2003 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA brake

ClutchPedal
Theclutchpedalmustbedepressedfully
beforethestarterwillengage.
/!\.Warning!
Riskofanaccident.
I>Alwayscheckthemovementoftheclutch
pedalbeforedrivingandmakesurethatitis
notobstructedbyafloormatoranyother
object.
I>Securethefloormattopreventitfromsliding
intopositionsthatcouldinterferewiththe
safeoperationofyourvehicle.
YourPorschedealerwillbegladtoofferyou
floormatsofthecorrectsizeincludingase-
curingpossibility.
Toavoiddamagetotheclutchandtrans-
mission:
I>Alwaysdepresstheclutchpedalfullywhen
changinggears.
I>Donotholdthecaronasteepgradewiththe
clutchpedalpartiallydepressed.
Shouldthefreetraveloftheclutchpedalsud-
denlybecomebigger,itcouldmeanamalfunc-
tionoftheclutch.SeeyourPorschedealerfor
correction.
52Controls,Instruments
ParkingBrake
Parkingbrakeforceismechanicallytransferred
totherearwheelsbymeansofcables.
I>Usetheparkingbrakeonlyafterthevehicle
hascometoafullstop.

Setting
theparkingbrake
I>Pulltheleverallthewayup(seearrow).
Withtheignitionon,theparkingbrakewarn-
inglightsintheinstrumentpanelandon-board
computerwillcomeoniftheleveriseven
slightlyraised.Afirmpullupwardisrequired
toproperlyengagetheparkingbrake.
Ifthebrakeisnotfullyset,thevehiclemay
rollwithoutcontrol.
I>Movetheselectorleverto"P"(Tiptronic)or
movethegearshiftlevertoreverseorfirst
gear(Manualtransmission).
I>Beforeexitingthevehicle,makesurethatthe
parkingbrakeisfullysetandthevehicleis
notmovingatall.
Releasingtheparkingbrake
I>Pulltheleverslightlyupasyoudepressthe
releasebuttonA,andthenpushtheleverall
thewaydown.

.
@
ParkingbrakewarninglightUSA
Parkingbrakewarninglight
Canada
Thewarninglightswillgooutaftertheparking
brakeisfullyreleased.
Thewarninglightsarenotanindicatorthatthe
parkingbrakeisfullyset;itisonlyintendedto
beawarningtoreleasetheparkingbrakebe-
foredrivingthecar.
ACaution!
Apartiallyengagedbrakewilloverheatthe
rearbrakes,reducetheireffectivenessand
causeexcessivewear.
[>
Releasetheparkingbrakefully.
[>
Whenparkingyourcar,alwayssettheparking
brakebypullingallthewayuponthelever.
[>
Movetheselectorleverto"P"(Tiptronic)or
movethegearshiftlevertoreverseorfirst
gear(Manualtransmission).
[>
Onhillsalsoturnthefrontwheelstowardsthe
curb.
Brakes
[>Makeitahabittochecktheoperationofyour
brakesbeforedriving.
Keepinmindthatthebrakingdistanceincreases
veryrapidlyasthespeedincreases.At60mph
or100km/h,forexample,itisnottwicebut
fourtimeslongerthan30mphor50km/h.Tire
tractionisalsolesseffectivewhentheroadsare
wetorslippery.
[>Therefore,alwaysmaintainasafedistance
fromthecarinfrontofyou.
Note
Eventhoughthebrakediscsconsistofalloyed
greycastiron,theywillunavoidablystarttocor-
rodeifyourcarisparkedforanextended
period.Thebrakeswilltendto"rub"asthere-
sult.
Thenature,extentandeffectsofcorrosionde-
pendontheamountoftimethevehiclewas
parked,whethergranularorliquidroadsaltwas
spreadandwhethergrease-dissolvingagents
wereusedincarwashes.
Ifthebrakingcomfortisnoticeablyimpaired,we
recommendhavingthebrakesystemchecked
byexpertsatanauthorizedPorschedealer.
Brakesystemfunction
YourPorscheisequippedwithapowerassisted
hydraulicdualcircuitbrakesystemwithdisc
brakesatthefrontandrear.
Bothcircuitsfunctionindependently.Onebrake
circuitoperatesthefrontandtheotheroperates
therear.
Ifonebrakecircuithasfailed,theotherwillstill
operate.However,youwillnoticeanincreased
pedaltravelwhenyouapplythebrakes.
Failureofonebrakecircuitwillcausethestop-
pingdistancetoincrease.
A
Warning!
Riskofanaccident.
Intheunlikelyeventofhydraulicfailureof
onebrakecircuit:
[>
Pushthebrakepedaldownfirmlyandholdit
inthatposition.
Amechanicallinkageactivatesthesecondcir-
cuit,andyouwillbeabletobringthevehicle
toastop.
[>
Afterbringingyourvehicletoacomplete
stop,avoiddrivingthevehicleandinstead
haveittowedtothenearestauthorized
Porschedealerforrepair.
[>[>[>
Controls,Instruments
53

41CD
BrakewarninglightUSA
@BrakewarninglightCanada
Ifthewarninglightsintheinstrumentpaneland
on-boardcomputergoonwhiledriving,the
brakefluidlevelmaybetoolow,or(ifthebrake
pedaltravelhasincreased)oneofthetwobrake
circuitsmayhavefailed.
Agreaterbrakingpressurewillberequired,
stoppingdistanceswillbelongerandthebrak-
ingbehaviorwillchange,particularlyincurves.
Withcorrectlyadjustedbrakes,andacorrectly
workingbrakesystem,thepedaltraveltothe
pointofbrakeactuationshouldbe
1-3/16
in.to

1-9/16
in.or30to40mm.
Wheneverthebrakepedaltravelexceedsthis
distance,havethebrakesystemchecked.
54Controls,Instruments
Brakepedal
/!\Warning!
Riskofanaccident.
Anyobstructionofthebrakepedalcould
increasethestoppingdistance.
I>Alwayscheckthemovementofthebrake
pedalbeforedrivingandmakesurethatitis
notobstructedbyafloormatoranyother
object.
I>Securethefloormattopreventitfromsliding
intopositionsthatcouldinterferewiththe
safeoperationofyourvehicle.
YourPorschedealerwillbegladtoofferyou
floormatsofthecorrectsizeincludingase-
curingpossibility.
Note
Incaseoneofthetwobrakecircuitsfails,in-
creasedpedaltravelisrequiredtobringyour
vehicletoafullstop.
/!\Warning!
Toavoidoverheatingandprematurewear
ofthebrakes:
I>Beforedescendingasteepgrade,reduce
speedandshiftthetransmissionintoalower
gearordrivingpositiontocontrolspeed.
I>Donot"ridethebrakes"byrestingyourfoot
onthepedalwhennotintendingtoapply
brakepressure.
I>Donotholdthepedaldowntoolongortoo
often.
Thiscouldcausethebrakestogethotand
notfunctionproperly.

Brake
booster
Thebrakeboosterassistsbraking
only

whentheengineisrunning.

Whenthecarismovingwhiletheengineisnot
running,orifthebrakeboosterisdefective,
morepressureonthebrakepedalisrequiredto
bringthecartoastop.
Moistureorroadsaltonbrakesaffectsbraking.
Whenthevehicleisdrivenonsaltedroadsfor
extendedperiods,thebrakesshouldbewashed
downthoroughlyaboutevery2weeks.Anauto-
maticcarwashfacilitycannotdothisjob
properly.
Brakeswilldryafterafewcautiousbrakeappli-
cations.

A.Warning!
Drivingthroughwatermayreducethetrac-
tion.
Moistureonbrakesfromroadwater,car
wash,orcoatingofroadsaltmayaffect
brakingefficiency.
t>Cautiously
applybrakes
to
testbrakesafter
beingexposed.
Brakewear
Yourcarhasexcellentbrakes,buttheyarestill
subjecttowear.Therateatwhichtheywear
dependsonhowthebrakesareused.

t>
Havethebrakesysteminspectedattheinter-
valsrecommendedinyourMaintenance
Booklet.

8
@
WarninglightUSA
WarninglightCanada

Ifthelightsintheinstrumentpanelandon-board
computerstayonwhentheengineisrunningor
comeonwhiledriving,thebrakepadsareworn,
excessively.
t>Donotcontinuetooperatethevehicle.
HaveyourauthorizedPorschedealerinspect
orreplacethebrakepads.
Brakepads
Wearonthebrakepadsandbrakediscs
dependstoagreatextentonthedrivingstyle
andtheconditionsofuseandthereforecannot
beexpressedinactualmilesontheroad.
Thehigh-performancebrakesystemisdesigned
foroptimalbrakingeffectatallspeedsandtem-
peratures.
Certainspeeds,brakingforcesandambient
conditions(suchastemperatureandhumidity)
thereforemightcausethebrakestosqueal.

Newbrakepadsorlinings

Newbrakepadshavetobe"brokenin",and
thereforeonlyattainoptimalfrictionwhenthe
carhascoveredseveralhundredmilesorkm.
Theslightlyreducedbrakingabilitymustbe
compensatedforbypressingthebrakepedal
harder.Thisalsoapplieswheneverthebrake
padsandbrakediscsarereplaced.
Controls,Instruments
55

ABSBrakeSystem
(AntilockBrakeSystem)
TheABSsystemrepresentsamajorcontribution
totheenhancementofactivesafetyinyourve-
hicle.
Thissystempreventsthewheelsfrom
lockinginapanicstoponalmostallroadsur-
faces.
56
Controls,Instruments

With
theABSsystem
inyour
vehicle,the

following
areasareenhanced:
Steering,vehicleremainssteerable
underall
brakingforceswhenABSisengaged.
Good
directionalcontrol,
noswervingcaused
bylockingofwheelsunderbrakingconditions.
Shorterstopping
distance,
stoppingdistances
areusuallyreducedbecausecontrolledbraking
ismaximized.
Preventionofwheellockup,nobrake-
inducedslidingandthusnolocalizedtirewear
fromemergencybraking.
ThecrucialadvantageoftheABSsystemovera
conventionalbrakesystemisintheareaof
maintainingdirectionalcontrolandmaneuvera-
bilityofthecarinemergencysituationsduring
normaldriving,includingpanicbrakinginturns.

A.Warning!
Theincreasedcontrolthatisprovided
shouldnotinduceyoutotakegreaterrisks
withyoursafety.Thelimitsdictatedbythe
lawsofphysicscannotbeovercome,even
withABS.
Theriskofaccidentsduetoinappropriate
speedcannotbereduced,evenbytheABS.
Thedriverbearstheresponsibilityforall
drivingmaneuvers.
[>
Adaptyourdrivingstyletotheprevailingroad
andweatherconditions.
[>Obeyalltrafficlaws.

OthervehiclesnotequippedwiththeABS
systemmaynotbeabletomaintaincon-
trol,especiallyonwetorpoorroadsur-
facesandthusmaybemorelikelytoim-
pactyoufrombehind.

[>
Tominimizethatrisk,useyourABSsystem
toincreaseyourabilitytomaneuvertoavoid
dangeroussituationsandnotmerelytotryto
stopintheshortestdistancepossible.

OperationoftheABSsystem
Awheelspeedsensorismountedtoeachofthe
fourwheels.Ifwheellock-upofeitherofthe
frontwheelsortherearwheelsissensedduring
braking,thebrakepressureisadjustedautomat-
icallyuntilthewheelnolongerslips.Thebrake
pressureisregulatedforeachfrontwheelindi-
viduallyandforbothoftherearwheels
together.
Onaroadsurfacewhichisslipperyononlyone
side,therearwheelwhichisbrakingontheslip-
perysurfacedeterminesthebrakepressure
whichwillbeappliedequallytobothrearwheels.
Thisensuresthatdirectionalstabilityismain-
tained.However,ifbrakingforcesapproachthe
wheellock-uppointforallwheels(panicbraking)
theABSsystemwillintervenetoprovidearapid
rythmicbraking.
TheproperoperationofABSisperceivedbythe
driverasapulsatingbrakepedalinconjunction
withaudiblenoiseandperhapssomevibration.
I>Ifyouexperiencethesesensationswhiledriv-
ingoraroadsurfacewithquestionabletrac-
tion,reducevehiclespeedappropriateforthe
prevailingroadconditions.
Thefunctionalreadinessofallthemainelectrical
componentsoftheABSischeckedbyanelec-
tronicmonitoringsystembothbeforeandwhile
youdrive.

8
WarninglightUSA
@
WarninglightCanada

WhentheignitionisswitchedontheABSwarn-
inglightwilllightupwhilethesystemiselec-
tronicallyinterrogatedandgoesoutwhenthe
engineisstartedifthecheckisnotyetcom-
plete.
IftheABSwarninglampfailstogoout,thisindi-
catesthatABShasbeendeactivatedduetoa
fault.Ifthewarninglightsintheinstrumentpanel
andon-boardcomputerlightupwhileyouare
driving,thisindicatesthatafaulthasoccurred.
Inbothcases,normalbraking,asinvehicles
withoutABS,isstillretained.
TheABSsystemshould,however,beexamined
atanauthorizedPorschedealerimmediatelyto
preventtheoccurrenceoffurtherfaults.
I>IftheABSsystembecomesinoperative,take
yourvehicletoyourauthorizedPorsche
dealerimmediately.
/!\Warning!
ThecontrolunitoftheABSbrakesystemis
setforstandardtiresize.Ifnon-standard
tiresareinstalled,thecontrolunitmaymis-
interpretthespeedofthevehicle,because
ofthevariantdataitreceivesfromthesen-
sorsontheaxles.
I>Useonlytiremakesandtypestestedby
Porsche.
Controls,Instruments
57

PorscheStabilityManagement
(PSM)
PSMisanactivecontrolsystemforstabilizing
thevehicleduringextremedrivingmaneuvers.
/!\.Warning!
Theincreasedcontrolthatisprovided
shouldnotinduceyoutotakegreaterrisks
withyoursafety.Thelimitsdictatedbythe
lawsofphysicscannotbeovercome,even
withPSM.
Theriskofaccidentsduetoinappropriate
speedcannotbereduced,evenbyPSM.
Thedriverbearstheresponsibilityforall
drivingmaneuvers.
[>Adaptyourdrivingstyletotheprevailingroad
andweatherconditions.
[>Obeyalltrafficlaws.
AdvantagesofPSM
-Superiortractionandlane-holdingabilityinall
drivingsituations-evenonroadsurfaces
withvaryingfriction.
-PSMactivelystabilizesthevehicleduringdy-
namicdrivingmanoeuvres(e.g.rapidsteering
movements,duringlanechangesoronalter-
natingcurves).
58Controls,Instruments
-Improvedbrakingstabilityincurvesandon
differentorvaryingroadsurfaces.
Readinessforoperation
ThePSMisengagedautomaticallyeverytime
youstarttheengine.
Function
Sensorsatthewheels,brakes,steeringsystem
andenginecontinuouslymeasure:
-Drivingspeed
-Directionoftravel
-Lateralacceleration
-Rateofturnaboutthevehicle'sverticalaxis
ThePSMusesthesevaluestodeterminethe
directionoftraveldesiredbythedriver.
PSMintervenesandcorrectsthecourseifthe
vehicle'sactualdirectiondeviatesfromthe
desiredcourse(steering-wheelposition).It
brakesindividualwheelsasneeded.Ifnecess-
ary,thePSMadditionallyinfluencestheengine
powerorthegear-changingcharacteristicofthe
Tiptronicinordertostabilizethevehicle.
TheeventsbelowinformthedriverofPSMcon-
troloperationsandwarnhimtoadapthisdriving
styletotheroadconditions:
-Theinformationlightintheinstrumentpanel
lightsup.
-Hydraulicnoisescanbeheard.
-Thevehicledeceleratesandsteering-wheel
forcesarealteredasthePSMcontrolsthe
brakes.
-Reducedenginepower.
-Thebrakepedalpulsatesanditspositionis
changedduringbraking.
However,itispossibleatanytimetoachieve
fullvehicledecelerationbyincreasingthefoot
pressureslightlyonthebrakepedal.

Switching
offPSM
[>
Pressthe"PSMOFF"logooftherocker
switch.
PSMisswitchedoffafterabriefdelay.
WithPSMswitchedoff,thePSMOFFwarning
lightintheinstrumentpanelandtherocker
switchindicatorlightarelit.
Duringbraking,thevehicleisstabilizedeven
whenPSMisswitchedoff.
One-sidedspinningofthewheelsisprevented,
evenwithPSMswitchedoff.
PSMshouldalwaysbeswitchedonduring
"normal"driving.
However,itcanbeofadvantagetoswitchoff
PSMtemporarilyinexceptionalsituations:
-Onaloosesurfaceorindeepsnow
-When"rockingthevehiclefree"
-Whenusingsnowchains.
Tiptronicvehicles:WhenthePSMisswitched
offtheslipmonitoringfunctionoftheTiptronicis
alsodeactivated.

Switching
PSMbackon
[>
Presstheindicatorlightintherockerswitch.
PSMisswitchedonafterabriefdelay.

e

Infonnationlight
-ThePSMinformationlightintheinstrument
panellightsupforalampcheckwhentheig-
nitionisswitchedon.
-ThelightindicatesPSMinterventioneven
whenPSMisswitchedoff(brakeregulationin
theeventofone-sidedwheelspin).
4D
Warninglight
-Thewarninglightintheinstrumentpanel
lightsupincombinationwiththeindicatorlight
intherockerswitchforalampcheckwhen
theignitionisswitchedon.
-Incombinationwiththeindicatorlightinthe
rockerswitch,thelightindicatesthatPSMis
switchedoff.
-Thelightsintheinstrumentpanelandinthe
on-boardcomputerindicateadefect.
PSMisoutoforder.
Thefaultshouldberemediedimmediatelyat
anauthorizedPorschedealer.
Towing
Refertothechapter"Towing".
Handbraketests
Handbrake
tests
ontherollerteststandmust
beperformedonlywiththeignitionswitchedoff.
Refertothechapter"Four-wheeldrive".
Controls,Instruments
59