2003 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA Check engine light

FuelQuality
Yourengineisdesignedtoprovideoptimumperformanceandfueleconomyusing
unleadedpremiumfuelwithanoctaneratingof98RON(93CLCorAKI).
Porschethereforerecommendstheuseofthesefuelsinyourvehicle.
Porschealsorecognizesthatthesefuelsmaynotalwaysbeavailable.Beassuredthatyourvehiclewilloperate
properlyonunleadedpremiumfuelswithoctanenumbersofatleast95RON(90CLCorAKI).
sincetheengine's"ElectronicOktaneTMknockcontrol"willadapttheignitiontiming,ifnecessary.
Fuels
containing
alcohol
and
ether
SomeareasoftheU.S.requireoxygenatedfuelsduringcertainportionsoftheyear.
Oxygenatedfuelsarefuelswhichcontainalcohols(suchasmethanolorethanol)orether(suchasMTBE).
Undernormalconditions,theamountofthesecompoundsinthefuelwillnotaffectdriveability.
YoumayuseoxygenatedfuelsinyourPorsche,providedtheoctanerequirementsforyourvehiclearemet.
Werecommend,however,tochangetoadifferentfuelorstationifanyofthefollowingproblemsoccurwithyourvehicle:
-Deteriorationofdriveabilityandperformance.
-Substantiallyreducedfueleconomy.
-Vaporlockandnon-startproblems,especiallyathighaltitudeorathightemperature.
-Enginemalfunctionorstalling.
Fuels
containing
MMT
SomeNorthAmericanfuelscontainanoctaneenhancingadditivecalledmethylcyclopentadienylmanganesetricarbonyl(MMT).
Ifsuchfuelsareused,youremissioncontrolsystemperformancemaybenegativelyaffected.
Thecheckenginewarninglightsonyourinstrumentpanelmayturnon.
Ifthisoccurs,PorscherecommendsyoustopusingfuelscontainingMMT.
4

Environmentallyfriendlyvehicles
Modernenvironmentaltechnologyensurescom-
pliancewithallemissionlawsapplicableworld-
wide.
Thesehavethefollowingadvantages:
-Rapidoperationalreadinessofthecatalytic
convertersensureslowemissions,evenin
short-tripoperation.
-Reliableoperationandgoodemissioncontrol
overalongusefullife.

Pleasenotethechapter"Fueleconomy",

Recycling-foraPorsche,thisis
virtuallyanacademicquestion
Morethantwo-thirdsofallPorscheseverbuilt
arestillrunning.

Justincaserecyclingisevernecessary,
wetakethefollowingprecautionary
measures:

-Identificationofallmaterials.
-Useofrecyclablematerials.
-Reusablecomponentsdesignedforsimple
removal.
-Thesereasonsresultinafurtherincreasein
therecyclingratewhichiscurrently80per
cent.
Emissioncontrolisbuiltin
Innovativeenginetechnologycombineshighen-
gineperformanceandenvironmentalcompati-
bility.
Theenginediagnosissystemelectronicallymoni-
torsthecomponentsandsystemsthataffectex-
haustgases.
Thiscontinuousmonitoringandfaultstorageen-
ablesswift,reliablediagnosisandfaultdetec-
tion.
Anyfaultmessagesareindicatedtothedriver
bythe"CheckEngine"warninglightandtheon-
boardcomputer.

7

DearPorscheOwner
Alothasgoneintothemanufactureofyour
Porsche,includingadvancedengineering,rigid
qualitycontrolanddemandinginspections.
Theseengineeringandsafetyfeatureswillbe
enhancedbyyou...
thesafedriver...
whoknowshiscarandallcontrols,
whomaintainsthevehicleproperly,
whousesdrivingskillswiselyandalwaysdrives
withinher/hisowncapabilitiesandthelevelof
familiaritywiththevehicle.
Youwillfindhelpfulhintsinthismanualonhow
toperformmostofthecheckslistedonthe
followingpages.
Ifindoubt,havethesechecksperformedby
yourauthorizedPorschedealer.
12Controls,Instruments
Beforedrivingoff...
Check
thefollowingitemsfirst

I>Turntheengineoffbeforeyouattemptany
checksorrepairsonthevehicle.
I>Besurethetiresareinflatedcorrectly.
Checktiresfordamageandtirewear.
I>Seethatwheelboltsareproperlytightened
andnotlooseormissing.
I>Checkengineoillevel,addifnecessary.
Makeitahabittohaveengineoilchecked
witheveryfuelfilling.
I>Checkallfluidlevelssuchaswindshield
washerandbrakefluidlevels.
I>Besurethevehiclebatteryiswellcharged
andcrankstheengineproperly.
I>Checkalldoorsandlidsforproperoperation
andlatchthemproperly.
I>Checkandifnecessaryreplacewornor
crackedwiperblades.
I>Seethatallwindowsareclearandunob-
structed.
I>Checkairintakeslotsandareabetweenlug-
gagecompartmentlidandwindshieldarefree
ofsnowandice,sotheheaterandthewind-
shieldwipersworkproperly.
I>Ifachildwillberidinginthevehicle,check
childseaVchildseatrestraintsystemtoen-
surethatrestraintsareproperlyadjusted.
I>Checkallexteriorandinteriorlightsforoper-
ationandthatthelensesareclean.
I>Checktheheadlightsforproperaim,andif
necessary,havethemadjusted.
I>Checkunderthevehicleforleaks.
I>Besureallluggageisstowedsecurely.
Emergencyequipment
Itisgoodpracticetocarryemergencyequip-
mentinyourvehicle.
Someoftheitemsyoushouldhaveare:
windowscraper,snowbrush,containerorbag
ofsandorsalt,emergencylight,smallshovel,
first-aid
kit,etc.

Inthedriver'sseat...
I>Checkoperationofthehorn.
I>Positionseatforeasyreachoffootpedals
andcontrols.
Toreducethepossibilityofinjuryfromtheair-
bagdeployment,youshouldalwayssitback
asfarfromthesteeringwheelasispractical,
whilestillmaintainingfullvehiclecontrol.
I>Adjusttheinsideandoutsiderearviewmir-
rors.
I>Buckleyoursafetybelts.
I>Checkoperationofthefootandparking
brake.
I>Checkallwarningandindicatorlightswith
ignitiononandenginenotrunning.
I>Startengineandcheckallwarningdisplays
forwarningsymbols.
I>Neverleaveanidlingcarunattended.
I>Lockdoorsfrominside,especiallywithchild-
reninthecartopreventinadvertentopening
ofdoorsfrominsideoroutside.
Drivewithdoorslocked.
Ontheroad...
I>Neverdriveafteryouhaveconsumedalcohol
ordrugs.
I>Alwayshaveyoursafetybeltfastened.
I>Alwaysdrivedefensively.
Expecttheunexpected.
I>Usesignalstoindicateturnsandlane
changes.
I>Turnonheadlightsatduskorwhenthedriv-
ingconditionswarrantit.
I>Alwayskeepasafedistancefromthevehicle
infrontofyou,dependingontraffic,roadand
weatherconditions.
I>Reducespeedatnightandduringinclement
weather.
Drivinginwetweatherrequirescautionand
reducedspeeds,particularlyonroadswith
standingwater,asthehandlingcharac-
teristicsofthevehiclemaybeimpaireddue
tohydroplaningofthetires.
I>Alwaysobservespeedlimitsandobeyroad
signsandtrafficlaws.
I>Whentired,getwellofftheroad,stopand
takearest.Turntheengineoff.Donotsitin
thevehiclewithengineidling.
Seewarningson"EngineExhaust".
I>Whenparked,alwayssettheparkingbrake.
MovetheTiptronicselectorleverto"P"orthe
gearshiftlevertoreverseorfirstgear.
Onhillsalsoturnthefrontwheelstowardthe
curb.
I>Whenemergencyrepairsbecomenecessary,
movethevehiclewellofftheroad.Turnon
theemergencyflasheranduseotherwarning
devicestoalertothermotorists.Donotpark
oroperatethevehicleinareaswherethehot
exhaustsystemmaycomeincontactwithdry
grass,brush,fuelspillorotherflammablema-
terial.
I>Makeitahabittohavetheengineoilchecked
witheveryfuelfilling.
Controls,Instruments
13

Breakinhintsforthefirst

2,000
miles/3,000kilometers
Thefollowingtipswillbehelpfulinobtainingopti-
mumperformancefromyournewPorsche.
Despitethemostmodern,high-precisionmanu-
facturingmethods,itcannotbecompletely
avoidedthatthemovingpartshavetowearin
witheachother.Thiswearing-inoccursmainlyin
thefirst2,000miles/3,000km.
Therefore:
t>Preferablytakelongertrips.
t>Avoidfrequentcoldstartswithshort-distance
drivingwheneverpossible.
t>Avoidfullthrottlestartsandabruptstops.
t>Donotexceedmaximumenginespeedof
4,200rpm(revolutionsperminute).
t>Donotrunacoldengineathighrpmeitherin
Neutraloringear.
t>Donotlettheenginelabor,especiallywhen
drivinguphill.Shifttothenextlowergearin
time(usethemostfavorablerpmrange).
t>Neverlugtheengineinhighgearatlow
speeds.Thisruleappliesatalltimes,notjust
duringthebreak-inperiod.
14Controls,Instruments
t>Donotparticipateinmotorracingevents,
sportsdrivingschools,etc.duringthefirst
2,000miles/3,000kilometers.
Theremaybeaslightstiffnessinthesteering,
gear-shiftingorothercontrolsduringthebreak-in
periodwhichwillgraduallydisappear.
Breakinbrakepads
Newbrakepadsanddiscshavetobe"broken
in",andthereforeonlyattainoptimalfriction
whenthecarhascoveredseveralhundredmiles
orkm.
Theslightlyreducedbrakingabilitymustbe
compensatedforbypressingthebrakepedal
harder.Thisalsoapplieswheneverthebrake
padsandbrakediscsarereplaced.
Newtires
Newtiresdonothavemaximumtraction.They
tendtobeslippery.
t>Breakinnewtiresbydrivingatmoderate
speedsduringthefirst60to120miles/lOO
to200km.Longerbrakingdistancesmustbe
anticipated.
Engineoilconsumption
Duringthebreak-inperiodoilconsumptionmay
behigherthannormal.
Asalways,therateofoilconsumptiondepends
onthequalityandviscosityofoil,thespeedat
whichtheengineisoperated,theclimateand
roadconditions,aswellastheamountofdilu-
tionandoxidationofthelubricant.
t>Makeahabitofcheckingengineoilwithevery
fuelfilling,addifnecessary.

Closingwindows

A25)
Closingwiththerockerswitch
'-=7inthecenterconsole
I>Pressrockerswitchuntilthewindowhas
reachedthedesiredposition.
I>One-touchoperation(doorwindowsonly):
Pressrockerswitchbriefly.
Windowmovestoitsfinalposition.
Pressagaintostopthewindowinthedesired
position.
Comfortfunctionwhenlockingthevehicle
atthedoorlock
I>Coupe,TargaandCabrioletwithhardtop:
Holdcarkeyindoorlockinthelockingdirec-
tionuntilthewindowshavereachedthe
desiredposition.
Cabrioletwithouthardtop:
Thewindowscanonlybeclosedwiththecon-
vertibletopclosed.
Anti-crushingprotection
Ifasidewindowisblockedduringclosing,itwill
stopandopenagainbyaboutaninch.
A
Warning!
Risk
of
severepersonalinjuries.

Ifthe
rockerswitchispressedagainwithin
10seconds
ofthe
windowbeingblocked,

the
windowwillclosewithitsfullclosing
force.Anti-crushingprotectionisdisabled.
I>Oncetheanti-crushingprotectionactstostop
thewindowandopensitslightly,donotpress
therockerswitchagainwithin10seconds
withoutcheckingtomakesurethatnothingis
blockingthepathofthewindow.
Thewindowwillclosewithfullclosingforce.
One-touchoperationisdisabledfor10seconds
afterblockageofasidewindow.
Automaticwindowlowering
Seethechapterson"Doors"and"Convertible
top".
Thestandbyfunctionofthepower
windowsswitchesoffaftertwohours
Whenthecarisunlocked,thepowerwindows
cannolongerbeoperatedaftertwohours(to
savethecarbattery).
I>Switchontheignitionorstarttheengineto
reactivatethepowerwindows.

Storing
endpositionofthewindows
Ifthebatteryisdisconnectedandreconnected,
thewindowswillnotberaisedautomatically
whenthedoorisclosed.
1.Closethewindowswiththerockerswitch
once.
2.Pressfronthalfofrockerswitchagainto
storetheendpositionofthewindowsinthe
controlunit.
Controls,Instruments
27

RolloverProtectionSystem
TheRolloverProtectionSystemonthe
Cabrioletconsistsoftwosupplementalsafety
barsthattogetherwiththefrontwindshield
framehelptocreateoccupantsurvivalspacein
caseofrollover.Becauseoftheextremeand
unpredictableforceswhichcanbeencountered
inarollover,itisnotpossibletoguaranteethat
occupantswillbeprotectedfromallcontactwith
exteriorobjectsortheground.However,the
RolloverProtectionSystemisdesignedtomain-
taintheoccupantsurvivalspace.
TheRolloverProtectionSystemisactivated
automaticallyintheeventofanaccidentorex-
tremedrivingsituation.
Theprotectivedevicesarelocatedbehindeach
rearseatandrapidlydeploywithinafractionof
asecond.
Theycandeployunder:
-Extremetiltingofthevehicle.
-Lossofgroundcontact(e.g.Goingoverthe
crestofahillathighspeed).
46Controls,Instruments
/!\Danger!
Riskofdeathorseriousinjury.
I>Donotblockareaofsupplementalsafety
barswithobjects.
Intheeventofadeploymentevent,suchob-
jectscouldpotentiallypreventsuchdeploy-
mentfromoccuring,orsuchobjectscould
impactthecaroccupantsathighspeed.
I>Donottamperwithorworkonwiringandor
componentsofRolloverProtectionSystem.
I>Allworkregardingthissystemmustbecar-
riedoutbyyourauthorizedPorschedealer.
I>Checkfunctionsandperiodicserviceintervals
accordingtomaintenanceschedule(seeyour
authorizedPorschedealer).
Toavoiddamagetotheconvertibletop:
I>Ifthesupplementalsafetybarsareextended
foranyreason,donotopenorcloseconvert-
ibletop.
@
Warninglight
Thewarninglightilluminateswhenignitionis
switchedonandgoesoffwhenengineisrun-
ning.
Shouldthewarninglightsintheinstrumentpanel
andon-boardcomputerilluminatewiththeen-
ginerunningorwhiledriving,itmeansthata
faulthasbeendetectedinthesystem.Theoper-
ationofthesystemmaybecompromised.
SeeyourauthorizedPorschedealerimmediately
andhavethefaultremedied.

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