Some questions from a new owner

Hi I bought my car last month - 996 Turbo X50 - 2003 model. 54,000 miles, full history, last major service at 53,400 miles. Very happy with it in general and very surprised how easy it is to drive even around town, but have the following issues: 1) Car only used at weekends. When I come to unlock it with the key the fob won't unlock the car. I have to do it manually. Once unlocked manually the fob then works fine until the next weekend. I have two keys. On one when I hold down the unlock button the light flashes continuously red on the key. On the other the light flashes only once and only when I stop holding down the unlock button. Any ideas? 2) Sometimes when I am driving I just catch that "hot engine" whiff. Cannot find any leaks, doesn't over heat, no coolant on garage floor. I had this with a BMW 7 series a few years ago and it had a very small pin-hole coolant leak from expansion bottle which smelled the same. However this visibly dropped coolant on the garage floor. Perhaps I being paranoid because of this experience? 3) When I get the car back in the garage after a run I can smell what I can only describe as a clutch burning smell. However the car is a tiptronic. Is this a sign that something is burning out and may need replacing? Whats the life span of a triptronic transmission before something needs replacing generally? 4) I was quite surprised at how slow the gear changes are on the tiptronic system. I am happy using auto most of the time but it seems quite a sloppy change up/delayed using manual changes. Again could this be signs of a problem per point 3 above or is it just a fairly slow system? 5) The brakes are extremely hard when I first take the car out - during driving either they heat up and work better or I just get used to them but when I first drive off with the car cold its like driving a car with no servo - the pedal is really stiff with no play at all. Is this normal - do all X50's have non-standard brakes? Many thanks, Sam.

1) It goes into a power-save mode after 5 days, so this is normal. Just drive it more often! 2) The expansion cap (and tank, actually) is a known weak point & has been through a number of revisions; the caps, when they go, tend to leak very slowly causing a slow drop in coolant. If the part number stamped on the cap ends in 00 change it for the latest one - ISTR it ends in 03. 3) Burning smell is quite normal on a 996 4) I know nothing about tips beyond the fact that they're supposed to be very reliable. 5) Could be the thin layer of rust that builds up on the disks. This makes the first few applications of the brakes very weak in comparison to clean metal. I'm not aware of any change over standard to the braking department on X50's.

I have a 2001 Turbo with tipo. Often my garage has a nice racetrack wiff after I park up the car. I consider it quite normal. I have noticed that the first few gear changes from cold starts are occassionally a little harsher, but otherwise the transmission is very smooth. I know you said the cars recently been serviced... did that include a transmission service. The advice I've been given is that the tipos are fairly bulletproof. Having said that we had to do a transmission replacement on our Cayenne S about 12 months ago. My brakes always feel great, cold or hot. Is it possible some aftermarket race pads or similar are fitted? Kiwi

The standard pads should work from cold, check to see if you have aftermarket race pads fitted. Welcome onboard, from another newbie :thumb:

Many thanks for the quick replies and the warm welcome This certainly sets my mind at ease. Its such an awesome car but its the first sports car I have ever had so I should expect it to be a bit different. Fastest thing I had (or still have actually) before this is an E38 M5 but it just doesn't compare in any way with the Porsche. Thanks for the tip on the filler cap - I will check this as soon as I go home. And the power save thing is good knowledge too - yes, I should drive it more!

Actually sorry back to the brakes issue I read somewhere that X50's have carbon ceramic brakes. My car is definitely an X50 as all the dealer service records show it as such but whilst I am no expert the discs look like steel rather than anything else. The previous owner was a middle aged doctor so I am not sure he would be the type to fit race pads - but who knows!! Incidentally the car is a UK model but now lives with me in Spain. On the long drive from the UK I seem to have picked up two or three stone chips on the bonnet. I don't plan to have these looked at until the next service as you would need to be pretty picky to even see them unless really looking but anyone know the approx cost of a bonnet respray and is it normal to entrust this with Porsche direct?

I never like to have anything re-sprayed unnecessarily as you can always tell. Have it touched up by all means and have some protective wrap put on if you are fussed to protect it.

If it's got PCCB's it'll have a 450 in the options list on the bonnet sticker - yellow callipers are also a bit of a giveaway although it doesn't definitely confirm it.

It's the Turbo S which has PCCB and X50 as standard, The X50 is an option on the Standard car. I think :?:

Agree with all the above but I will place my bets on the coolant smell being a pin-holed rad. Time will tell but don't worry.

Thanks - but wouldn't I see some coolant? On my 7 series when the bottle was pin-holed a little pool of green coolant was always on the garage floor because after a run it would spray a fine mist out until it cooled down leaving just a small puddle but no more. Here, I am not seeing anything, just catching the same hot-engine whiff now and then. Also, common question I am sure, but how fast is my car 0-60 and top speed (X50, completely standard, tiptronic). I seem to get lots of different answers seaching the net. Many thanks Sam.

How fast your car is with you driving? You'll only ever know if you have it tested. :thumb: No point quoting book figures.

Not as fast as a 340Bhp Impreza Sorry Bob, couldn't resist :wink:

Probably quite close in all fairness :thumb:

A small coolant leak may drip onto the engine components. When the car has been driven the heat of this can evaporate small amounts of coolant before they hit the ground. A more significant leak should however make its way to the ground if the car is left. Also if its a very small leak it may only open under pressure ie, when the engine is hot. hence the odd whiff. Keep an eye on the level on the tank over time. Inthe absence of anything on the floor its really all you can or need to do.