Orange lemon...

I have owned my LE Boxster for 32 days now. It has been in the shop, as of today, for a total of 11 days (once for 5, and this time 6 so far). So far they have fixed the following: 1. new battery (it was dead) 2. replaced PCM (blank screen, surrounding lights flickering) 3. replaced air bag sensor under passenger seat (even with someone sitting in it, the airbag was off) 4. entire airbag system is not working now, so they will replace the airbag module. 5. replaced front sensors on the K40 (they failed) 6. ordered new remotes since mine are defective All of this was an issue before they installed the K40, so I can't blame it on that. As far as replacing the K40 sensors, it is tied into the electrical system, so that is why I would suspect that is related as well. Other issues are that the trunk keeps popping open, and the paint has chipped and peeled in a couple of places. And then a friend of mine was driving behind me when I put the top up. He said it looked like the flap that opens so the top can go inside might have been repainted. The hinges are painted, and he doesn't think they are supposed to be. I told the service manager that I was really concerned with all these problems being electrical, and he said it was just because Porsche now has too many parts. He said I should be happy that the problems were confined to one system, and I said that makes me even more concerned. He said, "Hmmm, really? I don't see why.". So, besides just complaining, why I wrote this is to ask a question of other Boxster owners. Does anyone else have painted hinges on the flap mentioned above? I would especially like to know if other LE owners have theirs painted.

The whole thing doesn’t inspire any confidence, does it.!! Doesn’t sound like your Dealers to helpful concerning the specific problems either. Can I presume they have given you a Loan/ Courtesy car while they have yours????. Man the more I think of this, the more I'd be tempted to say push it where the sun don't shine ………………….bring me another one NOW!!! How to win friends and influence people…NOT.

You might want to PM NickUSA. He has a LE Boxster S. But I suspect the hinges are painted from the factory. Just a guess. If a vehicle is damaged during shipping, the port has a full body shop that is set up to perform high quality body repairs and paintwork. As for the K-40, take that off your list. It's not going to help your cause and will only hurt it. The dealer is wrong. Porsches should not be this problematic. And problems with the Airbag system should be handled cautiously. But many of your other problems sound superfluous. For example: 3. Passenger Airbag off even with passenger in the seat. The new Porsche's use a smart airbag system. That system measures the weight of the passenger and inflates the airbag with different intensities in order to match the occupant. This is a sophisticated system that makes it safe to transport small passengers and/or children in the front (only) seat. Well, that system is very sensitive. If you put the seat all the way back and push it against the bulkhead hard enough to distort it, the bulkhead will apply pressure to the seat which makes it impossible for the system to accurately measure the weight of the occupant. When the system can't measure the weight, it turns the bag off, to be safe. Want to know how to fix this? Slide the seat forward 1 click or relieve the pressure by tipping the seat back forward a little. Problem solved. 5. K-40 front sensors. You're on your own here and can't hold this against Porsche. It's common knowledge (inside the industry) that the K-40 Calibres tend to be problematic. 6. Ordered new remotes because yours are defective. What's defective about them? Is it by any chance the fact that they are hyper sensitive and your hatch 'appears' to pop open all by itself? This is a known design issue. The remotes are VERY sensitive. The slightest pressure on them will activate a button. If I have my key in my pocket while I am taking off my car cover my hatch pops open, almost every time. If I examine myself I find that I am in fact applying pressure to the remote. If this is why you are replacing your remotes, you may be surprised to find that the news ones do the same thing. I believe there is a software patch for this that extends the time that the buttons need to be pressed, or you can just be more careful. On the other issues, document everything. If the car continues to bust your stones, post back and we will advise you further. The car should be very reliable.

Thanks for the info. As for #3, the weight was an adult, and the light never went off. In fact it is always on even with nothing on the seat. They tested it and it was defective and Porsche told them to replace it. They tried moving the seat, applying different weights etc. When they installed the new one they realized then that the whole airbag system was not "taking their codes" and Porsche told them they needed to replace another part. #6, the dealer is the one who told me that needed replaced as they were not working right for them somehow, but I didn't notice anything. The trunk pops open when the remote is laying on a counter far away from the car and not being touched. The dealer said it didn't "feel right" when they closed it. It popped open for them a few times. I know the car should be reliable. My Cayman has been fine with no problems. I am glad it was my first one instead of the Boxster or I never would have bought another Porsche. If I get it back and nothing else happens in the reasonable future, I will be happy with this car as well. Again, thanks for the advice and I will PM Nick about the paint.

If they moved the seat and the light didn't go out, then you do indeed have bigger problems. Based on the additional info given about the remotes, that also sounds like a problem. The K-40 Cailbres often experience problems with their blue-tooth connections. There are many complaints on this and many documented fixes, firmwares, service memos, etc.... Just be glad that they found the problem for you instead of a police officer notifying you that your shifters don't work by way of a speeding ticket. Start a file now on the problems that your car is delivering, and make sure that your service manager knows that you are doing this. Also make sure he/she knows that if the car continues to spend time in the shop, you will be researching your options including lemon law protection. This may motivate them to be very thorough on the repairs. My guess is they will get the car straight and you won't have any more problems. I mean it will never be as good as a Cayman of course, but it should be pretty good. (Just teasing.... I am a pretty big Boxster fan and one of the folks who believes that the Boxster and Cayman are virtually identical.)

Hey, I love the Boxster as well. Been trying to get my wife into one for over 12 months now but she will not part with her Ford Street Ka.......silly woman. In actual fact when I'd ordered my Cayman, I then thought what if.....I don't like the drive, I don't like the feel, I don't like the size etc. At the time (May 2005) the only thing that I could do was to drive a Boxster, So I did..........I tell you, I would have taken that Seal Gray 3.2S home that very afternoon. I was so impressed, what a car, but then again I'd listened to too many comments like "It's not a proper Porsche" "It's a hairdressers Car" "It's not very good" "My head hangs out of the top....well Mr Clarkson your head would hang out of anything . ...........One day I'll have a "PAIR" believe me. ..................................... Soon I hope

Having both is the best of both worlds. It is the only choice for those of us who cannot make up their minds! The dealer just told me that Porsche was closed for MLK day yesterday so they didn't ship any parts?!?!?! I didn't know they celebrated that holiday over there....Another day that it will sit in the shop.

I am in Finland at the moment (back Friday) on a Porsche Ice Driving course but give me a shout with regards to any issues with the car that you want to compare to mine. The trunk popping I think can be adjusted by lengthening the delay from the remote, there is a TSB for this, and when I return I can send you the link.

My wife took delivery of her LE S early Nov 07 and has had no problems except a shredded A/C hose at delivery which was fixed. The hinges for the soft top are painted. Otherwise the car has been without problems and she drives the car far more than I do my CS w/ over almost 3K miles. I appreciate your frustration but I'm not sure I would characterize the problems you are having as being in the "lemon" category. There is clearly variability in the building process due to parts variabilities and assembly quality since some cars seem to have many more issues than the average.

Well for the update... They had the car for 7 days. Apparently Porsche told the dealer they had never had the problem before that my car was having. They ended up replacing parts one at a time until it was fixed. They even replaced the seat frame. As far as the PCM, the service manager lied to me about replacing it! They couldn't duplicate the problem so they did nothing. If they would have told me that I would have been fine! So now I have to wonder what I can believe from them. But all of that is out of my mind as of today. I left work today with 1999 miles on it.

1999 miles.. time to put the pedal to the metal....

If it makes you feel any better, my 4 month old Boxster S is at the dealer now for the 2nd time in 2 weeks - would not start. You can view the thread in Cayman Complaints (forgot this forum existed!) but it is still a 987S. Anyway, I will be happy again when it is fixed, whenever that is since they said it was fixed the first time.

If it makes you feel even a tiny bit better - buy an Audi. Frustration is thy name!

For overly sensitive remotes, drop in to your local BMW dealer and get this part. Number 51 21 7 006 821 This is the key fob that is discussed in this thread, and works like a charm to protect that key from popping the hood. http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-chat/7833-cayman-key-bmw-solution.html