Various questions/concerns

[Sammy]

2002 Boxster S w/12K miles

I have a number of questions regarding little nuances and would appreciate some input as to if these things are normal.

1) The fuel gage takes forever to go to the F mark after you have added gas. Yesterday I filled up from 1/3 tank and it took 10 miles before it reached the F mark.

2) The acceleration is not very smooth when the car is cold. It almost feels as if it has a slight stumble to it. The power level also feels like it is lacking. Neither of these symptoms are remotely dramatic, but I still notice them. Once the car warms up all this goes away and life is good again.

3) The engine has this constant ticking noise that at idle is louder (or at least more noticeable) than the exhaust. I'm assuming these are the fuel injectors but they seem a little loud and kind of annoying.

On the positive side, this is still one awesome car!!! :)

[Sammy]

Anyone??? I know I'm not the only guy here with a gas gauge in my car... I'm also pretty sure that my car isn't the only one that starts out with a cold engine... ;)

[stumpjumper]

honestly, I don't think I've ever looked at the needle after filling up, just the miles to gas line and it's always about right as soon as i get in the car

I've noticed that the car feels sluggish for the first bit, more noticably in sound than acceleration feel for me but it takes far less time for my boxster to warm up than for my audi so I guess i never cared

the ticking is probably the lifters, they're quite loud and closer to your ears than the exhaust is. I've read that heavier weight oil can alliviate this but I haven't bothered trying yet

[Loren]

1. I honestly have never noticed it taking that long.

2. I would check the air cleaner condition as well as the throttle body. See if there is a carbon build-up around the throttle butterfly - or just try a bottle of Chevron Techroline in your gas.

3. A small amount of ticking is normal at startup (hydraulic lifters) - if it doesn't go away when the engine is warm then you should have a tech look at (hear) it.

[Rom]

My gas gauge shoots up after filling up... but mine is a 1999 non-S... Dunno what another 2002-S would do!

You shouldn't really be testing the acceleration of the car until warmed up - hope you aren't flooring it while cold! ;)

Thanks!

Shash

[Sammy]

Thank you for the responses! I'm glad you have the gas gauge option in your vehicles... :D

I scheduled a service visit to have it looked at. It's under warranty, so it's worth having them take a look at it.

What!?! You mean this car runs at something other than WOT??? Why don't you curse at me and tell me to drive a Buick!!! (Just kidding for any Buick owners out there) ;)

The hiccups are under smooth acceleration at low RPM's so I think I'm safe in assuming that it's not my driving style.

[mikefocke]

My '01 S guage registers full by the time I climb back in.

[far972]

My gas gauge in my Boxster S seems to be the opposite, it moves up to 4/4 with no problems, but when it gets below half, the gauge seems to drop MUCH faster... probably just my perception as my miles per tank seems about right.

As far as the slightly sluggish performance, you might want to look into cleaning your MAF. I would be surprised if it is already gone at 12K miles, but these things are very tempermental in the Boxsters. I noticed the same problem for a few weeks, and last weekend my CEL came on, the code points to the MAF. MAF problems can also cause a rough idle, as the air/fuel ratio is all wonked out...

With a good OBD II reader, you can check the levels on the MAF, but the dealer should be able to do the same.

[986Jim]

On my Talon, if I fill the car with the keys on even in the play stereo position it takes say 10 mins to reach the full mark. The fuel sending unit does not change quickly on purpose so that the needle will not flop around when your breaking and accelerating. If you were to pull the speed sensor from the trans while driving (which I have done before on my GTI) the needle will flop around. When I break the low fuel light would come on and acccelerate the fuel would go right to full, it was almost like an acceleration meter the harder I accelerated the higher my gas would go hahah. When the car senses speed it dulls the movements of the fuel sending unit so that it doesn't move the needle around like that. I find that when I fill up and the keys are in the ignition and the stereo is on, so the ecu is powered it takes forever for the needle to go all the way up. When filling the car it's stationary and the ecu knows to let the fuel gauge move rapidly to show the new fuel that has been added but once you move, it's again slowed down so the needle doesn't move.

If your pulling the keys and it still doing it, then there could be another problem. It doesn't matter that it's slow going up, you physically KNOW there is gas in the car, so who cares.

As for the acceleration, you have to remember your car is drive by wire, so the throttle is probablly turned down during warm up. So even if you go 100% throttle it may only open the throttle body 60% or something until the car is warm. I don't acctually know if Porsche does this or not, but it does on my Jetta because they won't allow you to floor the car when it's cold to hurt the motor.