996 Door Panel - What the Heck??

Hi! I am hoping someone can help me figure out what the heck could have happened to my door panel. This is my first Porsche, so forgive my ignorance. But here's the story. My car has 30k miles on it and is (was) in immaculate condition. I needed some work on it (the cluster had to be replaced), so I took it to the nearest (supposedly) reputable dealer ~ Park Place in Dallas Texas (400 miles away from where I live). They had my car for two weeks. When I got my car back, yes, the cluster now worked, but my door panel is ruined. What the heck could have happened? The curled-up leather is hard as a rock, (and those scratches are new as well). To me, it looks like the door panel was swapped out with an older panel with much more ware. Like I mentioned, the car has only 30k miles on it and the interior was perfect when the car was dropped off. I don't want to assume the dealership has some shady folks that would swap out parts.....but I am left thinking What the Heck!! The Service Manager pretty much said this was not his problem and that sometimes Porsche's do weird things. Has anyone experience the leather deforming like this? If so, can an upholstery shop fix this, or should I be searching for a door panel? Any suggestions greatly appreciated!!

Doubtful the panel got swapped out. Perhaps maybe it was left out in the sun in a particularly bad spot? I don't think these cars have a reputation for leather peeling though. Man, those scratches though. Someone definitely wasn't careful

That's terrible and the dealer shouldn't have dismissed it. My 02 door panel is all one piece from the window on down so this couldn't happen on mine. Since they were working on the console, it looks a lot to me like someone rested a running heat gun on a rolling table aimed at the open door. Assuming they used a heat gun to shrink wrap some of the cluster wiring. If they don't resolve this, an upholstery shop should be able to help. For the scratches, try some black shoe polish. The whole thing stinks.

Thanks for your insight. You are correct...someone wad NOT careful at all!

Thanks for your reply. You could be correct. That would make sense if the heat gun was pointed at the leather. I have been going out of my mind trying to figure out what could have caused this. Not that it matters (since the dealer is not willing to help). Thanks for your insight none the less!

I would start with a call to customer service at PORSCHE USA.. They don't take kindly to weird things happening at dealerships.. I now take Panorama shots of the interior and exterior when I take a car in (Which is not very often... DIY or Die.. LOL )

I wish I had thought of that before I took it in! I will from now on, that is for sure! I do believe I will let Porsche know about the incident. Thanks for your reply!

Tech with brake fluid on his hands shut the door.

Quotes source post: 19007898

I usually only visit my local dealership once a year for state inspection. Last time I was there I noticed that they document the the condition of every car that goes in for service. They were taking video of the inside and outside of each car right at the point of drop off.

You have the invoice for the repair correct ? Does your copy have any notes/comments from the dealer stating it was like that when you brought it in ? No legitimate dealer would not make note of such blatant damage . I am sure there are no notes stating damage . Contact Porsche NA and send pics of the damage , your invoice and the odometer reading . Something really cooked that leather to make it peel back like that plus the scratches . Good luck

Seems very suspect. Accidents happen, and the dealer should not imply you are being dishonest and trying to pull one over on them. They should, instead, own it, even if none of the techs involved admit to wrong doing. Customer service is a dieing art. Anecdotally, many years ago I worked in IT at North Americas #1 ski resort (hint, North of the border) and we were all trained in empowering the employee to make 'it' right for the customer. No matter who caused the problem, we were to solve it by making the visitor happy and not worry about the details. One day, late in the day, almost dark, I was at base 2 doing something work like, and patrol brought in a 30ish man in rental equipment. But his boots were off. The weather was below freezing, and this guy has finished his group lesson, and apparently got lost. When he got in trouble, he took his skis off and tried to walk down. He was under a chair and yelled and screamed for help and luckily, patrol found him on their sweep and sledded him to the lodge. Then they left him there, cold and miserable and still scared. Not to imply that they did a poor job. But, seeing how miserable the bloke was, I enquired as to how he ended up there, where he was staying etc. He was staying at the Carleton or the Nancy Green is something, it's been a while... So I drove him in my work Isuzu trooper, took him to his room, then went down and brought him and his frantically relieved wife some tea, coffee and donuts, and a pair of nice warm socks, all on the house from the folks in the console bar shop. We didn't say, 'you flat lander from New Jersey, what were you thinking?' or even think it. Instead, we made a story he could tell his friends back home, about how he was rescued, then treated like a human being. Management used pretty cash to cover the tiny cost of making that person feel welcome and cared for. And they didn't question my decisions at all, instead I think they were kind of shocked that a computer nerd could be so service oriented. And pleased. I got an 'above and beyond' attaboy at a company party that year, alongside many other employees who put their training to good use for the benefit of all. It's silly, but it's a find memory, one of many during my few too short years there. i digress, as I sometimes do, sorry. But the Porsche dealer management need to go back to basics. Nothing like arrogance to ruin a relationship. You deserve to be treated just the same as the elite buyers of several new porsches, not a second class citizen in an unloved 996. I hope they make it right for you. If they don't, well, then spread the word, maybe there's another porsche center within striking distance for your next purchase or service. Or, find a good Indy, they are out there.

The leather on the door panel and dashboard are susceptible to shrinking when they are wet from rain, for instance, then drying out in direct sunlight. I had/have the same problem, but my 996 has 68,000 miles on the odometer, and yours does appear to be in pristine condition. New OEM door panels are $2,000+ but you can try both DC Auto and LA Dismantler for used examples. Check the color of the carpet bottom for a correct match when shopping for the replacement door panel.

Looks like they may have left the car out in the rain, the leather got wet and then dried/shrank in the sun. How long did they have it? -Tom

Quotes source post: 19010531

+1 Definitely got wet.

This reminds me of what happened to my car a few years ago. My wife got me an interior and exterior detail at a local shop that did detailing and was also a body and paint shop. Dropped it off one morning and picked it up that afternoon and it looked great. within a day or so the bottom of the passenger seat leather was hard as a rock and wrinkled/puckered. I went back to the shop, and they denied any responsibility and said they had nothing in the entire shop that could have caused the damage. Of course, looking around the shop I could see paint thinner, lacquer thinned all sorts of solvents, etc. but they continued to deny any responsibility. I tried all sorts of leather treatments, etc. but nothing helped. Of course, I never went back there and posted online about my experience. The driver's seat was wearing out and had literally fallen apart by last year (the passenger seat was still rock hard) and the cost to recover was crazy high. I found a set of 997 seats in perfect condition for only $300 and they are not in the car. But getting them to work in the 996 was another adventure.. All the functions now work except the memory and that includes the lumbar functions.

Quotes source post: 19010531

Tom, they had the car for two weeks.

I have a 2002 911 996 and have the EXACT issue on the drivers door, so it makes me wonder how common this is. Thaks for sharing.

That shameful of a dealer to dismiss that. I have a driver's door in leather if you need a spare. It's not as pristine as yours was prior, but it's not peeling. Pictures are in this thread https://rennlist.com/forums/market/1418935