Well this morning I went for a test drive and randomly got the same codes on stock tune. They seem to imply coil and misfire problems. Might just be time to change the spark plugs. Going to take it to dealer.

 

It won't be the plugs. Sounds like one or more coil packs is on the way out. Lots and lots of other reports of this.

Are you running the stock headers?

 

Cargraphic headers. How would that be a problem?

I did research and seems cylinder 6 is misfiring or not at all. Seems like a dead coil. I also tested that if I turn the car off and on, the problem with the engine running 'limp' goes away, but then comes back randomly...more reason to assume its a bad coil.

Its also running lean upstream...not sure whats up with this...might be a symptom of the bad coil.

Car is going to be towed to dealer.

My confidence if Porsche reliability is now diminished. This is the first car EVER I have had engine problems with...and only at 35k miles.

 

Cargraphic headers. How would that be a problem?

I don't know that it would be a problem; I'm just curious. A couple of other people with coil pack failures have mentioned that they were running aftermarket headers.

One guy applied some extra thermal shielding tape to his replacement coils, which seems like a good idea to me if there's any possibility that the headers could contribute to higher-than-usual operating temperatures in the general vicinity. But I don't know what thermal effects, if any, might be occurring.

My confidence if Porsche reliability is now diminished. This is the first car EVER I have had engine problems with...and only at 35k miles.

That's not an "engine problem," really. Probably a 30 minute job to swap out the bad coil pack. About as serious as an oil change.

 

That sequence of messages is what I received as well --- its a coil failure. After my second coil failed on track, I had dealer R/R all remaining coils. In another thread somewhere (?) it appears to be an issue with earlier build 981's that are exposed to high heat conditions (i.e. DEs).

 

You mentioned a hesitation issue at one point -- did that go away after you replaced the coils? You've got the stock headers, correct?

 

I had all my coils replaced and the problem is gone. Even before this problem, I did have some random misfires sometimes, butt thought it was tire slip. No misfires since the fix.

Feels so much better to drive the boxster than the panamera.

 

I had the same experience happen twice last weekend, only difference was sequence of warnings. Mine were PSM, then Engine Fault, and Stop/Start Disabled. Both times I turned the car off/on and resumed driving. The first time it happened all messages cleared when car turned off/on, second time the Engine fault warning persisted.

Took it to dealer 1st thing Monday who diagnosed it as a bad #6 coil which they replaced. I too am somewhat dismayed at the reliability here as it probably isn't "heat" related as others have mentioned - Cool NC weekend doing city/hwy driving. I remain hopeful that it's an isolated incident and the other coils don't start failing. For folks that have experienced this, did just replacing the bad coil solve the problem or did all need to be replaced?

 

I'd have demanded all 6 replaced. I've read somebody else with your issue asked for that, and was granted. I also read that coils were supposedly 'improved' in 2016 (which my car should have), but not sure of that. I'd ask Porsche that question too, and if true, they must authorize the change, since you already had one failure. Out of curiosity, how many miles on your car? And I imagine no exhaust mods, correct? Most such failures I've read had headers, but a few were stock. Bad luck, I guess, but if 2016 coils were improved indeed, that should take care of the problem once and for all.

 

Correct, no exhaust mods and have just under 16k miles.

Hindsight 20/20 and should have requested all to be replaced. If it happens again, I'll demand it and will have history of previous event to support it.

 

Mine is a 2013 Boxster S with 17k miles. No coil problems so far. Don't have aftermarket headers and I don't track my car although every drive is between 3000-6000 rpms. So don't belive that earlier build cars had defective coils. Old wives tale.

 

So don't belive that earlier build cars had defective coils. Old wives tale.

Oh yeah? Maybe you'll change your tune after reading this: http://www.planet-9.com/981-cayman-...an-and-boxster-problems-and-complaints/100212-ignition-coil-failure-981-cs.html

 

Well, this just happened to my 2014 981CS with ~49k miles on it....no mods, daily driver, 4~5 track days a year. I'd be fine if it was just one, but when I had the first failure replaced (cylinder 5), a week later it happened again, and this time I had to pull the car over if was misfiring so bad. Brought it in, this time cylinder 6. I demanded to have all replaced as this is my (expensive) daily driver and I can't trust it at this point. The dealer informed me that their is no way that Porsche would do this. After a bit of back and forth I relented and paid for the other 4 to be replaced. Porsche will be receiving a letter about this, not sure it will do any good, but this is ridiculous. This has to be a known issue and to have 2 fail on one car in 2 weeks and they won't replace the rest is not great customer service. I get that these things fail, in my old RX-8 this was an issue as well, but the issue here is that they would rather have the customer continue to be inconvenienced and lose faith in the product as compared to spending ~$60/coil (what they charge us) and a hour of labor to get rid of both of the negative impacts it has caused. Silly.

 

Jersey:

I've had this happen to me as well. The problem is HEAT. The insulators for the coils are buried far into the cylinder heads. I had ONE DE in July when weather was near 100F. (never again!).

After that, car started missing. It was annoying because at low/no speed it was causing me to stall the motor on 1st gear starts. It's difficult not to have the RPMs zoom up too high with my car (mine has GT3 TB and Softronic Flash plus cat-back...and underdrive pulley) Holding it around 1000 RPMS is tough. If the car is missing, it makes it worse. At higher revs, it was pretty smooth, although I think it may have still been happening occasionally.

I went to a good non-dealer tech and had all of them replaced with new OEM coils and wires. Have had many DEs since but always in Spring and Fall and I watch out for overheating and do careful cool-downs after each session...like a lap or even two around the parking area after my cool down lap or half-lap, depending on the track. If it's real hot, I just don't go out. Also try to park it in the shade if possible.

Excessive heat is not just hard on the coils, it's hard on the oil and the bearings too. I'm aiming for 200K on stock everything with my car while still enjoying it. Not looking for fastest lap times. I don't push the RPMs much past 6500 for same reasons.

Because the car is mid-engine, cooling is a bit more of a challenge than with a 911. Heat-soak is also a problem when parking on a hot asphalt lot after the session is over.

Melting power steering reservoirs is also a common issue on Gen 1 cars. They distort and then leak...then the PS pump fails from lack of fluid. Have even heard that some race cars have caught fire because of leaking brake fluid collecting in the engine "well" and getting super-heated. I think they repositioned the pump or used different plastic or have better fans on the later cars. I've not heard of this issue with either 987.2s or 981s.

Anyway, nature of this beast. I have never been to a dealer for a single warranty claim. I bought my car with 1 month left on the warranty and just took care of it myself doing a lot of preventative tweaks and some repairs myself.

They are great cars and they endure if taken care of, but they are not without foibles. This coil thing would be one of those. Problem "stems" from the coils being buried so deep in the engine.

You can daily-drive this car a long time without having any issues with coils or wires for a LONG time. That's the good news.

Not so good...DEs in hot weather will cook those insulators and cause cracks in them which will ground out the spark.

There may be better insulators around than the stock ones.

There may be a way to shield heat from these insulators by wrapping them or something.

I have stock, OEM coils and wires on my car and it has worked fine for over 40K. The only problem I ever had was after that one really HOT July DE.

:cheers: