2003 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA fuel cap

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.

iJFuel

levelgauge

Whentheignitionisonthefuellevelisdis-
played.
Fortankcapacity,see"Capacities"chapter.
Ifthevehicle'sinclinationchanges(e.g.goingup
ordownhill),minordeviationsintheindication
mayoccur.
78Controls,Instruments
Note
Ifthetankisnearemptyandyoutopupwith
onlyasmallquantityoffuel,thiscannotbereg-
isteredbythelevelgaugeandcalculationofthe
rangeremainingisimpossible.
Warninglight"Au
Whentheengineisrunning,thewarning
lightofthelevelgaugelightsupiflessthan
approx.2.6U.S.gallons(10litres)offuelre-
mainsinthetankortherangeonremainingfuel
fallsbelowapprox.30miles(50km).
Additionally,awarningisdisplayedintheon-
boardcomputer.
[>
Fillupatthenextopportunity.
A.Caution!
Topreventdamagetotheemissioncontrol
systemandengine.
[>
Neverdrivethetankcompletelyoutoffuel.
[>Avoidhighcorneringspeedsafterthewarning
lightshavecomeon.
[>
Followtheinstructionsinthe"EmissionCon-
trolSystem"chapter.

Ifthelevelgaugewarninglightflashes,

therehasbeenasystemfault.
Additionally,awarningisdisplayedintheon-
boardcomputer.
Therewillthenbenoreservewarning.
Toremedythefault,gotoanauthorized
Porschedealer.

@
CheckEngine
WarningLight
Thewarninglightintheinstrumentpanelcomes
onwhentheignitionisfirstturnedonandre-
mainsonbrieflyasabulbcheck.Ifthelight
doesnotcomeon,havethebulbreplaced
promptly.
Ifthewarninglightsintheinstrumentpaneland
on-boardcomputercomeonandremainon
whiledriving,itsuggests:
-apotentialenginecontrolproblemandthe
needforsystemserviceor
-animproperlyfastenedtankcapor
-refuellingwithenginerunning.
Althoughthevehicleisusuallydriveableandwill
notrequiretowing,seeyourdealerforservice
assoonaspossible.

/!\Caution!
Ifthe
Check
enginelightintheinstrument
panelisflashing,severecatalyticconverter
damageandpowerlosswillsoonoccur.
ProlongeddrivingwiththeCheckengine
lightoncouldcausedamagetothe
emissioncontrolsystem.Italsocouldaf-
fectfueleconomyanddriveability.

I>Havethefaultremediedatthenearestauth-
orizedPorschedealerimmediately.
Controls,Instruments
81

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

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).

Refuelling
Fueltankcapacityislistedunder"Capacities".
Porschedoesnotrecommendtheuseoffuel
additives.
1.Important:Stoptheengineandswitchoff
theignition.
2.Slowlyunscrewthetankcap.
Hangthetankcapontheplasticstrapofthe
fillerflap.
3.Insertfuel-hosenozzlefullyintothefillerneck
withthehandleofthefuel-hosenozzlefacing
down.
4.Donotaddfurtherfueloncethecorrectly
operatedautomaticfuel-hosenozzlehas
switchedoff.
Fuelcouldsprayorcouldrunoverinwarm
temperatures.
5.Replacethetankcapimmediatelyafter
refuellingandturnituntilyouhearitandfeel
itengage.

Ifyoulosethetankcap,youmustreplace
itonlywithanoriginalparttoreducethe
possibilityofafireintheeventofacolli-
sion.

Note
Theoillevelisautomaticallymeasuredduring
refuelling.
Themeasuredoillevelisdisplayedforapproxi-
matelyoneminutewhentheignitionisswitched
onortheengineisstarted.
However,thismeasurementisperformedonlyif
thefollowingpreconditionsaremet:
Engineisatoperatingtemperature,ignitionis
off,refuellingiscompletedwithin15minutes.
FuelRecommendations
YourPorscheisequippedwithcatalyticconver-
tersandmustuseUNLEADEDFUELONLY.
Yourengineisdesignedtoprovideoptimumper-
formanceandfueleconomyusingunleadedpre-
miumfuelwithanoctaneratingof98RON
(93CLCorAKI).Porschethereforerecom-
mendstheuseofthesefuelsinyourvehicle.
Porschealsorecognizesthatthesefuelsmay
notalwaysbeavailable.Beassuredthatyour
vehiclewilloperateproperlyonunleadedpre-
miumfuelswithoctanenumbersofatleast
95RON(90CLCorAKI).sincetheengine's
"ElectronicOktaneTMknockcontrol"willadapt
theignitiontiming,ifnecessary.

Theuseof
UNLEADEDFUELONLY
iscriti-
callyimportanttothelifeofthecatalytic
converters.Depositsfromleadedfuelswill
ruintheconvertersandmakeitineffective
asanemissioncontroldevice.

Carswithcatalyticconvertershaveasmaller
fueltankopening,andgasstationpumpshave
smallernozzles.Thiswillpreventaccidental
pumpingofleadedfuelintocarswithcatalytic
converters.
I>I>I>
Maintenance,CarCare
177

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

Tire
wear
TheoriginalequipmenttiresonyourPorsche
havebuilt-intirewearindicators.Theyare
moldedintothebottomofthetreadgrooves
andwillappearasapproximately1/2in(12mm)
bandswhenthetiretreaddepthisdownto
1/16ofanin(1.6mm).
Whentheindicatorsappearintwoormoread-
jacentgrooves,itistimetoreplacethetires.
Werecommend,however,thatyoudonotlet
thetiresweardowntothisextent.
Worntirescannotgriptheroadsurfaceproperly
andareevenlesseffectiveonwetroads.
IntheUnitedStates,statelawsmaygovernthe
minimumtreaddepthpermissible.Followall
suchlaws.
200PracticalTips,EmergencyService
/!\Warning!
Drivingonworntirescanresultinlossof
controlofthevehicleandcouldcause
severepersonalinjuries.
~Donotdrivewithworntiresortiresshowing
cutsorbruisesastheymayleadtosudden
deflationandlossofcontrolwhichcould
causeseverepersonalinjury.
~Specializedhighperformancetiresonhigh
performancesportscarsexhibitmorewear
thanthoseonafamilysedan,orevenahigh
performancesedan.
Therefore,itisimportanttocheckyourtire
pressureandconditionatleasteverytwo
weeks.
Ifyounoticethattiresarewearingunevenly,
consultyourPorschedealer.
Unevenwearmaynotalwaysbeduetoim-
properwheelalignment.Itcanbetheresultof
individualdrivinghabitssuchascorneringat
highspeeds.Ifthetirepressureisnotchecked
andadjustedregularly,abnormaltirewearcan
alsooccur.
Tirecare
~Avoiddamagingtiresandwheelrims.
~Ifyoumustdriveoveracurborotherob-
stacle,driveslowlyandatanobtuseangle.
~Checktiresforunevenwearanddamagebe-
foredrivingoff.
~Removeimbeddedmaterial.
~Replacewornordamagedtiresimmediately.
~Keepoil,fuel,brakefluid,etc.awayfrom
tires.
~Replacemissingvalvestemcaps.
~Keeptiresinflatedcorrectly.