

SD987:

I am interested in learning more about proper clutch use, upshifting and downshifting to maximize performance and minimize clutch and engine wear. Could you start a new thread and discuss this? I'm all ears (or eyes as it were).

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

SD987:

I am interested in learning more about proper clutch use, upshifting and downshifting to maximize performance and minimize clutch and engine wear. Could you start a new thread and discuss this? I'm all ears (or eyes as it were).

Actually, the rub is that to maximize performance, you are likely going to maximize clutch anhd engine wear.

To wit, racing a car will bring an end to these items faster than if you don't race the car.

And, there MAY be a happy medium.

Lets here from the drivers!

[Biz-z Z]

Bought my 987S 3 weeks ago. 900 miles and nothing other than a slight vibration in the steering wheel at 80 mph over the weekend, but today nothing on the way to work so I’m hoping it was the road!

Eslai- sorry to hear you have troubles and certainly hope things resolve immediately. It looks like the good news is your dealer is treating you like we want ours to treat us. Good luck. Please keep us apprised.

[eslai]

Wow, this thread's hoppin'!

First off, I still love the car and yes, I was prepared for the usual first-year car shenanigans, but transmission failure? Definitely not! Brand new transmission though... we'll see.

Especially since I'm pretty-damned nice to the tranny. I don't engine brake, I rev match all downshifts, I don't slam it into gear, I ease it into gear. I always use the clutch, I don't lug the motor, and I've never "launched" the car.

I have raced cars in the past and I know what it takes to break a transmission.

I agree with you bruce that it's probably a bad syncro. If the problem keeps on recurring hopefully they'll redesign it. I haven't heard any other reports of problems though. Hopefully I got a Friday Car or something...

I'm surprised to hear that so many of us have had problems with the stereo--my dealership had not received any of the kind of complaints that I had. I think that if you want to be nice to future 987 owners, you should all go to your dealership and report the problem! I'll let you all know if my replacement CD player still does this. FYI, I had the problem happen with any kind of CD--brand new, burned copy, old and scratched, perfectly clean--whatever. I saw the STOP message at least once a week but there are no stored fault codes in the stereo when they check it out.

My windstop didn't start rattling until about 4000 miles. The felt additions seem to have stopped the noise.

[eslai]

Oh, and I think the 987 interior is a pretty impressive step up from the past year models, I'm surprised to hear that that's not a universal opinion. There's a little goofiness here and there, but part of what made me not want to buy a 986 was the dated and less-than-expensive looking interior.

[Perfectlap]

I definitely prefer the 996/986 interior. The steering wheel (with silver crest) is great design. Although on some 996/986 models the car could have greatly benefited from nicer materials and colors.
Even a great desing will be ruined by poor interior materials like cheap plastick and fake aluminum/chrome.
The interior of my car was what pushed me over the bump and its probably the first thing people compliment.

[eslai]

Different strokes for different folks I guess.