2Dear Owner, We would like to thank you for your purchase of a
Porsche Sports car.
Judging by the car you have chosen, you are a mo-
torist of a special breed, and you are probably no
novice when it comes to automobiles.
Remember however, as with any vehicle, you
should take time to familiarize yourself with your
Porsche and its performance characteristics. Al-
ways drive within your own unique capabilities as
a driver and your level of experience with your
Porsche. Ensure that anyone else driving your
Porsche does the same. To prevent or minimize in-
jury, always use your safety belts. Never consume
alcohol or drugs before or during the operation of
your vehicle.
This Owner’s Manual contains a host of useful in-
formation. Please take the time to read this manu-
al before you drive your new Porsche. Become fa-
miliar with the operation of your Porsche car for
maximum safety and operating pleasure. The bet-
ter you know your Porsche, the more pleasure you
will experience driving your new car.
Always keep your Owner’s Manual in the car, and
give it to the new owner if you ever sell your
Porsche. A separate Maintenance Booklet explains how
you can keep your Porsche in top driving condition
by having it serviced regularly.
A separate Warranty and Customer Informa-
tion Booklet contains detailed information about
the warranties covering your Porsche.
For U.S. only:
If you believe that your vehicle has a fault which
could cause a crash, injury or death, you should
immediately inform the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) in addition to
notifying Porsche Cars North America, Inc.
(Porsche Cars N.A.).
If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it may open
an investigation, and if it finds that a safety prob-
lem exists in a group of vehicles, it may order a re-
call and remedy campaign. However, NHTSA can-
not become involved in individual problems be-
tween you and your dealer, or Porsche Cars N.A..
To contact NHTSA, you may either call the Auto
Safety Hotline toll-free at 1-(800)-424-9393
(or
366-0123 in Washington, D.C. area) or write
to: NHTSA, U.S. Department of Transportation,
Washington, D.C. 20590. You can also obtain oth-
er information about motor vehicle safety from the
Hotline. Your car has thousands of parts and components
which have been designed and manufactured in
accordance with Porsche’s high standards of engi-
neering quality and safety.
Any alteration of the vehicle may negate or
interfere with those safety features built into
the vehicle.
Your Porsche is intended to be used in a safe man-
ner obeying the local laws and in the light of driv-
ing conditions faced by you, and in accordance
with the instructions provided in this Owner’s Man-
ual.
Do not misuse your Porsche by ignoring
those laws and driving conditions, or by
ignoring the instructions in this manual.
Any alteration or misuse of the vehicle can
lead to accidents and severe or fatal
personal injuries.
The fitting of racing tires (e.g. slicks) for sporting
events is not approved by Porsche. Very high cor-
nering speeds can be achieved with racing tires.
However, the resulting transverse acceleration
values would jeopardize the adequate supply of oil
to the engine.
Porsche therefore will not accept any warranty or
accept any liability for damage occurring as a re-
sult of non-compliance with this provision.
14
Controls, Instruments
Dear Porsche Owner A lot has gone into the manufacture of your
Porsche, including advanced engineering, rigid
quality control and demanding inspections.
These engineering and safety features will be
enhanced by you... the safe driver... – who knows his car and all controls,
– who maintains the vehicle properly,
– who uses driving skills wisely and always
drives within her/his own capabilities and the
level of familiarity with the vehicle.
You will find helpful hints in this manual on how to
perform most of the checks listed on the following
pages.
If in doubt, have these checks performed by your
authorized Porsche dealer.
Before driving off... Check the following items first fTurn the engine off before you attempt any
checks or repairs on the vehicle.
fBe sure the tires are inflated correctly.
Check tires for damage and tire wear.
fSee that wheel bolts are properly tightened
and not loose or missing.
fCheck engine oil level, add if necessary.
Make it a habit to have engine oil checked with
every fuel filling.
fCheck all fluid levels such as windshield
washer and brake fluid levels.
fBe sure the vehicle battery is well charged and
cranks the engine properly.
fCheck all doors and lids for proper operation
and latch them properly.
fCheck, and if necessary replace worn or
cracked wiper blades.
fSee that all windows are clear and unob-
structed.
fCheck air intake slots and area between lug-
gage compartment lid and windshield are free
of snow and ice, so the heater and the wind-
shield wipers work properly. fIf a child will be riding in the vehicle, check
child seat/child seat restraint system to ensure
that restraints are properly adjusted.
fCheck all exterior and interior lights for opera-
tion and that the lenses are clean.
fCheck the headlights for proper aim, and if
necessary, have them adjusted.
fCheck under the vehicle for leaks.
fBe sure all luggage is stowed securely.
Emergency equipment It is good practice to carry emergency equipment
in your vehicle.
Some of the items you should have are:
window scraper, snow brush, container or bag of
sand or salt, emergency light, small shovel, first-
aid kit, etc.
76
Controls, Instruments
Instrument Panel USA Models Also refer to the corresponding chapters in
the Owner’s Manual.
1. Engine oil temperature gauge
2. Speedometer with analogue display
3. Turn signal indicator light, left
4. Tachometer
5. High beam indicator light
6. Turn signal indicator light, right
7. ABS warning light
8. Cooling system
Temperature gauge, warning light
9. Fuel
Level gauge, warning light
10.Engine oil pressure gauge
11.Adjustment button for instrument illumination
and trip counter
12.Odometer and daily trip mileage display
13.Automatic speed control indicator light14.Light sensor for instrument illumination
15.Airbag warning light
16.Emission control warning light
(Check Engine)
17.Central warning light
18.On-board computer display
19.Porsche Stability Management
Multifunctional PSM light
20.Brake warning light
21.Safety belt warning light
22.Tiptronic indicator
23.Clock and outside temperature display
24 Adjustment button for clockWhen the ignition is switched on, the warning
lights light up for a lamp check.
Note
Warnings that have been given are stored in the
appropriate control unit memory and can be read
out at an authorized Porsche dealer.
This information can help to warn you about situa-
tions which may be hazardous to you or your car.
78
Controls, Instruments
Instrument Panel Canada Models Also refer to the corresponding chapters in
the Owner’s Manual.
1. Engine oil temperature gauge
2. Speedometer with analogue display
3. Turn signal indicator light, left
4. Tachometer
5. High beam indicator light
6. Turn signal indicator light, right
7. ABS warning light
8. Cooling system
Temperature gauge, warning light
9. Fuel
Level gauge, warning light
10.Engine oil pressure gauge
11.Adjustment button for instrument illumination
and trip counter
12.Odometer and daily trip mileage display
13.Automatic speed control indicator light14.Light sensor for instrument illumination
15.Airbag warning light
16.Emission control warning light
(Check Engine)
17.Central warning light
18.On-board computer display
19.Porsche Stability Management
Multifunctional PSM light
20.Brake warning light
21.Safety belt warning light
22.Tiptronic indicator
23.Clock and outside temperature display
24 Adjustment button for clockWhen the ignition is switched on, the warning
lights light up for a lamp check.
Note
Warnings that have been given are stored in the
appropriate control unit memory and can be read
out at an authorized Porsche dealer.
This information can help to warn you about situa-
tions which may be hazardous to you or your car.
80
Controls, Instruments The engine oil temperature is indicated in the left
instrument.
A- Adjustment button for instrument illumination and
trip counter Indicates automatic speed control readiness.
Instrument Illumination The illumination is automatically adjusted to the
ambient brightness by the light sensor in the
tachometer.
In addition, when the car lights are switched on,
the instrument and switch symbol brightness can
be manually adjusted.
Warning!
Risk of an accident, personal injury and loss
of control.
fDo not reach through the steering-wheel spokes while driving.
Dimming instrument illumination
fTurn adjustment button A in the appropriate di-
rection and hold it until the desired brightness
has been reached.
The chosen level of brightness is indicated by
a bar display in the display field of the on-board
computer.
Engine oil temperature
Automatic Speed Control
Indicator light
88
Controls, Instruments With the engine warmed up and running at a speed
of 5000 rpm, the engine oil pressure should be
approx. 3.5 bar.If oil pressure drops abruptly and a message
is displayed on the on-board computer when
the engine is running on or when driving:
fStop immediately in a suitable place.
fSwitch off the engine.
fCheck oil level.
Please observe the chapter “OIL DISPLAY AND
MEASUREMENT OF THE ENGINE OIL LEVEL”
on Page 101.
Please observe the chapter “ENGINE OIL
LEVEL” on Page 181.
fAdd engine oil if necessary.
Caution!
Risk of engine damage.
fDo not continue driving if there is an obvious oil
leak.
fDo not continue driving if the warning lights
come on even though oil level is correct.
fHave the fault remedied at the nearest authorized Porsche dealer.If the battery voltage drops abruptly, a warning
message will be displayed by the on-board compu-
ter.
If the warning is displayed by the on-board
computer while the engine is running or while
driving:
fStop the car in a safe place and stop the
engine.
Possible causes
– Defect in the battery charging system.
– Broken drive belt.
Warning!
Risk of an accident and risk of engine dam-
age.
A broken drive belt means there is no power
assistance to the steering (more effort is re-
quired to steer) and coolant pump function
will stop.
fDo not continue driving.
fHave the fault remedied at the nearest author-ized Porsche dealer.
Engine Oil Pressure
Battery
Controls, Instruments
101
OIL
Display and measurement of the engine
oil level
Caution!
Risk of engine damage.
fRegularly check the oil level after refuelling.
fDo not allow the oil level to fall below the mini-mum mark.
Conditions for measuring the oil level
1. It is important to ensure that the vehicle is
horizontal for correct oil level measurement
to occur.
2. Engine is off.
3. Ignition on.Oil return time
Before the oil level is measured, the engine oil has
to have flowed back into the oil pan.
The time taken for the engine oil to flow back de-
pends on the engine temperature and how long
the engine has been stopped.
This waiting time is counted down in the on-board
computer display when the ignition is switched on.
The oil level display segments start to “cycle”.
fIt is best to measure the engine oil level before
embarking on a journey (if the vehicle has not
been driven for an extended period) or with the
engine at operating temperature. Shorter wait-
ing times are achieved in this way.Initiating oil level measurement
fSwitch ignition on (do not start the engine).
The engine-oil level measurement display ap-
pears in the on-board computer.
fAllow waiting time to elapse.
fOnce the measurement has been completed,
you can read off the engine oil level on the seg-
ment display.
– If the segments are filled in up to the top line,
the oil level has reached the maximum mark.
fUnder no circumstances add engine oil.
102
Controls, Instruments – If the bottom segment is filled in, the oil level
has reached the minimum mark.
fAdd engine oil immediately.
– If the segment flashes, the oil level has
dropped to below the minimum mark.
fAdd engine oil immediately.
The difference between the minimum and maxi-
mum marks on the segment display is approx.
1.2 liters.
Each segment of the display corresponds to ap-
prox. 0.4 liter.
fAdd engine oil if necessary.
Please observe the chapter “ENGINE OIL LE-
VEL” on Page 181.
Before adding oil, switch ignition off.
fNever add more engine oil than required
to reach the maximum mark.Oil level measurement during refuelling
The oil level is automatically measured during re-
fuelling.
Preconditions
1. Ignition is switched off.
2. If the engine is at operating temperature, at
least 5 minutes must elapse between parking
the vehicle and starting the engine.
3. Refuelling completed within 15 minutes.
When the ignition is switched on, the engine oil lev-
el is shown on the segment display.
Measurement will be stopped if the above require-
ments are not met.
fStart oil level measurement in the “OIL“ menu
or
fStart oil level measurement by switching on
the ignition.
Failure
A failure of the oil level display is indicated by a
warning message in the on-board computer.The oil level measurement can also be
initiated in the “OIL” menu:
Switching on selection field “D”
fPush operating lever forward.
Initiating measurement
fSelect “OIL” with the operating lever.
fPush operating lever forward.
fSelect “Start” and push the operating lever for-
ward.
Measurement is started.