2003 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA maintenance

DearOwner,
Wewouldliketothankyouforyourpurchaseof
aPorscheSportscar.
Judgingbythecaryouhavechosen,youarea
motoristofaspecialbreed,andyouareprob-
ablynonovicewhenitcomestoautomobiles.
Rememberhowever,aswithanyvehicle,you
shouldtaketimetofamiliarizeyourselfwithyour
Porscheanditsperformancecharacteristics.Al-
waysdrivewithinyourownuniquecapabilitiesas
adriverandyourlevelofexperiencewithyour
Porsche.Ensurethatanyoneelsedrivingyour
Porschedoesthesame.Topreventorminimize
injury,alwaysuseyoursafetybelts.Nevercon-
sumealcoholordrugsbeforeorduringthe
operationofyourvehicle.
ThisOwner'sManualcontainsahostofuseful
information.Pleasetakethetimetoreadthis
manualbeforeyoudriveyournewPorsche.
Becomefamiliarwiththeoperationofyour
Porschecarformaximumsafetyandoperating
pleasure.ThebetteryouknowyourPorsche,the
morepleasureyouwillexperiencedrivingyour
newcar.
AlwayskeepyourOwner'sManualinthecar,
andgiveittothenewownerifyoueversell
yourPorsche.

2
AseparateMaintenanceBooklet
explains
howyoucankeepyourPorscheintopdriving
conditionbyhavingitservicedregularly.

AseparateWarrantyandCustomerInfor-
mationBooklet
containsdetailedinformation
aboutthewarrantiescoveringyourPorsche.
ForU.S.only:
Ifyoubelievethatyourvehiclehasafaultwhich
couldcauseacrash,injuryordeath,youshould
immediatelyinformtheNationalHighwayTraffic
SafetyAdministration(NHTSA)inadditionto
notifyingPorscheCarsNorthAmerica,Inc.
(PorscheCarsN.A.J.
IfNHTSAreceivessimilarcomplaints,itmay
openaninvestigation,andifitfindsthatasafety
problemexistsinagroupofvehicles,itmay
orderarecallandremedycampaign.However,
NHTSAcannotbecomeinvolvedinindividual
problemsbetweenyouandyourdealer,or
PorscheCarsN.A..
TocontactNHTSA,youmayeithercalltheAuto
SafetyHotlinetolHreeat1~800)-424-9393
(or366-0123inWashington,D.C.area)orwrite
to:NHTSA,U.S.DepartmentofTransportation,
Washington,D.C.20590.Youcanalsoobtain
otherinformationaboutmotorvehiclesafety
fromtheHotline.
Yourcarhasthousandsofpartsandcompo-
nentswhichhavebeendesignedandmanufac-
turedinaccordancewithPorsche'shighstand-
ardsofengineeringqualityandsafety.
Anyalterationofthevehiclemaynegateor
interferewith
thosesafetyfeaturesbuilt
into
thevehicle.
YourPorscheisintendedtobeusedinasafe
mannerobeyingthelocallawsandinthelightof
drivingconditionsfacedbyyou,andinaccord-
ancewiththeinstructionsprovidedinthis
Owner'sManual.

DonotmisuseyourPorschebyignoring
thoselawsanddrivingconditions,orby
ignoringtheinstructionsinthismanual.
Anyalterationormisuseofthevehiclecan
leadtoaccidentsandsevereorfatalper-
sonalinjuries.

Thefittingofracingtires(e.g.slicks)forsport-
ingeventsisnotapprovedbyPorsche.Very
highcorneringspeedscanbeachievedwith
racingtires.However,theresultingtransverse
accelerationvalueswouldjeopardizetheadequ-
atesupplyofoiltotheengine.
Porschethereforewillnotacceptanywarranty
oracceptanyliabilityfordamageoccurringasa
resultofnon-compliancewiththisprovision.

Controls,Instruments11-126
ShiftingGear127-134
MobileRoofs135-166
Maintenance,CarCare167-193
PracticalTips,EmergencyService195-239
VehicleIdentification,TechnicalData241-258
Index259-263
9

Safety
Belts
/!\Warning!
Alwaysmakesureyourandyourpassen-
gers'safetybeltsareproperlyfastened
whilethevehicleisinmotion.
Failuretofollowsafetybeltwarningsmay
resultinseriouspersonalinjury.
t>Foryourandyourpassengers'protection,use
safetybeltsatalltimeswhilethevehicleisin
motion.
t>Useappropriatechildrestraintsystemsforall
smallchildren.
Properwearingofsafetybelts
t>Safetybeltsmustbepositionedonthebody
astorestraintheupperbodyandlapfrom
slidingforward.Improperlypositionedsafety
beltscancauseseriouspersonalinjuryin
caseofanaccident.
t>Theshoulderbeltshouldalwaysrestonyour
upperbody.Theshoulderbeltshouldnever
bewornbehindyourbackorunderyourarm.
t>Formaximumeffectiveness,thelapbelt
shouldbewornlowacrossthehips.
t>Pregnantwomenshouldpositionthebeltas
lowaspossibleacrossthepelvis.Makesure
itisnotpressingagainsttheabdomen.
38Controls,Instruments
t>Beltsshouldnotbeworntwisted.
t>Donotwearbeltsoverrigidorbreakableob-
jectsinoronyourclothing,suchaseye
glasses,pens,keys,etc.asthesemaycause
injury.
t>Severallayersofheavyclothingmayinterfere
withproperpositioningofbelts.
t>Beltsmustnotrubagainstsharpobjectsor
damagemayoccurtothebelt.
t>Twooccupantsshouldneversharethesame
beltatthesametime.

Careandmaintenance

t>Keepbeltbucklesfreeofanyobstructionthat
maypreventasecurelocking.
t>Beltsthathavebeensubjectedtoexcessive
stretchforcesinanaccidentmustbein-
spectedorreplacedtoensuretheircontinued
effectivenessinrestrainingyou.
Thesameappliestobelttensionersystems
whichhavebeentriggered.
Inaddition,theanchorpointsofthebelts
shouldbechecked.
t>Ifsafetybeltsdonotworkproperly,seeyour
authorizedPorschedealerimmediately.
t>Ifthebeltsshowdamagetowebbing,bind-
ings,bucklesorretractors,theyshouldbere-
placedtoensuresafeoperation.
t>Donotmodifyordisassemblethesafetybelts
inyourvehicle.
t>Thebeltsmustbekeptcleanortheretrac-
torsmaynotworkproperly(seealso"Car
careinstructions").
t>Neverbleachordyesafetybelts.
t>Donotallowsafetybeltstoretractuntilthey
arecompletelydryaftercleaningorthismay
causedamagetothebelt.

Belttensioner

Dependingontheforceofacollision,fastened
frontseatbeltsaretightenedinanaccident.

Thebelttensionersaretriggeredin:
-
Frontandrearimpacts

Thebelttensionersarenottriggeredin:
-
Sideimpacts

-
Vehicleoverturning

Note
The
belttensionersystemcanbetriggeredonly
once;thesystemmustbereplacedafterward.
Workmaybeperformedonthebelt-tensioner
systemonlybyanauthorizedPorschedealer.
Smokeisreleasedwhenthebelttensionersare
triggered.Thisdoesnotindicateafireinthe
vehicle.

t>Donotaddanyadditionalcoveringsor
stickerstothesteeringwheelorinthearea
ofthepassengerairbagandsideairbags.
Doingsomayadverselyaffectthefunctioning
oftheairbagsystemorcauseharmtothe
occupantsiftheairbagsystemshoulddeploy.
t>Donotundertakeanywiringforelectricalac-
cessoryequipmentinthevicinityoftheairbag
wiringharnesses.Doingsomaydisablethe
airbagsystemorcauseinflation.
t>Ifthewarninglightcomeson,theairbagsys-
temshouldberepairedimmediatelybyyour
authorizedPorschedealer.
Note
Airbagcomponents(e.g.steeringwheel,door
trim)maybedisassembledonlybyanauth-
orizedPorschedealer.
Whendisposingofausedairbagunit,oursafety
instructionsmustbefollowed.Theseinstructions
canbeobtainedatanyauthorizedPorsche
dealer.

{)Warninglight

Thecentraltriggeringunitmonitorstheoper-
ationalreadinessoftheairbagsystemandthe
warninglight.
Anymalfunctionsthatmayoccurwillbeindi-
catedbythewarninglightsintheinstrument
panelandon-boardcomputer.

t>Inthefollowingcasesyoushouldimme-
diatelyconsultanauthorizedPorsche
dealerinordertoassuretheairbagsys-
temisfunctioningproperly:
-
Illuminationoftheairbagwarninglightduring
travelorrepeatedilluminationlongerthan5
secondsaftertheignitioncircuitisturned
on.
-
Illuminationfailstolightupduringignitioncir-
cuitactivation.
Iftheairbagsonthepassenger'ssideare
switchedoffbythechild
restraint
system,or
ifaninstalledchildrestraintsystemisdetected
whentheignitionisswitchedon,thewarning
lightflashesfor60secondswhentheignition
is
on.
A.Danger!
Ifthelightdoesnotflash,theairbagsare
notdeactivatedandachildrestraintsys-
temmustnotbeinstalled.
t>
Havethefaultremediedimmediatelybyan
authorizedPorschedealer.

Airbagmaintenance

Inordertoensurelong-termfunctioning,theair-
bagsystemmustbeinspectedbyanauthorized
Porschedealerafter4,8and10yearsfromthe
dateofmanufactureshownonthesafetycom-
pliancesticker,andevery2yearsthereafter.

Importantinformation

IfyousellyourPorsche,notifythepurchaser
thatthevehicleisequippedwithairbags,and
referthemtothechapter,"AirbagSystems",in
theowner'smanual(safetyanddisposalrules).
Furtherinformationontheairbagsystemcanbe
foundonstickersatthesunvisors,aswellas
onallairbagcomponents.
Forspecialrecommendationsontheuseofchild
restraints,pleaserefertothechapteron"Child
RestraintSystems".
Controls,Instruments
45

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.

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

911Carrera4,911Carrera4S
Four-WheelDrive
Withthefour-wheeldrive,theenginepoweris
variablydistributedtothefrontandrearwheels.
Powerdistributionandwheelspeedcompensa-
tionbetweenthefrontandrearaxlesisrealised
withaviscousmultiple-discclutch.
Distributionoftheenginepowerisdependent
uponthewheelspeeddifferencebetweenthe
twoaxles.
Theviscousmultiple-discclutchalwaysdelivers
sufficientdrivepowertothefrontwheels
(approx.5%to
40%)
toensureoptimumtraction
evenonapoorroadsurface.
IncombinationwiththePorscheStabilityMan-
agement(PSMJ,four-wheeldriveensuresopti-
mumhandlingandincreaseddrivingstability.
60Controls,Instruments
/!\.Warning!
Theincreasedcontrolthatisprovided
shouldnotinduceyoutotakegreaterrisks
withyoursafety.Thelimitsdictatedbythe
lawsofphysicscannotbeovercome,even
withfour-wheeldrive.
Theriskofaccidentsduetoinappropriate
speedcannotbereduced,evenbyfour-
wheeldrive.
Thedriverbearstheresponsibilityforall
drivingmaneuvers.
I>Adaptyourdrivingstyletotheprevailingroad
andweatherconditions.
I>Obeyalltrafficlaws.
Dynamometertestingprocedure
SomeU.S.statesandCanadianprovincescon-
ductemissionsinspection/maintenancetesting
involvingtheuseoftwo-wheeldynamometer.
Atwo-wheeleddynamometerisatreadmilltype
deviceuponwhichasingleaxleofthecar,the
drivingaxleofthevehicle,rotatestosimulate
vehicleoperationontheroadwhilethevehicle
remainsstationary.
Your911Carrera4hasafull-timefour-wheel
drivesystemwhichcannotbedisabled.Severe
damagetothepowertraincanresultiftestedon
atwo-wheeldynamometer.
/!\.Warning!
Toavoidseverepowertraindamageanda
possibleunexpectedmovementoftheve-
hicle.
I>Your911Carrera4vehiclemustneverbe
testedonatwo-wheeldynamometer.
I>Advisetheemissionstationofthiswarningbe-
foretestingthevehicle.
Powermeasurement
Powermeasurementsondynamometersarenot
approvedbyPorsche.

Maintenance,CarCare
Cautions168
Powermeasurements168
Coolantlevel169,170
Engineoil170-173
Engineoillevel171
Engineoilrecommendation172,173
Brake-fluidlevel174
Fueleconomy,operatingyourcar
inothercountries175
Fuel,fillerflap,fueltank176,177
Fuelrecommendations177,178
Emissioncontrolsystem179,180
Fuelevaporationcontrol,
washerfluid181
Powersteeringfluidlevel182
Airfilter,particlefilter,
automatictransmissionfluid,
manualtransmissionoil183
Wiperblades184
Carcare185-193
Maintenance,CarCare
167