Rms
 

good morning, i have read several posts on the rear main seal and am faced with a problem too. my car is a 2001 Boxster S, 60k miles but when i bought it had 44.5k mile and was still under warranty. my tech at the dealership suggested i bring it in just before it went out of warranty so they could look at and fix anything that need attention. one of those things fixed was the RMS. that was 16 months ago. yesterday i brought it in to the dealership b/c fresh oil was leaking on my driveway. the problem? busted RMS, oil separator and faulty oil pan. if i include the 60k svc which needs to be done now, the bill is going to be $3700! the first thing i said was that i understand my car is out of warranty and that the stuff you repaired/fixed with the RMS had a 12 month warranty BUT, at only 16 months after it needs to replaced? the answer, "man made parts". any help/insight is truly appreciated. sorry for the long post.

Unfortunetly there is not a lot you can do. This is where a great dealership will help take care of you, and where a bad dealership won't care because they know they have you. When I say dealership, I mean service department as they are usually treated as their own seperate entity.

Hi,

Like Doc says, you may just have to bite the bullet. On the other hand, contact PCNA Rep in your area (get number from Dealer) and see if there's any goodwill forthcoming from Porsche (this is not unheard of), but less likely for a 2nd owner.

What is the mileage in the 16mos.? This is more important than time so far as the seal goes. The Dealership is supposed to measue the block to insure that it is sufficiently within spec to accept a replacement seal. If not, engine replacement is the only answer.

Could it be possible that the dealership didn't want to replace the engine under warranty and merely put in the new seal as a Band-aid? Ask to see the service records of your last visit before contacting PCNA as this may give you some leverage. Good Luck!...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Having arrived here from the planet Lexus, part of the Toyota star system, there are peculiarities of your culture which I have yet to understand. Not that I am unworldly, I have also spent time on planet Acura. These oil leaks and seal failures I'm am hearing of, it was my impression most of these issues were remnants of a bygone era, when tools were not precise and statistical process control was a fellow with a ball peen hammer. I find it intriguing, and perhaps charming, that these manufacturing imperfections seem to be desired in a manufacturing world where near perfection is often achieved and easily repeated. So common are these faults within your culture that they even have their own jargon, PMS, RMS or something like that. I don't know whether to admire or feel sorrow for a culture that celebrates imperfections that have long been remedied in other worlds.

..........

which dealer
 

Jax, did you go to Brumos?

Pretty funny, but even Acuras have rubber cam and crank seals that tend to leak. FYI, some BMWs are also having RMS leakage issues.

Having been to planet Lexus several times, mostly for the women, I can say that your planet has it's own pecularities. I have been to planet Ford, who hasn't, and planet Mazda. Each of these planets seems to work very hard to get it 100% right. They all seem to fall short by 1%. Planet Lexus would continually run down the battery and strand you, even while brand new and even while in warranty. Why didn't planet Lexus go to 100% by having some measure to prevent the car from spending the battery to 0, I do not know. Maybe because theya re an evil planet and actaully want profit. or maybe because making cars is really f'ing hard and takes many smart people many years just to make something as crappy as a Hyundai much less a Lexus. Or maybe, a competing planet established a new lower price that is forcing them to cut corners. On clublexus.com, the sight for Planet Lexus, they ******************** about your planets problems.

The inhabitants ******************** on every site because the kind of people that hang out in forums are so interested in that planet's cars that they care about every little thing and enjoy aguing about them too. In the past, people had to travel light years to meet up and ******************** about the little stuff as they enjoy the big picture of ownership. But now you can do it from home.

You must give to get, and many of these fine people on our Porsche Planet are just striving for Automotive Bliss (some even have been to Planet Lotus which can eat an un-seasoned traveler for lunch). I imagine that the bliss they found at Planet Honda left them un-excited and striving for more. So they have venture to Planet Porsche and inhabit both the pre-owned and newly developed areas.

You name the planet and within minutes of googling that planets forums I'll give you the 1% that was left short by that planet(their RMS).

yes, brumos is my dealer. i do trust that they will help get my car back to being right with regards to the RMS but also know there is a premium to be paid for dealer service. they totally took care of me on a top replacement about 4 months ago (rear window cracked in cool temps).

Touché, guys, and you're right, Jim, I need to get out more. I'm just baffled that such a beautifully designed car, which I have been an enthusiast of for years, has what I consider a tragic flaw. Ironically, I'm not trying to vent in a critical way, as I am in a sorrowful way. I still love the Boxter. In my opinion, it is nearly the perfect sports car.

Why is Porsche handling the problem the way they are? Is Porsche trying to maintain some level of exclusivity in the entry-level machine by making the cost of ownership higher than it need be? If so, add content and raise the price. I just have a hard time throwing money at a problem that should have been solved years ago. I have a hard time kissing my dealer's heine just so they'll take care of problems that shouldn't be there. I loved the analogy someone on this board made comparing the Boxter to a high maintenance woman. But, more appropriately, as beautiful as she is, she's not really a supermodel, so she shouldn't expect to get away with acting like one.

Buy one under warranty and then the RMS leak,"if" it happens, is Porsche's problem.


After reading damn near everything on this site, you don't have to be a moderator to do that, and lot's of deep thought it seems to me that the Boxster is such a wonderful car and has such appeal that people buy out of their comfort zone.


I personally, due to my own limitations, would not purchase an out of warranty Porsche. I also have reasons not to buy a pre-owned Porsche Boxster, as opposed to other models.

If you enjoy getting a wonderful car at a low price then a 5 or 6 year old Porsche Boxster may be for you. But, be realistic and put away some money for the maintenance and add that to the price in your head. That way you will be happy. A pre-owned porsche that one can barely afford is not for the faint of heart and spirit. If it turns out your purchase is a cherry and drives 30k miles with no problem whatsoever then you had a nice savings account going.

Also remember that the people not having problems are out driving around and have no idea that 986forum.com exists. Some of them are problem free and some of the them have enough money that the problems are worry free. I saw Paris Hilton in a Boxster I doubt we will ever hear if her's has had any issues other than her credit card wouldn't swipe right or something.



I am having a hard time convincing myself to sell my Boxster. I should, but don't want to.

I've had my car for a year and a half, and couldn't be happier. No problems, other then a seatbelt/airbag switch.

Hope to enjoy many more years of care free driving. Can is under warranty for one more year, and I will probably renew it next year, just for piece of mind, but the box has performed flawlessly.

Mike

RMS problem out of warrenty = Sucks To Be You :ah:

Lexuspilot, your posts are setting a new standard for erudition. Be careful, you may find yourself banned for Making Too Much Sense.

Amen!! I talk to a lot of people who can't believe a used Boxster costs the same as other cars. Then you tell them you can get a 928 as low as $5K and they say "I need to get a Porsche". I always tell them "If you can't or don't want to fix it yourself and you can't afford to spend an average of $1K per repair, then don't buy a Porsche."

To me, it's the greatest car on earth, but performance always comes at a price and there is no such thing as perfection. With all performance cars, you are pushing the limits so the margin for error is extremely slim. It's just part of the pleasure and why they say "Porsche...there is no substitute".