996 Targa roof rattles... - Page 2 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

Well, the roof doesn't rattle on my 1991 C2RS coupe at all >> Edited by domster on Monday 22 July 12:52

Hi, my 2002 targa has just yesterday had a rattle from the front of the roof part. Covered 940miles. I have found that if you open and close the roof a couple of times it stops rattling. or close the roof fully and then slightly open. The rattle is gone if roof is open any amount but 50 50 there if the roof is closed. The car is in for a new windscreen in sept (stone and then cracked) and have asked them to look at the roof then as well. Maybe a design fault. is this the same as yours? Best wishes James I love the car to bits. The weekend with roof and windows back was sooo gooood.

That's basically the problem although I can't seem to work out where it's coming from but it certainly stops as soon as the roof is open even a fraction. Personally as good as the rest of the car is I'm not prepared to spend nearly £70k on a car that rattles to that extent. My old C2 cab was much less rattlesome than this one. At least I have a Boxster S as a replacement whilst they try to fix it - better than AFN which used to give me a variety of Audi hardware.

which dealer?

Latest one purchased from HR Owen

Just had a fax from the dealer principal saying that if i'm not satisfied with the car after they have tried to rectify they will be prepared to reverse the deal and give me my 3.4 cabrio back. Very disappointing - I hope they can get it right I have been looking forward to this car for a long time and don't know what I'd get if they can't sort it. Meanwhile the Boxster S tiptronic is turning out to be a lot more fun than I expected - maybe I should save myself £30k and get one of these.

Coupe has to be the only way to go.

Hmmmm Hope they dont say that to me, as I have noting else to go back too! Im sure they can fix it. The coupe is very dark inside compared to the Targa and feels very different. Anyone else with the problem?

I think its the pop up wind deflector thats doing the rattling. It certainly is not the glass, or frame of the car. Cheer up, you/we still have a fantastic car !!

Just put the interior light on.

Its being delivered back to me today for my approval - i really hope they get it right I have no idea what to buy with £69k if they don't. Really don't want a coupe, think i'd prefer to go back to the Cab but a 3.6 is impossible to find.

If it is the wind deflector I wonder whether a coating of some rubber solution would cure it?

let us know how you get on and if it has been cured. Have they said what they have done? Thanks

Sent an e-mail to a friend who bought a Targa earlier this year. He uses the performance and he does a high mileage in Europe and here. His answer was no - not a single rattle from the roof, so the least you can expect is a proper repair. If they're stuck insist they consult the factory for advice.

McNab asked me by email whether I had any problems with my Targa - prompting me to have a look into the forum and answer myself. I do really use it. 21500 km since Middle of March. I've had it up to 265 km/h (around 165 mph) on the german autobahn. After picking it up, I hit a hare at 160 km/h and had around 3000 pounds worth of damage. No rattling from the roof. Just sometimes a little squeaking from the rubbers. I hate to say this but its no problem on german roads, just on crappy, potholed english B-roads (and some A roads). A few tips: if they squeak, wipe the rubbers very very sparingly with pure glycerine (from chemist). Open and close the roof again when the car is stationary and level, i.e. when you're back home, in the garage, open and close one more time. I too have had a glitsch with the rear window mechanism. There are 2 or 3 limit switches in there which have to fire in the right order. If you sort of swing it down, and it touches and then jumps open again, the limit switches get out of sync. It then will not close. You can get round it. Shut the window and press it down. If you then press the release button exactly the right amount of time, it will close. If you press too long, it will close, the jump open again. Try again till you get the right amount of time. Once you've managed to close it, don't open again. Leave it standing in the garage overnight (or longer). After a certain period of time it resets itself - and works again. You should be able to get the roof quiet. Hope to have been of help. Many thanks to McNab. Best wishes, WalterU

Many thanks for that. The car was delivered back to me last night and having had a few drinks at the cricket yesterday afternoon didn't have a chance to properly test it til my short drive to work this morning. It certainly seems much better although there is a still an admittedly more distant and faint sounding version of the same rattle - this i can live with, especially as you can't hear it at all when the amazing bose stereo is on. My only concern is that with our amazing quality of roads (and belive me its not just the 'b' roads which are cracking up) its only going to be a short time before it works itself loose again. Your explanation of the issues with the rear window sounds spot on - i also had the idea of holding it down and trying the unlock button but found it kept bouncing open again - i will try holding it for a shorter period if it happens again. The only issue is that this has left a rather poor impression of the integrity of the targa as a design. I have had a succession of cars over the past few years culminating in this my 1st new (or nearly new) porsche. One of the cars i owned was a Merc SLK when it first came out. I had that for a year and i have to say that despite the complexity of the roof mechanism I didn't have a single problem with it. It was as quiet as a coupe with the roof up and no less rigid feeling with the roof down. If Mercerdes can get that right porsche should have no difficulty with the engineering demands of a hatch-back. (must admit that from the drivers seat it was one of the most boring cars i've ever owned!) I have the weekend to decide whether to keep the car or reject it. Must say I am slightly tempted to save £30k and order a new boxster...

No dont do it..... How many boxters do you see and how many 911 Targas (996)? Ive not yet seen another 911 targa (996)on the road, very few 911's (996) but Boxters... there goes another one now!!! (and a girl driving) Stick with it, Im sure it is just a teathing problem, but fixable and as you said hopefully now fixed. Only once in a life time was my excuse for the new 911, keep the dream and car. >> Edited by superlightr on Friday 26th July 12:01

I agree, don't do it. I had an SLK and did have issues with the roof mechanism. Others did too. I have no problems with my Targa, you have. Its the luck of the draw. I think the design is basically sound. Persevere, they'll get it right. As for the rear window mechanism, its like a computer programme. Everyone of them has glitsches. If we manage to do things the designers never even dreamt of, things will go wrong. I just have to hand my nice cars to my wife or my son, and they'll find something (my wife managed to mess up the rear window mechanism). Stick with it. The sheer practicality is sensational. On my last trip to Germany I came back with: 2 large canvas bags of luggage 1 briefcase 1 laptop 1 printer 3 LARGE camera and video cases 1 medium sized bag 7 crates of wine 2 large boxes of shopping an assortment of other bags and plastic bags, shoes etc. Forget a Boxster, its too loud for serious high-speed driving, and there are lots of them around ... Best regards, WalterU

Just had a glorious weekend - can you believe 30+ degrees in rainy old england - blasting round some of my favourite roads in south herts, roof open and the a/c keeping the temperature down. They seem to have got the roof right and as you all said its way superior to the boxster. Amazing what a few moments of self doubt together with a glance last week at my stock portfolio can do. But hey another week and look what happens - the roof stops rattling, the sun comes out and the market is back up!!! Thanks for all your advice and for helping restore my confidence in my decision making ability and Stuttgart's finest...

Hurahh.... Long live the Targa. It was so smart this weekend as you said roof and windows down, nice roar of the engine, stero playing a good beat. The best. I went for a silver one on the end. What colour did you go for? ps How anyone could live with the Boxters rear spoiler I dont know!! I bet you have not seen on the road another 996 Targa??!! >> Edited by superlightr on Monday 29th July 17:41

Basalt Black - I couldn't decide if I liked the idea of the roof pannel being a different colour and in any case it was either that or no car. As mine was a cancelled order there are a few things i might not have bothered with and some that are missing. 2 major ommissions are cruise control and heated seats both of which are the sort of non-essential items that once you've had you don't want to give up. On the plus side its tiptronic which is great living in london but i would have prefered manual and I have the PCM which is fun, litronics which i like but unless you live in the countryside I think are unnecessary and sports seats which are also nice but the standard seats are so good there is no real need. Also odd things like alluminium dials, alluminium handbrake and tip shift. And you're right - i've not seen another on the road. Some guy who parks his 911 cabrio in my car park asked me where i got hold of the glass hardtop!

He he he Glass hard top?? lol. I had mine with heated seats, small artic, bose, sport classic wheels (I think) multi cd and manual. Was going go for black but having had other black cars concerned over the cleaning and marks showing. Also neve had a silver car and saw one in showroom in silver before order and fell in love with it. If you are nearby to Haywards Heath and wanted to meet up to kick tyres/drive around a bit and just go wow at the cars let me know.

...but isn't the rear visibility cr@p with the sliding roof open? Sort of spoils the practicality of the whole product a bit.

Sure, It makes it harder to see out the centre rear view mirror, although you can still see via it, but the drivers (and passenger) mirror is then better and havnt caused any problems for me. The car is FAB. I love the airyness of the cabin even with the roof shut. I was sceptical to start with but after seeing a demonstrator targa, loved it so much that I changed my order from the coupe to the targa.

agree entirely. Have you ever tried the Cabrio with the roof closed?!? The open Targa roof beats it hollow for rear visibility. again, agree entirely. Where the Targa is unique and beats any car going is on those cold crisp sunny winter days. The airiness of the cabin is fantastic I bought mine in artic silver, mainly because you see the dirt less, and I can't be bothered/haven't got the time to wash it. Rgds, WalterU

I picked up an 02 996 Targa with a 1000 mls on the clock last week. I have to say that as a car its a big step up from the 3.4 996 i had previously but the mechanism for the rear window has failed already and the rattling from the roof is unbearable. I was wondering if anyone else was experiencing the same problems? >>> Edited by senator on Monday 22 July 14:03