2006 PORSCHE 911 CARRERA maintenance

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.

11
Controls, Instruments 13 - 161
Shifting Gear 163 - 170
Mobile Roofs 171 - 195
Maintenance, Car Care 197 - 226
Practical Tips, Emergency Service 227 - 282
Vehicle Identification, Technical Data 284 - 302
Index 304 - 308

42
Controls, Instruments
Safety Belts
Warning!
Always make sure your and your passengers’
safety belts are properly fastened while the
vehicle is in motion.
Failure to follow safety belt warnings may re-
sult in serious personal injury or death.
fFor your and your passengers’ protection, use
safety belts at all times while the vehicle is in
motion.
fUse appropriate child restraint systems for all
small children.
Proper wearing of safety belts
fS a f e t y b e l t s m u s t b e p o s i t i o n e d o n t h e b o d y a s
to restrain the upper body and lap from sliding
forward. Improperly positioned safety belts
can cause serious personal injury or death in
case of an accident.
fThe shoulder belt should always rest on your
upper body. The shoulder belt should never be
worn behind your back or under your arm.
fFor maximum effectiveness, the lap belt
should be worn low across the hips.
fPregnant women should position the belt as
low as possible across the pelvis. Make sure it
is not pressing against the abdomen. fBelts should not be worn twisted.
fDo not wear belts over rigid or breakable ob-
jects in or on your clothing, such as eye glass-
es, pens, keys, etc. as these may cause injury.
fSeveral layers of heavy clothing may interfere
with proper positioning of belts.
fBelts must not rub against sharp objects or
damage may occur to the belt.
fTwo occupants should never share the same
belt at the same time.
Care and maintenance
fKeep belt buckles free of any obstruction that
may prevent a secure locking.
fBelts that have been subjected to excessive
stretch forces in an accident must be inspect-
ed or replaced to ensure their continued effec-
tiveness in restraining you.
The same applies to belt tensioner systems
which have been triggered.
In addition, the anchor points of the belts
should be checked.
fIf safety belts do not work properly, see your
authorized Porsche dealer immediately.
fI f t h e b e l t s s h o w d a m a g e t o w e b b i n g , b i n d i n g s ,
buckles or retractors, they should be replaced
to ensure safe operation.
fDo not modify or disassemble the safety belts
in your vehicle. fThe belts must be kept clean or the retractors
may not work properly.
Please observe the chapter “CAR CARE IN-
STRUCTIONS” on Page 218.
fNever bleach or dye safety belts.
fDo not allow safety belts to retract until they
are completely dry after cleaning or this may
cause damage to the belt.
Belt tensioner Depending on the force of an impact, fastened
safety belts are tightened in an accident.
The belt tensioners are triggered in:
– Front, side and rear impacts of sufficient
severity.
– For the Cabriolet, in cases of vehicle rollover.
Note
The belt-tensioner system can be triggered only
once; the system must be replaced afterward.
If there is a fault in the belt-tensioner system, the
airbag warning light lights up.
Work may be performed on the belt-tensioner sys-
tem only by an authorized Porsche dealer.
Smoke is released when the belt tensioners are
triggered. This does not indicate a fire in the
vehicle.

Controls, Instruments
49
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp
does not light up
– The passenger's airbag is active and ready for
operation.
– If the passenger's seat is not occupied, the
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp will
also not light up, even though the passenger's
airbag is switched off.
Danger!
Risk of serious personal injury or death due
to the passenger airbag triggering uninten-
tionally.
When the ignition is on and the up to one-
year old child is seated in the child restraint
system on the passenger’s seat, the indicator
lamp “PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF” must be on.
If the “PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF” indicator
lamp does not light up, it could indicate a
fault in the system.
In this case:
fChild restraint systems facing forwards:
Install on the rear seats.
fChild restraint systems facing rearwards:
On vehicles with key-operated airbag deactiva-
tion device: Switch to position OFF.
fChild restraint systems facing rearwards:
On vehicles without key-operated airbag deac-
tivation device: Do not use a child restraint sys-
tem in the front passenger’s seat.fHave the fault remedied at your nearest author-
ized Porsche dealer.
Note
The key switch for switching off the passenger’s
airbag in combination with the LATCH attachment
bracket are not installed at the factory. They can
be retrofitted.
fPlease see your authorized Porsche dealer.
Faults are indicated by a warning light in the instru-
ment panel and a message on the on-board com-
puter.
fPlease observe the chapter “WARNINGS ON
THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND THE ON-
BOARD COMPUTER” on Page 122.
fIn the following cases you should immedi-
ately consult an authorized Porsche
dealer in order to assure the airbag sys-
tem is functioning properly:
– If the warning light does not light up when the
ignition key is inserted or
– If the warning light does not go out once the
engine is running or
– If the warning light appears while driving.
Airbag maintenanceIn order to ensure long-term functioning, the air-
bag system must be inspected by an authorized
Porsche dealer at the intervals recommended in
your Maintenance Booklet.
Important information
If you sell your Porsche, notify the purchaser that
the vehicle is equipped with airbags, and refer
them to the chapter, “Airbag Systems“, in the
Owner's Manual (safety and disposal rules).
Further information on the airbag system can be
found on stickers attached to the sun visors.
For special recommendations on the use of child
restraints:
fPlease observe the chapter “CHILD RES-
TRAINT SYSTEMS” on Page 51.
Warning light and warning
message

Controls, Instruments
57
Rollover Protection System The Rollover Protection System on the Cabriolet
consists of two supplemental safety bars that to-
gether with the front windshield frame help to cre-
ate occupant survival space in case of rollover. Be-
cause of the extreme and unpredictable forces
which can be encountered in a rollover, it is not
possible to guarantee that occupants will be pro-
tected from all contact with exterior objects or the
ground. However, the Rollover Protection System
is designed to maintain the occupant survival
space.
The Rollover Protection System is activated auto-
matically in the event of an accident or extreme
driving situation.
The protective devices are located behind each
rear seat and rapidly deploy within a fraction of a
second.
They can deploy under:
– Extreme tilting of the vehicle.
– Loss of ground contact (e.g. Going over the
crest of a hill at high speed).
Danger!
Risk of death or serious injury.
fDo not block area of supplemental safety bars
with objects.
In the event of a deployment event, such
objects could potentially prevent such deploy-
ment from occuring, or such objects could
impact the car occupants at high speed.
fDo not tamper with or work on wiring and or
components of Rollover Protection System.
fAll work regarding this system must be carried
out by your authorized Porsche dealer.
fCheck functions and periodic service intervals
according to maintenance schedule (see your
authorized Porsche dealer).
To avoid damage to the convertible top:
fIf the supplemental safety bars are extended
for any reason, do not open or close converti-ble top.Faults in the Rollover Protection System are indi-
cated by the airbag warning light in the instrument
panel.
Extension of the supplemental safety bars is no
longer ensured.
fSee your authorized Porsche dealer immedi-
ately and have the fault remedied.
Lowering the supplemental safety bars
after deployment fHave this work performed by an authorized
Porsche dealer.
Warning light

Controls, Instruments
61
Four-Wheel Drive With the four-wheel drive of the 911 Carrera 4 and
911 Carrera 4S, the engine power is variably dis-
tributed to the front and rear wheels.
Power distribution and wheel speed compensation
between the front and rear axles is realised with a
viscous multiple-disc clutch.
Distribution of the engine power is dependent
upon the wheel speed difference between the two
axles.
The viscous multiple-disc clutch always delivers
sufficient drive power to the front wheels (approx.
5% to 40%) to ensure optimum traction even on a
poor road surface.
In combination with the Porsche Stability Manage-
ment (PSM), four-wheel drive improves handling
and increases driving stability.
Warning!
The increased control that is provided should
not induce you to take greater risks with your
safety. The limits dictated by the laws of phy-
sics cannot be overcome, even with four-
wheel drive.
The risk of accidents due to inappropriate
speed cannot be reduced, even by four-
wheel drive.
The driver bears the responsibility for all dri-
ving maneuvers.
fAdapt your driving style to the prevailing road
and weather conditions.
fObey all traffic laws.
Dynamometer testing procedure Some U.S. states and Canadian provinces con-
duct emissions inspection/maintenance testing in-
volving the use of two-wheel dynamometer.
A two-wheeled dynamometer is a treadmill type
device upon which a single axle of the car, the dri-
ving axle of the vehicle, rotates to simulate vehicle
operation on the road while the vehicle remains
stationary.
Your 911 Carrera 4 or 911 Carrera 4S has a full-
time four-wheel drive system which cannot be
disabled. Severe damage to the powertrain can
result if tested on a two-wheel dynamometer.
Warning!
To avoid severe powertrain damage and a
possible unexpected movement of the vehic-
le.
fYour 911 Carrera 4 or 911 Carrera 4S vehicle
must never be tested on a two-wheel dynamo-
meter.
fAdvise the emission station of this warning be-fore testing the vehicle.
Power measurement
Power measurements on dynamometers are not
approved by Porsche.

68
Controls, Instruments
Brake booster The brake booster assists braking only when
the engine is running.
When the car is moving while the engine is not run-
ning, or if the brake booster is defective, more
pressure on the brake pedal is required to bring
the car to a stop.
If this happens, ABS and PSM will also not oper-
ate.
Moisture or road salt on brakes affects braking.
When the vehicle is driven on salted roads for ex-
tended periods, the brakes should be washed
down thoroughly about every 2 weeks. An auto-
matic carwash facility cannot do this job properly.
Brakes will dry after a few cautious brake applica-
tions.
Warning!
Driving through water may reduce the trac-
tion.
Moisture on brakes from road water, car
wash, or coating of road salt may affect
braking efficiency.
fCautiously apply brakes to test brakes after being exposed.
Brake wear Your car has excellent brakes, but they are still
subject to wear. The rate at which they wear de-
pends on how the brakes are used.
fHave the brake system inspected at the
intervals recommended in your Maintenance
Booklet.
If the warning lights in the instrument panel and on-
board computer stay on when the engine is run-
ning or come on while driving, the brake pads are
worn, excessively.
fDo not continue to operate the vehicle.
Have your authorized Porsche dealer inspect
or replace the brake pads.
Brake pads Wear on the brake pads and brake discs depends
to a great extent on the driving style and the con-
ditions of use and therefore cannot be expressed
in actual miles on the road.
The high-performance brake system is designed
for optimal braking effect at all speeds and tem-
peratures.
Certain speeds, braking forces and ambient
conditions (such as temperature and humidity)
therefore might cause “brake noises”.
New brake pads or linings
New brake pads and brake discs have to be “bro-
ken in”, and therefore only attain optimal friction
when the car has covered several hundred miles
or km.
The slightly reduced braking ability must be com-
pensated for by pressing the brake pedal harder.
This also applies whenever the brake pads and
brake discs are replaced.
Warning light USA
Warning light Canada

Controls, Instruments
127
System fault
Go to workshopSeveral systems may have failed. Adjust your
driving style. Reduce speed.
Have the fault remedied at an authorized
Porsche dealer.
Failure of fuel level indicator
WorkshopHave the fault remedied at an authorized
Porsche dealer.
Service in km/days Service indicator
Bring the vehicle in for service no later than af-
ter the distance/time shown has elapsed.
However, it is the intervals in the “Guarantee
and Maintenance” booklet that are decisive.
Service now Service indicator
Have your vehicle serviced at an authorized
Porsche dealer.
Failure
Convertible-top controlActivate convertible top in opposite direction.
If there is a failure:
Consult an authorized Porsche dealer.
Convertible top not in limit position Fully open or close convertible top
Opening convertible top Message goes out in final position
Closing convertible top Message goes out in final position
Close rear lid The convertible top cannot be operated with the
rear lid open.
Flat tyre! Tyre pressure monitoring system has detected
a serious pressure loss.
Stop in a suitable place and check tyres for
damage. Fill in tyre sealant if necessary.
Instrument
panelOn-board
computerText display on on-board
computerMeaning/measure