Nick Jeffery
Surrey, UK
Model 991.1 GTS Year 2015 Acquired AUGUST 2022 Model 997.1 GT3 Year 2007 Acquired NOVEMBER 2019
You may recall I had the dreaded PADM – Porsche Active Dynamic (Engine) Mount – failure on my 991.1 Carrera
GTS a few weeks ago, with the usual warning on the dashboard informing me that the system was disabled and to refer the car to the workshop. Thankfully, driving was still permitted.
There’s no obvious change in the way the car behaves when the system is disabled. This begs the question why would Porsche bother to develop such a system and/or not address the problem, which appears to be commonplace on the 981/991 and 718/992 generations? I’m told it’s an electrical sensor that fails within the unit, rather than a mechanical failure of the unit itself. Other owners led me to believe the part is unavailable and on back order, but Paragon was able to source a unit overnight. Perhaps the leadin time varies from model to model?
The car was booked in at Paragon to be repaired under its comprehensive 12-month warranty. The team explained the job would take a couple of hours or so and involved the removal of the rear bumper, undertrays and so on. In addition, if both units had failed, I would need to leave the vehicle there. However, initial investigations revealed it was the left-hand engine mount that had failed.
Paragon’s technician had only recently performed a replacement on another 991, so the process was still fresh in his mind. The work itself was actually done in an hour or so. The car was taken on a test drive to ensure all was well and then fully valeted inside and out, meaning I was back out on the road and fault free the same morning!
Excellent service as always from the team at Paragon, and totally different to some of the horror stories I hear from fellow owners who are still under the official Porsche warranty. These include delays in inspecting the car, then lengthy lead-in times to obtain the relevant part, plus the dealers needing to keep the car for at least a day, sometimes even longer. I’m not sure I could put up with that.
Interestingly, Paragon assured me that the part number for my replacement unit (which fits either side) had a later part number, indicating Porsche may well have identified the problem. I’m keeping my fingers crossed! I may also choose to extend the Paragon warranty at the end of August given that it’s likely the righthand side unit will fail at some point, and the part alone is around £900 plus VAT, with labour on top.
Other owners, particular those with 718 Boxster Spyders, told me they had to have their geometry checked/ reset following PADM replacement, but Paragon was adamant this isn’t required on the 991.1, which makes sense to me. Yet I’m still curious why official Porsche dealers are suggesting otherwise on mid-engined models?
In other news, I’m looking forward to a number of road trips and driving tours this year, which kick off shortly with a convoy of over 130 Boxster Spyders from Surrey to Beaulieu National Motor Museum to celebrate CSC’S second anniversary, then the CSC South West Tour, Le Mans Classic in a good friend’s 718 Boxster Spyder, two consecutive 12-day tours in the Carrera GTS around Europe this summer with European Driving Tours, and another CSC Wales Tour later this year!
As I’ve said before, these cars beg to be driven and are so much better for it! Each time I’ve bought a low-mileage, pampered garage queen or a car that’s been stored as part of a collection, I’ve unearthed problems in the first few months of my ownership. Plus, you only go around once, right?