Discussion
Started the car up Thursday morning - didn’t start well and wouldn't idle consistently, it also sounded very rough. It was so bad that i turned the engine off straight away and drove the birds POLO to work (think the thing must run on fumes - the gauge didn’t even move despite a 50 mile round trip). The car hasn’t missed a beat in the 12 months since I have owned it...
Anyway Porsche assist came out last night, the Porsche specialist they sent (their words not mine) who couldn't find the ignition (v amusing) said it sounded like there could be something wrong with the valves. He got it collected this morning.
Then got a confused message from the OPC - the throttle body needed cleaning and there was something wrong with the ac unit. Mentioned the warranty and they said they would come back to me with a final price and a breakdown of what was wrong.
Just chased them to find out what the problem was, I was informed -
- The ac unit was covered by warranty (apparently it had been showing as a fault on the computer - wasn’t showing up on the dashboard) so they had sorted it
- The sensor in the throttle body was showing a fault intermittently - so they had to clean it out at a cost of £250 and the now the fault has gone away. Nice of them to ask ;-)
Obviously if its is fixed I am very happy - however the question I have is re: the throttle body. I was fed a load of blarney abt throttle bodies when i had a golf (prob turned out to be the air mass sensor - surprise surprise)
- Could this have caused the problem (doesn’t sound like the sort of thing that would suddenly occur)? I guess i will only know when i collect it.
- Is there actually a sensor that would pick this up - as per their diagnosis?
- Is this a realistic cost for cleaning it out - it took the VW dealersip abt 20 mins to clean out the golf, and they did it on a couple of different occasions!! At £100 per hours it sounds like it took them a fair while to sort…
Also
- would the ac unit have contributed to any of the above?? or were they simply looking to fix a fault that was appearing on their sensors
BTW - guy who towed the car was extremely good – advised that they had heard of two tow rings snap on Porsches, whilst being loaded onto flat beds, within the last 18 months. Not sure if that is BS but perhaps something to watch-out for …
Thanks again.
Anyway Porsche assist came out last night, the Porsche specialist they sent (their words not mine) who couldn't find the ignition (v amusing) said it sounded like there could be something wrong with the valves. He got it collected this morning.
Then got a confused message from the OPC - the throttle body needed cleaning and there was something wrong with the ac unit. Mentioned the warranty and they said they would come back to me with a final price and a breakdown of what was wrong.
Just chased them to find out what the problem was, I was informed -
- The ac unit was covered by warranty (apparently it had been showing as a fault on the computer - wasn’t showing up on the dashboard) so they had sorted it
- The sensor in the throttle body was showing a fault intermittently - so they had to clean it out at a cost of £250 and the now the fault has gone away. Nice of them to ask ;-)
Obviously if its is fixed I am very happy - however the question I have is re: the throttle body. I was fed a load of blarney abt throttle bodies when i had a golf (prob turned out to be the air mass sensor - surprise surprise)
- Could this have caused the problem (doesn’t sound like the sort of thing that would suddenly occur)? I guess i will only know when i collect it.
- Is there actually a sensor that would pick this up - as per their diagnosis?
- Is this a realistic cost for cleaning it out - it took the VW dealersip abt 20 mins to clean out the golf, and they did it on a couple of different occasions!! At £100 per hours it sounds like it took them a fair while to sort…
Also
- would the ac unit have contributed to any of the above?? or were they simply looking to fix a fault that was appearing on their sensors
BTW - guy who towed the car was extremely good – advised that they had heard of two tow rings snap on Porsches, whilst being loaded onto flat beds, within the last 18 months. Not sure if that is BS but perhaps something to watch-out for …
Thanks again.
Edited by cab on Friday 19th January 16:50
Edited by cab on Friday 19th January 16:51
Edited by cab on Friday 19th January 16:53
Sounds like they are pulling your plonker on the cleaning throttle body front.
Firstly I would have expected them to call you before carrying out any chargeable work. I would be very upset to receive a bill for work i had not ok'd.
Secondly a throttle body is just a hole with a butterfly, unless it is comletely cankered up to the point the butterfly will not close it should have no great effect on the running of the car that can be rectified by cleaning.
Sounds more like a MAF problem, I would suspect they have done nothing at all and the problem will return but who knows. Or possibly they found a vacuum pipe off and reconnected it!
Firstly I would have expected them to call you before carrying out any chargeable work. I would be very upset to receive a bill for work i had not ok'd.
Secondly a throttle body is just a hole with a butterfly, unless it is comletely cankered up to the point the butterfly will not close it should have no great effect on the running of the car that can be rectified by cleaning.
Sounds more like a MAF problem, I would suspect they have done nothing at all and the problem will return but who knows. Or possibly they found a vacuum pipe off and reconnected it!
cab said:
There was no mention 
of replacing a switch - we just cleaned the throttle body sir .....
of replacing a switch - we just cleaned the throttle body sir .....I'm guessing that something has got lost in translation here ?
The MAFs on these cars do seem to get contaminated, which can cause the engine response to feel "fluffy" or the idle to be inconsistent, a temporary fix can normally be effected by cleaning with an aerosol can of brake cleaner, but it is just that, temporary.
Replacement of the MAF cures the problem but Porsche charge in excess of double for the part over sourcing it direct from Bosch
Replacement is a 10 -15 minute job. If they have just cleaned it they're well and truly taking the P*ss.
If however there was a genuine fault with the throttle body (as opposed to the MAF) this may possibly cause a problem with the idle stability when the load of the air conditioning compressor is sensed by the ECU.
Suggest you ring the OPC and ask just EXACTLY what it is they've done.
Will be calling tomorrow to get more details
Im intrigued as to how the MAF can get contaminated. The MAF on my old VW was stuffed when a VW dealership did a service and changed the air filter. Car felt like it was misfiring occasionally - hugely frustrating until i found dealersip who knew what they were talking abt and resolved it in 30 mins
Im intrigued as to how the MAF can get contaminated. The MAF on my old VW was stuffed when a VW dealership did a service and changed the air filter. Car felt like it was misfiring occasionally - hugely frustrating until i found dealersip who knew what they were talking abt and resolved it in 30 mins
Actually, this is believable although they did charge you an arm and a leg for it. A grimey TB can definitely result in a "hunting" idle, and believe me these do get pretty dirty over time. I like to clean mine spotless with some carb cleaner every couple thousand miles, as well as the inside of the intercoolers. You wouldn't believe what kind of grease gets trapped in both over time... Call it preventative maintenance.
With emission requirements and EGR valves, it can get even dirtier. Anyone know if the 996 has an EGR - I can't find anywhere in my manuals?
Anyway, they still shouldn't have charged you without asking first!
Is the problem resolved?
With emission requirements and EGR valves, it can get even dirtier. Anyone know if the 996 has an EGR - I can't find anywhere in my manuals?
Anyway, they still shouldn't have charged you without asking first!
Is the problem resolved?
Edited by BLKROKT on Saturday 20th January 09:51
wildoliver said:
How do you clean inside your intercoolers?
1. Take them off
2. Dump in a gallon of (cheap) gas
3. Shake vigorously
4. Dump out the (now black) gas
5. Reinstall
Voila, clean intercoolers! That film of oil and grease on the inside has an impact (albeit a small one) on it's cooling effectiveness as well...
BLKROKT said:
Actually, this is believable although they did charge you an arm and a leg for it. A grimey TB can definitely result in a "hunting" idle, and believe me these do get pretty dirty over time. I like to clean mine spotless with some carb cleaner every couple thousand miles, as well as the inside of the intercoolers. You wouldn't believe what kind of grease gets trapped in both over time... Call it preventative maintenance.
With emission requirements and EGR valves, it can get even dirtier. Anyone know if the 996 has an EGR - I can't find anywhere in my manuals?
Anyway, they still shouldn't have charged you without asking first!
Is the problem resolved?
With emission requirements and EGR valves, it can get even dirtier. Anyone know if the 996 has an EGR - I can't find anywhere in my manuals?
Anyway, they still shouldn't have charged you without asking first!
Is the problem resolved?
Edited by BLKROKT on Saturday 20th January 09:51
So how long should it take to clean said throttle body??
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