987 Service Question - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Started and drove my 06' 987 the other day. The information display said "Service Vehicle in 24 days". I imagine it's a countdown thing but for what? Car is only 1.5 yrs old with 7,000 miles, what gives? I know, I know I'll be getting a oil change soon but what else is this service reminder for? Can't be air filter, cabin filter, or any of those little things yet. Any input on this would be appreciated and... how to reset it (actually I may have already reset it useing the "clear messages function")

hmmmm....well my 05 has the 20K mile service interval, not sure if that changed for 06.....my display did start telling me to perform service and I believe it said how many days and miles to go, neither of which were accurate careful though....my dealer said I needed new brakes and rotors all around....said the sensor was going to go off any day now.....well I didn't buy it at all.....this was in August and 6K miles ago......still no brake indicator has gone off

I agree, I'm not going to run to the dealer any time soon. I've got a pretty good idea of whta needs to be done and when thanks to this forum.

I'm not sure if the 987 computer counts down on the time as well as the mileage, but in your case it seems that it does. Eighteen months is a long time to be running on the same oil...

The manual for the 06 says 2yrs or 20,000 miles for first oil change.

I'm going to give the dealer a call regarding the countdown timer and will advise here. Like I said previously, I'm not going to rush in there blindly. In my opinion, at 7K miles the oil is fine despite 18 mths. Engine use and wear / tear on the oil is what breaks it down, not time in the crankcase. Would anyone throw out a jug of Mobile 1 that was 18 months old? I doubt it.

That does sound logical, but then, I've always gone by the recommendations that state that oil does have an "expiration date", so to speak. If it is just marketing, I have yet to meet a mechanic that refutes it. Let us know what the dealer tells ya.

Did the dealer give you any guidance? I've got a similar thing going on with my 07 987. Got it last August, put it up in late October for winter and just got it out again about 4 weeks ago. I've got 2600 miles on it and now the indicator light says "Service in 29 days". I can't for the life of me figure out how to reset the thing. Adam

If I can give my opinion on the subject. Oil does not have an expiration date. I've never heard of such nonsense. If oil did have an expiration don't you think the black crap we pump out of the ground would be worthless? The reason for the time & mileage change of oil is because of contaminates and viscosity breakdown. Man made synthetics don't suffer viscosity breakdown like crude oil does but it does still get contaminated. The contamination comes from cold engine start-up when the fuel is enriched to keep the engine running until the pistons, rings, cylinders and valves heat up, expand and seal. Until then blow-by is occuring. It also comes from time and weather change in the form of condensation (water) on the inside of the block. Then there's the dirt and carbon that oil picks up on its way through the engine, building up as time goes by. This combination can also make an acidic mixture. The way to combat this is to run the car for extended periods to burn off the contamination and storing the car in a climate controlled environment. Short runs and not letting the engine get up to temperature build it up. I think what your computer is telling you is that the internal clock, not mileage, has gone off and it's time to change the oil.

To bump an old topic, I got the service vehicle in xx days countdown last month; it seemed to correspond to the date that my '07 went out of warranty. I'm up to date on all maintenance (through an indy) and just changed the oil today, but the light comes on now every time I start the car. How do I make it go away? Is a trip to the dealer or my indy required? Thanks

Ive always subscribed to the practice of the first oil change at 1,000 miles, whether new or newly rebuilt. That applies to engine, trans and rears. Several old mechanics told me this back in the '70's. It is relativly cheap insurance. I live it and beleive it because of the long life I get out of my vehicles.

Kerry, who is your indy shop? Perfect Power? I'd be surprised if Sol did not have the proper equipment yet. It needs to be reset with the proper software/hardware. I know my indy (Fischer Motors in Barrington) just got the stuff necessary to reset the 987/997 last Fall. Pretty expensive (to rent and own). Your indy did not reset. You either need to go back, or find an indy who has it (like Fischer). Or go to the dealership, but I don't recomment that due to the $$$.

Fischer did my 20K inspection last August, and I was impressed by Rick and his shop. My "countdown" did not start until last month. I'll give him a call and see what he recommends.

That explains it then! Rick and his father (Peter) run a great business. He maintains my 2006 Boxster S, 1997 993 Turbo (911) and wife's Mercedes E320. Rick did not have the software/hardware till about Sept./Oct. Call him, he will reset for you in a matter of minutes. Tell him Bill with the Arena Red 993 Turbo says hello! Rick and his father are very-very accomplished Porsche racers. Stunning.