Not the usual door lock problem

Hello, New owner of a meteor gray 987.1 . I have read all the threads about door lock mechanism issues and still don't understand the problem my car is suffering from, so any help would be much appreciated. When unlocking the doors via the key, only the drivers door unlocks. The passenger door does not make any noise as if it is attempting to unlock. The passenger door will lock fine via the key and can be opened from the handle inside. More confusingly the passenger door may be unlocked using the interior button. This leads me to believe the problem is electrical and not due to a fault in the mechanism within the door? I have already replaced the lock mechanism with a used part, and the problem persists. Any ideas welcome. Cheers, Adam.

My 2012 987 allows selection of driver side only unlock or both unlock in software. Check your manual.

First just to clarify, by unlocking with the key, you mean the physical key inserted into the keyhole in the driver's door? (As opposed to the RF transmitter in the key fob). If so, what happens when use the key fob? Now I know that some of the locking/unlocking behavior can be modified (coded) using PIWIS . Since you are not the original owner of this car, it is possible that a previous owner modified it. I know I customized mine to drop or raise the windows if the key is held in the unlock/lock position for a few seconds. I seem to remember that the driver and passenger doors needed to be coded separately. But I don't recall specifically whether it allowed the unlock to only work on the driver's door. Just a thought - try unlocking and holding the key in the unlock position a few seconds.

Had a look in the owners manual but I can't see the setting you describe so that may be reserved for .2 cars.

My apologies, what I described above was operation from the key fob without putting the key in the door. Having said that, the problem remains when locking/unlocking with the key in the door where both doors may be locked, but only the drivers side will unlock. I tried holding the key in the barrel for a few seconds but this did not appear to do anything. Unlocking in the barrel twice and holding simply lowers the windows which isn't much use. Furthermore both keys act in the same way and neither is capable of remotely unlocking the passenger door. For what it's worth, I have also tried disconnecting the battery with hope this would reset the central locking to no success. Alongside this, the fuse for left side central locking is fine. Thanks for the replies much appreciated, Adam.

I have the aftermarket module - and can't recall anything in it that would disable passenger door unlocking. Does the door unlock if you use the dash lock button (lock it then unlock)? The module did have a setting to lock the doors when the car is in motion (at some low speed) - but that just duplicates what the car has available in its settings. ( 987.2 )

Yes button on dash will unlock and lock both doors no problem. It automatically locks both doors when moving off.

This doesn't seem to be a malfunction, just a former owner's preference. If it really bothers you -Yes, it probably can be changed using a Porsche specific diagnostic tool (there are several discussed in the Porsche Diagnostics and Programming sub-forum) but it might be expensive to pay someone with the tool to hunt through all the options to change the settings back. It will likely be a case of guessing at likely settings. It would probably be cheap to buy one of the 3rd party diagnostic and coding tools and do it yourself. If you think you'll be a long-term owner, it will be a good investment and will pay for itself many times. But definitely investigate the possibility that an after market product has been installed. It could conflict with any the control unit programming. I took a quick look at the mods4cars product installation instructions and it appears to be hidden behind the fuse box. So it wouldn't be visible without some disassembly.

I was curious about this so I went out to the garage with my two diagnostic tools. I've had the Durametric (non-Pro version) for years for general maintenance and testing. It does not support coding but does have a nice user interface. I can see the individual door locks can be separately activated (lock and unlock are separately controlled). So that seems to say it is possible to disable unlocking of passenger door though the central locking controls. I also have ThinkDiag which is much more cryptic to use but is supposed to support coding. I've used it about 9 months ago to tweak some settings related to window dipping when unlock is held on the key fob and keyed lock. I also set it so the windows dipped slightly when the Cayman 's hatch is opened. Using ThinkDiag I could see some settings that sounded like it would allow separate driver/passenger door control of central locking/unlocking. Unfortunately it wouldn't allow me to enter the coding of those modules. Keep in mind that ThinkDiag is not a Porsche -specific tool and it often fails to allow going too deep into the various modules. I also got pushed an application update which has been known to break some of the functionality. So I think I'm done with that tool. But I was able to individually lock and unlock either door and it looked like each or either can be enabled/disabled when responding to the "central locking" function. So, I'd find someone with PIWIS or get yourself one of the Diagnostic tools mentioned in the Diagnostics sub-form that support coding. One thing I learned while diving into ThinkDiag is that the parameter names are often cryptic as to what they actually do. Some are in German and others sound odd. So be careful experimenting.

Thanks for all the help, much appreciated, Looks like I'll be buying a diagnostic tool with the ability to code, possibly after removing the fuse box to look for aftermarket gubbins. Always good to learn something new I suppose. At this point, I would much rather it was a wiring issue or a mechanical upset but that does not seem likely. Will keep thread updated with any progress.

So I bought a Foxwell Nt530 ... After setting up the device, I went straight to programming and to passenger door menus. I tried a few different settings but no results. Thinking I had just thrown away 160 quid, I went into "PAS" (I think it was called) and a list of keys appeared. Within each keys settings was 'response to central locking'. I changed the setting from 'driver door only' to 'driver and passenger door'. Bingo! The passenger door now unlocks via the remote. Thanks to everyone who helped, Adam.

Nice to hear of success and how you got there! Good'on'ya..