HELP! Can't unlock car after accident

[trilobite]

I had my 99 sitting on the street and a neighbor across the street backed out of her driveway directly into the rear side of the driver's side of it. I was inside, heard the crunch followed immediately by the distinctive, rather anemic alarm of my car, and ran outside.

There was slight scuffing on the body panels, and a gouge was taken out of my rim. I grabbed the key FOB and tried to turn off the alarm. This did not work. I tried to unlock the car to get into it... this did not work. I tried unlocking the door manually... this did not work. Now mind you, the car was inspected the week prior and I was in and out of it with no issues the day of the collision.

Now my car is bricked, sitting at the Porsche dealership, where the service advisor just informed me that they have still not been able to get into the car (it's been two weeks, going on three at this point), and have even resorted to using a slim jim, which still failed. To add insult to injury, the woman's insurance company is arguing that there is no way that the collision is responsible for these problems. (Some coincidence!)

My question is twofold. First, does anyone have any suggestions for how to get into the car, and second, what the actual **** happened to my car.

[ike84]

Originally Posted by trilobite

I had my 99 sitting on the street and a neighbor across the street backed out of her driveway directly into the rear side of the driver's side of it. I was inside, heard the crunch followed immediately by the distinctive, rather anemic alarm of my car, and ran outside.



There was slight scuffing on the body panels, and a gouge was taken out of my rim. I grabbed the key FOB and tried to turn off the alarm. This did not work. I tried to unlock the car to get into it... this did not work. I tried unlocking the door manually... this did not work. Now mind you, the car was inspected the week prior and I was in and out of it with no issues the day of the collision.



Now my car is bricked, sitting at the Porsche dealership, where the service advisor just informed me that they have still not been able to get into the car (it's been two weeks, going on three at this point), and have even resorted to using a slim jim, which still failed. To add insult to injury, the woman's insurance company is arguing that there is no way that the collision is responsible for these problems. (Some coincidence!)



My question is twofold. First, does anyone have any suggestions for how to get into the car, and second, what the actual **** happened to my car.

Sounds to me like your immobilizer was damaged or disconnected (or your battery is completely dead from the alarm and nothing has power) Your key should unlock the driver's door but may not if the locking mechanism is broken.

There is a physical cable that runs from the cabin to the front trunk to open it in case of a dead battery. I don't know if that called is accessible from the front drivers side wheel well but it would be worth pulling the liner out to look.

If all else fails I think the only other way is to break a window or cut through the top, whichever is cheapest. Doing so will only gain you access to the cabin though, at which point you can pull the release cord from behind the fuse panel to get to the battery. It's gonna be a ******************** to do that without opening the driver's side door though (I would find the smallest person with enough technical understanding to do it, and even then it would be hard), and if it's not the battery then it will be even more difficult to access the immobilizer without being able to open that door.

Fwiw, I would not pay a dealer to do this. By the time you get the bill for all their ****************ery, the car will be totaled.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk

[trilobite]

Unfortunately, the alarm went off again twice when it was being loaded onto the flatbed, the battery seems fine.

In the 99 is the immobilizer still under the seat?

[ike84]

Originally Posted by trilobite

Unfortunately, the alarm went off again twice when it was being loaded onto the flatbed, the battery seems fine.



In the 99 is the immobilizer still under the seat?

That's interesting. Once the alarm has been triggered it shouldn't shut off (at least I don't know of a preset timeout, so to speak). That would suggest though that the tilt sensors are working and the immobilizer precessor is likely intact.

As far as I know, yes, the immobilizer in a 99 is under the driver's seat.

If the battery is live, there are 2 options to unlock the car. 1 is to press to unlock button on the central locking switch (on the dash). The other is to manually pull the handle inside the cabin. (Pulling once will unlock, pulling twice will open)

Both of these operations should be able to be done with a slimjim by any good ol boy in about 3 minutes. (The design of our doors make them one of the easiest cars in the world to use a slim Jim, you won't even need an airbag to help). If the dealer can't figure out how to do that, well, you need to find yourself a good ol boy

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk

[tommy583]

I had to break into my car before, long story. I was able to pull the window open enough with a wedge and then using a rod to pull the door handle twice. All while the alarm was going off.

[ike84]

Originally Posted by tommy583

I had to break into my car before, long story. I was able to pull the window open enough with a wedge and then using a rod to pull the door handle twice. All while the alarm was going off.

Attaboy

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk

[Stl-986]

Not much of a good dealer if they can't just make a call.
https://rennlist.com/forums/boxster-and-boxster-s-986-forum/1298647-can-t-unlock-car-with-key-or-fob-alarm-beeps-twice.html

[ike84]

Originally Posted by Stl-986

Not much of a good dealer if they can't just make a call.
https://rennlist.com/forums/boxster-and-boxster-s-986-forum/1298647-can-t-unlock-car-with-key-or-fob-alarm-beeps-twice.html

Dang, all that over a fuse!?

I guess that makes sense though. In our cars I don't think that the key tumblers physically interact with the locking mechanism. They simply open a ground circuit back to the immobilizer which then activates the door lock. (This is why it's possible to install aftermarket alarm remotes). Blown fuse = no immobilizer = locked out. You'd think they would make a fail safe so that the doors would unlock in this scenario. The car's not going anywhere without the immobilizer functioning anyway.

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk

[Stl-986]

On my 00 & 03 turning the key with the battery disconnected locks & unlocks the car...same as having a blown fuse. 2 winters in a row with the battery out of the car and locked doors while in storage and hasn't been an issue

[ike84]

Originally Posted by Stl-986

On my 00 & 03 turning the key with the battery disconnected locks & unlocks the car...same as having a blown fuse. 2 winters in a row with the battery out of the car and locked doors while in storage and hasn't been an issue

That's good to know. When you remove the battery for storage, do you then lock the door with the physical key? Maybe the signal from tumbler to the immobilizer is just for arming the alarm then? If that's the case though I don't understand what the fuse would have to do with it. Hopefully the OP gets it sorted and let's us know.

Thinking about this actually jogged my memory a bit. When I first bought my car, an older porsche enthusiast told me a story of his buddy who bought a 986 brand new around 2000, and in the first year of ownership he managed to lock himself out of the car to the point that the keys would not work and he had to have the car towed to the dealership to have it fixed. I don't remember the resolution of the story, unfortunately Maybe this problem isn't so isolated after all?

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk

[Stl-986]

I usually lock it cause they are in shared storage spaces.

With the battery still in the car & hooked up the alarm will go to "sleep" after 7 days I think (maybe 10 days) where you need to use the key to unlock the car and then you can use the remote again. Happens to me all the time when I dont drive the car once a week in the summer.

[Smallblock454]

Hm, i don't understand why you can't open the drivers side door manually. Did the manual door lock work before. Did she crash directly into the door, so something is jammed?

A Porsche dealership isn't able to open the car - hard to believe.