Water Pumps on 991.2s

Simon991 · Jul 21, 2021

Hi.

I bought my 991.2 Carrera T from new in April 2018. It’s just out of warranty. A coolant leak has just been spotted when it was in for its major service at my local Porsche Centre. I fear this may be the dreaded water pump issue, but the OPC want to get the car back in to investigate...

From reading many posts, especially on the Rennlist 991 forum, it appears that water pump replacement is a fairly common issue. Some owners are apparently on their third, or even fourth pump!

Am wondering if any 991 owners on here have had any water pump issues?

Any info at all will be gratefully received.

Cheers,

Simon

TonyJW · Jul 22, 2021

Simon, With my car bought new in March 2017 I had coolant warning light come on after engine had warmed up one day in Jan 2020 so about same relative age as yours. Letting engine cool down, the light didn’t come on until I had done a further 2 miles which enabled me to get home. Coolant level was by then slightly down. Car was recovered to Porsche Guildford who diagnosed a leaking solenoid switch. In my case leak was into a vacuum pipe and so not noticeable externally. However that still meant a quite extensive strip down to get to the solenoid (one of 7 or 8 I believe) I am sorry to say. As car was in warrantee I decided it was trying to tell me something so extended the warranted 2 months later in the March!

Wishing you all the best with yours. It will be very useful to hear what is found. Regards. Tony.

Simon991 · Jul 22, 2021

TONY WALTERS said:
Simon, With my car bought new in March 2017 I had coolant warning light come on after engine had warmed up one day in Jan 2020 so about same relative age as yours. Letting engine cool down, the light didn’t come on until I had done a further 2 miles which enabled me to get home. Coolant level was by then slightly down. Car was recovered to Porsche Guildford who diagnosed a leaking solenoid switch. In my case leak was into a vacuum pipe and so not noticeable externally. However that still meant a quite extensive strip down to get to the solenoid (one of 7 or 8 I believe) I am sorry to say. As car was in warrantee I decided it was trying to tell me something so extended the warranted 2 months later in the March!

Wishing you all the best with yours. It will be very useful to hear what is found. Regards. Tony.

Thanks, Tony.

I had a warning light ages ago - that turned out to be a faulty thermostat, which was replaced under warranty.

On this occasion, there was no warning light. The coolant leak was spotted during the service. It’s back to the OPC on 1st September for them to investigate, so I’ll report back on here.

In the US, they refer to switchover valves, which I assume are the same as the solenoid switches that you mention. (And they call brake discs, rotors.)

Cheers,

Simon

Dave jones · Jul 23, 2021

My water pump leaked from cold only a few drips then stopped when normal operating tempwas reached had it replaced under warranty .. seems to be a problem with most of the 991.2 s

Simon991 · Jul 23, 2021

Dave jones said:
My water pump leaked from cold only a few drips then stopped when normal operating tempwas reached had it replaced under warranty .. seems to be a problem with most of the 991.2 s

Thanks, Dave. The fact that the water pump issue appears to be widespread is why I’ll be asking Porsche to cover the cost, should the pump need replacing...

basilbrush · Jul 27, 2021

I had a small coolant leak around 12 months ago now, this was on a 2018 991.2 GTS which i have owned since new. it appeared to be coming from the water pump area with warnings on the dash for "low coolant" alerting me to the issue. The car went in to Porsche Reading and was in for 4-5 days. they carried out two activities to resolve the issue, neither of which involved a water pump replacement. the way the issue was described to me when i collected the car, was that the pipe coming from the water pump required an additional bracket to be fitted, which helps to keep the pipe square onto the pump housing. (part of a technical bulletin) if i remember correctly. all work was covered under warranty as it was still within the first 3 years. since then i have not seen a repeat of the issue, but i have extended the warranty especially given the Turbo Oil line issues ive also read a lot about...

Simon991 · Jul 27, 2021

Thanks.

I have since heard that Porsche have admitted a manufacturing fault. In the US and Canada, they have extended the warranty on the water pump and valve block to 10 years from when the car is new! Am sure that the same parts are used in UK and US cars...

Simon991 · Jul 27, 2021

10 year warranty.

MartinP · Aug 8, 2021

Hi Simon,

I bought my car new (991.2 GTS) in July 2017 so it went in for a major service last month.
The technician reported " signs of coolant pump leaking and droplets of coolant on lower pipe".
This resulted in the replacement of the coolant pump (leaking). I hadn't seen any alarms but from what I have been reading I guess they knew to look out for this. I extended the warranty last year so the repair (about £1,700 I seem to recall) was covered by this. No mention of solenoids, valve block or any other implications.

Cheers,

Martin

Simon991 · Aug 8, 2021

MartinP said:
Hi Simon,

I bought my car new (991.2 GTS) in July 2017 so it went in for a major service last month.
The technician reported " signs of coolant pump leaking and droplets of coolant on lower pipe".
This resulted in the replacement of the coolant pump (leaking). I hadn't seen any alarms but from what I have been reading I guess they knew to look out for this. I extended the warranty last year so the repair (about £1,700 I seem to recall) was covered by this. No mention of solenoids, valve block or any other implications.

Cheers,

Martin

Thanks, Martin.

From anecdotal evidence, it seems the water pump issue is quite common on the 991.2.

Mine’s not back to the OPC until 1st September, so we’ll see...

What annoys me is that Porsche North America have admitted that there’s a known manufacturing error and have issued an extended 10 year warranty on the water pump and valve block.

Surely the parts in UK cars are the same as in US cars?

Why can’t Porsche GB just do the decent thing, and treat UK owners as US owners are treated?!

Cheers,

Simon

Peter_Bull · Aug 8, 2021

The USA is their largest market and they Porsche will not upset their NA customers for fear of class action.

We (UK) have always been treated differently I fear that nothing will change.

Really sorry to hear of your troubles and I hope you manage to get some goodwill from Porsche UK.

Simon991 · Aug 8, 2021

Peter_Bull said:
The USA is their largest market and they Porsche will not upset their NA customers for fear of class action.

We (UK) have always been treated differently I fear that nothing will change.

Really sorry to hear of your troubles and I hope you manage to get some goodwill from Porsche UK.

Thanks, Peter.

I won’t know for sure until 1st September what the cause of the coolant leak is, but I’ll keep this thread updated.

As Porsche have clearly admitted to a known manufacturing error, I struggle to think of how they’ll try to wriggle out of their liability, but time will tell. I guess it’s likely that most 991.2 water pump failures so far have been covered by those cars’ original warranties or extended warranties...

Cheers,

Simon

GregC1 · Aug 20, 2021

Is purple liquid coolant leaking from the rear of my Targa? I haven’t had a warning light come on yet .

Simon991 · Aug 21, 2021

GregC1 said:
Is purple liquid coolant leaking from the rear of my Targa? I haven’t had a warning light come on yet .

Can’t see your photo, but the coolant normally has a tell-tale pinkish hue. My warning light hasn’t come on either, but the leak was spotted at the dealership during the major service.

GregC1 · Aug 22, 2021

Thanks for the reply , it’s now at Wolverhampton Porsche to have the water pump looked at ??

Simon991 · Aug 22, 2021

GregC1 said:
Thanks for the reply , it’s now at Wolverhampton Porsche to have the water pump looked at ??

Fingers crossed...! ????

drivesabit · Oct 19, 2021

Yep. I had mine replaced last week on my 991.2 GTS.
Warranty claim fortunately as its £2.5k at the OPC.

Simon991 · Oct 19, 2021

OPC said water pump looks ok, but...

Required two new turbos! Plus, the coolant leak was apparently down to a faulty heat exchanger, serving the oil cooler... ??

scott curaan · Jun 22, 2022

Hi All,
I have a late 2018 991.2 GTS Targa, just 7,500 miles, now I find from Porsche Reading the coolant pump has failed - cost to replace £4500! - I had a quote from an independent at £1600-2000. The car is out of warranty but given the history I see on the site I wondered if any of you had to deal with a similar issue. I am currently waiting on Porsche advising what "good will" they will offer!

Simon991 · Jun 22, 2022

scott curaan said:
Hi All,
I have a late 2018 991.2 GTS Targa, just 7,500 miles, now I find from Porsche Reading the coolant pump has failed - cost to replace £4500! - I had a quote from an independent at £1600-2000. The car is out of warranty but given the history I see on the site I wondered if any of you had to deal with a similar issue. I am currently waiting on Porsche advising what "good will" they will offer!

Porsche North America have issued an extended warranty on the water pump. It would be nice if Porsche GB did the same.