Beware 981 Brake Pedal Mount Bushing - Page 3 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

My brake pedal finally succumbed to this well known failure a little over 3 years after manufacture. In 2014 there were a number of reports of brakes locking on completely but in my case it seems to have been a very gradual process that was difficult to detect until extra "engine" braking became evident in the last week when coming off the throttle. Whilst the Porsche service document attributes the problem to "high temperatures and high humidity" my case would suggest vehicle's age and mileage is also a factor. So in addition to replacing the bushing, I had to replace front disks, front and rear pads (replacing those that had done around 2,500 miles) and rear caliper piston covers. All very irritating because had Porsche made this issue a recall in 2014 and not a "replace under warranty if owner reports problem" then fixing it would not have been so expensive. If 981 Cayman and Boxsters (probably 2013 - 2014 manufacture) have not had the new part fitted, I'd recommend owners get it done as a precautionary measure even though Porsche still insist on brake "failure" before doing it under warranty. Porsche allow 1.5 hours for Centres to do the work and the part costs £8.50. The relevant service document is "WM 460855"

gtsralph said: My brake pedal finally succumbed to this well known failure a little over 3 years after manufacture. In 2014 there were a number of reports of brakes locking on completely but in my case it seems to have been a very gradual process that was difficult to detect until extra "engine" braking became evident in the last week when coming off the throttle. Whilst the Porsche service document attributes the problem to "high temperatures and high humidity" my case would suggest vehicle's age and mileage is also a factor. So in addition to replacing the bushing, I had to replace front disks, front and rear pads (replacing those that had done around 2,500 miles) and rear caliper piston covers. All very irritating because had Porsche made this issue a recall in 2014 and not a "replace under warranty if owner reports problem" then fixing it would not have been so expensive. If 981 Cayman and Boxsters (probably 2013 - 2014 manufacture) have not had the new part fitted, I'd recommend owners get it done as a precautionary measure even though Porsche still insist on brake "failure" before doing it under warranty. Porsche allow 1.5 hours for Centres to do the work and the part costs £8.50. The relevant service document is "WM 460855" Bearing in mind the modified nature of your car, I'm shocked you have the car maintained by an OPC Ralph. All the more so when they force you to replace parts that have little or no bearing on the brake pedal bush failure. This sounds like another case of an OPC creating work when it's not required. The bush replacement would have been what ? £200 ? I imagine your bill came to a figure that was many multiples of that ? Did you request the old pads/discs back ?

Slippydiff said: Bearing in mind the modified nature of your car, I'm shocked you have the car maintained by an OPC Ralph. All the more so when they force you to replace parts that have little or no bearing on the brake pedal bush failure. This sounds like another case of an OPC creating work when it's not required. The bush replacement would have been what ? £200 ? I imagine your bill came to a figure that was many multiples of that ? Did you request the old pads/discs back ? I don't think I said I had used a Porsche Centre and I wasn't forced into anything. The consequence of the brakes being slightly on all the time (because of the bushing issue) was to prematurely wear the pads so they needed replacing as well as making the rear calipers hot. The front disks had started to show small cracks around the holes, despite cleaning after each track day so they were a scheduled replacement, albeit about 2k miles earlier than expected based on previous experience. I don't need to have parts back from garages I trust. I don't scrimp on brakes as I do track days and have Donnington, Spa, Estoril, Portimao and Jerez coming up. I have used Exeter Centre for a number of years and they have installed a few of my modifications but obviously not the engine nor suspension. I use them now just for scheduled servicing. Anyway the point of the post was to warn 981 owners that they may have a lurking problem and anticipation might save them some money.

gtsralph said: Anyway the point of the post was to warn 981 owners that they may have a lurking problem and anticipation might save them some money. Agree. When my car came up for its first MOT I mentioned slight brake drag. As it turned out my car already had the modified bush and the OPC put the drag down to slight rust on the discs.

gtsralph said: I don't think I said I had used a Porsche Centre and I wasn't forced into anything. The consequence of the brakes being slightly on all the time (because of the bushing issue) was to prematurely wear the pads so they needed replacing as well as making the rear calipers hot. The front disks had started to show small cracks around the holes, despite cleaning after each track day so they were a scheduled replacement, albeit about 2k miles earlier than expected based on previous experience. I don't need to have parts back from garages I trust. I don't scrimp on brakes as I do track days and have Donnington, Spa, Estoril, Portimao and Jerez coming up. I have used Exeter Centre for a number of years and they have installed a few of my modifications but obviously not the engine nor suspension. I use them now just for scheduled servicing. Anyway the point of the post was to warn 981 owners that they may have a lurking problem and anticipation might save them some money. Ahh, the use of an OPC was an incorrect assumption on my part. My humblest apologies Bit naughty Porsche washing their hands of the issue from a warranty perspective, though hardly surprising....

The weather for Classic Le Mans 2016 was very hot. On the way from Caen to Le Mans our MY13 Boxster S PDK suddenly showed a PSM off warning message. This was followed shortly after by a Stop/Start failure warning light. Other than these warnings the car seemed to be running normally. Restarting after lunch, the warning lights had gone off but if I recall correctly a little yellow triangle with the number 2 inside it was showing on the dash. Leaving Le Mans circuit the next day late in the afternoon the brakes jammed on and the only way to make progress was to drive with left foot hooked up under the brake pedal. After a few miles it seemed to clear. On return to UK OPC fixed the pedal box under warranty. No other work was required at the time. Car has now gone and been replaced with one of the last N/A on a 16 plate which hopefully will have as a factory fit whatever modification was needed.

lowndes said: The weather for Classic Le Mans 2016 was very hot. On the way from Caen to Le Mans our MY13 Boxster S PDK suddenly showed a PSM off warning message. This was followed shortly after by a Stop/Start failure warning light. Other than these warnings the car seemed to be running normally. Restarting after lunch, the warning lights had gone off but if I recall correctly a little yellow triangle with the number 2 inside it was showing on the dash. Leaving Le Mans circuit the next day late in the afternoon the brakes jammed on and the only way to make progress was to drive with left foot hooked up under the brake pedal. After a few miles it seemed to clear. On return to UK OPC fixed the pedal box under warranty. No other work was required at the time. Car has now gone and been replaced with one of the last N/A on a 16 plate which hopefully will have as a factory fit whatever modification was needed. Replacement bushes made from a different material (that doesn't expand in the heat so much) seems to be the fix. A temporary fix seems to be turning the aircon up to maximum to cool the interior of the car, which from your description of the problem when leaving Le Mans may explain why the issue cleared after a few miles.

Is this bush the one the brake pedal pivots on ?

curley said: Is this bush the one the brake pedal pivots on ? Yes it is

Slippydiff said: Replacement bushes made from a different material (that doesn't expand in the heat so much) seems to be the fix. A temporary fix seems to be turning the aircon up to maximum to cool the interior of the car, which from your description of the problem when leaving Le Mans may explain why the issue cleared after a few miles. I’m sure you’re right about the beneficial effect of lowering the temperature inside the car. Certainly, it had been baking in direct sunlight in the car park for several hours before the worst of the brake pedal sticking manifest itself. On a related point, presumably PSM switches itself off because it is getting conflicting signals from the various sensors and is trying to make sense of a scenario that was not originally contemplated by the IT design engineers who naively assumed Porsche would use suitable materials for important functions such as brakes. I guess stop start is disabled not so much for that function per se but rather for the associated coasting feature.

So, the next question must be what date did the cars come out of the factory with updated brake pedal bush mod...? Mine is a july 2014 cayman..... And how easy is it to get the bush out of the Pedal ? If you can get it out easy, it must be an easy job to get a couple of thou out of the bush or just replace the old with the new for £8.50. ?? Gadgit

To confirm if you reported that your brake pedal stuck on during a hot day but is ok now, would they fix it under warranty? Or do they need to see a fault code?

I assume that if the effect is obvious any Centre would fix it under warranty, if it is noticeable only now and again, best turn the heater up on the way to the Centre. In terms of build dates, some were replaced in late 2013 so I think 2013 manufacture and maybe early 2014 manufacture but I do not actually know.

Hi all, To confirm I had this work done around March time this year following a few weekends where I gradually felt the car braking. I had one experience where I let off the brake pedal and the car literally slowed down almost to a complete stop. I phoned the OPC and they actually told me to phone the breakdown assistance who promptly organised a trailer the following day (along with a courtesy car). Two days later I had my car back with the new part and it has been fine ever since - cannot fault the service from the OPC at all, they were brilliant about it. My car is a 63 reg 981 at 28k, just had my 4 yr service...so I'd expect OPC to be very nice to me for the forseeable... Edited by Dannythemusicman on Thursday 8th June 22:32

gtsralph said: I assume that if the effect is obvious any Centre would fix it under warranty, if it is noticeable only now and again, best turn the heater up on the way to the Centre. In terms of build dates, some were replaced in late 2013 so I think 2013 manufacture and maybe early 2014 manufacture but I do not actually know. Mine is March 14 registration and has the new bush. However I bought the car at 6 months old (only 700 miles on the clock though) so I can't be sure if it was on the car when delivered. I suspect it was fitted from new - seems to fit with your proposed dates.

Just had my 991 back with exactly this issue. Luckily still under warranty but it was slightly concerning when the car seemed to apply the brakes on its own!

Couldn't you apply a high temp silicone grease to the area to protect the component from high temperatures?

daz05 said: Couldn't you apply a high temp silicone grease to the area to protect the component from high temperatures? You could, but I'm doubtful it would stop the bush from expanding and in turn binding.

I have had mine changed too..... but the material is harder and does expand, but now at the same rate as the cross shaft. The original bush did not expand as much as the cross shaft, which is why it binds. 991s have the same setup. If a bush expands, the hole gets bigger, not smaller..........

Bennachie said: I have had mine changed too..... but the material is harder and does expand, but now at the same rate as the cross shaft. The original bush did not expand as much as the cross shaft, which is why it binds. 991s have the same setup. If a bush expands, the hole gets bigger, not smaller.......... Yes, agreed....... Bush would expand....... Gadgit.

Slippydiff said: Bit naughty Porsche washing their hands of the issue from a warranty perspective, though hardly surprising.... The brake pedal bush issue was recognised very early on and dealt with under warranty as a routine fix, whether or not the car had shown any problems. My car was certainly handled this way, so I had no reason to criticise the manufacturer. As regards driving with the brakes on all the time a number of questions arise, 1. Heat - likely to be noticeable either in the form of brake smell or hot wheels 2. Dirt - Porsche brake pads make wheels very dirty very quickly if the brakes are applied 3. Brake lights - likely to be noticeable either by the driver or commented upon by other drivers, especially at night. 4. Wear - highly unlikely that discs would be worn prematurely by light brake application.

rockin said: Slippydiff said: Bit naughty Porsche washing their hands of the issue from a warranty perspective, though hardly surprising.... The brake pedal bush issue was recognised very early on and dealt with under warranty as a routine fix, whether or not the car had shown any problems. My car was certainly handled this way, so I had no reason to criticise the manufacturer. The OP said "All very irritating because had Porsche made this issue a recall in 2014 and not a "replace under warranty if owner reports problem" then fixing it would not have been so expensive." Sounding like there's no hard and fast guidelines as to how differing OPC's address this issue ?

My 2012 Boxster S has started exhibiting signs of this brake pedal sticking, most noticeably when the car has been left out in the sun for a few hours (last Saturday for instance). Very disconcerting to have the car come to a halt on it's own when I've released the pedal! I've owned the car from new and haven't received a recall notice nor has this work been mentioned as having been done whilst in for service, so I am hoping it is just this bush that needs replacing Car booked in at the OPC on Friday so I'll find out then (car is under extended warranty so I'm hoping that it will be done under that)

My OPC fixed this problem under my extended warranty without any dramas so you should be fine. Car is a late 2012 918B.

Hi All My 2013 Boxster has just started to show signs of this, took it for a long drive today and ended up needing to hook my foot under the brake pedal to release the brakes! I have only owned the car 8 months and have no warranty. You say it is a no recall problem so i am guessing i will need to pay for the pleasure of them fixing it?? Do we have a rough price for this fix?? Cheers Andy

dickb dly said: Hi All My 2013 Boxster has just started to show signs of this, took it for a long drive today and ended up needing to hook my foot under the brake pedal to release the brakes! I have only owned the car 8 months and have no warranty. You say it is a no recall problem so i am guessing i will need to pay for the pleasure of them fixing it?? Do we have a rough price for this fix?? Cheers Andy The bush is a few pounds and the fix if under warranty is (as I recall) around 75 minutes labour.

My May 2014 981 Cayman goes in for 40k service 1st March. It's under warranty and I'll ask the OPC to check whether it has the new bush.

Can you tell which bush the car has just by looking? My Boxster GTS is September 2014 registered

GTSMarky said: Can you tell which bush the car has just by looking? My Boxster GTS is September 2014 registered The dealer can - my March 2014 car was checked last year and said to already have the new bush. It was 6 months old when I bought it so I can't say whether it had the new bush from new, but hasn't been modified while I have had the car.

bcr5784 said: GTSMarky said: Can you tell which bush the car has just by looking? My Boxster GTS is September 2014 registered The dealer can - my March 2014 car was checked last year and said to already have the new bush. It was 6 months old when I bought it so I can't say whether it had the new bush from new, but hasn't been modified while I have had the car. OK - Thanks. I will call the service desk and ask them to have a look or if they can advise on their records if it's already been done.

Called Porsche today and they said they wanted £125 to diagnose the problem. I said i just wanted them to change the bush as eveything points to this. they didnt want to do it without this diagnostic charge, they called me back and said to change the bushes would be £243. If what everyone is saying is correct that the part is £8.50p this seems a little expensive....even for Porsche!! What is the consensus on this???

dickb dly said: Called Porsche today and they said they wanted £125 to diagnose the problem. I said i just wanted them to change the bush as eveything points to this. they didnt want to do it without this diagnostic charge, they called me back and said to change the bushes would be £243. If what everyone is saying is correct that the part is £8.50p this seems a little expensive....even for Porsche!! What is the consensus on this??? "No warranty" is unfortunately your issue. Do you have a relationship with the OPC you phoned, or any other? First time I had this "diagnosis" charge mooted "....would you like us to spend half an hour or an hour on diagnosis?", with Sytner BMW I called the dealer principal down. All to do with people coming in for free to find the issue then going back street for repairs. I reminded him I'd bought three new cars from Sytner and the charge went away.

Buy the bush and replace it yourself. Its not rocket science, All you need is the suppleness to 'stand on your head' in the footwell. Easier in a Boxster of course........

Bennachie said: Buy the bush and replace it yourself. Its not rocket science, All you need is the suppleness to 'stand on your head' in the footwell. Easier in a Boxster of course........ Agreed - though I'm not convinced it's that much easier in a Boxster unless you are 7ft tall.

dickb dly said: Called Porsche today and they said they wanted £125 to diagnose the problem. I said i just wanted them to change the bush as eveything points to this. they didnt want to do it without this diagnostic charge, they called me back and said to change the bushes would be £243. If what everyone is saying is correct that the part is £8.50p this seems a little expensive....even for Porsche!! What is the consensus on this??? This is all quite disgusting. Under warranty, Centres are allowed reimbursement from Porsche for around 1.25 or 1.5 hours Labour. It is a standard change with a time allowance.

Its not rocket science for gods sake. Just take the car to a specialist and get it all done for under £100. Then just don't tell the main dealer what you have done. Porsche will not check the item if its not a problem. It will not be logged on any computer in the car that someone else has replaced it. Quite simple chaps. Gadgit.

Thank Gadgit That is exactly what i have done booked in for Thursday. Although the garage decided to order the parts today and Porsche parts in Reading wanted to know the chissis number of the car!!!

I checked with my OPC for my September 14 BGTS and was told after a fairly extensive search that nothing on the car's file and nothing outstanding, so the bush issue must have been resolved at the factory prior to my car's build.. Having said all this I will just keep an eye on it with the odd coast if the PDK will let me that is.

GTSMarky said: Having said all this I will just keep an eye on it with the odd coast if the PDK will let me that is. Why wouldn't it - it does that automatically unless you disable it or go in Sport mode?

bcr5784 said: Why wouldn't it - it does that automatically unless you disable it or go in Sport mode? Clearer to identify any brake drag with the gearbox as disconnected as possible to avoid engine braking too.. ..might go and give it a go and pop the heated seats on as it's freezing..

dickb dly said: Thank Gadgit That is exactly what i have done booked in for Thursday. Although the garage decided to order the parts today and Porsche parts in Reading wanted to know the chissis number of the car!!! You should be ok with that. The parts man would only want the chassis number to be sure he gets the correct parts for your car. Remember that most specialists order from the main dealer unless you asked for another manufacture, so I would not think they will quibble about that. The parts department normally understands whats going on, and as they are normal guys will understand that you don't want to be ripped off by Porsche. The days are gone at Cambridge Harston, when you could get them to do a trade deal on parts. You can't even go to the parts dep any more..... He has to walk right from the back of the building to take the order and he's not happy about that. He must go back and forth all day. Gadgit

GTSMarky said: Clearer to identify any brake drag with the gearbox as disconnected as possible to avoid engine braking too.. ..might go and give it a go and pop the heated seats on as it's freezing.. I'm not sure there is any functional difference between coast mode and slipping into neutral (either with the selector or by pulling both paddles. Subjectively I can't tell the difference.

I'll find a way next time I'm out as yesterday's drive didn't happen..

Worth5 said: I've recently experienced the sticking Bush on the 981 pedal which resulted in the car braking on its own and v hot brakes! Your brake judder is almost certainly nothing to do with the work carried out to fix the bush issue. What's happened is when your brakes over-heated you've probably ended up with brake pad material deposited on the disc(s). The same thing can happen if you brake vigorously from a very high speed and get the brakes extremely hot - for instance on the Autobahn. Usually the deposits wear off after a period of normal driving/braking, although it can take a while. The vast majority of people who think they have "warped discs" are actually suffering from this relatively minor issue instead. http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7301...

Thanks, although of course the brakes only overheated due to the bush issue.. So far OPC has inspected all four discs and said they are OK. It's a strange one seemingly!

Hi all I have a 2014 Cayman S 981. I've recently experienced the sticking Bush on the brake pedal which resulted in the car braking on its own and v hot brakes resulting in a recovery via Porsche Assist. Porsche have since sorted the bush and gave me the car back. Problem is next time I drove the car I found judder under braking that was not definitely present before the bush has stuck! Much annoyed! Car now back in with local OPC and they're swapping bits over from other 981s to try to isolate the problem. They have already said that all discs are within their acceptable limits in terms of tolerance etc. I'm convinced the bush issue led to these juddering as the braking was perfect before that but I suspect OPC will have another view of the world. Anyone had the same problem as me I wonder? Edited by Worth5 on Monday 19th February 07:56 Edited by Worth5 on Monday 19th February 07:57

Hi there I have the same problem where my brake pedal keeps stiffening and when taking my foot off the brake (whilst driving slow enough), the car comes to a complete stop. My question is, can this also affect the coolant levels as the brake issue and the coolant light flashing yellow, appear to happen at the same time. (Ps: I know very little about the ins and outs of a car). I have been topping up with Porsche’s coolant 50/50 and for some reason kept losing coolant after a few weeks (does not appear to be a visible leak). Yesterday for the first time I experienced the brake issue (stiffening up quite badly) but this time with no coolant light coming on). Just want to know if the two are related. Ps: my car is 2013, out of warranty, 152000km’s on the clock and im case anyone has wondered, I’m not in a position to renew the motor plan. In reply to Dannythemusicman “To confirm I had this work done around March time this year following a few weekends where I gradually felt the car braking. I had one experience where I let off the brake pedal and the car literally slowed down almost to a complete stop.” Edited by MarkR76 on Sunday 11th August 08:18

Hiya My 2013 981 Cayman now has this sticking brake pedal. However if I pump the brake the pedal it fixes for a while. Has anyone else seen this, just in case it’s a different issue? Thanks Steve

steve_acp said: Hiya My 2013 981 Cayman now has this sticking brake pedal. However if I pump the brake the pedal it fixes for a while. Has anyone else seen this, just in case it’s a different issue? Thanks Steve I had this problem on mine and my indie said Porsche have released a revised bush as it's a known problem with the old design. Mine was intermittent so yes it might go away if you operate the pedal a few times but that may be a red herring. If your car has the old Bush it needs changing - end of. Mine only happened when it was hot - so in warmer weather or if it was cold and I had the heater on full blast blowing down. My view is this should have been a Porsche recall and it's very disappointing that it wasn't. Read up on your fan or windscreen demister failing too as that's another feature with these cars.

The pedal assembly Edited by gtsralph on Tuesday 11th June 21:46

Hi guys. Does anyone have a link to the part for the bushings I can buy? I've looked on Suncoast parts and FCP Euro and can't find them. I already took apart my brake pedal and see 2 bushings that are both actually warped. 2013 Porsche Boxster. Thank you!

7pp 721 113

Snowy999 said: 7pp 721 113 Thank you! So I just order one and will have enough to replace them or I need to order 2? https://www.sunsetporscheparts.com/oem-parts/porsc...