Hi guys. I have a 2015 Boxster S 981 and during my 12 month ownership I’ve noticed quite a strong a hot rubber smell coming from the air intake. This is when getting out after a long run and also while standing, say at traffic lights with the roof down. Is this common and normal for the car? It runs fine, is low mileage and still under Porsche warranty. Ive mentioned it to the local OPC but, as it usually goes, the smell wasn't so strong while I was there. The dealership reply was that if the car is running fine, and you have no warning lights on then not to worry. I know the engines must get pretty hot in their enclosure.
I'm taking the car in to the OPC for its two year inspection shortly and would like to ask if there is anything I should ask the service technicians to check out?
Thanks for any help anyone can offer.
Keith, like the others, I suspect the rubber smell is normal. I have a 2010 987.2 Cayman S (basically the same power unit as the 981). On the 981, engine bay ventilation is improved over the 987 with cooling ducts both sides. When I acquired my 987 in 2015, at 48K miles, I had the same hot rubber smell after long runs. Mine is garaged, so a confined space, meaning the smell was contained and quite pronounced. After 10 years (and now 94K) it has not led to any problems and either I don't notice it any more or it doesn't smell so strongly.
There is another thread on this subject,
https://www.porscheclubgb.com/forum/threads/they-all-do-that-sir.216806/#post-1324511. In my response to that one, I mentioned a potential issue with belt tensioners seizing. I now know of a second 981 locally that suffered this misfortune, leading to a sheared bolt on the tensioner mounting arm, see image below. The sheared end on the engine is in the centre of the picture. To the right is the tensioner arm, with the bolt head and threads exposed. It cannot fall out completely because it will contact the cover panel on the bulkhead. Below these the darker object is the hydraulic tensioner/damper. The lower mounting bolt of the tensioner/damper is also visible but very difficult to access. with the engine in situ
The OPC will tell you that replacing the hydraulic tensioner/damper and removing the remnants of a broken bolt is an engine out job on a 981, so worth checking that the arm moves freely to avoid that major work. By removing the trim and metal cover panel on the bulkhead behind the seats, you can check for free movement of the arm, and any oil seepage from the hydraulic damper, .
On my 987, I experienced a partial seizure of the tensioner arm, which I caught during a service (after taking the tension off the belt, on releasing, it did not return back against the belt). There was a lot of rubber dust around the hydraulic tensioner, which had been seeping fluid so I replaced this as well.
