What was supposed to be a fine afternoon yesterday turned rather dismal. I hesitated about posting anything, I guess sort of trying to pretend that the less I thought about it, the less it would hurt....but as anyone else that's been through this knows, it's hard to think about anything else when you're playing the waiting game.

I've had my '05 C2S just over 2 months. I purchased her in Florida as a CPO car (the new and improved CPO program). I drove it home to Texas and have only had the chance to put 2K miles on it (it had 55K on it when I purchased it).

Short version : drove North to Tioga for some BBQ at Clark's Outpost. Took the back roads up there, enjoying the time away from the city. Car ran great the whole way - about a 2 hour route the way I meandered up there, spending most of the time at 70~75mph without a hitch.

The moment I pulled in the parking lot, I began to hear what sounded like small rocks being ingested in the engine. Since Clark's has a pea-gravel parking lot, I figured it was simply said rocks hitting the undercarriage/exhaust/etc. But as I rolled to a stop, the sound didn't. A gentle rev to confirm engine speed to new noise correlation made my heart sink. I switched her off, popped the rear lid and expected to see the accessory belt in shreds (or missing). Nope...everything was intact. No leaks under the car, either. No odd smells and nothing out of place.

Hopped back in, started her up with my eyes closed and within 2 seconds the engine seized. It didn't sputter and cough to a stop - it simply flat out seized, and that was all she wrote.

Considering this a rather fortunate stroke of luck (engine failure at 2mph at my destination vs 75mph 10 minutes ago on a narrow 2 lane country road? Whew!) I called Porsche Roadside and gave them my location. Went inside, had a nice long lunch, complete with coconut pie, and rode the tow truck back with my poor C2S the long 50 miles back to Boardwalk Porsche, where she's currently undergoing diagnosis.

I'm unsure of what the prognosis is, or will be - no weeping/seeping oil, which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. Of course, being an '05 owner, all I can think about is the dreaded IMS. Who knows - the car had more miles than most and the service records didn't indicate that it had succumbed to this in the past. I had done my research on '05s in general and asked all the right questions when I bought the car. The price was great, and the fact that it was a CPO was impossible to pass up as it was precisely the color/options combo I wanted.

I'm not sure how long it will take before I get the call - I'm a bit nervous I guess.

The folks at the dealership were very apologetic and indicated that the new CPO warranty that I have was pretty comprehensive and seemed to think that I'd be okay. At just 2 months into my ownership of this car, I imagine that they'll want to take care of me. I'm a relatively happy Porsche owner, and enjoy my '07 Boxster S when I'm not driving the C2S. But still, it makes you nervous when you're unsure of your cars future. I wouldn't be able to afford a new engine out of pocket, so I'll be pretty crushed after just two short months if they don't take care of me.

The car was in great shape - perfect maintenance records, single previous owner. Durametric scans there in Florida (yes, I went prepared) showed a few ignitions in range 2 (7500-7700) and just two ignitions in range 3 (7500-7900). Per many posts on this topic over the past few years, I know this isn't perfect, but it's not all that alarming either. All of the higher ranges took place at operating hour 239, so relatively early on in the cars life (I believe the total operating hours were near 2,800 which seems right given the 57,000 miles the car has). Given that those ranges were probably 40,000+ miles ago, I can't see that they contributed in any fashion.

Back in May, after I got the car home, I took it in for a belt replacement here with the Boardwalk folks and they discovered some worn idler pulleys that were replaced under warranty. There was nothing to indicate any pending engine failure during that checkup, but it seems that another '05 has joined the ranks.

I recall reading about another CPO car here just a month or so ago where the engine was replaced after an IMS failure - I can only hope at this point that I will be as lucky.

 

You did everything that you could . I did write a thread on the subject of CPO skepticism awhile back https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...fied-spec.html


Right now you are still in the waiting phase .. and rather than speculate the financially catastrophic vs the simple fix .. it's best to just wait and see .

Either way ... the feelings and thoughts that you shared are being heard . They are understandable . Even a new car can break too so this car problems could hapen to anyone . Your situatualtion will have its first step towards closure once you have the diagnosis . Keep us posted and good luck.

 

That is some really bad luck but it sounds like you are taking it in stride at the moment. I really hope it all turns out well and they take care of you.

 

yikes sorry to hear about your motor. I too have an 05 with Cpo that I bought in December. I just had it in the shop for a few things which at first they told me were not covered but then they later called to tell me everything was in fact covered incl. a rental. Hopefully it works out for you and you'll get a new motor!

 

this stuff really concerns me -- was buying a non cpo ... non warrantied 05 C2S yesterday and thought i should wait and pay a bit more for a cpo

 

Ouch, it sounds like you will be covered.

 

Wow, that is a bummer. But, on the bright side if you get a new engine out of warranty it may turn into the best purchase ever! Keep us in the loop.

 

Sorry to hear about your car. There is no rhyme or reason to some of these failures, and it can happen to the best of them, even the CPO ones. But I'm confident that the dealership and PCNA will take care of it.

 

Ouch.... your the second 05 I have heard about... interested to hear what the issue is.

Jason

 

Keep us posted..!

 

This does indeed sound like a potential case of IMS bearing failure - something Porsche is usually good at remedying under warranty, thankfully. The normal route is a manufacturer replacement engine that will have all the latest updates (including the 'final' version of the IMS bearing) and should be bullet-proof.

The rattling from the engine was likely the nut on the IMS bearing carrier having fallen off into the clutch housing. It would then get bounced around by the flywheel and cause the rattling sound you heard. My local independent had a car in with exactly the same problem a couple of weeks ago.

 

Consider yourself lucky. You´ll get a new reman-engine with two years warranty and a peace of mind for the next few years. I would prefer to buy a CPO with a reman-engine than a 55Mls car, with original engine, so don´t worry, Porsche will take care of you, and you´ll have a new toy to play with few days from now.

But it´s so sad to read this M96 blown engine stories ever since 1998 on every Porsche forum .

 

Almost identical to my story of two months ago. New to me CPO car, 05 base, 36k miles, heard noise, engine seized going 65-70 on the NJ turnpike at 5:30 AM. Luckily in right lane. Hey, I even have a boxster at home to drive while I wait.

Took a total of 5 weeks however to get car. Part of it due to the fact I use a relatively small dealer.

Runs great so far with new engined with reinforced IMS.

You will be fine.

Also, 2 days after getting my car back the battery died and car would not start in my garage. My dealer picked up the car, replaced the battery for free and delievered it back same day.

 

Ian, do you know when exactly did they introduce that 'final' version of IMS bearing? Generally speaking - are those engines affected date just to year 2005 alone or does it cover wider date range?

 

Would think you are ok with CPO... as others mentioned... new engine may be a pretty good outcome!