Reporting live, from the side of the road! V here, latest victim of the coolant hose failure phenomenon. And I got some really damning pics to go along with my report to the authorities.

I'll post them up later here.

On the bright side, I was planning to put my car in the shop next week anyway. And brighter still, I caught the leak immediately and shut it down before it all drained out. You'll see the trail in the pictures. Ridiculous.

-V

 

It is ridiculous were you driving it hard at the time and curious what miles you have on it. Off subject how come as often as you post your count doesn't seem to move?

 

Hey, thanks for keeping me company as I wait for the flatbed. Speaking of, any tips or tricks in getting it loaded? Do's and don't's?

I've got around 28k on the clock, and wasn't driving it any harder than it was designed to handle, that's for sure. I'm not even modded up yet.

Not sure what's going on with my post count, if anything. I pay more attention to my reputation.

Wait til you see these pics...

-V

 

Use a flat bed and hopefully they have seen a Porsche before and don't tear out the suspension or rip of your spoiler. I would drive it up on if the angle works and the cars not leaking to bad.

 

Use the tow hook into the front bumper if you do not wanna drive it up. Dont wrap the front axle with a chain and pull it up. Sorry to hear, Im always driving with the fear that my coolant lines might let go.

 

Sucks. I keep counting down in mine. Looking out the back for a trail of coolant.

But. You will get it fixed and start having fun again in no time

 

Sorry this happened to you, man.
Glad you caught it quickly and it didn't take you (or anyone else) out.
I'm having mine welded the next time my engine comes out. Until then...

 

Wow that sucks!!! Let me take a guess it was the hose right by the alternator?

 

sucks. good that you were able to stop without more drama. looks like we keep racking up more events which makes us all w/out pinned lines more squeamish i'm sure. sheesh. gl w it.

 

Please report your incident with the NHTSA, the link is listed here:

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...s-repairs.html

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

 

First off, thanks to you all, my friends. Your commiseration helped soothe the blow. As welcome as that was though, those that have had this issue in the past and shared their experiences here have my even deeper gratitude. Without you guys, I would have had no idea what this all was. Knowing about it, and how to deal with it made this all very manageable - ho-hum, even.

While I'm giving shout outs... AT&T Roadside Assistance, 10 years I've been paying you $4 bucks a month. This, my first and only call to you in all that time was worth every penny.

And to my indy Porsche master mechanic, who left his home to open his shop at 10pm on a Saturday to let me tuck in there for the weekend, YOU ARE THE MAN. (If you're within 20 miles of Huntington, NY, PM me for his info. You won't regret it.)

Now for the show!
Check these out. You can clearly see where I came to stop as I noticed the trail of steam. I idled for about 3 seconds to confirm the situation (thanks again, predecessors!), then immediately called the shot: reverse onto the side street, and engine off. Temp never got a needle's width or two above the 180 tic.

The car left nearly every drop of its coolant on the ground between the 100 feet of rolling to a stop and reversing to its pit-stop where I waited for the flatbed. If this had happened at night, or at speed, or some other situation where I wouldn't have caught it until my gauges started yelling at me, the engine could very well have been a cinder.

In my humble yet professional opinion, this is a woeful negligence on Porsche's part. Never mind the quality control issues and the cost to repair. This is legitimate, potentially life-threatening failure that can affect not only owners/operators of the car, but also those driving behind them. The suddenness of onset and the immediacy of the required response can cause a panic situation for the driver. The consequent trail and pool of coolant on the road surface pose a great risk to other drivers for hours after the event. Both of these threaten the lives of the operators these cars as well as those of proximate vehicles.

It's my sincerest hope that my report to the NHTSA, photos, and experience - in conjunction with those of others unfortunate enough to share it - compels a model-wide recall to address this very serious problem.

Stay safe out there,
-V

 

Damn V! Nice catch though before any additional damage. Subscribed, so please report on repairs and costs. Any idea?

 

Filed a moment ago, enjoy. More importantly, let's hope it gets the attention from the investigators.

Summary: Failure of coolant hoses during normal operation of vehicle, resulting in immediate flushing of all coolant onto road surface and into engine bay. Immediate engine shutdown required to prevent further damage. Observed risks include: panic situation to operator and passengers of vehicle; catastrophic engine failure due to overheating and consequent accident threat; loss of traction to vehicle and subsequent traffic due to high volume of coolant on road surface; vapor trail limiting visibility of subsequent traffic; roadside accident hazard affecting vehicle and subsequent traffic.

Details: Saturday, July 27, 2013, ~7:15pm ET, Nassau County NY - Westbound on State Route 24 - Hempstead Turnpike. Driving at approximately 45MPH in 3rd gear, vehicle operator noticed a thick cloud of vapor emanating from the rear of the vehicle, over the engine compartment. Operator brought vehicle to a halt in the middle of the road, whereupon the odor of burning coolant was detected. Having been familiarized with reports of like vehicles being afflicted with these symptoms, operator immediately placed vehicle into reverse and backed vehicle off of Route 24 and onto a side street, and turned off vehicle by removing the key.

Operator observed the outside temperature to be approximately 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and the vehicle's reported (remaining) coolant temperature to be approximately 190 degrees Fahrenheit at the time of the incident. All other vehicle systems were functioning properly at the time of the incident. Vehicle has been regularly serviced and its engine, intake, and cooling systems are unmodified, factory specification.

Operator has photographic evidence of the event and will provide to NHTSA and related parties upon lawful request.

 

ASLAN & Co.: Keep up to date with all the goings on between Porsche and the NHTSA by clicking here to view the NHTSA's published internal communications, as well as those with Porsche Cars, N.A. during the investigation.

For my part, I'll be following closely.
-V

 

very nicely done. couldn't ask for a more cogent description of events. thx for sharing the info and your articulation. ( even more squeamish now ugh )