2003 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA light

Fuel
/!\Warning!
Fuelishighlyflammableandharmfulto
health.
I>Fire,openflameandsmokingareprohibited
whenhandlingfuel.
I>Avoidcontactwithskinorclothing.
I>Donotinhalefuelvapors.

Topreventdamagetotheemissioncontrol
systemandengine:
I>
Neverdrivethetankcompletelyoutoffuel.

I>
Avoidhighcorneringspeedsafterthewarning
lightshavecomeon.
Followtheinstructionsinthe"FuelEconomy",
"EmissionControlSystem"and"Fuellevel
gauge"chapters.
Check
enginewarninglight

Ifthewarninglightsintheinstrumentpaneland
on-boardcomputercomeonandremainson
whiledriving,itsuggests:
-animproperlyfastenedtankcapor
-refuellingwithenginerunning.
176Maintenance,CarCare

Openingthefillerflap

Thefilleropeningisunderthefillerflapinthe
frontrightfender.

I>
Withthevehicleunlocked,pressonthefront
partofthefillerflap(arrow)toopentheflap.
Thefillerflapiscentrallylockedalongwiththe
otherlocks.

Ifthereisadefectintheautomaticunlock-
ingsystem:
I>
Openthepassengerdoor.

I>
Pulltheringintheright-handdooraperture
(arrow).

Unleadedfuelsmaynotbeavailableoutsidethe
continentalU.S.andCanada.Therefore,werec-
ommendyoudonottakeyourcartoareasor
countrieswhereunleadedfuelmaynotbeavail-
able.

Octaneratings

Octaneratingindicatesafuel'sabilitytoresist
detonation.Therefore,buyingthecorrectoctane
gasisimportanttopreventengine"damage".
TheRONoctaneratingisbasedontheresearch
method.TheCLC(U.S.CostofLivingCouncil
octanerating)orAKI(antiknockindex)octane
ratingusuallydisplayedonU.S.fuelpumpsis
calculatedasresearchoctanenumberplus
motoroctanenumber,dividedby2,thatiswrit-
tenas:
RON+MON
2
orR+M
2
TheCLCorAKIoctaneratingisusuallylower
thantheRONrating:
Forexample:95RONequals90CLCorAKI
178Maintenance,CarCare
Fuels
containing
alcohol
andether

SomeareasoftheU.S.requireoxygenated
fuelsduringcertainportionsoftheyear.Oxyge-
natedfuelsarefuelswhichcontainalcohols
(suchasmethanolorethanol)orether(suchas
MTBE).
Undernormalconditions,theamountofthese
compoundsinthefuelwillnotaffectdriveability.
YoumayuseoxygenatedfuelsinyourPorsche,
providedtheoctanerequirementsforyourve-
hiclearemet.Werecommend,however,to
changetoadifferentfuelorstationifanyofthe
followingproblemsoccurwithyourvehicle:
-Deteriorationofdriveabilityandperformance.
-Substantiallyreducedfueleconomy.
-Vaporlockandnon-startproblems,especially
athighaltitudeorathightemperature.
-Enginemalfunctionorstalling.
Fuels
containing
MMT
SomeNorthAmericanfuelscontainanoctane
enhancingadditivecalledmethylcyclopentadienyl
manganesetricarbonyl(MMT).
Ifsuchfuelsareused,youremissioncontrol
systemperformancemaybenegativelyaffected.
Thecheckenginewarninglightonyourinstru-
mentpanelmayturnon.
Ifthisoccurs,Porscherecommendsyoustop
usingfuelscontainingMMT.
PortableFuelContainers

A
Danger!
Portablefuelcontainers,fullorpartially
empty,mayleakcausinganexplosion,or
resultinfireincaseofanaccident.

t>Nevercarryadditionalfuelinportablecon-
tainersinyourvehicle.

FuelEvaporationControl
Fuel
tank
venting
Theevaporationchamberandthecarboncanis-
terpreventfuelfromescapingtotheatmos-
phereatextremehighoutsidetemperatures,
whendrivingabruptlyaroundcurvesandwhen
thecarisparkedataninclineorinanyother
nonlevelposition.
Vaporcontrol
systemandstorage

Whenthefueltankisfilled,vaporsarecollected
intheevaporationchamberbyaventlinelead-
ingthevaporstothecarboncanisterwherethey
arestoredaslongastheenginedoesnotrun.
Purge
system

Whentheengineisrunning,thefuelvaporsfrom
thecanisterwillbemixedwithfreshairfromthe
ambientairofthecanister.Thismixturewillbe
directedtotheintakeairhousingbythetank
ventline,mixedwiththeintakeairandburned
duringnormalcombustion.
WasherFluid
Thereservoir,withabluescrewcap,isinthe
luggagecompartment,totherearleft.
Capacity
-Withoutheadlightcleaningsystem:
approximately2.5liters.
-Withheadlightcleaningsystem:
approximately6.5liters.
Cleanwaterisgenerallynotenoughtocleanthe
windshieldandheadlights.
Itisadvantageoustoaddawintercleanergiving
antifreezeprotectionorasuitablesummer
cleaner,dependingontheseason.Followthein-
structionsforthemixingratio.
t>Donotuseenginecoolantanti-freezeorany
othersolutionthatcandamagethecar's
paint,inthewasherreservoir.
t>Pleasenotealltheinformationonthecon-
tainerofthecleaningagent.
e

Warning
light
Thewarninglightsintheinstrumentpaneland
on-boardcomputerlightwhenapproximately
0.5literisleftinthereservoir.
Maintenance,CarCare
181

Washing
Thebestmethodofprotectingyourcarfrom
thedamagingeffectsoftheenvironmentisfre-
quentwashingandtheapplicationofapreserv-
ative.Theundersideofyourvehicleshouldalso
bewashedthoroughly,atthelatestwhensaltis
nolongerspreadontheroads.
Thelongersalt,roaddustandindustrialdust,
deadinsects,birddroppingsorsubstancesfrom
trees(resin,pollen)areallowedtoremainonthe
bodywork,themoreseriousistheirharmfulef-
fect.
Newcarsshouldbewashedcarefullywithplenty
ofclearwatertoprotectthenewpaintwork.
Darkpaintfinishesshowupthesmallestofsur-
facedamage(e.g.,scratches)morereadilythan
lightercolors.
Darkcolorsarealsomoresusceptibleto
scratchingbecauseofthecompositionoftheir
pigmentsandrequireparticularlycarefulpaint
care.
[>
Donotwashyourcarinbrightsunlightor
whilethebodyworkisstillhot.
[>Whenwashingbyhand,useabundantwater,
asoftspongeorwashbrush,andPorsche
carshampoo.
[>Beginbysprayingthebodythoroughlywith
watertorinseawayloosedirt.
186Maintenance,CarCare
[>
Afterwashing,rinsethecarwithplentyof
waterandthendrywithachamoisleather.
Donotusethesamechamoisleatherfor
dryingasyouuseforcleaningthewindshield
andwindows.
/!\.Warning!
Moisturewhichgetsontothebrakesduring
acarwashcanreducebrakingefficiencyor
makethebrakespullunevenlywhichcould
increasethedangerofanaccident,causing
seriouspersonalinjuriesordeath.
[>Alwaysapplythebrakesafewtimesafter
washingthecartotestbrakingefficiencyand
drythebrakediscs.
Whendoingthis,takecarenottohamper
otherroadusersbehindyou(trafficconditions
permitting).

Automatic
carwashes
Optionaladd-onpartsorpartswhichproject
beyondthecontoursofthevehiclemaybe
damagedbydesignfeatures(e.g.brushes)of
automaticcarwashes.
Thefollowing
parts
areparticularlysuscep-
tibletodamage:
-Windshieldwipers(alwaysswitchthemoffto
preventthemwipingunintentionallyinintermit-
tentorsensoroperation)
-Externaltelephoneantennas(alwaysunscrew)
-RoofTransportSystem(alwaysremovecom-
pletely)
-Fixedrearspoilerorextendedrearspoiler
-Wheels(thewidertherimandthelowerthe
tireheight,thegreatertheriskofdamage)
-High-glosswheels(topreventthesefromget-
tingscratched,donotcleanwiththewheel-
cleaningbrushesofthecarwash).
[>
Pleaseconsulttheoperatorbeforeusingauto-
maticcarwashes.
[>Washanddrybyhandallpointsnotreached
byacarwash,suchasdoorandlidseamsor
doorsills.
Note
Automaticcarwashesspraywateratodd
anglesandhighpressures,whicharenotseen
innormaldriving.Therefore,watercansome-
timesfinditswayintothepassengerscompart-
mentduringorshortlyafterthecarwash.

Paint

[>
Neverrubadustycarwithadryclothsince
dustparticlesareabrasiveandcoulddulland
damagethesurfacefinish.
Thepaintworkofyourcarisexposedtoall
typesofmechanicalandchemicalconditions,
particularlyclimaticonessuchasbrightsunlight,
rain,frostandsnow.Ultravioletlight,rapid
changesintemperature,rain,snow,industrial
dustandchemicaldepositsconstantlyattackthe
paintwhichisonlyabletowithstandsuchexpo-
sureinthelongtermifitisgivenregularcare
andattention.
[>
Donotapplysiliconepolishestothewind-
shield,windowsorconvertibletop.
[>
Donottreatmatt-paintedcomponentswith
preservativesorpolishesasthiswillspoilthe
matteeffect.
188Maintenance,CarCare
Preservation
Thepaintsurfacebecomesdullovertimedueto
weathering.Itisthereforenecessarytopreserve
thepaintregularly.
Thiskeepsthepaintshinyandelastic.Dirtis
preventedfromadheringtothepaintsurface
andindustrialdustispreventedfrompenetrating
thepaint.
Provideditiswashedandtreatedwithpreserv-
ativeregularly,thebrandnewfinishofyourcar
willberetainedforyearstocome.
[>ApplythePorschepaintpreservativeafterthe
carwashandpolishitdrytoobtainabright
finishorsimplyaddaliquidpreservativeregu-
larlytothefinalrinsewater.
Polishing
DonotresorttousingPorschepolishuntilit
becomesevidentthatthenormalpreservatives
nolongerproducethedesiredfinish.

Spotsandstains

[>
Removetarstains,grease,oilspotsanddead
insectsassoonaspossiblewithInsect
Remover.Theycancausediscolorationif
allowedtoremainonthepaintwork.
[>
Washtheaffectedareaimmediatelyafter
treatingit.
Minor
paintdamage

[>
Haveminorpaintdamage,suchasscratches,
scoresorchipscausedbyflyingstones,re-
pairedimmediatelybyyourauthorized
Porschedealerbeforecorrosionsetsin.
However,iftherearealreadytracesofcorro-
sion,theymustfirstberemovedcarefullyand
thoroughly.Coattheareawitharust-proofing
primerandfinishoffwithatopcoat.Thepaint
codeandcolornumberarefoundonthevehi-
cle'spaintdataplate.

Enginecompartment
Theenginecompartmentandthesurfaceofthe
enginearetreatedwithacorrosion-inhibitorat
thefactory.
Ifdegreasingsolventsareusedtocleantheen-
ginecompartmentortheengineiswashed
down,theprocessalmostinvariablyremoves
thecorrosion-inhibitingcoating.Itisthenabso-
lutelynecessarytohaveadurablepreservative
appliedtoallsurfaces,bodyseams,jointsand
assembliesintheenginecompartment.Thisalso
applieswhencorrosion-inhibitorpartsarere-
placed.
Effectivecorrosion-proofingisparticularlyimport-
antduringthecoldweatherseason.Ifyourcar
isdrivenfrequentlyinareaswheresalthasbeen
spreadontheroads,thewholeenginecompart-
mentshouldbecleanedthoroughlyafterthe
wintertopreventsaltfromcausinganylasting
damage.Afullunder-bodywashshouldalsobe
performedatthesametime.
ACaution!
Riskofdamagetothegenerator.
I>Donotpointthecleaningjetdirectlyatthe
generator,orcoverthegenerator.
Windows
Theroaddustwhichsettlesonthewindshield
andwindowscontainsparticlesoftirerubber
andoilresidue.Theinteriortrimandupholstery
releaseparticles,particularlyinstrongsunlight,
whichcollectontheinsidesofthewindows.
Thesedepositsareaugmentedbyimpuritiesin
theairwhichentersthecarthroughthefreshair
vents.
I>Cleanallwindowsregularly,insideandout-
side,withPorschewindowcleaner.
I>Ifyouuseachamoisleatherforthewindows,
donotuseitforpaintworkasitwillotherwise
pickupacertainamountofpreservativeor
polishandcouldsmearthewindowsandthus
impairvision.
I>RemovedeadinsectswiththePorscheinsect
remover.
Wiperblades
Wiperbladesthatareinperfektconditionare
vitalforaclearview.
I>Replacethewiperbladestwiceperyear(be-
foreandafterthecoldseason)orwhenever
wiperperformancedeteriorates.
I>Periodicallycleanthewiperbladeswith
Porschewindowcleaner,especiallyafterthe
vehiclehasbeenwashedinacarwash.
Iftheyareverydirty(e.g.withinsectre-
mains),theycanbecleanedwithaspongeor
cloth.
Undercoating
Theundersideofyourcarisdurablyprotected
againstchemicalandmechanicalinfluences.
Asitisnotpossibletoexcludetheriskofdam-
agetothisprotectivecoatingindaytodaydriv-
ing,itisadvisabletohavetheundersideofthe
carinspectedatcertainintervals-preferablybe-
forethestartofwinterandagaininspring-and
theundercoatingrestoredasnecessary.
YourauthorizedPorschedealerisfamiliarwith
thebodysealtreatmentproceduresandhasthe
necessaryequipmentforapplyingfactoryap-
provedmaterials.Werecommendthatyouen-
trustthemwithsuchworkandinspections.
Unlikeconventionalsprayoils,undercoatingand
rust-proofingcompoundsbasedonbitumenor
waxdonotattackthesound-proofingmaterials
appliedatthefactory.
I>I>I>
Maintenance,CarCare
189

/!\Warning!
Dangeroffireandseriouspersonalin-
juries.

t>Donotapplyadditionalundercoatingorrust-
proofingonorneartheexhaustmanifold,ex-
haustpipes,catalyticconvertersorheat
shields.Duringdrivingthesubstanceusedfor
undercoatingcouldoverheatandignite.
t>Beforeapplyingfreshunderseal,carefully
removedepositsordirtandgrease.Onceit
hasdried,thenewundercoatingcompound
formsatoughprotectivecoatingwhichpro-
videsefficientrust-proofingofthefloorpanels
andcomponents.
t>Alwaysapplyafreshcoatingofsuitablepre-
servativetounprotectedareasaftercleaning
theundersideofthebody,thetransmission,
theengineorcarryingoutrepairstounder-
body,engineortransmissioncomponents.
Effectiverust-proofingisparticularlyimportant
duringthecoldweatherseason.Ifyourcaris
drivenfrequentlyinareaswheresalthasbeen
spreadontheroads,thewholeenginecompart-
mentshouldbecleanedthoroughlyafterthe
wintertopreventsaltfromcausinganylasting
damage.Afullunder-bodywashshouldalsobe
performedatthesametime.
190Maintenance,CarCare
Door,roof,lidandwindowseals
t>Washdirt(e.g.abrasion,dust,roadsalts)
fromallsealsregularlyusingwarmsoapy
water.Donotuseanychemicalcleaning
agentsorsolvents.
Whenthereisafrosthazard,theouterdoor
sealsandthefrontandrearlidsealscanbe
protectedagainstfreezingintoplacebyasuit-
ablecareproduct.

Inordertopreventdamagetotheanti-fric-
tioncoating,theinnerdoorseals,thecon-
vertibletopsealsandhardtopsealsmust
notbetreatedwithcareproducts.

Headlights,lights,interiorandexterior
plasticparts
t>Use
only
cleanwaterandalittledishwashing
detergenttocleanlightlenses,plastichead-
lightlenses,plasticpartsandsurfaces.
Donotcleanwhendry.
Useasoftspongeorasoft,lint-freecloth.
Gentlywipethesurfacewithoutapplyingtoo
muchpressure.
ThePorscheinsidewindowcleanerisalso
suitableforcleaningplasticsurfaces.Follow
thecleaninginstructionsonthecontainer.
Neveruseotherchemicalcleanersor
solvents.
t>Rinsecleanedsurfaceswithclearwater.

Lightalloywheels

Alsoreferto"Carwashes".
Pittingmayoccurifmetallicparticleswhich
causecontactcorrosion(e.g.brassorcopperin
brakedust)areallowedtoremainonthealu-
minumfortoolong.
I>Ifpossible,washthewheelswithaspongeor
washbrushabouteverytwoweeks.Inareas
wheresaltisspreadonwinterroadsorthere
isalotofairborneindustrialdust,itisbestto
cleanthewheelsweekly.

ThePorscheLightAlloyWheelCleaner
(ph-value9.5)canbeusedforthispur-
pose.
Iftheph-valueofthedetergentisincor-
rect,theprotectivecoatingonthewheels
willbedestroyed.
Polisheswhichdissolveoxides,suchas
thosefrequentlyusedforothermetals,or
abrasivetoolsoragentsareunsuitablebe-
causetheybreakdowntheoxidefilmof
theprotectivecoatingandwillcausedisco-
lorationofthewheel.
I>
Everythreemonths,aftercleaning,coatthe
wheelswithacarwaxornon-corrosive
grease(vaseline).
Usingacleancloththoroughlyrubthegrease
intothesurface.

Leather
Characteristicsandspecialfeatures

Thenaturalsurfacemarkingsofleather,e.g.
creases,healedscars,insectstingmarks,struc-
turaldifferencesandslightvariationsinshade
andgrainaddtotheattractivenessofthenatu-
ralleatherproduct.
Aspecialmentionmustbemadehereofnatural
leather.
Fornaturalleather,carefullyselectedhidesof
thehighestqualityareused.Itisnotcovered
completelywithdyeonproduction.
"Nature'ssignature"isthereforeeasilyrecognis-
able.
Thisfinematerialisdistinguishedbyanout-
standingseatingcomfort,specialsuppleness
andatypicalpatina.

Leathercareandtreatment
I>
Cleanalltypesofleatherregularlytoremove
finedustusingasoft,damp,whitewoollen
clothoracommerciallyavailablemicrofibre
cloth.

I>
RemoveheavycontaminationwithPorsche
leathercleaner.
Pleasealwaysfollowtheinstructionsforuse
givenonthecontainers.

Causticcleanersandhardcleaningobjects
mustnotbeused.
Perforatedleathermustundernocircum-
stancesgetwetonitsreverseside.

Oncecleaned,leather(particularlytheheavily
stressedleatherseats)mustbetreatedonly
withPorscheleathercareliquid.
Maintenance,CarCare
191