The FIX Is IN! The 2014 Porsche 911 GT3 Fire Issue Has Been Found!

I'm sorry, but we're talking about the brand spanking new 911 GT3 here, a car that literally just came out. Why would Porsche deserve extra credit for fixing a very serious issue on a brand new car? That's something ANY brand would do, and would in fact be legally REQUIRED to do. The real story here isn't that Porsche is "doing the right thing", it's that these brand new cars were catching fire in the first place. And let's be honest -- Porsche may have a "good reputation" for building sports cars, but they do NOT have a history of "doing the right thing" for the owners. There have been myriad issues with Porsche engines before, whether it's leaking main seals or cylinder head failures on late-90's/early 2000's models or coolant pipes on pretty much every Cayenne V8, and they've basically told their owners to "suck it" every time. And those owners do, and continue to buy more Porsches, which to me is the most amazing thing of all. That right there is probably the #1 indicator of Porsche having a "good reputation", because if any other brand treated their owners the way Porsche has treated theirs they'd have been out of business decades ago, not being praised for fleecing their owners out of a whopping $23k PER VEHICLE, as has been the case in recent articles.

@JRob

You're way off base here.

How many times has Ferrari halted product and replaced all the engines on an all-new product after self immolation? Name one time. How about Lamborghini?

I didn't think so.

And it's clear if they hadn't done right by customers previously, they're at least trying now. So there's been a shift in culture.

BTW, I would wager that the profit per vehicle you cite IS NOT directly from the cars. It's likely tied to creative financing and how the company is using financial instruments to generate revenue for the company.

Read these before typing any further. It's a shame the rest of the press world doesn't actually understand what's really going on, either.

http://www.wintonsworld.com/cars/carnews/carnews-2009/Porsche-Worth.html

http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/0911_porsche_and_volkswagen_what_happened/

"And it's clear if they hadn't done right by customers previously, they're at least trying now. So there's been a shift in culture. "

No, that's not clear. This is a brand new car, they have to fix it. If every single one of these vehicles spontaneously combusted at 4 yrs and 1 day or 50001 miles, do you think Porsche would be lifting a finger? They haven't in the past (and I notice you didn't argue that point -- it's well known). When they do, THEN there's evidence of a shift in culture. Until then, they're just doing what every other manufacturer would be required by law to do.

Look, I don't dislike Porsche, or their vehicles. But I'm not going to slap them on the back and praise them for fixing a brand new car that was catching fire. They're not doing something special here.

First off, they don't HAVE TO fix it.

There wasn't any investigations by American or European bodies and it seems that other automakers have overlooked similar situations in the past.

They acted w/o being forced to act. Do.you.understand?

It shocks me that Porsche never fixed the rear main seal oil leak problem. It continued to rear its ugly head and was considered "unfixable" for at least 10 years since the water cooled engines were produced in '97. That will always be a black mark IMO on Porsche's dedication to quality. Because they were about to go out of business in 1997, they had no choice but to seek cheaper manufacturing alternatives. Now that they are back on their feet, anything less than perfection is inexcusable.

Porsche did the right thing here and has always been better than most in this regards. Most companies would have either denied they had a problem or decide to continue production as they search for a fix for something they deny is an issue. For almost any engine issues with any new model Porsche, they replace the engine and send it back to the factory for analysis. Kudos for doing the right thing.

Compare this to BMW which now ranks 7th in engine failures:
http://biser3a.com/cars/audi-and-bmw-score-worst-engine-failures-rate/

And deny while refusing to fix:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/features/bmw-chains-snap-n47-engine-2007-2009

And new car models that should have never been released with catastrophic
issues:
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/10/05/bmw-recalling-2013-m5-m6-models-over-potential-catastrophic-eng/

Thank you for proving my point. BMW immediately stop saled the entire M5/M6 line, recalled all the ones that had already sold, and fixed all of them. Sound familiar? It should, because it's exactly what Porsche is doing with the GT3. It's hypocritical to chastise BMW (or any other manufacturer -- Porsche and BMW are hardly alone in this regard) while "giving kudos to Porsche". Neither of them get extra credit for "doing the right thing". You're SUPPOSED to do the "right thing" when a car is brand new and you sell it with a potential catastrophic problem. Both of them did what was required, that's it. Neither of them did anything special. And sorry, but Porsche has kicked sand in the face of their owners and denied known problems repeatedly. Ask anyone who had a Boxster or 911 circa 1999 about leaking crankcases and grenading cylinder heads who Porsche said "that'll be $15k for a new engine, thanks", or recently the shattering coolant tubes in their V8 models. That one is currently going through litigation.

Again, they're doing "what they have to do" in regards to the GT3, plain and simple. It's utterly ridiculous to fellate them for it and give them bonus points for doing exactly what every other brand would be doing in their position.

First off, we're talking about engine fires. Second you didn't address Ferrari or Lamborghini's tales of woe.

Porsche did the right thing, BMW did the right thing. So, where are the other guys?

Fellate them? Man, you really are a blowhard ;)

As a owner of 991 2SC, I can't wait to test drive the GT3.... What an awesome car... 23K profit is well worth it....

Should anyone care for a 991 GT3 owner's opinion…. It's been frustrating to have the car in the country for 6 weeks now w/o being able to even sit in it! So I'll give you my unvarnished perspective.

Porsche is doing the right thing by swapping the entire engine.

Now, Porsche is a commercial organization that lives and dies on profit performance so this isn't selfless in any way. Rebuilding engines in the field would likely have bern less expensive. However, it probably would have led to problems down the road.

IMO, this engine swap NPV positive but only based on the long-term impact - loyalty.

Many people are reacting like JRob and many others like agent 00R. You are both right. It's just a matter of perspective.

Incidentally, talking about BMW and frustration… I have a couple and BMW had to fix both in the same week. One was a leaky trunk and the other was a blown turbo on an N54 engine. The former was fixed under warranty but the other was not. My fault? Well, I chose to drive the car until I needed to swap winter / summer tires… Which pushed me 10 days over warranty.

BMW refused to pick-up the tab even though the computer showed the defect for several weeks. (Loss of engine power)

That was not cool. But it'll be NPV negative for them…. I'll never buy another BMW again.

In the meantime, I've never had issues w/ my Porsches so I have 2 on order… The GT3 and the GT3RS. Long-term payback.

Congrats on your acquisitions. We'd love to hear more when you take delivery/drive them.

Sorry to hear about your hang up but, hopefully, it'll be settled sooner rather than later.

Porsche is finally replaced EVERY 2014 GT-3 engine due to botched connecting rods. Maybe Porsche should not be buying con rods from China.

GTR owners abuse and kill their transmissions and everyone was calling the car a POS. Porsche has engines that flame up causing you to need a new engine but Porsche is to be praised? Yea, I see what you did there.