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?
- 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!
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