Have I Been Robbed?
 

Hello Everyone,
I took my '98 Boxster in because the driver's side flooded, and the mechanic (a Porsche dealer) said some things that I know are wrong and put some questionable parts in my vehicle.
They said the driver's side door and the fuel door locking mechanisms, which had always worked in the past, suddenly does not lock because of wear and tear. I was there when they burned out, there was a loud shriek from the hood servo and the fuel door which obviously caused the damage.
They replaced the Alarm ECU on my 986 with 996-618-260-07.
Other owners of the 986 mention replacing the part with this number 986-618-260-00.
And they did not include an alarm remote.
Is this the right part, and shouldn't I get the remote with the new ECU?
Thanks,
Jonathan

Did you take it to an independent or a porsche dealership?

Here is my 2 cents... Don't assume you got screwed, some of which might just be miscommunication. If I were you, I would start by calling the parts department (not service) and just generically (as a John Doe customer) ask about the ECU (for some reason I am thinking the parts you mentioned are just a "superseded" part). I believe keys can be recoded, but as far as giving you a new key free, I don't see that happening (they are relatively expensive), but they should have presents the option of purchase.

Regarding what you said about "questionable parts and things that are wrong", if you elaborate more, you might be able to get some additional feedback from this forum.

Finally, regarding servos, 18 years does produce wear...are you saying that they actually caused the damage? If the driver side "flooded", what was source? Is it possible there was water in door that caused lock problem?

Best of luck, and I feel your pain man...just remember s*** happens, and some poops cost more than others. :)

JonnyReverb

The PET says that the one ending in 00 is for 97 only (so, you don't want that one).

Depending on which option code your car has (M531 or M535) your car could use the following:

For M531

986 618 262 01
or
986 618 260 03

For M535

986 618 260 07

If it were me, I would replace it with exactly the same part as the original, or if not available, probably the one ending in 07.

The option code for your car can be found on a paper label attached to the frunk lid.

Hope this helps!

Bill (aka Bird Dog)

More...

If they installed a new Alarm ECU, chances are that it will have to be programmed with the code from your key fob. Unless you have the original paper tag that came with the key fob when it was new, I think you are going to have to buy a new one and have the code from the new one programmed into the ECU. Between the price of a new key fob and programming, expect to pay about $200. Also, don't throw away your old key fob! Hang onto it for the outer casing or offer the casing for sale here to help someone out that needs one.

Also, it's possible that when the Alarm ECU died it shorted out putting power to the drivers door lock solenoid and the gas door solenoid burning them out. Those could be casualties of the Alarm ECU failure...

Just guessing here...