The Porsche secret great flat battery rip off.
Discussion
It appears if you have a flat battery in a 996 and disconnect it to charge, the air bag failure light comes on, this requires a reset by Porsche. If you disconnect the battery on a 997, and have a PSE, it needs recalibrating.
Its stunning that the battery fitted into these very expensive motor cars runs flat so easily. How many times has the thread, " my alarm this, my battery that", been posted? Its usually followed with advice from a man in a shiney suit from OPC Tewkesbury insisting that a 50 quid conditioners needed.
Can't Porsche fit that into a seventy grand car? At the very least design an electrical system that doesn't use so much power when garaged? The batteries seem unsubstantial in capacity themselves, Ive read comments that Bosch provide a far better one for about 80 quid.
I can leave my 86 Carrera for weeks on end, and it will fire up at the flick of my fingers. In the event of a flat battery, I can simply loosen the negative terminal, apply a charger for half an hour and off I go.
Battery disconnection leading to air bag lights coming on, and pse sensor angles that need recalibrating seem like simple stealth taxes if you will, implemented by Porsche to suck cash out of their customers who have to visit OPC for a reset. The job amounts to plugging in a external device, and pushing a button no doubt. Whilst there the gullible idiot can be co-erced into spending more. [Oh sir, your brake discs are corroded] etc etc [Do have a Porsche biscuit]
Couldn't a reset button be fitted to the cars ?
I have several less expensive pieces of kit that have capacitors within them that add pence to cost to their constuction. Purposely fitted to overcome the problems of power failure or flat batteries. Why haven't Porsche simply put these into the pcb mechanisms that support these extra systems, eg airbag and pse.
Its a complete joke, and deserves comment.
Its stunning that the battery fitted into these very expensive motor cars runs flat so easily. How many times has the thread, " my alarm this, my battery that", been posted? Its usually followed with advice from a man in a shiney suit from OPC Tewkesbury insisting that a 50 quid conditioners needed.
Can't Porsche fit that into a seventy grand car? At the very least design an electrical system that doesn't use so much power when garaged? The batteries seem unsubstantial in capacity themselves, Ive read comments that Bosch provide a far better one for about 80 quid.
I can leave my 86 Carrera for weeks on end, and it will fire up at the flick of my fingers. In the event of a flat battery, I can simply loosen the negative terminal, apply a charger for half an hour and off I go.
Battery disconnection leading to air bag lights coming on, and pse sensor angles that need recalibrating seem like simple stealth taxes if you will, implemented by Porsche to suck cash out of their customers who have to visit OPC for a reset. The job amounts to plugging in a external device, and pushing a button no doubt. Whilst there the gullible idiot can be co-erced into spending more. [Oh sir, your brake discs are corroded] etc etc [Do have a Porsche biscuit]
Couldn't a reset button be fitted to the cars ?
I have several less expensive pieces of kit that have capacitors within them that add pence to cost to their constuction. Purposely fitted to overcome the problems of power failure or flat batteries. Why haven't Porsche simply put these into the pcb mechanisms that support these extra systems, eg airbag and pse.
Its a complete joke, and deserves comment.
Edited by stuttgartmetal on Sunday 4th February 10:12
It's a common problem with modern cars. The plethora of electronic devices increase the quiescent drain on the battery. The problem exists with many modern vehicles but is exacerbated on Porsches as they regularly appear to be left unused for weeks at a time. A bigger battery helps but also increases the weight of the car.
pp
pp
I spoke to Steve McHale at JZM about the OE batteries Porsche now fit to all their cars.
He says they replace them on a regular basis.............
Apparently they are sourced from a former East German manufacturer and re-branded by Porsche.
They are an extremely basic/ cheap and nasty product.
As you rightly say, we are indeed entitled to a better quality/higher capacity product. But then again Porsche didn't become the most profitable car manufacturer in the world by fitting the highest quality products did they ?
My 996 battery shows signs of giving up the ghost if left for more than 5 or 6 days, I've therefore invested in a conditioner from Halfrauds that cost the princely sum of £19.95.
I've yet to wire it into the car so that I can plug it in without removing the battery cover, but if it means I don't have to jump start the car (and thus avoid having my dash light up like a Christmas tree) it's £20 well spent !
But I do agree, £70K cars should be provided with a battery that is substantial enough to start the car even if it has been left standing for any length of time.
P.S I left a Vauxhall Corsa outside on my drive for 9 weeks whilst I went to New Zealand some years ago, on my return it's battery spun the car over as if it were freshly charged and it started it the car immediately.....................
He says they replace them on a regular basis.............
Apparently they are sourced from a former East German manufacturer and re-branded by Porsche.
They are an extremely basic/ cheap and nasty product.
As you rightly say, we are indeed entitled to a better quality/higher capacity product. But then again Porsche didn't become the most profitable car manufacturer in the world by fitting the highest quality products did they ?
My 996 battery shows signs of giving up the ghost if left for more than 5 or 6 days, I've therefore invested in a conditioner from Halfrauds that cost the princely sum of £19.95.
I've yet to wire it into the car so that I can plug it in without removing the battery cover, but if it means I don't have to jump start the car (and thus avoid having my dash light up like a Christmas tree) it's £20 well spent !
But I do agree, £70K cars should be provided with a battery that is substantial enough to start the car even if it has been left standing for any length of time.
P.S I left a Vauxhall Corsa outside on my drive for 9 weeks whilst I went to New Zealand some years ago, on my return it's battery spun the car over as if it were freshly charged and it started it the car immediately.....................
Agree hugely irritating. imagine my delight having bought a battery conditioner from Porsche and came to car a few weeks ago.......battery flat & this was after they sold me the wrong conditioner to begin with.
Cue disconnecting battery and alarms going off and now its gone one of those annoying blips when I lock the car suggesting that a doors open
still, airbag light is not an issue?
slippy - have u not removed battery cover to save weight
Cue disconnecting battery and alarms going off and now its gone one of those annoying blips when I lock the car suggesting that a doors open
still, airbag light is not an issue?
slippy - have u not removed battery cover to save weight
2something said:
Talking of batteries, I rememeber reading that the 996 entered a semi-hibernate mode after 5 days of not being used. If this is the case, is there a way to put it into this mode manually, before you went off for a couple of weeks ?
It does, but there is still enough of a drain to run the standard battery down in a relatively short amount of time. I've had a new battery every year, but as has been said this isn't a Porsche-only problem. In some Mercs now they have an extra battery just to cope with the additional drain because of all the gizmos.
It is another sign of the accountants taking over from the engineers.
ricardo60 said:
Agree hugely irritating. imagine my delight having bought a battery conditioner from Porsche and came to car a few weeks ago.......battery flat & this was after they sold me the wrong conditioner to begin with.
Cue disconnecting battery and alarms going off and now its gone one of those annoying blips when I lock the car suggesting that a doors open
still, airbag light is not an issue?
slippy - have u not removed battery cover to save weight
Cue disconnecting battery and alarms going off and now its gone one of those annoying blips when I lock the car suggesting that a doors open
still, airbag light is not an issue?
slippy - have u not removed battery cover to save weight
The wrong conditioner ??? I thought all conditioners were created equal
Battery cover left loose in the luggage compartment I'm afraid.............
It does sound a bit weird, agreed. I used to have trouble with a motorbike (tiny 8AH battery) if you had an alarm fitted (otherwise it would last indefinitely).
Both E30 and 930 have top quality batteries with alarms, neither seem to ever need charging however long they are left, but I top up the 930 because that battery cost me nearly £80 IIRC. The Pug 406 battery lasts forever too, and that has loads of electronic gizmos.
Also bear in mind a car battery only takes about 2-4 flats before it is dead, lead acid batteries hate being slowly drained to nothing and rebel.
Imagine a nokia 6610 phone connected to a car battery: it would last several years between charges, and yet it is always listening for a call/message/alarm etc. I think poor battery life in a car is purely down to poor engineering - possibly from Bosch rather than Porsche? A car that sits there should only need the alarm to be active, a job that 50mA should be perfectly adequate IMO, giving a battery life of well over 1000 hours, or over 6 weeks..
Both E30 and 930 have top quality batteries with alarms, neither seem to ever need charging however long they are left, but I top up the 930 because that battery cost me nearly £80 IIRC. The Pug 406 battery lasts forever too, and that has loads of electronic gizmos.
Also bear in mind a car battery only takes about 2-4 flats before it is dead, lead acid batteries hate being slowly drained to nothing and rebel.
Imagine a nokia 6610 phone connected to a car battery: it would last several years between charges, and yet it is always listening for a call/message/alarm etc. I think poor battery life in a car is purely down to poor engineering - possibly from Bosch rather than Porsche? A car that sits there should only need the alarm to be active, a job that 50mA should be perfectly adequate IMO, giving a battery life of well over 1000 hours, or over 6 weeks..
Insisting on the fitment of the mother of all batteries before you take delivery seems to be the way to go on this one. Or invest in a trickle charger - Porsche charges a laughable amount for theirs, so perhaps that's the reason they engineer their batteries to go flat. Most Porsche showrooms look like the snake-pit in Indiana Jones, with leads and connectors slithering in all directions to keep the 911s charged. If it's any consolation, things have been that way since the 993, so this isn't necessarily something new.
Globulator said:
I think poor battery life in a car is purely down to poor engineering - possibly from Bosch rather than Porsche? A car that sits there should only need the alarm to be active, a job that 50mA should be perfectly adequate IMO, giving a battery life of well over 1000 hours, or over 6 weeks..
So you don't want the climate control to retain its setting, seat memory, clock, radio stations, satnav settings, stability control etc. etc. Granted, it sounds like Porsche could probably fit a better battery but there are a whole host of electrical systems in the vehicle that still draw current even with th ignition off. After all of this has to then produce several Amps whilst cold to start the engine.
pp
Edited by Pickled Piper on Sunday 4th February 16:07
Pickled Piper said:
So you don't want the climate control to retain its setting, seat memory, clock, radio stations, satnav settings, stability control etc. etc. Granted, it sounds like Porsche could probably fit a better battery but there are a whole host of electrical systems in the vehicle that still draw current even with th ignition off. After all of this has to then produce several Amps whilst cold to start the engine.
pp
Climate control memory ...............really not overly fussed if I have to adjust the settings (I do anyway depending on the weather conditions)
Seat memory.............. not fitted..........
Clock............mmmmmm must really draw some current that .........
Sat Nav.........What's that ?
Stability Control................Stability what ???
Still only lasts 5-6 days despite not having that lot fitted (and the alarm goes into hibernation after 5 days anyway !!!)
Really PP
They're cheap sh*t useless batteries fitted to maximise Porsches profit margins, nothing less. Edited by slippydiff on Sunday 4th February 17:38
All these points can and should be designed out of the system. The fact is they aren't, and Porsche know all about that.
Its not unusual for manufacturers to design technology with intrinsic faults deliberately so that extra expense occurs, not unusual at all.
Wholly indicative of the line taken by the Bald Beancounter [copyright Loach]
Its not unusual for manufacturers to design technology with intrinsic faults deliberately so that extra expense occurs, not unusual at all.
Wholly indicative of the line taken by the Bald Beancounter [copyright Loach]
There is a risk, albeit a small one that the battery is fine and not for the first time I look like a muppet. Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff