718 engine overheat message

[dpoynton]

Please see

Engine overheat message | Porsche Forum from Porsche Club GB

Put here as well as the 718 cars are very similar.

D

 

[Motorhead]

David,

It has been rather hot lately, although you’d have thought that the cars will have been tested extensively in hotter climates, so it does seem odd that suddenly you’ve got some overheat messages. Maybe there’s a problem with a rogue temperature sensor? Have you made sure that the coolant level is above MIN when the engine’s cold?

What sort of driving were you doing prior to the warning messages which might have led to higher coolant temperatures, and is there some commonality there? Did the messages appear when you were actually driving the car or when it was idling, maybe at the end of the drive?

I don’t think that there’s much you can do other than to keep a watching brief on the situation, unless you can run some Porsche-specific diagnostics to see if some error codes have been flagged-up recently.

Jeff

 

[dpoynton]

Jeff

Thanks for your observations.

The current heatwave is not the issue. It has happened twice now, once when I was driving and once when Carole was driving.

Both times it was when we got home and the engine was idling as we went to put it in the garage, having been switched off for a short time after the drive.

David

 

[Motorhead]

David,

It sounds very much like a heat-soak-related problem. There’s a lot of kit crammed into a small space on the mid-engine cars, including a large water-cooled turbo intercooler on the 718, so I’m guessing that it can get quite hot in there.

I assume that like my 987.2 CS there’s fan which extracts hot air from the engine bay. Are you sure that it’s not this which is operating rather than the coolant fans? It’s very noisy!

As always it’s very important to heed any warning messages, but I think I’d be more concerned if the message occurred when I was driving the car rather than under the circumstances you describe. If the coolant level is correct and you’ve no leaks there’s little that can be done other than to bleed the system to ensure that there are no air-locks, which is a quick and straightforward procedure for a Porsche specialist with the appropriate equipment.

Jeff

 

[dpoynton]

I don't know which fans they are, yes they are noisy.

Intermittent fault, coolant level checked and ok, no leaks.

I'll leave it and tell them at the service though I guess their diagnostics will reveal the messages.

Thanks

David

 

[Motorhead]

David,

FYI the coolant rads are at the front and you’ll be able to hear/feel the blast from the front wheel arches. The engine bay extractor fan vents from the offside grille on my 987.2 and could be the same on your 718. Just follow the noise!

Jeff

 

[dpoynton]

So, and I haven't made it up, I took my wife’s Boxster (09/2016 - 718S) in for the 6-year service recently and today is the first time we have driven it since.

My wife is currently stranded in Sutton Coldfield (c. 50 miles from home) as the engine overheat message is showing again, the same message that I told PC Nottingham should be investigated when it was in for service.

When I collected the car, no comment was passed on it so I assumed all was sorted, clearly not.

The wife is currently limping her way to PC Sutton Coldfield. It's just a pity both Nottingham and Sutton are owned by the same group (Stratstone).

David

 

[trevor reid]

I had this happen to me on my 718 Cayman S . Various sensor changed but problem persisted . Culminated in a failed water pump . Replaced and been fine since . My Indie said they'd started to see an increase in water pump failure on 718 apparently they don't leak when they start to fail , it's all internal . Hope you get sorted

 

[dpoynton]

Trevor, many thanks, this is very helpful.

David

 

[dpoynton]

The car is now booked in at PCN (11/10/22), they are collecting it as they have no loan cars available.

They have promised to refer Trevor's comments to the techs.

At the recent service they ran diagnostics, found nothing, so did nothing.

Am I being an idiot? (Don't answer that) - if they found nothing and took no action, are they assuming that I didn't see the engine overheat message?

Surely, they should have said to themselves, diagnostics show nothing so what else can it be, not simply give up!

Or am I being unreasonable? All I get from PCN service desk is defensive comments that they followed the process.

David

 

[AndrewCS]

At the recent service they ran diagnostics, found nothing, so did nothing.

Not surprising in today`s plug `n play world

If they found nothing and took no action, are they assuming that I didn't see the engine overheat message?

No, it`s just that they wholly relied on the diagnostics and given `perhaps` the lack of documented evidence to the contrary have nothing else to go on

Surely, they should have said to themselves, diagnostics show nothing so what else can it be, not simply give up!

It`s not unusual to have `gremlins - odd symptoms` that take time to manifest into an identifiable issue

Or am I being unreasonable? All I get from PCN service desk is defensive comments that they followed the process.

No, suggest that you speak with the Senior Technician / Service Manager and request a more in-depth explanation

David

 

[ralphmusic]

Perhaps take a photo of the dash warning icon when the fault occurred, sorry if that sounds trite but…

It is probably a non-persistent fault that deletes after so many operating hours.

 

[trevor reid]

It's tricky to diagnose .I bought my car from a well know and reputable independent Porsche specialist , who were really good and as nothing was showing on their disgnostic they changed a number of sensors as they thought it may sort it . It was only when the tech backed the car off the ramp having changed a sensor and the warning came on they saw it for themselves. .During that time I think three sensors were changed . The warning only came on after I'd been driving , stopped and then restarted the car . Which is what happened to the tech when he took it off the ramp.When the water pump finally went as you would expect the warning just wouldn't go off. The coolant system I'm told is very difficult to bleed and refill needs to be done under vacuum the indie couldn't do it and get all of the lights to go out so they had to send it to the OPC . So yours could be an airlock . I would suggest the service manager needs to drive the car stop and then restart , rather than pop it straight on to the diagnostics. All the best hope this helps

Trevor

 

[dpoynton]

So, at least this story has a happy ending.

PC Nottingham (PCN) sent a member of the service staff to my house (journey time 55 mins) to drop off their car and take the Boxster away to be dealt with.

Ten minutes after leaving our house, three days ago, ..................... we had a call to say that the car had thrown the engine overheat message and the staff member had been told by PCN not to drive it anywhere.

Green flag to the rescue (and a good job they did) and the car was taken to PCN.

Just had a call to say that PCN had replaced the water pump (!) and as I had an extended warranty there would be no cost to me.

Car being brought back early next week (short staffed).

I have been reassured that I am now able to take the car on that 5,000 mile European road trip I had planned ([]).

Had Trevor not posted, and had I not informed PCN of the findings in his case, would the situation be the same now? We'll never know.

Thanks Trevor. The power of the forum works again.

Car delivered back to me 18.10.2022.

David

 

[trevor reid]

David

I'm so pleased you got it sorted, its very frustrating when a new fault appears and the techs haven't seen it before . My cars diagnosis was very much trial and error hopefully this post will help othesr who encounter the same problem . Enjoy your trip .

Thanks Trevor

 

[Elbitrevnoc]

Just read this post and it sounds to me that the water pump is a relatively common failure on the 718. I’ve just bought a Boxster S, with 19k on the clock, from my local OPC. The car has overheated after just 3 days of ownership and only about 100 miles driven. Told this morning that the water pump is leaking and needs to be replaced, most likely along with vacuum hoses/seal. So much for the promised Porsche-approved 111 point pre-sales check! The dealerships simply rely on the warranty picking up the cost of anything they haven’t bothered to check properly!

Oh, and for what it’s worth, Porsche Roadside Assistance was worse than useless. My wife called them at 8pm and by midnight we were still chasing them for an ETA. I let the phone ring from midnight to 00:52hrs and no one answered the phone - just a regular “please hold, we’ll be with you shortly” message. Finally got a call directly from the appointed agent at 1am to say they’d be about another half hour. Told them to forget it, as we’d limped the car home ourselves by then and I had it down to OPC first thing this morning.

Less than ideal!

 

[Motorhead]

Sorry to hear about your troubles Phil. Dreadful customer service from Porsche Roadside Assistance [AA?].

From what has been said by the above Members it seems that their water pumps have failed internally and with no leakage, so it’s unlikely that a diagnostic check specifically would have flagged-up a water pump problem, but in your case if the pre-sale inspection had been carried out thoroughly then the leak should have been noted by the technician. As you say, there’s a whiff of suspicion that the dealer could have ignored the leak in the knowledge that the Extended Warranty would pick up the tab. Or am I just cynical![]

Hope you get the Boxster back on the road quickly.

Jeff

 

[Elbitrevnoc]

Thanks Jeff. Yes, it was the AA.

Just keeping fingers crossed that there’s no parts delay and they have the car back to us pretty quickly!

 

[Elbitrevnoc]

Quick update. Car needs water pump and vacuum lines to be replaced and there's an expected 5-day lead time on these parts coming from Germany. That means they're unlikely to start the job until early next week and it's a two-day job. Add on for testing and general faffing around and it seems pretty clear I'm not going to see the car for around a fortnight now.

Now waiting call back with regard to courtesy car and will also be venting my spleen at Dealer Principal / Sales Manager.

Having bought cars from Jaguar/Landrover, Mercedes, BMW, Audi over the years, this has actually been my worst overall experience with a car I've bought. Perhaps I shpould be grateful and count myself lucky!