2014 Porsche GT3

[eronbo]

I have a Porsche GT3 on order. It was supposed to be delivered this week but is being held pending solution of the "problem" Today I received this email from Porsche:


Dear Mr. _______:
As advised previously, engineers at Porsche AG have been conducting technical analysis of the Porsche 911 GT3 engine in order to find a solution to the problem which led us to recommend you stop driving your car.
This analysis is now completed, and we would like to inform you about the cause of the problem and the planned remedial actions.
As already communicated, two vehicles in Europe suffered engine damage, causing the vehicles to catch fire.
Analysis has revealed that in both cases the engine damage was caused by a loosened piston rod screw connection which damaged the crankcase. In order to avoid this in the future, an optimized screw connection is currently being tested. For the final validation of this solution, Porsche AG is currently carrying out extensive tests.
At Porsche we are rigorous when implementing an engineering solution, therefore, after the successful testing and validation we will be installing new engines with optimized piston rod screw connections in all 2014 Porsche 911 GT3 vehicles.
Due to the complexity of the necessary arrangement, we are currently unable to provide you with a specific workshop date for your Porsche 911 GT3. We will be arranging an appointment with you individually, as soon as the logistics planning is finalized. We will be providing you with additional information within the next three weeks.
We continue to remain committed to supporting your individual needs during this time. Your personal contact person will make contact with you within the next days to discuss individual solutions to bridge the gap until you are reunited with your Porsche 911 GT3.
Thank you very much for your patience and your loyalty to the Porsche brand.
Kind regards,


Tim Quinn
Vice President, AfterSales
Porsche Cars North America, Inc.

[aigel]

Wow. Are these rod bolts / nuts they are talking about? You'd think there isn't a ton of rocket science going into these, especially in the days of FEA and rapid prototyping.

Sorry to hear your car is delayed. Here is your chance to ask for your money back and buy a 997 GT3 RS 4.0 with a proper stick shift.

Cheers,

G

[kevin993]

This thread on Rennlist seems to be the best discussion I've seen on the topic:

Stop Sale? - Page 186 - Rennlist Discussion Forums

[aigel]

Thanks Kevin for the link. It is the rod bolts as posted on that thread. Part #7



My bet is on a supplier / metallurgy issue, possibly combined with a smaller than usual engineering margin? If you do the obvious and step up to one size bigger bolt, you add weight, need more meat on the thread side (rod) etc.

G

[Elombard]

"piston rod screw connection"??? That does not seem like the proper terminology for a rod bolt. Its like they had a marketing person with absolutely no knowledge of vehicles/engines write that letter. I would not harp except that they go on and on about rigorous engineering tests etc.

Anyway - it will be worth the wait - they seem like amazing cars and I have no doubt that Porsche will stand behind it. Kind of surprised that a problem like that never showed up during testing and dyno?

[aigel]

Kind of surprised that a problem like that never showed up during testing and dyno?

This is why I am saying that they must have a supplier quality problem. Porsche buys these bolts ...

G

[Flojo]

They now oficially published the "problem" and will swap all these engines.

wow - what a task

[Tom Elder]

"piston rod screw connection"??? That does not seem like the proper terminology for a rod bolt. Its like they had a marketing person with absolutely no knowledge of vehicles/engines write that letter. I would not harp except that they go on and on about rigorous engineering tests etc.



Technical trivia, when I read "piston rod screw connection" I thought, typical German, overly technically precise. From a 2 day screw school, I took 20 odd years ago, Hex Head bolt vs a hex head screw, always looked the same to me, but there is a technical difference. Bolt is tighten by turning a nut, a screw is tighten by turning the screw. A hex head bolt vs a hex head screw may look identical but the bolt surface under the head is allowed to be manufactured to a lessor surface tolerance / finish. Generally most people, even in the engineer field use these words interchangeably. Having said that "rod bolt" works for me.

[Elombard]

Ahh I see what you are saying there is no nut. Interesting, thanks for the info I strive to be technically correct :-). Serisouly that is interesting. I did not even realize they did rod bolts like that.

Yeah that is a task. They will drop and swap the engines in maybe 1500 cars - that is a lot of motors. If the supplier that made the mistake is paying I bet that is a biiiigggg $$$ bill. They will be supplying free rod screws to Porsche for quite some time.

[Geronimo '74]

Not 1500, only 800 have been delivered so far... Only 800...

[BOJAN]

Dam it...i was hoping it was a lightning fast PDK.

[Elombard]

Only 800 - right I was thinking they had some built at the factory not delivered that needed the motor change but your right its probably less than 1500.

So will they have to build up new motors and ship them all over the world? I wonder how long that will take?


Its a challenging logistical problem for sure!

[bdisco]

Meanwhile you could always get yourself a pair of GT3 driving gloves like Richard Hammond...

[Jay Laifman]

Yes, but can someone tell me how a failed connecting rod causes a fire????

[Flieger]

Rod screw fails = rod puts a window in the block. Oil makes a rapid exit from the window and burns when it hits the hot exhaust.

[geowar]

Keep us posted on the "bridge the gap" solution you and Porsche agree to.

[caitov]

Contrast how well I think Porsche is handling this versus BMW which is now finally taking responsibility for their "engine bolt" issue.
BMW broadens engine bolt recall to nearly half-million cars worldwide - Autoblog

We had this happen almost one year ago on my wife's 2011 X5 that was just 10k miles out of warranty.
We tried two separate BMW dealers who both said they couldn't get approval to extend warranty to fix a broken engine with only 60k miles.

[mreid]

Your letter seems to indicate they think you already took delivery???

Something tells me you are at the end of the list.