Crap! CEL
 

Tonight I was driving to the show (Tropic Thunder is damn funny BTW!) and the CEL came on. I haven't even driven it 500 miles!

Is there any way to check the code without the specific software? I know on some of the old ODB I cars, you could short two ports of the diag port and get the problem code. I don't think you can do that one ODBII cars, but I was just hoping.

I don't know if this works for German cars but if you take it to Autozone they will connect it to a hand held device and print out the codes and possible issues. Try them first.

-Steve

First problem, don't take the car to the movies! It's door-ding central. The car is punishing you accordingly.

Second, don't feel bad that your CE light came one in under 500 miles. Mine came on during the drive home from the dealership.

The most common reason that I've noticed/experienced with that is O2 sensor or Mass Airflow related. Those are parts that are kinda common to cause minor problems.

If you don't fix it yourself (I hear those are somewhat easy for the DIY types), take it to an independent Porsche specialist. My guess is a $300 fix, hopefully less -not to exceed $500.

Let us know how it goes.

Nah. I park pretty far out. I know where to park where nobody else parks. We always park there.

I want to fix it myself. However, I have to know they what the code means so I can get the parts and install them. I have no problem doing those types of repairs myself.

I had a CEL about a month and a half into owning my car. Got it a couple days before New Years 2007.

The code was an O2 sensor code. Cleared it and it never came back. I figure now, it was probably because the car was not driven for several months before I purchased it.

Been trouble free until a week ago friday when the water pump crapped the bed. Easy replacement and back on the road!

Get the code and find out what it means. It may not need any parts or any serious attention, like the one I mention above. Cleared it and it never came back.


(I work on technical things - servers - and generally refuse to expend tons of energy chasing down a problem or error when it only occurred once. Once is not a problem if it never happens again. You need a pattern to determine if you have a real problem.)