oil service indication

[BoxsterLL11]

I keep getting an oil service indication on the dash every 12 months when I am reliably informed that it should be 24 months and inline with the major/minor services.
Last service was carried out by a Porsche indy specialist 12 months ago and he said that when resetting the indicators he changed the oil service interval to 24 months but 12 months on my oil service indicator is back up again.
Anyone else had this issue.
I am a 12 month oil change man (call me old fashioned) so I intend to change the oil anyway but the oil service indicator should be coming up at 24 month intervals not 12 month intervals.
I have a cheap OBD reader that I bought for when I had a 2005 MG TF but have yet to connect it to the Boxster so am not sure a cheap reader would reset the oil service lamp.

 

[M40WST]

If the cheaper reader has the functionality to do the reset then it maybe able to do it for your car.

I have an Autel Maxi Diag MD802 Elite which I brought specifically because it can read Porsche Specific Codes for my model (987), not just for the DME but for the PSM and Air Bag (POSIP) Modules. It can also reset the Oil / Service indicator although I haven't tried it as it hasn't been needed.

 

[BoxsterLL11]

Mine is an Autel Maxiscan MS309 CAN OBD2 reader - cheap as chips, about £10
Never tried it in the Boxster.
Will have to give it a try.
I see the Autel Maxi Diag MD802 Elite is about £150 so mine is obviously basic.

I only bought it for the MG TF as I was told the F's & TF's were well known for spurious engine management lights coming up and the cheap model would reset it.

 

[malarcy]

As far as I know, the service interval controls the max time between oil services, the car actually works out when its needs a service based on (I think) number of engine starts/cold vs hot starts/average journey distance etc. - for example - my 987.2 reckons it will need a service in 8000 miles or about 6 months - making (in my case) 18500 or about 22 months.

That said - asking for a service 12 months after the last one seems a bit extreme - I wonder did the indy set the interval and the date when they did it - so if it was previously 12months and they changed it to 24 without telling it that it has just been done then the car would be calculating 24 months from previous change - and asking again after a year.

I have also heard that the "country" code of the car (USA, AUSTRALIA, Rest Of World etc.) sets service intervals amongst other "per country" things - but I would have expected overriding the particular setting for interval would have taken precedent if that was not how it should be.

I doubt the cheaper Autel will reset the indicator since it's very Porsche specific, so it tends to be the higher end ones with Porsche specific modes that can do it.

Depending on where you are in the country there are a number of folks around who have durametric pro's, higher spec Autels etc. or Porsche PIWIS II systems that would reset for the price of a beer, or of course your indy would be able to do it.

 

[Motorhead]

Paul,

Although many manufacturers have introduced a service interval based upon driving use, I don't think that Porsche have adopted the system. Indeed, I'm not sure that any other manufacturer recommends a 2-year/20,000 mile service interval. Over the past 10-years the service warning on my 987.2 Cayman has popped up every 2-years to the day.

It could just be that Keith's interval has been set incorrectly by the technician at the last service. As you say, interrogation and resetting using a Porsche-specific diagnostic system should sort out his issue.

Jeff

 

[Gorsh]

Jeff, I think there are lots of manufacturers who nowadays have 24 month service intervals - BMW is one, my 330d is two year intervals and I think all other BMW models are too and have been for some years. I suppose a combination of cleaner combustion, better synthetic oils and better filtration has enabled the change to longer service intervals. I agree with you that Porsche don't seem to have a usage based time interval, but some manufacturers have adopted that system.
Gordon.

 

[Motorhead]

That's good to know - thanks Gordon. Hardly surprising really with all the technological improvements, as you say. I'm not sure that the dealerships are that happy about it since they're losing work and revenue, but no doubt compensated by their extortionate labour rates..!

I wonder what proportion of Porsche sports cars (rather than the SUVs) actually cover 20,000 miles in 2-years? A straw poll of Club Members would be interesting.

Jeff

 

[BoxsterLL11]

My 12 monthly oil service light first came up 12 months after Porsche Nottingham, which is where I bought the car from, had serviced the car, to the day.
So it must have been time-interval determined.
At that time it was still under warranty.
I contacted Nottingham several times and no one could give me a definitive answer.
So I went to my local indy (this is two years ago), they reset the interval but they thought they had reset to a 24 month interval so it would be out of synch with the major/minor service intervals.
As it happened, at last years minor interval service indication the oil service light came up again so it was obviously still set at 12 months.
So the indy then reset both indicator lamps, again stating that he thought he had managed to adjust the oil service indicator to 24 months so it would then come up in conjunction with my next major service, this time next year.
But once again the oil service lamp has come up again 12 months to the day.

I am a bit old fashioned and when the oil light came up the first time I changed the oil & filter myself anyway (using Mobil 1 as at that time it was still under warranty).
I may well do the same again although my local indy say they use Petronas (the garage is owned by two Porsche time-served mechanics).