check engine light

[cmjgolf]

Picked up a new 2009 C4S 6-speed 7/11. After ~ 200 miles, the "check engine" light came on. I had put gas in about 25 miles earlier. I checked the gas cap - it appeared to be tight. Talked to the dealer's service rep - was told not to worry if the light was not flashing and the car drove "normally." Well, the light is not flashing and I don't feel competent to evaluate if the car drives "normally" yet. I have been gentle and staying below 4000 rpm (the car had 34 miles on it). The dealer said the light may reset itself after 3-4 days anyway. As I live ~75 miles from the dealer, I don't want to drive it back if It is not necessary or if I will do some harm. Any advice? Thanks!! :unsure:

[Loren]

:welcome:

If it does not reset then you will need to find a shop with a PIWIS tester so they can see what fault code(s) are triggered.

Where are you located?

[cmjgolf]

:welcome:

If it does not reset then you will need to find a shop with a PIWIS tester so they can see what fault code(s) are triggered.

Where are you located?

Thanks Loren - I'm in beautiful Saint Cloud, MN

Craig

[tekky]

seems to me like a good excuse to take it out for a ride on a Saturday to get it looked at... I wouldn't feel comfortable driving such a new car with that light on.

Edited July 15, 2009 by tekky

[wvicary]

If the engine is running fine and the check engine light is not flashing then I would continue on with the break in period. It could take several drive cycles to clear the light and a low fuel level can trigger emission codes. Congrats on the new ride and welcome to the forum.

[cmjgolf]

Picked up a new 2009 C4S 6-speed 7/11. After ~ 200 miles, the "check engine" light came on. I had put gas in about 25 miles earlier. I checked the gas cap - it appeared to be tight. Talked to the dealer's service rep - was told not to worry if the light was not flashing and the car drove "normally." Well, the light is not flashing and I don't feel competent to evaluate if the car drives "normally" yet. I have been gentle and staying below 4000 rpm (the car had 34 miles on it). The dealer said the light may reset itself after 3-4 days anyway. As I live ~75 miles from the dealer, I don't want to drive it back if It is not necessary or if I will do some harm. Any advice? Thanks!! :unsure:

Update: was out of town for 4 days. Took the car to the dealer today. Noticed a rough idle and varying rpms while idling. Dealer said the code had cleared itself, but the code showed a defective valve solenoid. They have to overnight a replacement from Atlanta. They hope to have it back to me in 1 - 2 days.

Anyone heard of this with the new DFI 3.8s? TIA

[cmjgolf]

Picked up a new 2009 C4S 6-speed 7/11. After ~ 200 miles, the "check engine" light came on. I had put gas in about 25 miles earlier. I checked the gas cap - it appeared to be tight. Talked to the dealer's service rep - was told not to worry if the light was not flashing and the car drove "normally." Well, the light is not flashing and I don't feel competent to evaluate if the car drives "normally" yet. I have been gentle and staying below 4000 rpm (the car had 34 miles on it). The dealer said the light may reset itself after 3-4 days anyway. As I live ~75 miles from the dealer, I don't want to drive it back if It is not necessary or if I will do some harm. Any advice? Thanks!! :unsure:

Update: was out of town for 4 days. Took the car to the dealer today. Noticed a rough idle and varying rpms while idling. Dealer said the code had cleared itself, but the code showed a defective valve solenoid. They have to overnight a replacement from Atlanta. They hope to have it back to me in 1 - 2 days.

Anyone heard of this with the new DFI 3.8s? TIA

Update #2

Dealer called and said the new solenoid did not clear the fault. He told me that "bank #2" is not communicating correctly with the solenoid and therefore not opening the intake valves correctly (?) I assume this has something to do with the variocam and which cam profile to follow, but I work on people not cars. They are contacting Porsche for further instructions.

I bought the 2009 to avoid issues with the RMS and IMS on the previous design. Anyone aware of this issue? How concerned should I be ???

[tekky]

Picked up a new 2009 C4S 6-speed 7/11. After ~ 200 miles, the "check engine" light came on. I had put gas in about 25 miles earlier. I checked the gas cap - it appeared to be tight. Talked to the dealer's service rep - was told not to worry if the light was not flashing and the car drove "normally." Well, the light is not flashing and I don't feel competent to evaluate if the car drives "normally" yet. I have been gentle and staying below 4000 rpm (the car had 34 miles on it). The dealer said the light may reset itself after 3-4 days anyway. As I live ~75 miles from the dealer, I don't want to drive it back if It is not necessary or if I will do some harm. Any advice? Thanks!! :unsure:

Update: was out of town for 4 days. Took the car to the dealer today. Noticed a rough idle and varying rpms while idling. Dealer said the code had cleared itself, but the code showed a defective valve solenoid. They have to overnight a replacement from Atlanta. They hope to have it back to me in 1 - 2 days.

Anyone heard of this with the new DFI 3.8s? TIA

Update #2

Dealer called and said the new solenoid did not clear the fault. He told me that "bank #2" is not communicating correctly with the solenoid and therefore not opening the intake valves correctly (?) I assume this has something to do with the variocam and which cam profile to follow, but I work on people not cars. They are contacting Porsche for further instructions.

I bought the 2009 to avoid issues with the RMS and IMS on the previous design. Anyone aware of this issue? How concerned should I be ???

Aren't you glad you took the car in instead of having to deal with many more issues at a later stage? Keep us updated on this and how it develops.

[cmjgolf]

Picked up a new 2009 C4S 6-speed 7/11. After ~ 200 miles, the "check engine" light came on. I had put gas in about 25 miles earlier. I checked the gas cap - it appeared to be tight. Talked to the dealer's service rep - was told not to worry if the light was not flashing and the car drove "normally." Well, the light is not flashing and I don't feel competent to evaluate if the car drives "normally" yet. I have been gentle and staying below 4000 rpm (the car had 34 miles on it). The dealer said the light may reset itself after 3-4 days anyway. As I live ~75 miles from the dealer, I don't want to drive it back if It is not necessary or if I will do some harm. Any advice? Thanks!! :unsure:

Update: was out of town for 4 days. Took the car to the dealer today. Noticed a rough idle and varying rpms while idling. Dealer said the code had cleared itself, but the code showed a defective valve solenoid. They have to overnight a replacement from Atlanta. They hope to have it back to me in 1 - 2 days.

Anyone heard of this with the new DFI 3.8s? TIA

Update #2

Dealer called and said the new solenoid did not clear the fault. He told me that "bank #2" is not communicating correctly with the solenoid and therefore not opening the intake valves correctly (?) I assume this has something to do with the variocam and which cam profile to follow, but I work on people not cars. They are contacting Porsche for further instructions.

I bought the 2009 to avoid issues with the RMS and IMS on the previous design. Anyone aware of this issue? How concerned should I be ???

Update #3:

Got my car back last night and all appears to be well. Interesting and confusing problem, however. The original fault code was P1381 "valve adjustment one bank in wrong lift." The technician "pulled up the actual values for the short test results and found that bank one read OK and bank two read faulty." To make a long story short - as it was explained to me - the diagnostic software from Porsche for the new DFI engine had a problem. It took a few days of communicating with Porsche in Germany to discover that the diagnostic software indicated "OK" when there was a fault and indicated "fault" when it was OK. So, although I did have a faulty valve control solenoid, they initially replaced the good one and left in the faulty one. Once this software glitch was understood, the faulty solenoid was replaced and all ran well. My service advisor said a lot of the time was spent in translating back and forth between German and English.

Anyway, the car runs WAY better than when I picked it up. Staying below 4200 rpm is going to be difficult!