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 noti-
fying 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 call the Vehicle Safety
Hotline toll-free at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-
424-9153); go to http://www.safercar.gov; or
write to: Administrator,
NHTSA, 400 Seventh
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590.
You can also obtain other information about motor
vehicle safety from http://www.savercar.gov.
Your car has thousands of parts and components
which have been designed and manufactured in
accordance with Porsche’s high standards of
engineering quality and safety.
Warning!
Any alteration or misuse of the vehicle can
lead to accidents and severe or fatal
personal injuries.
Any alteration of the vehicle may negate or
interfere with those safety features built into
the vehicle. Modifications may be carried out
on your vehicle only if approved by Porsche.
Your Porsche is intended to be used in a safe
manner obeying the local laws and in the
light of driving conditions faced by you, and
in accordance with the instructions provided
in this Owner’s Manual.
fDo not misuse your Porsche by ignoring those
laws and driving conditions, or by ignoring the instructions in this manual. Caution!
The fitting of racing tires (e.g. slicks) for
sporting events is not approved by Porsche.
Very high cornering speeds can be achieved
with racing tires. However, the resulting
transverse acceleration values would jeopar-
dize the adequate supply of oil to the engine.
Porsche therefore will not accept any
warranty or accept any liability for damage
occurring as a result of non-compliance with
this provision.
fDo not fit racing tires (e.g. slicks) for sporting events on your vehicle.
3
Regularly check your vehicle for signs of
damage.
Damaged or missing aerodynamic compo-
nents such as spoilers or underside panels
affect the driving behavior and therefore
must be replaced immediately.
Your car may have all or some of the components
described in this manual.
Should you have difficulty understanding any of
the explanations of features or equipment installed
in your vehicle, contact your authorized Porsche
dealer. He/She will be glad to assist you. Also
check with your dealer on other available options
or equipment.
Throughout this booklet, left is designated as the
driver’s side of the vehicle, and right as the pas-
senger’s side of the vehicle.
Text, illustrations and specifications in this manual
are based on the information available at the time
of printing.
It has always been Porsche’s policy to continuous-
ly improve its products. Porsche, therefore, re-
serves the right to make changes in design and
specification, and to make additions or improve-
ments in its product without incurring any obliga-
tion to install them on products previously manu-
factured.
We wish you many miles of safe and pleasurable
driving in your Porsche.
Warning!
For your own protection and longer service life of
your car, please follow all operating instructions
and special warnings. These special warnings use
the safety alert symbol, followed by the words
Danger, Warning and Caution. These special
warnings contain important messages regarding
your safety and/or the potential for damage to
your Porsche. Ignoring them could result in seri-
ous mechanical failure, serious personal injury or
death.
fDo not alter your Porsche. Any alteration could
create dangerous conditions or defeat safety
engineering features built into your car.
fDo not misuse your Porsche. Use it safely, and
consistently with the law, according to the driv-
ing conditions, and the instructions in this man-
ual.
Alteration or misuse of your Porsche could
cause accidents and serious personal injury
or death.
Note to owners In Canada, this manual is also available in French.
To obtain a copy contact your dealer or write to: Note aux proprietaires Au Canada on peut se procurer un exemplaire de
ce Manuel en français auprès du concessionaire
ou du:
Porsche Cars Canada, Ltd.
Automobiles Porsche Canada, LTEE
5925 Airport Road
Suite 420
Mississauga, Ontario
Canada L4V 1W1
Telephone number for customer assistance:
1-800-PORSCHE / Option 3
Table of Contents
7
Speedometer ............................................ 118
Changing over between Miles / Kilometers .. 118
Tachometer ............................................... 119
Turn Signal Indicator Light .......................... 119
High Beam Indicator Light........................... 119
Gear Shift Indicator “A”
(in vehicles with manual transmission).......... 119
Cooling System ......................................... 120
Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) ................... 121
Fuel .......................................................... 122
Clock ........................................................ 123
Outside Temperature .................................. 123
Engine Oil Pressure .................................... 124
Check Engine (Emission Control) ................. 125
On-Board Computer (BC) ............................ 126
Warnings on the instrument panel
and the on-board computer......................... 158Shifting Gears................................. 167Manual Transmission, Clutch ....................... 168
Drive-Off Assistant ..................................... 169
Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) ................... 170Mobile Roofs .................................. 177 Lifting/Sliding Roof .................................... 178
Convertible Top ......................................... 181
Emergency operation of the convertible top . 183
Windstop................................................... 190
Hardtop .................................................... 194
Targa ........................................................ 200
Roof Transport System............................... 204
Maintenance, Car Care ................... 205Exercise Extreme Caution when Working
on your Vehicle .......................................... 206
Coolant Level............................................. 207
Engine Oil .................................................. 208
Engine Oil Level ......................................... 208
Engine Oil Recommendation........................ 210
Brake Fluid Level........................................ 212
Fuel Economy ............................................ 214
Operating your Porsche in other Countries ... 214
Fuel Recommendations .............................. 216
Portable Fuel Containers............................. 217
Fuel Evaporation Control ............................. 217
Emission Control System ............................ 218
How Emission Control Works ...................... 219
Washer Fluid .............................................. 220
Power Steering .......................................... 221
Air Filter .................................................... 222
Combination Filter ...................................... 222
Fluids/Oils for Manual Transmission
and Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) ............. 222
Wiper Blades ............................................. 223
Car Care Instructions.................................. 224Practical Tips, Emergency Service ... 233Exercise Extreme Caution when Working
on your Vehicle .......................................... 234
Tires/Wheels ............................................. 235
Loading Information ................................... 246
Wheel Bolts ............................................... 248
Changing a wheel....................................... 249
Flat Tire..................................................... 251Lifting the Vehicle with a Lifting Platform or
Garage Lift ............................................... 254
Spacers 911 Carrera, 911 Carrera S ......... 255
Electrical System ...................................... 257
Battery ..................................................... 261
Replacing the remote-control battery .......... 266
Emergency Starting with Jumper Cables ..... 267
Bulb chart................................................. 269
Lights, Replacing Bulbs.............................. 269
Headlights ................................................ 270
Number Plate Light.................................... 277
Changing Light-Emitting Diodes and
Long-Life Bulbs ......................................... 277
Adjusting Headlights .................................. 278
Towing ..................................................... 280
Vehicle Identification,
Technical Data ............................... 283Vehicle Identification.................................. 284
Technical Data .......................................... 286
Diagrams ................................................. 299
56
Operation, Safety
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. If necessary, the seat-belt tensioners will
be activated.
fPlease see the chapter “BELT TENSIONER” on
Page 41.
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
Operation, Safety
99
Fading and drifting
FM range is limited to about 25 miles (40 km),
except for some high power stations.
If a vehicle is moving away from the desired sta-
tion’s transmitter, the signal will tend to fade and/
or drift. This condition is more prevalent with FM
than AM, and is often accompanied by distortion.
Fading and drifting can be minimized to a certain
degree by careful attention to fine tuning or selec-
tion of a stronger signal.
Static and fluttering
When the line-of-sight link between a transmitter
and vehicle is blocked by large buildings or moun-
tains, the radio sound may be accompanied with
static or fluttering because of the characteristic of
FM.
In a similar effect, a fluttering noise is sometimes
heard when driving along a tree-lined road.
This static and fluttering can be reduced by adjust-
ing the tone control for greater bass response un-
til the disturbance has passed.
Multipath
Because of the reflecting characteristics of FM,
direct and reflected signals may reach the antenna
at the same time (multipath) and cancel each other
out.
As a vehicle moves through these electronic dead
spots, the listener may hear a momentary flutter
or loss of reception. Station swapping
When two FM stations are close to each other, and
an electronic dead spot, such as static or multi-
path area, interrupts the original signal, some-
times the stronger second signal will be selected
automatically until the original one returns.
This swapping can also occur as you drive away
from the selected station and approach another
station of a stronger signal.
Compact disc player
Caution!
To avoid damage to compact disc player and
discs.
fUse only compact discs labeled as shown, hav-
ing no dirt, damage or warpage.
fNever attempt to disassemble or oil any part
of the player unit.
Do not insert any object other than a disc into
the slot.
Remember there are no user-serviceable parts
inside the compact disc player.
fDo not allow the disc to sustain any finger-
prints, scrapes or stickers on the surfaces.
This may cause poor sound quality.
Hold the disc only on the edge or center hole. fWhen not in use, take the disc out of the player,
put the disc back into its case and store it
away from dust, heat, damp and direct
sunlight.
Leaving the disc on the dashboard in the sun
can damage the disc.
fIf the disc gets dirty, clean the disc by wiping
the surfaces from the center to the outside in
a radial direction with a soft cloth.
Do not use a conventional record cleaner or
anti-static record preservative.
Disc cleaners are available in audio stores.
Instruments, On-Board Computer, Warnings
125
Check Engine
(Emission Control)The emission control system detects malfunctions
early that could, for example, cause increased
pollutant emissions or consequential damage.
Faults are indicated by a continuously lit or
flashing instrument panel warning light.
The faults are recorded in the control unit's fault
memory.
The warning light in the instrument panel lights up
when the ignition is switched on as a bulb check
and goes out approx. 4 seconds after the engine
starts. If the warning light does not light up, have
the bulb replaced promptly.
The warning light in the instrument panel flashes to
indicate operating states (e.g. engine misfiring)
which might cause damage to certain parts of the
emission control system.
fIn this case, immediately reduce the engine
load by easing off the accelerator.
fIn order to avoid consequential damage to the
engine or emission control system (e.g. cata-
lytic converter), have the fault diagnosed and
rectified immediately at the nearest authorized
Porsche dealer.If the warning light in the instrument panel lights up
permanently without flashing before and remains
on while driving, it suggests:
– a potential engine control problem and the
need for system service or
– an improperly fastened tank cap or
– the vehicle was refueled while the engine was
running.
fStop immediately at a suitable and secure
place and check tank cap for proper fastening.
If tank cap was fastened correctly, see your au-
thorized Porsche dealer for service as soon as
possible.
Caution!
If the check engine warning light in the in-
strument panel is flashing, serious catalytic
converter damage and power loss will soon
occur.
Prolonged driving with the check engine war-
ning light on could cause damage to the
emission control system. It also could affect
fuel economy and driveability.
fHave the fault remedied at the nearest authorized Porsche dealer immediately.The central warning light on the instrument panel
lights up if there are warning messages in the
INFO menu.
The messages can be called in the on-board
computer INFO menu:
fPlease see the chapter “INFO WARNING MES-
SAGES” on Page 132.
The warning light on the instrument panel lights
up:
– if the handbrake is on,
– if the brake fluid level is low,
– if the brake pads have reached the wear limit,
– if the brake circuit division is defective.
Additionally, a warning is displayed by the on-
board computer.
fPlease see the chapter “WARNINGS ON THE
INSTRUMENT PANEL AND THE ON-BOARD
COMPUTER” on Page 158.
Warning Light
Central Warning Light
Brake Warning Light USA
Brake Warning Light Canada
Instruments, On-Board Computer, Warnings
133
ServiceSwitching on selection field “D”
fPush operating lever forward.
Recalling service information
fSelect INFO with the operating lever.
fPush operating lever forward.
fSelect “Service” with the operating lever.
fPush operating lever forward.
fThe time until the next service is displayed in
miles and days.
TEL
Telephone informationSwitching on selection field “D”
fPush operating lever forward.
Recalling telephone information
fSelect TEL with the operating lever.fPush operating lever forward.
164
Warnings
Transmission
temperature
too highJerking can be felt when driving off, and the
engine power may be restricted.
Do not hold the vehicle with the accelerator on
a hill, for example. Hold the vehicle with the
brake. Reduce engine load. If possible, stop the
vehicle in a suitable place. Allow the engine to
run in selector lever position P or N until the
warning disappears.
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 mls/days Service indicator
Bring the vehicle in for service no later than af-
ter the distance/time shown has elapsed.
Please observe the additional information in the
“Maintenance” booklet.
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 positionFully open or close convertible top
Opening convertible top Message goes out in final position
Closing convertible top Message goes out in final position
Instrument
panelOn-board
computerText display on on-board
computerMeaning/measure