Query on 981 service schedule/reqiurements

[DeRo]

My s/h record book for my 2014 2.7 is as follows, all completed by same OPC:

20/2/16  Intermediate & brake fluid change @ 8511

28/4/18  Maintenance & brake fluid change @ 16740

31/8/18   Spark plugs  @ 17724

15/10/20 Intermediate, drive belt and brake fluid change @ 26265

I purchased from the servicing OPC Dec 2020, mileage slightly above the last Intermediate service.

I'm now on 30258 and car is asking for Maintenance in 10 days which I assume is 4 years on from the 28/4/18 Maintenance...?  The Intermediate is showing as required October 2022 or in 16100

Aside from the all the check the horn, windscreen wipers etc etc, does it actually need anything doing to it?  If not can I ignore the Service warning until the Intermediate is required in October 2022?  (ignoring any debate about interim oil changes...) 

I'm intending to go to an independent and will not extend the 2 year warranty issued when I purchased.  I'm aware that this will invalidate the last 7/8 weeks of the warranty.

Thanks for any views/insights folks.

[daz05]

The by the book answer is that your car should have the big service in 10 days and the plugs done in August this year.

Unless you would like fresh oil, or feel like it's due early, as you say I would book it in for end of August to get the plugs and oil changed together, that's the important part of the scope, your air filters should have been done in 2020.

Why did it go over the 2yr limit between services, was it because of lock down or something? Are they honouring the warranty on the engine?

 

Edited April 17, 2022 by daz05

[DeRo]

Thanks for replying @daz05

Had missed the air filters requirement in the book.  There's no tick box for that in the maintenance record but they could/should have been done at 6 years at the 2020 service. 

I asked the sales guy the reason for the servicing going over the 2 years limit.  He didn't know and assumed previous owner hadn't bothered to service it before trading it. I didn't push for any further detail and had decided it wasn't going to stop me buying.  They assured me that the warranty is full, I have that in writing with no qualifications.

I guess the issue I have after reading your response and thinking further, is that if I ignore the car requesting maintenance on 28/4/22 and a month later I need something under warranty, I may have invalidated it.  Which I can now see is caused by the late Intermediate service in Oct 2020 reducing the time to the next Maintenance service from 24 months to 18 months.  I'll talk to the OPC but I'll bet that will be their line on it.

[daz05]

I'd like to think they will take a pragmatic view on it if you commit to a booking in August, neither the oil, filters or plugs are due so what's the point!

 

[DeRo]

I've emailed them with a summary, see where we go from there.

I'm assuming the Maintenance and Intermediate service clocks in the car just tick away independently and what should have happened is resetting of the Maintenance clock when it was Intermediate serviced on 15/10/2020.

[DeRo]

Incidentally I'm a gambler when it comes to paying for extended warranties, be it a tv, washing machine, phone, car or anything really.

Don't know by how much but I'm well ahead financially using this approach.

Shouldn't be writing this though should I.  Be back on here next year reporting how much my new pdk box has cost outside of the warranty I didn't extend in December this year 😂

[daz05]

In 3 years the early cars won't be eligible for Porsche warranty anyway so a good time to get into the mindset of going alone.

 

[moospeed]

2 hours ago, DeRo said:

I've emailed them with a summary, see where we go from there.

I'm assuming the Maintenance and Intermediate service clocks in the car just tick away independently and what should have happened is resetting of the Maintenance clock when it was Intermediate serviced on 15/10/2020.

I had some funny business with the service interval clock on mine, seemed to be asking for a service 5-6 months ahead of schedule as I'd worked it out.

As the car was still relatively new to me and hadn't been serviced under my ownership, I just got the 8 year major done ahead of schedule.  And then they couldn't reset the Service Now message so had to have it back for the day for a computer refresh. On reflection I probably could've just had that done and stretched out another 6 months before the service but I guess it was peace of mind.

To my thinking it should've have independent clocks running for the service, just ping up for the relevant service two years after the last one, job done.

[Ringer250]

4 hours ago, daz05 said:

In 3 years the early cars won't be eligible for Porsche warranty anyway so a good time to get into the mindset of going alone.

 

Thought it was 15 years possible cover from new, so a UK 2012 model 981 car could be covered up until 2027.

https://www.porsche.com/uk/accessoriesandservice/porscheservice/vehicleinformation/approvedwarranty/

 

[iborguk]

1 minute ago, Ringer250 said:

Thought it was 15 years possible cover from new, so a UK 2012 model 981 car could be covered up until 2027.

https://www.porsche.com/uk/accessoriesandservice/porscheservice/vehicleinformation/approvedwarranty/

 

Yes 15 years or 125k miles

[daz05]

Well I knew it was 15yrs I just thought 2012 was 12 years ago!

[Patt]

I bought mine 2nd hand from OPC.  I had items replaced that weren't listed in my service book and items not changed that should be.

I chose my first service to be the full monty so I knew were I stood for the future.  This included the servicing extra: gearbox fluid (PDK), air filters  and plugs. AT the same time I had Revolution swap out the exhaust bolts to stainless along with new gaskets. 

[DeRo]

Had conversation with OPC today.

Not resolved yet.

However they were suggesting it may need an oil change due to the oil condition sensor detecting the quality of the oil has fallen below what is required.

Does a 981 have this sensor?

[daz05]

1 hour ago, DeRo said:

Had conversation with OPC today.

Not resolved yet.

However they were suggesting it may need an oil change due to the oil condition sensor detecting the quality of the oil has fallen below what is required.

Does a 981 have this sensor?

I don't know if it has the quality sensor fitted, it's extremely rare for it to trigger but have a look in the manual. Either way it's irrelevant when it's asking for a maintenance service exactly 4yrs after the previous one, clearly it's working off the timer.

 

[Greenman]

14 hours ago, DeRo said:

However they were suggesting it may need an oil change due to the oil condition sensor detecting the quality of the oil has fallen below what is required.

Humm something not smelling right here.  Firstly I have never heard of an oil sensor being used on the 981, though that’s no guarantee there isn’t one (or maybe they are sticking a sensor in to test?).  Secondly you have only done 4k miles since the last oil change, with the standard interval being 20k miles then there are three options here:

1.  The oil wasn’t in fact changed at 26k miles

2. Driving has been extreme in last 4k miles (multiple track days?)

3. OPC is trying one on.

it seems the service intervals generally were each a few  months late which leads to this issue. Given the warranty has been approved I can see how they can enforce an oil change/brake fluid, maintain service before October 22, though spark plugs should in theory be done in August.

[Patt]

I vote for number 3

[DeRo]

I'd be bloody annoyed if it's 1, but I'm not sure I'd ever find that out.

No track days.  Average fuel consumption since I've had it is 32.1 which indicates how it's driven most of the time so I reckon it's not likely to be 2 even if there is a means of checking the oil condition built into the car (they haven't seen it so no chance they have stuck an external thing in)

It could be 3 but I'll add a 4 which is I spoke to a service adviser who didn't understand what the issue was. I've chased them today but they haven't had the courtesy to get back to me...

[Paul P]

Most recent cars "calc" / estimates oil change based on number of starts and short runs - my Focus does the same, as did the Audi I had previously - theory being that oil degrades over time and if only used for short runs, it will not have got up to temp and will be holding more "nasties".

Your choice, you get to over-rule the computer but is  the issue here actually an oil change now, or and oil change in what 12 - 16 weeks?  Your car, your rules, but if it was me - the "service me" indicator would bug me enough to make it go away one way or another.

 

[DeRo]

7 hours ago, Paul P said:

Most recent cars "calc" / estimates oil change based on number of starts and short runs - my Focus does the same, as did the Audi I had previously - theory being that oil degrades over time and if only used for short runs, it will not have got up to temp and will be holding more "nasties".

Your choice, you get to over-rule the computer but is  the issue here actually an oil change now, or and oil change in what 12 - 16 weeks?  Your car, your rules, but if it was me - the "service me" indicator would bug me enough to make it go away one way or another.

 

If the 981 is one of most cars that does this calculation then I'd be accepting of the need for it to be done.  However nobody on here yet seems to be suggesting that the 981 does this or has had this experience.

And it's asking for a Maintenance service exactly 4 years after the last Maintenance service which suggests this is just a timer event that has not been reset to take account of the later and late Intermediate service.

Anyway, I'll report back when I've got to a conclusion with the OPC.

[DeRo]

8 hours ago, Paul P said:

Your choice, you get to over-rule the computer but is  the issue here actually an oil change now, or and oil change in what 12 - 16 weeks?  Your car, your rules, but if it was me - the "service me" indicator would bug me enough to make it go away one way or another.

 

It's 25 weeks, nearly 6 months.

The Intermediate service timer is advising a service requirement in October 2022. 

If this isn't an oil quality service decision by the car and is just a timer issue as I suspect, if I went along with it I'd be getting it serviced now and in 6 months time it will be asking for another service and will continue to ask for two services within 6 months every 2 years!

[Paul P]

Ok.  

the 987 calcs on cold starts and short runs as well as “days since last service” not so much an oil analysis more a guess based on usage.  
 

so I assumed the 981 would do similar especially since it has a more granular report. 

guess an opc can tell you more and how to get them back in sync  

 

[Boxer boy]

Those Behr oil level sensors use on VAG cars of Porsche is a member do indeed also measure the resistance separately to the level .Water through multiple short runs ( condensation not boiling off ) and muck from degradation .

As mentioned the info is fed into a ECU where time and milage and indeed oil temp are factored into the algorithm(s) which trigger the service light .

Age degrades the additives as well so if you did not have this Behr sensor bolted under the sump then every 12/12  seems prudent in a sports car .Synthetic oil aside , because the oil hasn’t actually broken down it’s just lost , loosing its additive package even after 4 K , 12 months .

Merecedes in the late 90 s with synthetic oil used the Nardo track to test oils .Used the 220D and 270, and 300 D motors ran them 500 rpm under the red line constantly ( multi drivers ) up to 100 K on the same oil .

Stripped them down microscopically examined , measured and found all within spec .

Its said with the 300D went to 1 million Kms on the same oil , no changes and very similar not obvious wear to be concerned .

How ever theses motors with the then newfangled synthetic oils were not cooling down , not stopping .That’s the difference .

A lot of short ie normal use runs and as said above  oil degradation  +water condensation occurs considerably shorting the life and effect protection the synthetic gives .

Another factor is parking outside on frosty mornings the temp changes as the day progresses etc = condensation etc .

As opposed to storage in a temp controlled environment or garage attached to a heated house .

As it left cold for days on a wintery drive particles settle out like the additive package etc . U.K. 

 

Up shot have a lub change …..it’s asking .

Edited April 21, 2022 by Boxer boy

[DeRo]

It hasn't done multiple short runs in my ownership (since Dec 20) Could count the times the oil has not reached full operating temp on one hand.

Kept in a garage.

One thing I didn't mention above is that I remember looking at the service reminder date on the car not long after I bought it, it showed April 2022 - I didn't understand why given I was expecting Oct 2022 (or 20,000) but I obviously chose to ignore it the time.  So unless it was guessing what the oil condition would be in future, it surely must be just a clock ticking away...

And if calling for a service early because of oil condition is a 981 thing, is there anyone out there who has experienced this?

[DeRo]

Resolution with OPC this morning.

Car had been with them from March-Dec 2020.  They did a health check on it in March and then didn't service until October.

Agreed that the the two clocks were out of sync due to this and no need to service until Oct, warranty unaffected. 

Queried about oil condition monitoring.  Advised that 981 does have this and that it's not just based on number of starts etc, it does monitor oil condition.  Will give an "Oil Change Required" warning rather than Service Required though.

Thanks to all who have responded, even if I didn't agree with you it's at least helped me work through in my head what I thought the issue was!

[Patt]

we all learn by such communications.

Glad it was a happy ending