PPI Engine codes

Hi all, I just had a PPI done on a 2007 Cayman base model and I'm trying to digest the fault codes that came up. There are quite a few across 8 modules. What should I make of this? No check engine lights are on afaik. Mechanic didn't seem concerned. RDK (TPM) 0102 C140 Communication instrument cluster (display) C131 Communication gateway control unit (CAN comfort) C120 Communication vehicle electrical system control unit (comfort) AIR CONDITIONING 5101 C131 Communication gateway (CAN comfort) C141 Communication PCM 2.1 GATEWAY 0200 8003 Warning threshold reached C144 Communication CDR 24 PORSCHE ACCESS SYSTEM 0103 8004 Terminal 50 POSIP/AIRBAG 0104 C152 Communication PSM control module C141 Communication PCM 2.1 PASSENGER DOOR 5001 8016 Mirror heating DRIVER DOOR 5001 8009 Door handle button, inner short stroke 8023 Control unit faulty REAR 0200 8001 Terminal 30 voltage supply, undervoltage C140 Communication instrument cluster C131 Communication gateway (CAN comfort) C128 Communication PAS (comfort) control module

Is this vehicle a manual gearbox? If so, I would be looking at the over rev reports. As far as the rest I’ll let someone else comment.

Does the car have an aftermarket radio/head unit? This can cause some canbus communication errors. Those can be ignored. Be sure that they didn't disconnect the starter battery before running the scan without driving a short distance. That can clear some PSM errors. Still, there's quite a few strange codes and that makes me wonder if the battery is starting to fail. That can cause lots of glitches.

Thanks for the quick responses! Yes, it's a manual gearbox. I'm not real concerned by the DME , here it is. Not sure why there are no timestamps, but here it is, just 1 ignition of note: Number of ignitions in range 1: 833 Number of ignitions in range 2: 18 Number of ignitions in range 3 : 1 Number of ignitions in range 4 : 1 Number of ignitions in range 5: 1 Number of ignitions in range 6:0 The car has a Kenwood unit replacing the stock radio. Will the head unit cause comm errors in other parts of the car (airbags, doors, etc.)? The number and breadth of the codes has me concerned. PPI gave the battery a clean bill of health. They did also note engine mounts starting to crack and a leaky cv boot, pads at 4mm. Any idea what I am getting myself into $$-wise if I have to fix all those things more or less right out of the gate?

Your rev report looks good. Aftermarket radios do confuse the diagnostic checks since Porsche radios can communicate with other components and the center display. I don't know about some of the unrelated stuff like mirror heaters and door locks. Some of those may be old codes. Do you know if they got cleared after the report? It would be good to know, if cleared, whether they return. Out of curiosity I googled " Porsche terminal 50" and a lot of similar misc issues seem to be related to it.

I don't think they cleared the codes. I am seeing what you're seeing online, head unit or battery issues but also potentially damage to the harness. Terminal 50 maybe power to central locking? I wish I could know which ones will return too! Trying to make a decision from 1,000 miles away. The holiday is messing up the timing, the guy who did the PPI is off until Monday.

It is possible that some of the Term 50 related issues might depend on whether the ignition was on when it was scanned. Also whether the engine was running. Just throwing out ideas. I do remember getting extra diagnostic odd codes using my Durametric scanner when the engine was off. But I don't remember if the key was in the ignition.

Regarding the codes, I did a 75K service on my wife's 2006 Cayman S last week. I used my Durametric to run a Short Test. I got a lot of the same codes that you are. We have owned this car since new. This car appears to run flawlessly, in spite of all the codes. That said, I'm not going to chase down codes on a car that is running fine but I'm not sure I'd give all these codes a pass on a PPI. I have learned that these cars have a CANBUS and a lot of checks occur behind the scenes, all the time. The CANBUS has gateways (think of a router in a LAN). Any code with Communication is basically something happening that is out of spec at a gateway or possible the end device. Like the PCM ( Porsche Communication Management) so yes, aftermarket radio could be the issue there. Airbag codes certainly give me pause, and yes, I have the same one on my car. Regarding the hardware issues (I do my own work so these are wild *** guesses): Motor mounts $750. My car has the leaky CV boots. It may be tightening of a $5 clamp or the entire halfshaft might have to be pulled and refurbed. The Porsche halfshafts are like $2000 each. Everytime I buy a new car I try and baseline the brakes, which to me means not only pads but new rotors. $750 if you just do the fronts. How many miles does the car have? Clutches tend to go bad between 75K and 100K. And on and on. There is a reason they sell in the low $20's. They are becoming old cars. Sorry but that is the way it can be. But the earlier cars are great and I think you are on the right track.

Thanks for this insight! The car has about 70k on it, and it is listed in the upper 20's, so it's not as cheap as many I have seen. The Carfax does not have a lot of maintenance entries but I was hoping the PPI would fill in some of the maintenance blanks because the physical appearance of the car is very good and it has some upgrades. I wish I had time to do these things myself but I know better so I appreciate your estimates on cost. I get that they are becoming old cars, definitely a key part of the equation for me. I've done a lot of looking and a flat 6 Cayman is really the only car that scratches the itch. So, understanding this PPI with help here and other online references has been a great learning experience. I wish they popped up locally more often!

I expect you are looking at the base cars because everyone says they are much less likely to incur bore scoring. I don't personally have a dog in that fight but if I were buying any Cayman 987. 1 or .2, S or base, and I was getting a PPI, I would get the scope done, through the spark plug holes. Where do you live? Bore Score Inspection Through the Sump for a PPI – Is It Practical? OK, so it’s a bad weather day, like everywhere in the US right now, so let’s have a little discussion about bore score inspections “thru the sump”. Nothing definitive here, … newhillgarage.com

I am looking at the base model partly because of cost, partly because I don't really think that I'll need the extra HP, and yes, because the conventional wisdom is that the base models do not generally suffer from bore scoring. It's hard to know, there's no shortage of opinions, but it would be pretty devastating to spend that kind of money on a car to end up with a 20k rebuild. I am near Baltimore and truth be told there are a handful of 987's within 200 miles which is probably better than most of the country has it.

There is so much lore, so many stories and of course legitimate concerns for all of us not multi millionaires and also in my case without my master mechanic dad and three lifts. All I can say is my 3.4 flat six direct injected engine runs fantastic. Like it wants me to speed, but I curb that emotion because I don’t think any LEO is going to want to hear that. Additionally, it burns no oil that I can discern between changes. Must have been a Wednesday build which is another vehicle rabbit hole to go down.

It is funny/ironic. I just checked my current issue of PCA Panorama magazine and out of the 16 987 Caymans listed, there is a 2007 Base, a 2009 Base, and a 2012 Base. Ironic in that I suspect fears of bore scoring have maybe caused it to be a sellers market for the base cars versus the S models. There is a 2006 S listed in Columbia, MD.

Glad to hear your 3.4 is running great. I hear you on the speed, this is partly why I don't mind chasing down a base model. I grew up in the time of the giant V8s where the dial stopped at 85.