2003 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA Owners Manual

Coolant
level

Followtheinstructionsinthe"Cautions"chapter.
Thecoolingsystemisfilledatthefactorywitha
permanentcoolant.
Itprovidesyear-roundprotectionfromcorrosion
andfreezingdownto-31°Fj-35°C(Nordic
countries-40°Fj-40°C).
OnlyuseantifreezeauthorizedbyPorsche.
Checkingcoolantlevel
Theexpansiontankwithitsfillerorificeisinthe
enginecompartment.
~Checkthecoolantlevelregularlythroughthe
transparentexpansiontank.
Whentheengineiscoldandthecarislevelthe
fluidlevelmustliebetweenthe"Min."and"Max."
markings.

Toppingoffcoolant

A.Warning!
Dangerofseriouspersonalinjuryfrom
scalding.Coolantishazardoustoyour
health,andmaybefatalifswallowed.
~Donotopenthecapoftheexpansiontank
whiletheengineishot.
~Allowtheenginetocooldownbeforeopening
thecapandprotectyourhands,armsand
facefromanypossibleescapeofhotcoolant.
~Keepcoolantoutofchildren'sreach.
~Also,keepcoolantawayfromyourpets.
Theycanbeattractedtoitshouldtherebea
spill,ortousedcoolantleftinanopencon-
tainer.Coolantcanbedeadlytopetsifcon-
sumed.
1.Switchengineoffandletitcool.
Seethechapteronthe"Coolingsystem".
2.Covertheexpansiontankcapwithathick
rag.
Opencapslowlyandcarefullyandallowover-
pressuretoescape.
Thenunscrewcapcompletely.
3.Onlyaddamixtureofantifreezeandwaterin
equalparts,anddonotexceedthe"Max."
mark.
Antifreezeincoolant:
50%givesprotectiondownto-31°Fj-35°C
60%givesprotectiondownto-58°Fj-50°C
4.Screwcapfirmlyon.
Ifinanemergencypurewaterhasbeenadded,
themixratiomustbecorrectedatanauthorized
Porschedealer.
Markedlossofcoolantindicatesleakageinthe
coolingsystem.
Thecauseshouldimmediatelyberemediedat
anauthorizedPorschedealer.
~~~
Maintenance,CarCare
169

Engine-compartment
blower,

radiatorfan
Theradiatorandradiatorfansareinthefrontof
thecar.
Theengine-compartmentblowerismountedon
theenginecompartmentlid.
/?\.Warning!
Riskofinjury.
Aftertheengineisswitchedoff,theengine-
compartmentandcoolanttemperaturesare
monitoredforapprox.20minutes.
Duringthisperiod,anddependingontem-
perature,theengine-compartmentblower
andradiatorfansmaycontinuetorunor
starttorun.
I>Carryoutworkintheseareasonlywiththe
engineoffandexerciseextremecaution.
170Maintenance,CarCare
EngineOil
Engineoilconsumption
Itisnormalforyourenginetoconsumeoil.
Therateofoilconsumptiondependsonthe
qualityandviscosityofoil,thespeedatwhich
theengineisoperated,theclimate,roadcondi-
tionsaswellastheamountofdilutionandoxida-
tionofthelubricant.
Ifthevehicleisusedforrepeatedshorttrips,
andconsumesanormalamountofoil,theen-
gineoilmeasurementmaynotshowanydropin
theoillevelatall,evenafter600miles(1000
km)ormore.Thisisbecausetheoilisgradually
becomingdilutedwithfuelormoisture,makingit
appearthattheoillevelhasnotchanged.
Thedilutingingredientsevaporateoutwhenthe
vehicleisdrivenathighspeeds,asonanex-
pressway,makingitthenappearthatoilisex-
cessivelyconsumedafterdrivingathighspeeds.
Iftheconditionsyoudriveyourvehicleinare
dusty,humid,orhot,thefrequencyoftheoil
changeintervalsshouldbegreater.
Ifthevehicleisdrivenatahighrateofspeed,
climaticconditionsarewarm,andtheloadis
high,theoilshouldbecheckedmorefrequently,
asdrivingconditionswilldeterminetherateof
oilconsumption.
-Theengineinyourvehicledependsonoilto
lubricateandcoolallofitsmovingparts.
Therefore,theengineoilshouldbechecked
regularlyandkeptattherequiredlevel.
-Makeitahabittohavetheengineoillevel
checkedwitheveryfuelfilling.
-Theoilpressurewarninglightisnotanoil
levelindicator.
Theoilpressurewarninglightindicates
seriousenginedamagemaybeoccuring
whenlit,ifenginerpmisaboveidlespeed.

Engine
Oillevel

Followtheinstructionsinthe"Cautions"chapter.
t>Regularlychecktheoillevelusingthe
on-boardcomputereachtimethevehicleis
refuelled.
Refertothechapter"On-boardcomputer".
A.Warning!
Engineoilishazardoustoyourhealthand
maybefatalifswallowed.
t>Keepengineoiloutofchildren'sreach.
Usedengineoilcontainschemicalsthat
havecausedcancerinlaboratoryanimals.
t>Alwaysprotectyourskinbywashingthor-
oughlywithsoapandwater.
Thedipstickandoilfillerareintheenginecom-
partment.
PreconditionsforCOlTectoillevel
measurementwiththedipstick
-Vehiclemustbelevel.
-Enginemustbeswitchedoffandatoperating
temperature.
-Letengineoilflowintotheoilpanforafew
minutesaftertheenginehasstoppedrunning.
Checkingtheoillevel
1.Withdrawdipstickandwipeitwithaclean,
lint-freecloth.
2.Pushdipstickfullyhome,withdrawagainand
readofftheoillevel.
Pushdipstickinasfarasthestop.
Theoillevelmustinnocasefallbelowthemini-
mumorexceedthemaximumoillevelonthe
dipstick.
Thedifferencebetweenthetwomarksisap-
proximately
1.25
litersj1.33quarts.

Topping
offengineoil
1.Ifnecessary,addengineoilhalfaliterata
time.Unscrewthecapoftheoilfiller.
2.Checkoillevelwiththedipstickagainaftera
fewminutes.
3.Pushdipstickinasfarasthestop.
Pushfillingaidinwiththecapandclosecap
carefully.
Maintenance,CarCare
171

AmbienttemperatureSAEViscosityRangeAmbienttemperaturesSAEViscosityRange
(seasonal)Mineraloilbased(seasonal)Syntheticoilbased
engineoilsengineoils
generallyhigherthan15W-40generallyhigherthan10W-40
50°FjlO°C20W-5050°FjlO°C15W-40
20W-4015W-50
generallylowerthan15W-40generallylowerthan10W-40
50°FjlO°C10W-4050°FjlO°C10W-30
10W-305W-30
generallylowerthan10W-30
14°Fj-1O°C5W-30
EngineOilRecommendation
Recommendedoilviscosityrangesdependentonambienttemperatures:
UseonlyengineoilslabelledasAPISHorSJ,orILSACGF1andviscositygradesofSAE10W-40orhigher.
Preferablyyoushouldusesyntheticorsemisyntheticengineoils.
IfindoubtaskyourauthorizedPorschedealerforPorschetestedandapprovedall-seasonoils.
172Maintenance,CarCare

Oilchange

Theengineoilhastobechangedattheinter-
valslistedinyourMaintenanceSchedule.
See"Capacities".
Werecommendthatyouhavetheengineoil
changedatyourPorschedealer,whohasthe
requiredoilsandthenecessaryfillingequipment.
Ifyoususpectanoilleakintheenginehave
yourdealercheckitoutimmediately.
Allcurrentengineoilsarecompatiblewitheach
other,i.e.whenmakinganoilchangeitisnot
necessarytoflushtheengineifyouwishtouse
adifferentbrandorgradeofoil.
Since,however,eachbrandofoilhasaspecial
composition,youshould,ifpossible,usethe
sameoilbrandifitbecomesnecessarytotop
upbetweenoilchanges.
Porscheengineshavelongintervalsbetweenoil
changes.Youcanmakebestuseoftheselong
oilchangeintervalsbyusingmultigradeoils
sincethesearelargelyindependentofseasonal
fluctuationsintemperature.
Ifyourvehicleisusedfrequentlyinstop-and-go
trafficincoldweather,theenginewillnotalways
beproperlywarmedup.
Condensationfromproductsofcombustionmay
accumulateintheoil.Inthiscase,itisadvisable
tochangetheoilmorefrequentlysothatyour
engineonceagainhas100%efficientengine
oil.
Engineoilperformanceclass
Engineoilisnotonlyalubricant,butalsoserves
tokeeptheengineclean,toneutralizethedirt
whichpenetratesintotheenginethroughcom-
bustionandtoprotecttheengineagainstcorro-
sion.
Toperformthesefunctions,theoilisprovided
withadditiveswhichhavebeenspeciallyde-
velopedforthesefunctions.
Theefficiencyofanoilisexpressed,for
example,bytheAPI,ILSACorACEAclassifica-
tions.
UseonlyengineoilswiththeclassificationAPI
SHorSJ,orILSACGF3,orACEAA3(Europe).
Viscosity
Likeallliquids,engineoilisviscouswhencold,
andthin-bodiedwhenwarm.Theviscosityofan
oilisexpressedbyitsSAEclass.Forcoldvis-
cosity(measuredattemperaturesbelow
32°FjO°C)theSAEclassisgivenasanumber
andtheletter"W"
(asinwinter),forhotviscosity
(measuredat212°Fj100°C)theSAEclassis
givenonlyasanumber.
Theviscosityofanoilis,therefore,alwaysthe
sameifithasthesamenumberofanSAE
class.
E.g.:A10W-30oilanda10W-40oilhavethe
sameviscositywhencold(belowO°C);whenhot
(at212°Fj100°C)theoilwiththenumber30is
thinnerthantheoilwiththenumber40.
Oilswithtwoviscositiesarecalledmultigrade
oils;oilswithonlyoneviscosityaretermed
single-gradeoils.
Single-gradeoilscanonlybeusedforthenar-
rowtemperaturerangeidentifiedbytheirSAE
number;multigradeoilscoverawidertempera-
turerange.
TheviscosityoftheengineoilforyourPorsche
hastobechosenaccordingtotheambienttem-
peraturegivenintheengineoilrecommendation
table.
Maintenance,CarCare
173

BrakeFluidlevel
Followtheinstructionsinthe"Cautions"chapter.
Useonlynew(unused)OriginalPorsche
brakefluid.
174Maintenance,CarCare
/!\Warning!
Brakefluidishazardoustoyourhealth,and
maybefatalifswallowed.
Brakefluidalsoattackspaintwork.
~Keepbrakefluidoutofchildren'sreach.
~Takecarewhiletoppingoffbrakefluidnotto
soiltheluggagecompartmentoritemsoflug-
gage.
Checkingthebrakefluidlevel
Thereservoirforthehydraulicbrakingand
clutchsystemsisintheluggagecompartment.
~Checkthebrake-fluidlevelregularlyatthe
transparentreservoir.
Thefluidlevelshouldalwaysliebetweenthe
"Min."and"Max."marks.
Aslightdecreaseinthefluidlevelduetowear
andautomaticreadjustmentofthediscbrakes
isnormal.
If,however,thefluidlevelfallsmarkedlyor
belowthe"Min."mark,thebrakingsystemmay
havedevelopedaleak.
~Havethebrakingsystemcheckedimmediately
atanauthorizedPorschedealer.
Changingthebrakefluid
Brakefluidabsorbsmoisturefromtheairover
time.Thisaccumulationofwaterlowerstheboil-
ingpointand,undercertainoperatingcon-
ditions,canaffectthebrakingaction.
Thereforehavethebrakefluidchangedinac-
cordancewiththechangeintervalsstatedinthe
brochure"Maintenance".
..
WarninglightUSA
0
WarninglightCanada
Thebrake-fluidwarninglightsintheinstrument
panelandon-boardcomputerindicate:
-brake-fluidleveltoolow,
-inconjunctionwithlargepedaltravel,
abraking-circuitfailure.

Ifthewarninglightsshouldlightupwhile
driving:

~Stopimmediatelyinasuitableplace.
~Donotcontinuedriving.
Pleasehavethefaultremediedatyournear-
estauthorizedPorschedealer.

FuelEconomy
Fueleconomywillvarydependingon
where,whenandhowyoudrive,optional
equipmentinstalled,andthegeneralcondi-
tionofyourcar.
Acartunedtospecificationsandcorrectly
maintained,willhelpyoutoachieveoptimal
fueleconomy.
I>Haveyourvehicletunedtospecifications.
Aircleanershouldbedirtfreetoallowproper
engine"breathing".
Batteryshouldbefullycharged.
Wheelsshouldbeproperlyaligned.
Tiresshouldbeinflatedatcorrectpressure.
I>Alwaysmonitoryourfuelconsumption.
I>Drivesmoothly,avoidabruptchangesin
speedasmuchaspossible.
I>Avoidjackrabbitstartsandsuddenstops.
I>Donotdrivelongerthannecessaryinthe
lowergears.Shiftingintoahighergearearly
withoutluggingtheenginewillhelpsavefuel.
I>Prolonged"warmup"idlingwastesgas.Start
thevehiclejustbeforeyouarereadytodrive.
Accelerateslowlyandsmoothly.
I>Switchofftheengineifstationaryforlonger
periods.
I>Anyadditionalweightcarriedinthevehiclere-
ducesfueleconomy.Alwayskeepcargotoa
minimumandremoveallunnecessaryitems.
I>Organizeyourtripstotakeinseveralerrands
inonetrip.
I>Allelectricalaccessoriescontributetoin-
creasedfuelconsumption.
I>Onlyswitchontheairconditioningwhen
necessary.
I>DonotdrivewiththeRoofTransportSystem
mountedunlessyouneedit.
TheEPAestimatedm.p.g.istobeusedfor
comparisonpurposes,actualmileagemay
bedifferentfromtheestimatedm.p.g.,de-
pendingonyourdrivingspeed,weather
conditionsandtriplength.Youractual
highwaymileagewillprobablybelessthan
theestimatedm.p.g.
I>Pleaseobservealllocalandnationalspeed
limits.
OperatingYourPorscheinother
Countries
GovernmentregulationsintheUnitedStatesand
Canadarequirethatautomobilesmeetspecific
emissionregulationsandsafetystandards.
Therefore,carsbuiltfortheU.S.andCanada
differfromvehiclessoldinothercountries.
IfyouplantotakeyourPorscheoutsidethecon-
tinentallimitsoftheUnitedStatesorCanada,
thereisthepossibilitythat
-unleadedfuelmaynotbeavailable;
-unleadedfuelmayhaveaconsiderablylower
octanerating.Excessiveengineknockand
seriousdamagetobothengineandcatalytic
converterscouldresult;
-servicemaybeinadequateduetolackof
properservicefacilities,toolsordiagnostic
equipment;
-replacementpartsmaynotbeavailableor
verydifficulttoget.
Porsche
cannot
beresponsibleforthe
mechanicaldamagethatcouldresultbe-
causeofinadequatefuel,serviceorparts
availability.
IfyoupurchasedyourPorscheabroadandwant
tobringitbackhome,besuretofindoutabout
shippingandforwardingrequirements,aswell
ascurrentimportandcustomsregulations.
Maintenance,CarCare
175

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).