Got the car up and running, first night impressions and a few issues. What a car!
 

I bought my 2002 Boxster S as a sort of running project. It’s in much better shape than it probably sounds here, but it’s got some issues that I’m working on one at a time. The first, largest issues was finally determined to be the immobilizer. It had various power window/interior light/remote issues. I got the immobilizer out and it had obviously gotten wet at some point in the past. I sent it off to Steve at Qumulus in Colorado, and for a very fair fee, many times lower in cost than some more well known immobilizer repair sources, he essentially rebuilt the immobilizer board. While waiting for all that to transpire, I was essentially dead in the water. I cleaned up the engine, went on a treasure hunt trying to find out what speakers the previous owner had installed, etc.

To this point I had driven the car for a total of about 2 minutes. Last night, I installed the immobilizer board, and like magic EVERYTHING worked! I got to drive the car for a couple of hours last night. Boy, this thing is fun, and had more power than I really expected. The suspension is tight. Other than what I see now through the search function is a very common exhaust rattle (more later), the car doesn’t rattle at all.

There is too much good about the car to list. It’s a great car, and I’m going to enjoy it with my wife for a long time to come. It’s not the fastest car I own (a 600HP E55AMG takes second in the home stable to a Shelby Cobra replica with a 744HP 520” Ford FE), but it’s just tons of fun and great to drive. There are a couple of issues that I need to clear up. If anyone has any input on any of these it would go a long way in deciding what to do to solve them. In no particular order:

- The gas filler door lock makes a loud buzzing/grinding sound when it locks with the doors by remote. It does actually lock, but the sound is pretty loud. I assume the actuator needs to be changed. How is this done? I have a few parts I have to drive by and grab from Woody, this will likely be one of them. Is this a common failure on the Boxsters?

-The seats are just brutal. I have heated power seats, and while the bottom is fine, I think the backs must have been designed for guys who weigh about 125 pounds. Now, I consider myself to be about a normal size guy - I’m 5’9”, 190ish pounds. Not really big at all, yet the back side bolsters cut right up my back about 3” or so inboard of the outside of my ribcage. My back sits very uncomfortably ON them rather than BETWEEN them. I have no owners manual, but visually I see no adjustment on the seats to open these up a bit so I can comfortably sit between them. Is this a common issue? Is there any fix to this? Given that my seats are not generic black, but rather Savannah Beige, replacements from a different year or something would not be easy to come by.

- As for the exhaust rattle, I’ve read up on it, and I just need to get the car up in the air to check out whats happening under there. Hopefully it’s an easy fix.

- Drivers side window doesn’t drop with the top up when opening or closing the door. I believe it moves, but it’s barely perceptible. Certainly not nearly enough. It’s also somewhat noisy going up and down when using the window switch. I’ve been told that it likely needs a regulator, because if it was a microswitch, there wouldn’t even be the tiny bit of movement it has now. Thoughts, anyone? I can get a good replacement regulator from Woody very reasonably.

- The passenger door has something banging around inside it. I’ll have to open it up and check. Maybe it’s Jimmy Hoffa?:confused: :p

- The rear trunk switch got pushed through into the hole it was mounted in. I guess I’ll just take it apart and see what’s up with that. Is this common and known in Boxsters?

- Another previously known (to me) issue, the shifter is stiff and it's hard to find the 2-3 shift gate with. No grinding at all and once you find the gate it goes into gear smoothly. Definitely a shifter issue not the trans. Thankfully……

- The fuel sender unit was previously leaking, I replaced it with a low mileage good one from Woody. It appears that it is stuck now reading 1/2 tank. Maybe I have the float arm stuck on a line or something inside the tank? Guess I’ll drive it some more, and if the gas level doesn’t drop soon I’ll take it back apart again and see what’s going on in there. I could just fill it and see if it reads full, but then if I have to take it back apart I have a full tank to deal with.

- The rear spoiler cap has a strange kind of warp in it, I don’t know how else to describe it. The forward edge lies perfect and in line with the trailing edge of the trunk lid. The trailing edge, however, about 1/3 of the way in from the drivers outside edge, starts to lift a bit, then by about 2/3 of the way over lays back down to follow the rest of the leading edge of the bumper. Hopefully it’s just a screw that fell out or something. Is this a common known issue?

That’s about it for now, this thing is going to be a blast. I look forward to tearing through Texas hill country roads with the top down with my wife. By the way, what a beautiful exhaust note. I already love this car!

Regarding seats, I am about the same size and mine are a good fit. Might just need some time to adapt. If you are not almost upright they won't work. These seats are designed to have the backs pretty much vertical. Welcome to Porsche Recaro's. Prob not going to do much better unless you go aftermarket, then you need to consider the AB system....

Qumulus contact info?

I'd bet that somewhere in the Houston area there's a 01 or 02 Boxster at a used car dealer that you could go sit in. Your seats may be fubar. I have an 01 base that I replace the thrashed seats on. Got them from an outfit in Santa Fe or Albu. and the seating position is perfect for me--I'm 6" with long trunk and short legs. They aren't leather, but they were really reasonable--$600 for the pair shipped (ebay) used.

I have found this forum responds best to individual questions rather than a long laundry list...I'd suggest posting a specific questions in individual threads. By doing so, a forum member member (at a glance) can see the problem in the title and respond accordingly. Additionally, should a future member have a similar problem this approach makes the search function more beneficial. Just a thought. :)

Question...your car wouldn't be blue, or do you have a title (location) history? I'm asking because several years ago I looked at a blue/tan 2000 S with many of the same issues. I walked away, but it was a pretty car, just not maintained. Didn't help that the salesman (moron) broke the frunk release by trying to open the hood to look at the engine. Like I said...moron.

OK - I was trying to be efficient with just one post rather than spreading many posts from the same guy all over the forum. If that's the norm then I'll try that. Thanks for the heads up.

My car isn't blue, it's black. It sounds like a real junk pile from what I write on here, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It's actually a very good car. It looks great, and it runs very strong. It seems like a few nagging things that the last guy just stopped fixing. It's all stuff that breaks on everyone's cars, he just stopped fixing them toward the end of his ownership. It's well on it's way to being a very, very nice car again.

That would actually be me, Qmulus here on the forum. My business is Qmulus Technology. I specialize in Audi, VW and Porsche electronics. I also do race car electronics and other odds and ends.

With respect to your issues with your Window Regulator, I have recently replaced both of mine.

The first (right side) I replaced with a genuine Porsche regulator that I had to get in a hurry as it was stuck open and the car wasn't under cover. The second (left) I replaced with a URO Parts after-market unit (996-542-075-04-PRM) from eBay. This after-market unit actually works better than the genuine Porsche unit as it has bearings and not simple bushes. I thoroughly recommend using the URO Parts unit. I don't sell these or anything, I'm just a happy customer.

Q please check your PM's I just sent you one . Thanks

Doug427 I am also in the Houston ..Spring Tx. I have fixed the window .Its usually a stretched cable .An easy cheap fix.There is a company in Houston called LSeats .com ...They make replacement leather seats .You could get yours rebuilt with added support where you would like.If you would like you can come check out my seats. My interior is red and the seat color is a bit off but I don't mind.They do have a color sample . What happened some of the samples came off the card .Oh well ,enjoy the Boxster there great cars.

I can vouch for Lseats.com. I ordered covers from them about a year and a half ago, for a Boxster project I was doing. They arrived in short order, and were of impressive quality, considering the price point. Lots of options for your seats. The ONLY issue was how they fit on the seats. This wasn't their problem, but mine. The foam cushion was shot, and compressed. This left the seat bottom a little looser than I like. Not a problem really, just found another piece of foam and stuffed it in there.


I will be ordering another set of covers for another project I am doing.

Good luck.

Spoiler top trim should be an easy fix, you just need to re-seat the top trim. It attaches with clips on the rear-facing side and with plastic pushpins on the frontfacing side. I had the same problem.