Porsche 911 2002

• Recall 157625 [USA]: If the pin fails, it will cause separation of the strut from the vehicle, affecting vehicle control and increasing the risk of a crash.
  Ohlins usa, inc (ohlins) is recalling certain front struts, part number pos 5n20. These struts were sold as part of ohlins strut kits part number poz mn02, intended for installation on 1999-2005 porsche 911 carrera 4 and 4s (generation 996), and 2001-2006 porsche 911 turbo / turbo s (generation 996) and kit part number poz mn05, intended for installation on 2005-2012 porsche 911 carrera 4 and 4s (generation 997), and 2006-2013 porsche 911 turbo / turbo s (generation 997). The pin of the strut may experience excessive stress during maximum steering, possibly resulting breakage of the pin.
  ohlins will notify owners, and dealers will request the return of all unsold kits containing the subject part from dealer/distributor inventory for a full refund. All owners who purchased one of the kits (poz mn02 or poz mn05) will receive replacement front struts (pos 5n20 or pos 5n21 - these parts are interchangeable), along with new top mount interface solutions, free of charge. The recall began december 22, 2020. Owners may contact ohlins customer service at 1-800-336-9029.
  owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.Safercar.Gov.

• Recall 95343 [USA]: Drivers of these vehicles may not know the proximity of the objects in the passenger side mirror, increasing the risk of a crash.
  Us specs is recalling one 2002 porsche carrera, one 1997 bmw 750il, and two 1986 bmw 635 csi vehicles for failing to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 111, "rearview mirrors." while performing conformity-related modifications for the us market, labels with an incorrect size font were applied to the passenger side mirror.
  us specs will notify owners and correct the statement on the passenger mirror of the affected vehicles, free of charge. The recall began on april 22, 2013. Owners may contact us specs at 1-443-502-2331.
  us specs campaign recall number is mr101.Owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.Safercar.Gov.

• Recall 95345 [USA]: Without the alr function, the seatbelts do not allow for the secure installation of a child restraint, which can increase the risk of injury to a child during a crash.
  Us specs is recalling one 2002 porsche carrera 911. This vehicle fails to conform to federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 208, "occupant crash protection." after performing conformity-related modifications for the us market, this vehicle was released with passenger seatbelts that lack the required automatic locking retractor (alr) function.
  us specs will notify the owner and replace all of the passenger seat belts, free of charge. The recall began on april 22, 2013. Owners may contact us specs at 1-443-502-2331.
  us specs' campaign recall number is sb101.Owners may also contact the national highway traffic safety administration vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (tty 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.Safercar.Gov.

To ensure accuracy and for your safety, it is recommended to do a free VIN recall check here or here [USA] - UK - Canada.

Bulletins are notices put out by manufacturers in conjunction with the NHTSA to notify the public of manufacturing issues or changes.

• Rapid coolant loss investigation as of 20130426

  On april 26, 2013, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened pe13-009 to investigate 10 complaints alleging incidents of sudden coolant loss while traveling on public roadways in certain model year (my) 2001 through 2007 porsche 911 vehicles.The complaints alleged that pipe ends joined by epoxy to certain cooling system components may fail suddenly and separate, resulting in large volumes of coolant leakage.The investigation was opened to assess evidence of a design or manufacturing defect in the coolant pipe fittings and any related safety consequences. In response to odi’s information request letter, porsche identified a manufacturing quality issue with the supplier’s application of adhesive to coolant pipe fittings that resulted in elevated failure rates in approximately 6,800 early production 997 generation vehicles (my 2007 and early my 2008).Odi’s analysis of field data showed that the age-adjusted failure rate for these vehicles was approximately six times greater than my 2001 through 2005 996 generation vehicles and my 2008 through 2011 997 generation vehicles built after a process improvement for adhesive application was implemented by the supplier.Most of the leak complaints reviewed by odi did not appear to involve complete separation of the fittings and many were detected when the vehicle was parked.There were no crashes or injuries reported to be related to the alleged defect in any of the subject vehicles.Odi identified two allegations that coolant leakage resulted in loss of control incidents, but neither involved vehicles affected by the assembly process quality issue.A third loss of control allegation involving a vehicle built during the period affected by the supplier process concern is not counted since odi was unable to contact the owner to confirm the incident.See the full closing resume in the document file for pe13-009 for additional information about the subject cooling system and odi’s analysis of field data related to the alleged defect. A safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.Accordingly, this investigation is closed.The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.The agency will monitor this issue and reserves the right to take further action if warranted by the circumstances.
  

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Common OBD Error codes specific to this vehicle.

• B1096 [1] B1096

Aluminum coolant tubes which apparently are glued together via the oem factory become old and brittle and blow apart. Coolant is then pouring out of the engine at a high rate into the city street. In my case, i was sitting at a red traffic light when the coolant pipe burst/separated. In order to fix/repair the issue, the engine must be removed from the vehicle and the 8 coolant tubes must be welded and/or drilled and pinned to keep the issue from happening again

The clutch slave failed on my 911 turbo and had to be replaced with a gt2 slave which removes the hydraulic assist. *tr

From a stop i accelerated in a straight line onto a freeway on-ramp. Approximately 10 seconds later i noticed a squealing sound from the engine belts. I looked in the rear view mirror and noticed a large volume of steam coming from the rear of the car. Having read about other peoples experiences with this issue i immediately exited the freeway as soon as i was able, stopped the car, and turned it off to prevent further damage as all coolant had exited the vehicle.

I noticed steam coming from the engine bay while driving in a residential area. Stopped the car immediately and contacted a tow service. A coolant line came loose due to a failed fitting at the manifold and discharged the entire reservoir, leaving a puddle of coolant underneath the vehicle. *tr

The car was being driven under normal circumstances. I had catastrophic coolant failure. A hose on my coolant system popped off while driving causing all of the coolant to gush out of the bottom of the car, the car did slip a bit i was able to regain control and pull to the side of the road. It sounds like this issue happens to 911 turbo's often due to the fact that 8 hoses were attached only with a glue that can give out at any time. My local porsche shop wants $3000 to drop the motor and repair/fix the 8 hoses. From my reading online this issue happens often to this motor in cars from 2001-2013. *tr

Was traveling on free entry ramp, and as i entered the freeway and approximately 60 mph, the car exhibited a brief shudder at which time the check engine light appeared and began to blink. I noticed a visible white cloud of smoke behind the car. The check engine light blinked for approximately 10-15 seconds and then remained off. I also noticed the temperature gauge rose above 180f, which is the approximate operating temperature per the temperature gauge. The gauge held slightly above 180f (~5 mm past 180f) for the duration of the drive, ! 5 miles before i stopped the car at my next destination point. Upon turning the ignition off and exiting the car there was a distinct antifreeze smell. The car was off for approximately 10 minutes and when i returned to the car there was a puddle of antifreeze directly below the car just inside the rear driver side tire. I estimate approximately 1-2 pints of fluid. Upon driving the car to my final destination (personal residence) the temperature gauge remained above 180f (! 5-10 mm). During this short drive, ~ 5 miles, i turned the car's interior heat to maximum to help remove heat from the engine. Upon turning the off the ignition the car continued to leak antifreeze. Upon further inspection the antifreeze appeared to be leaking at the connection to the water pump, on the bottom of the car just behind the exhaust, on the driver side of the car. It is possible it was leaking from other locations but i could not make this determination without putting the car onto a lift. The car continued to leak coolant at a small rate, estimated to be 20-30 drips per minutes. This drip rate remained consistent. The car will be take to an independent porsche service shop for further inspection. I am aware this is an issue on many porsche 911 model cars and am aware the nhtsa may be investigating this issue further. *tr

I own a 2002 911 carrera turbo, which has a well-know and documented design defect in the engine (gt1 motor). It is know as the coolant-pipe failure issue. While my car has not yet suffered a failure, there is a reasonable probability that the coolant pipes may fail during regular use, causing a substantial likelihood of property damage and personal injury to myself and others utilizing the public right-of-way. It is a clear safety issue that must be addressed by way of recall and repair. There is a known solution to the problem. Here is a hyperlink to one of the sources of information for this issue. Http://forums.Rennlist.Com/rennforums/997-gt2-gt3-forum/613440-gt1-coolant-pipe-prevention-fix-on-2011-gt3rs-shark-werks.Html the manufacturer should be required by the nhtsa to recall and repair all vehicles with this known defect. The cost of repair and the safety of the general public should not be borne by the individual car owner. Also, here's a video showing how the tube comes apart: http://www.Youtube.Com/watch?V=rh56ckzc-qe. *tr

There was no incident, but there is a coolant smell which regularly happens after a long drive. My mechanic told me that this is because the coolant fittings weep; i've found many forum posts, and was told by my mechanic that the lines bursting and/or spilling is common in 996 turbos ('01-'05). He advised me that i should have preventive welds to make sure that the coolant lines do not unseat and spill all of my coolant. I was told that it could happen tomorrow, or could happen 50k miles from now; either way, i would be stranded wherever i was. The work to complete the preventive measure was quoted around $5-6k, but i have not had it completed. *tr

Coolant line became separated and dumped coolant all over the highway causing very slick road conditions. This was on a long highway road trip with the engine very warmed up and working. Failing coolant lines that dump are very dangerous to those behind the vehicle, especially at highway speeds. *tr

Catastrophic loss of coolant due to coolant fittings popping out. Low speed, straight line driving at the time so there was no excursion, however rear tires were seriously wetted and if i had been in different circumstances it could have caused vehicle/property damage and/or personal injury. *tr

After a routine drive after an oil change service a large amount of coolant spilled out from underneath the rear of the vehicle. Under closer examination of the vehicle found loose/broken coolant fittings from behind the alternator and somewhere in the back of the engine bay. Engine will have to be removed to pinpoint the source of additional leaks. *tr

Discovered numerous porsche cars with gt1 block engine pre 2010 that are water cooled have coolant fittings that are known to fail due to a glue that is not holding up. As such, driving can suddenly release coolant on the ground causing the car and those cars following it to crash without any warning. This affects 996 and 997 turbos and gt3 variants. The topic is described on rennlist.Com, renntrack.Com, and a vendor actually advertises a fix (sharkwerks.Com). One group of porsche driving club users will not let cars without this being mitigated to participate in group events due to safety concerns based on a big crash in 2012 at the midohio track (may be 2011). Non track, street crashes and incidents are documents on the internet. This group of cars is a huge risk to all others on the road in addition to themselves. Someone is going to get killed and it seems to be accelerating in frequency. A registry of cars with the problem and information can be found via this link: http://forums.Rennlist.Com/rennforums/showthread.Php?T=592328&referrerid=40465. *tr

Intermediate shaft failure. *tr

Over time i noticed a coolant smell from the car whenever i would drive it with the windows down, especially when the car was in stop and go traffic. I then noticed a small puddle of fluid under the engine after the car was parked. I took the car to the service and was told the coolant pipe on the engine was loose and coolant was beginning to drip from the junction where the pipe attaches to the engine block. After some internet research, i learned that the coolant pipes are glued into the engine block and over time there is a tendency for the glue to deteriorate and the pipes to come loose in turn causing a major coolant leak in the area of the engine and rear tires. If coolant were to leak onto the rear tires, this could cause a major accident due to loss of traction of the rear tires leading to loss of control of the vehicle. I elected to have the engine removed and all 8 the coolant pipes permanently welded instead of glued as this is the only permanent and safe solution. I am appalled that porsche would choose to glue coolant fitting on the engine when a failure could cause and accident. *tr

Intermediate shaft bearing failed, causing catastrophic engine failure and loss of all engine oil on the roadway. Luckily, the car was stopped at the time. *tr

Glued in coolant hoses came out dumping all the coolant from the car in a very short period of time. Since this is a rear engined car, it sprayed the rear tires causing a dangerous situation as loss of traction could have caused a serious accident/fatality if going into a curve or other conditions. This is a known condition with porsche and they have refused to address this serious safety issue. *tr

On two separate occasions, the coolant fittings which mount in the cylinder head popped out. The fittings attach to the coolant hoses. In both cases the epoxy that held the fittings in had failed. Each time i was driving and coolant spewed all over the inside of the engine bay and then subsequently onto the road as i was driving. The first incident i was driving about 50 mph (10/19/11 - 52230 miles on the odometer). When this first fitting popped out, since it was behind the alternator, damaged it requiring replacement of the alternator. I had to pay for the alternator and epoxied that fitting out. The second fitting failed on june 14, 2012 with 56384 miles on the odometer. This time it was in a location that required removal of the engine. The circumstances were similar to the first, around 50 mph and coolant dumping over all over the ground. Since this happened a second time, the shop i took the car to removed all 8 of the coolant fittings in the engine, removed the epoxy, and then welded them into place. After two of the fittings popped out, i was not going to take any chances of another fitting popping out and being left stranded yet again. *tr

Driving the car at moderate highway speeds, the coolant warning light came on. I pulled off of the highway as soon as it was safe, about 1 mile after the warning light. As i slowed the vehicle, i noticed a large amount of smoke coming from the rear of the car. After stopping and inspecting the car, the rear of the vehicle was covered in a film of coolant. The car was towed to the nearest porsche dealer, at which the problem was diagnosed. Rather than have the car serviced at the dealer, i had the vehicle shipped back home to be repaired by an independent mechanic. The failure was a coolant fitting that was glued into the water pump housing. The glue had failed causing the fitting to come out of the housing and dumping all of the coolant in a few seconds. The total cost of the repair was $2,779.21. After the car was repaired, i researched the failure to find that it was a rather common occurrence. In september of 2012, while the car was in for unrelated service, i decided to have the remaining fittings repaired preemptively at an additional cost of approximately $1200. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 porsche 911 carrera. The contact stated while driving at 25 mph, there was a loud, abnormal bang. The contact exited the vehicle and found a large oil spill from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The engine and transmission were taken apart to locate the failure. The dealer advised the intermediate main shaft (imf) had collapsed and exploded, killing the engine. The engine would need to be replaced at the contact's expense. The manufacturer would not provide any assistance. The failure and current mileages were 41,000.

Erroneous airbag failure error code detected. Airbag failure light on dash and airbag failure text also appears on dash. Porsche dealer reports that there is a technical service bulletin issued by porsche cars of north america to fix this problem. The fix involves re-wiring the ground system and replacing the seat belt clasps. Dealer indicates that this would cost me $850 to have this repair work done. Dealer reset the error code but it re-appeared the following day indicating a problem with the passenger seat belt. Porsche should fix this admitted defect for free and issue a recall as this is definitely a safety hazard. Ignoring the false failure indication may very well mask more serious underlying error conditions with the airbag system. *tr

Power steering fluid valve makes a noise. Research on 6speedonline.Com and rennlist.Com note that this will fail, overfill the reservoir, and cause a major fire perhaps killing me. Porsche has upgraded the part knowing of this failure and has a public tsb to this effect. *jb

Put the key in the ignition, turned it to start the vehicle, and the battery completely exploded. Acid vapors filled the garage and burned eyes and caused coughing and burning throat sensation. *jb

While traveling at 45 mph there was a loud rumbling noise coming from the rear of vehicle, the vehicle started to misfire. The consumer pulled over and noticed that all the oil had leaked out of vehicle. The consumer took the vehicle to the dealer, who stated a bearing had broke and the engine needed to be replaced. Please provide any further information.*jb

Air bag signal light stayed on. Dealer stated air bag was inoperative. The part had been repaired four times, however the problem recurred. *ak

The car, a 2002 porsche 911 turbo 6-speed, pops out of 2nd gear occasionally while driving. I know of at least 6 other owners with cars built between 2001-2003 with the same problem. *la

The car stalls on slow left turns and at stops, the consumer was aware prior to purchase of the stalling issue that affected early 2002 models in warmer climates, the consumer was asured by the dealer that the issue had been taken care of, four hours after taking delivery of the vehicle it began to stall, the consumer is concerned as to why dealers continue to continue to sell vehicle with stalling defect. Nlm

2002 porsche 996 with power steering valve failure. Consumer states that the power steering reservoir valve made a high pitched noise. He stated that this failure could cause a fire since the valve is located right over the exhaust and or the turbo. *kb