Boxster 981 vehicle tracking system

[Ronald Racher]

The vts on my 2014 981 boxster no longer works immobilising the car so it wont start and a Porsche dealer has advised it will cost me £1151 to replace it with a new vts!
The only possible option is to install a piece of software from Porsche to workaround the vts so that it's still possible to start the engine & go. This workaround is of course vastly cheaper but my nearest Porsche centre are saying that this cannot be done on 2014 model years - even though it can on earlier & later years (not 718 series) yet - it is the same vts fitted to all 981 years.

Please note that my independent porsche specialist disbelievers what the dealer has told me and is investigating further.

Has anyone come across this? Please advise/relate your experience.
Thanks -

 

[LesGTS]

Hi Ronald

l’ m sorry to hear of your difficulties with your vts especially as it sounds as if it wont let you drive the car.
l don’t have much experience of the system other than this system wasn’t working on my 2015 gts, although perfectly drivable, when l bought it last August from an OPC .
After much too-ing and fro-ing to the dealership and Vodaphone Automotive, who operate the Porsche system, Porsche had to replace the whole system, thankfully under warranty.
Vodaphone were quite helpful at the time to help resolve this so l’m suggesting a phone call to them may at least get the car identified on the system and released to drive , if not fully protected.
Their phone number is 0333 122 2222.
Les

 

[kitchens]

RR
Not sure if this helps .I have a 2013 981 PDK 2.7 Boxster ,last month went to start it fired up then immediately died would not turn over ,got RAC out to try and start it nothing ,but showed a VTS code .I never knew my car had this found a fob that I was given with the car 3yrs earlier but have never contributed to any tracker subscription. Car was trailered to a local indy who investigated found initially battery was dead 10yr old not holding charge and fitted new one still nothing then found the Siren module was faulty part no PAB951605 £233.I believe any VAG module will fit and possibly cheaper ,well car started and has been ok since ..

 

[Ronald Racher]

In the light of various things people in this forum and elsewhere have said I'm concluding with reluctance that I've no alternative but to go ahead with the new VTS which the OPC have offered - at what seems to me an outrageous price!

 

[malarcy]

If you don't need/want VTS, can the OPC not remove the old one and update the car config accordingly - rather than replace something you don't want. May be a cheaper option.?

 

[Ronald Racher]

RR
Not sure if this helps .I have a 2013 981 PDK 2.7 Boxster ,last month went to start it fired up then immediately died would not turn over ,got RAC out to try and start it nothing ,but showed a VTS code .I never knew my car had this found a fob that I was given with the car 3yrs earlier but have never contributed to any tracker subscription. Car was trailered to a local indy who investigated found initially battery was dead 10yr old not holding charge and fitted new one still nothing then found the Siren module was faulty part no PAB951605 £233.I believe any VAG module will fit and possibly cheaper ,well car started and has been ok since ..

You may be interested to hear that the siren indeed turned out to be the culprit. Initial OPC diagnosis that VTS has failed turned out to be false when attention (owing to long time Porsche engineer's experience) turned to the siren. Now with new siren fitted all is well. Quite an ordeal all of this but final cost was less than 50% of the former estimate so I'm now pleased on both fronts.

 

[Greenman986S]

You would think that would be the first thing to check

 

[Ronald Racher]

You would think that would be the first thing to check

The guy who did think of it has been working on Porsche’s since the 1990’s so knew his Porsches!

 

[Ronald Racher]

If you don't need/want VTS, can the OPC not remove the old one and update the car config accordingly - rather than replace something you don't want. May be a cheaper option.?

No. That was the problem. Whereas there had been a "get around" fix for earlier boxsters, there wasn't for the 981's. Stupid but that's what the OPC told me. However, same OPC just happended to have an engineer on staff with experience going back years who recalled the problem in some cases being fixed by merely replacing the siren unit, separate to the VTU! And so it was with my car.