geoff

Try making your pictures smaller. There's a limit on the combined size of attachments. I've successfully uploaded more than 2 pictures in a single post when they are a more manageable size Looks like a very nice car. The cocoa interior is great, that's what we have on our Carrera

For the past several weeks, I've had a very annoying squeak that sounds like it's coming from the front of my car ('01 Boxster, 5 speed, ROW M030, 18" wheels, 64K miles). It's noticeable driving downhill on a twisty canyon road at around 20-30 MPH. Not a metallic squeak, but more like the squeak you get behind the dash on a new car from plastic rubbing against something. It seems to occur more when it's warmer, and isn't noticeable over speed bumps. It's either getting worse, or I'm just noticing it more and more. I went to the dealer last week and the mechanic went with me for a joyride, but he couldn't hear the noise (I could). Based on searching here, the probable culprit sounds like the rubber bushing in the lower control arm. The mechanic plans to apply some high-tech grease to see if that solves the squeaking noise, at least temporarily, so we can identify if the lower control arm is in fact the problem. Any other suggestions for diagnosing the problem? I'm guessing trying to touch only one suspension component at a time is probably the best approach for narrowing down the source of the squeak. Any secrets to quickly isolate the problem anyone cares to share? If it is the lower control arms, is there any advantage to spending the extra $ on the GT3 control arms? Are they any stronger or do they wear better? Is it possible to replace the rubber bushings that wear on these in the future instead of having to buy all new control arms the next time?

I ordered some 19" Michelin Latitude Tour HP tires from my local tire store back in November, and told them no rush before mid-December. The store manager ordered them anyway, and found 3 in the US. Unfortunately, I need 4 tires. I've checked with the store ever 2 weeks for the last month and keep getting the story the tires aren't being manufactured right now. These are all season mud and snow rated tires. The manager offered to split the difference between the cost of the Latitude Tour HP and the Latitude Sport (the Sport is about $30 more per tire). The Latitude Sport is a higher performance tire, but not recommended for snow or ice (which I've only driven the Cayenne in once). Anyone here have the Latitude Sports? If yes, how do they drive in the rain (lots expected here for the next month)? I expect almost anything will be better than my original Continental tires, now with around 27K miles on. I would like to have tires I can take to the snow, but not sure when the Latitude Tour tires will be back in supply.

Phillip - sounds like you need to fnd a new dealer! (you actually met the head mechanic at my local dealer last year in Ventura when we were talking to Charles Navarro)

Try the Internet Wayback Machine for old web content - http://web.archive.org/web/20070811023322/...emarkermod.html

That does absolutely nothing to help in snow. To be honest, engaging the low range and locking the differential might even be harmful since you're on the road and its not really designed to be used at speed. Side road to a lake. Solid ice mixed with deep snow. Very low speeds. Very impressive being able to drive through that stuff I think the low range and locked differential is limited to something like 35 or 40 MPH.

I wouldn't use Mobil 1 0w40 in a lawn mower either, or any other 2 cycle motor Please don't turn this topic into a Mobil 1 bashing discussion! That was never my intent in posting. There are plenty of other Mobil 1 comes straight from hell topics

It was the Mobil consumer site and I asked a basically simple, non-technical product usage question. From their answer, it's clear none of the Mobil 1 5w40 products on Porsche's approved oil list are available in the US, even though they are listed as applicable world wide. The two Mobil 1 5w40 oils readily available today in the US here don't correspond to any of Porsche's approved oils I never intended this to be a technical discussion on the relative merits of Mobil 1, or to discuss the best weight motor oil, or to give Loren cause to lock this topic. Just to let members here know what Mobil had to say about Mobil 1 5w40 suitability

I was surprised and impressed I got an answer so quickly. The answer also made it clear Mobil's 5w40 oils are not their recommended product for Porsches

I took my '08 S to the snow for the first time around Christmas. First time I ever used the low range and locking differential. Is Porsche getting rid of the low range and locking diff for the 2011 models? The transmission has to go into low mode first before the differential can be locked After doing some research, I found the Offroad Technology Package is a seldom ordered option that gives some of the differential locking capabilities described in the owners manual. Are they going to make low range an option like this?

I've seen more and more posts here and elsewhere regarding Mobil 1 is good, Mobil 1 is bad, use 5w40 instead of 0w40, etc. Most posts degenerate into opinion, speculation, ignorance or worse. So I looked on the Mobil 1 web site and found there are 2 Mobil 1 5w40 oils, one for diesel engines and another specifically formulated for Mercedes cars. Neither of these appear to be on Porsche's A40 approved oil list. So last night (Sunday) I asked Mobil which oil was suitable for use in Porsche cars: I have several relatively new Porsches and have been using Mobil 1 0w40 in all of them. The Porsche technical service bulletin of A40 approved oils also lists Mobil 1 5w40 and shows worldwide availability. I've found Mobil 1 5w40 diesel oil and Mobil 1 ESP Formula M 5W-40 for Mercedes cars. Are either of these approved for use in Porsche cars? I can't figure out which Mobil 1 5w40 Porsche has approved. Which should I be using? A lot of people are now recommending to use Castrol Syntec 5w40, or another synthetic 5w40, instead of the 0w40 weight oil, but I would rather use Mobil 1 if possible. And this morning I actually got an answer back from them (their exact response, which indicates somebody answered and somebody else sent the answer back to me) ExxonMobil wrote: The Mobil1 0W40 motor oil is the suitable product. -- Thank you for choosing ExxonMobil products. If you need further assistance, please contact ExxonMobil at 1-800-ASK-MOBIL I hope this helps some decide whether or not Mobil 1 0w40 is suitable for (continued) use and reduces some of the less useful oil discussions. I'm neither advocating nor impugning the use of Mobil 1 or 0w40 oils, just reporting what Mobil responded to me.

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Depends on the dealer and your relationship with them. In the past month or two, my '01 Boxster has started having a slight squeaking noise from the front on downhill legs of tight twisty roads. I called my local dealer to see if I could stop by and maybe they could figure out if it's something loose, worn bushings in the lower control arms, or something else. When I got there, my service writer marches me out to the head mechanic, I talk to him for about 15 minutes, and then we (mechanic and me) go for an extended joyride in my car through the canyons to see if he can hear the noise (I did, he didn't). (The place was busy, and all the lifts had cars on them) Then we spend another 10 minutes when we get back to the dealership in their driveway trying to reproduce the noise. Bottom line is we couldn't figure out where the noise was coming from, so I'm going back next week so they can squirt some high tech grease into the bushings to see if that silences the problem. I've never had any other dealer or indie give me this level of service (Lexus included), and in general the dealer service cost seems to be on par with the top Porsche independents in the area (I've asked). Total cost for today's diagnosis was $0. I have a great working relationship with both the service writer and mechanic, but every customer who is reasonable and realistic seems to get treated fairly. I don't think it's fair to generalize and say all dealers are crooks or worse (although I'm sure some are). In today's economy, everyone seems to be more reasonable than in the past for what they charge for service, and the good dealers seem to be busier than ever (my local dealer has plenty of business these days, both sales and service). Maybe it's a rare example, but if you look and ask around, there are some very good dealer service departments. And some will go to bat with PCNA for out of warranty cars on items that are known issues.

A lot of people here seem to buy the factory manuals from user porschelibrarian (I have no experience with him/her). You might want to PM him to see what he has

I bought the yellow cover Porsche Owners Maintenance Manual by the same author. Nowhere as useful as the Bentley. A while ago, Sunset was selling the Porsche OBD manual for a great price - see Porsche Factory Repair Manual Sale, Sunset Imports. Even though it wasn't the latest DME version, there is lots of useful information. You might want to check with Sunset to see what they have left in stock

My wife loved driving her '05 997 so much we bought an '08 Cayenne S for our dog (we have to drive it for the dog). But we kept the Carrera. And the Boxster. I've been very pleasantly surprised with the fuel economy in the Cayenne - around 20 MPG highway at respectable cruising speeds. You might not do quite as well with the Turbo. The Carrera holds a lot for its relatively compact size, but the Cayenne holds so much more. The back seat is lots more usable for people, too. Many Cayenne parts are a lot less expensive than their Carrera counterparts. While not as enjoyable as a Porsche sports car on twisty roads, the Cayenne does a pretty good job holding its own compared to most other cars on the road. And driving it puts a smile on our faces. But totally different driving dynamics from the Carrera Enjoy your new Cayenne :D

Just to close out this topic, here's the before picture of the trim and (what's left of the) wiper arm. After picture looks like new, so no point in posting. After this experience, I set the tailgate so it wouldn't open nearly as high so it doesn't smash into any more parking garage ceilings, using the procedure described in the owner's manual. The trim under the window just pops in and out - replacement takes less than a minute. I had the dealer replace the window (insurance co. for the garage paid), and the mechanic said it takes a lot longer than expected due to all the pieces that have to come out first

Old topic, but finally cleaning out pictures from my camera. You can just pull the little metal piece out of the ash tray and make it into a slightly more useful storage area. Works for a 986/996 also

The 05 987 order guide (top of page under Documents) says the following: Standard equipment includes: ... Anti-lock Braking System (ABS). ... Driver and passenger front and side airbags. ... Immobilizer System with transponder system for safety protection. Central locking with remote control. among lots of other standard items. Maybe your insurance agent will accept the dealer order guide that shows they are standard features and not available as an option. I'm assuming you have a US model Boxster and not some gray market import

Congratulations on your new Boxster! Tire wear depends on your specific tires/wheels, driving style, proper alignment, the kinds of roads you drive on, and keeping the tires correctly inflated and balanced. With lots of spirited canyon driving, I get about 27+K miles (43+K Km) on my rear tires, a bit more on the front, on my 986, which is a lot compared to many. 987s should do a little better. Some people report rear tires worn out in as little as 10K miles (16K Km). Rear tires wear a lot faster than front ones, because that's where the power is put down on the road and they carry more weight. Your tires have wear bars to show when they need to be replaced, or use a tire depth gauge to measure how much tread is left. I usually get an alignment ever two or so years. Same story on brake pads - it all depends. I have over 60K miles (96K Km) on my original brake pads and they have a lot of material left. It's a manual transmission. My wife's 997 Carrera goes through front brake pads about every 30K miles; it's a tiptronic and she does more stop-and-go driving. Brake pads wear out faster on tips than manual transmissions. Front brake pads wear about twice as fast as rear ones. Rotors typically last about twice as long as brake pads. As with tires, you can measure your brake pads and rotors to see how much you have left before they are worn out.

15K miles is what my '01 Boxster maintenance manual says for an oil change (and 60K miles for the fuel filter, etc.). If you look at the Porsche maintenance summary PDF referenced in my earlier post, Porsche magically changed the maintenance intervals for a number of items relative to when the cars were new (more frequent maintenance now). Which tells me either there are two sets of recommended maintenance intervals and someone used a different one from what we were all originally told, or Porsche was overly optimistic in their original maintenance schedules and found it was causing higher than acceptable failure rates

I have an '05 997 that is my wife's daily driver. Despite all the items noted in prior posts on first year problems, the car has been problem free, and compared to a friend's 40 anniversary 911 (996), the interior seems to be put together a little better in terms of how things fit. In 2005, Porsche upped the oil change interval from 15K miles to 20K miles. I've never seen anything official saying Mobil 1 is rated for 20K miles. The Mobil 1 Extended Performance (which isn't available in the right grade for Porsches) is rated to up to 15K miles on the Mobil 1 web site, but nothing is stated about mileage rating for regular Mobil 1. I have changed the oil about every 7K miles. Interestingly enough, Porsche seems to have quietly changed some of the maintenance interval requirements for the 996 (e.g., oil from 15K miles to 12K miles), making the 997 appear to have even lower overall maintenance requirements. See http://www.porsche.com/usa/accessoriesands...nanceintervals/ and then click on the link to download the PDF for the maintenance intervals. You can see the 996 and 997 maintenance requirements right next to each other. And then in 2008 the maintenance requirements were greatly increased. Draw your own conclusions...

Like a complete dope, I failed to do the obvious and didn't search this forum to see if the topic was already answered (it was several times)! The locking rear differential is only available as an option as part of the Offroad Technology Package, a $2,600+ option. The owner's manual doesn't mention this, and the light is there but doesn't function, hence the confusion.

Earlier I asked about snow chains for my Cayenne, but after driving around in the snow for a few days now, it's clear the Cayenne drives very well in the snow, no chains required. Before heading to the snow, my service adviser at the dealer said to just push the left rocker switch forward twice and I would be good to go. The first time I push it forward, the low range off-road driving program is engaged. The second time I push the rocker switch forward, the center differential lock is engaged. The owner's manual talks about locking the rear differential in low range after locking the center differential, but doesn't describe how to accomplish it. I tried pushing the rocker switch forward another time, and it didn't seem to do anything. No lights lit up. What is the trick to get the rear differential to lock?

I usually get a calendar from Sunset when I order some parts around the beginning of the year. I dropped off Xmas presents for my service adviser and head mechanic at the dealer, and my service adviser had a bunch of 2010 calendars on his desk. He gladly parted with one for me. Same Porsche calendar as Sunset, except it had the dealer's name instead of Sunset. I think most dealers get the calendars, so try your favorite dealer first