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FaultScore report

2003 Porsche 911 problems

Owners have filed 12 complaints about the 2003 Porsche 911 with NHTSA between 2003 and 2025. The largest single group is the engine & cooling. Across this model's run it ranks 6 of 7 worst.

Read the complaints What breaks Worst years for the Porsche 911 All 2003 cars
B

FaultScore 32/100

Higher is worse. Measured against the other years of the Porsche 911.

How this is worked out

The numbers

12

Complaints

0

Crashes reported

0

Fires reported

0

Injuries reported

69,000 mi

Median mileage at failure

Half of reported failures happened before this

22%

Failed under 36,000 miles

Inside a typical bumper-to-bumper warranty

What kind of bad

The letter says how bad. This says what kind — whether this year drew an unusual number of complaints, unusually dangerous ones, or failures that arrived unusually early.

Complaint volume 49 vs 50 Severity 0 vs 50 Early failure 38 vs 50
The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.
Complaint volume — 49
Against the median year of the Porsche 911. 50 means typical for this model; 100 means roughly double.
Severity — 0
0% of these complaints involved a crash, fire, injury or death, against a national rate of 9.7%.
Early failure — 38
22% of failures with a mileage on record happened under 36,000 miles, against a national rate of 29%.

How 2003 compares with every other Porsche 911

Click any bar to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks on a 2003 Porsche 911

Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.

Engine & Cooling 4 33.3%

Median failure at 65,500 miles

Other & Unspecified 3 25.0%

Median failure at 75,894 miles

Equipment & Accessories 2 16.7%

Median failure at 2,000 miles

Seats 1 8.3%
Wheels 1 8.3%

Median failure at 96,601 miles

Electrical System 1 8.3%

Median failure at 96,601 miles

When it fails

Odometer readings owners gave when they filed. About half of all complaints include one.

1,000 – 9,999 miles 2 22.2%
50,000 – 74,999 miles 3 33.3%
75,000 – 99,999 miles 4 44.4%

When owners complained

A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single owner can see from inside their own car.

Dec 2003 peak 4 Apr 2025

NHTSA investigations into the 2003 Porsche 911

An investigation is the step before a recall: the agency has seen enough complaints to look into a pattern itself. An open one means it thinks something may be wrong and nothing has been fixed yet.

PE13009 Opened 26 Apr 2013 Closed 10 Mar 2014 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:HOSES/LINES/PIPING/FITTINGS

Rapid coolant loss

On April 26, 2013, the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened PE13-009 to investigate 10 complaints alleging incidents of sudden coolant loss while traveling on public roadways in certain model year (MY) 2001 through 2007 Porsche 911 vehicles.The complaints alleged that pipe ends joined by epoxy to certain cooling system components may fail suddenly and separate, resulting in large volumes of coolant leakage.The investigation was opened to assess evidence of a design or manufacturing defect in the coolant pipe fittings and any related safety consequences. In response to ODI?s Information...

The most recent complaints

In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.

Riverside, RI

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

I bought this vehicle from the Mecum auction. It was represented as a vehicle with 2651 miles on the odometer after purchase. I later ran a Carfax and saw that it had upwards of 60,000 miles and had potential odometer. Roll Back. I contacted Mecum and they said they could not do anything about it. The seller who sold it to Mecum was a dealership in Michigan.

NHTSA complaint #11652685 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 75,894 miles Indialantic, FL

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ODOMETER READING ON THE CLUSTER AND TITLE DO NOT MATCH WHAT THE CAR ACTUALLY HAS. I PURCHASED THE CAR FROM MULLINS FORD OF VERO BEACH. FOUND MANY PROBLEMS WITH THE CAR AND FOUND THAT THE MILEAGE TRUE MILEAGE WAS ACTUALLY 13,000 MILES MORE. SPOKE TO TWO MANAGERS AND NEITHER OF THEM WANTED TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I REALLY LOVED THE CAR AND WANTED TO KEEP IT BUT FOR SOMEONE TO LIE AND DO SOMETHING FRAUDULENT IS NOT A PLEASURE I WANTED TO BE APART SO I INFORMED THEM OF IT AND MADE THEM REFUND MY MONEY. AFTER 9 HOURS OF MY LIFE WASTED FOR THIS HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE I FEEL THAT SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT IT. I HAVE ALSO FOUND OUT THAT THEY ARE RESELLING THE CAR WITH INCORRECT MILEAGE AGAIN.

NHTSA complaint #11302661 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Martinez, CA

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

THIS VEHICLE HAS A DARK HISTORY AROUND 2010 ! THERE WERE FIVE TITLE ISSUES REPORTED ALL STAYING LEMON LAW ISSUES ! I CAN'T GET ANYONE TO VLARIFY

NHTSA complaint #11115190 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 62,000 miles Mashpee, MA

ENGINE

VEHICLE'S ENGINE STARTED TO "RATTLE" AT WARM-UP, THEN WOULD GO AWAY, TYPICAL FOR AN IMS FAILURE. ANY LONGER WAIT MAY HAVE RESULTED IN COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE.

NHTSA complaint #10586974 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 52,000 miles Alameda, CA

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

ENTERED HIGHWAY AND REACHED HIGHWAY SPEED, LOW COOLANT LIGHT APPEARED AND LARGE CLOUD OF SMOKE EXITED THE REAR OF THE CAR. PULLED OVER AND ENGINE BAY SMOKING WITH COOLANT EVERYWHERE INSIDE ENGINE BAY AND OVER REAR OF CAR INCLUDING TIRES. COOLANT HAD COMPLETELY DRAINED DUE TO A GLUED IN FITTING WHICH HAD COME LOOSE.

NHTSA complaint #10515138 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 96,601 miles Sacramento, CA

WHEELS

I WAS DRIVING MY CAR TO A CHARITY EVENT HOSTED BY A HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS TEAM WHEN I NOTICED STEAM COMING FROM MY ENGINE BAY. ALL MY CARS COOLANT LEAKED OUT INTO THE PARKING LOT AND IT CREATED A VERY LARGE PUDDLE. MY WHEELS WERE COVERED IN COOLANT AND IT CREATED AN UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITION FOR THE PARTICIPANTS BEHIND ME WHO WERE FOLLOW ME INTO THE CAR WAS. AS ALL OF THE COOLANT EVACUATED MY CAR, IT IS A MIRACLE THAT IT DID NOT HAPPEN ON THE FREEWAY WHERE IT COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. BECAUSE THE CAUSE OF THIS WAS FAULTY COOLANT LINES, MY ALTERNATOR WAS ALSO SHORTED AND NEED TO BE REPLACED, AGAIN, IF THIS HAPPENED ON A LONG TRIP OR ON THE FREEWAY I COULD HAVE BEEN STRANDED.

NHTSA complaint #10510442 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 96,601 miles Sacramento, CA

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

I WAS DRIVING MY CAR TO A CHARITY EVENT HOSTED BY A HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS TEAM WHEN I NOTICED STEAM COMING FROM MY ENGINE BAY. ALL MY CARS COOLANT LEAKED OUT INTO THE PARKING LOT AND IT CREATED A VERY LARGE PUDDLE. MY WHEELS WERE COVERED IN COOLANT AND IT CREATED AN UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITION FOR THE PARTICIPANTS BEHIND ME WHO WERE FOLLOW ME INTO THE CAR WAS. AS ALL OF THE COOLANT EVACUATED MY CAR, IT IS A MIRACLE THAT IT DID NOT HAPPEN ON THE FREEWAY WHERE IT COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. BECAUSE THE CAUSE OF THIS WAS FAULTY COOLANT LINES, MY ALTERNATOR WAS ALSO SHORTED AND NEED TO BE REPLACED, AGAIN, IF THIS HAPPENED ON A LONG TRIP OR ON THE FREEWAY I COULD HAVE BEEN STRANDED.

NHTSA complaint #10510442 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 69,000 miles SAN Diego, CA

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

COOLANT FITTING ON ENGINE BLEW OFF ON THE FREEWAY, DUMPING ALL THE COOLANT AND CAUSING A MAJOR TRAFFIC SLOWDOWN. CAR WAS ABLE TO BE REPAIRED BY BONDING (JB WELD) IN THE FITTING INTO THE ENGINE BLOCK. NO ISSUES SINCE. ALSO, THE LEFT FRONT RADIATOR LEAKED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED.

NHTSA complaint #10510346 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 96,601 miles Sacramento, CA

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

I WAS DRIVING MY CAR TO A CHARITY EVENT HOSTED BY A HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS TEAM WHEN I NOTICED STEAM COMING FROM MY ENGINE BAY. ALL MY CARS COOLANT LEAKED OUT INTO THE PARKING LOT AND IT CREATED A VERY LARGE PUDDLE. MY WHEELS WERE COVERED IN COOLANT AND IT CREATED AN UNSAFE DRIVING CONDITION FOR THE PARTICIPANTS BEHIND ME WHO WERE FOLLOW ME INTO THE CAR WAS. AS ALL OF THE COOLANT EVACUATED MY CAR, IT IS A MIRACLE THAT IT DID NOT HAPPEN ON THE FREEWAY WHERE IT COULD HAVE CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. BECAUSE THE CAUSE OF THIS WAS FAULTY COOLANT LINES, MY ALTERNATOR WAS ALSO SHORTED AND NEED TO BE REPLACED, AGAIN, IF THIS HAPPENED ON A LONG TRIP OR ON THE FREEWAY I COULD HAVE BEEN STRANDED.

NHTSA complaint #10510442 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Newfields, NH

SEATS

CONSUMER RECEIVED A MANUFACTURER'S RECALL A309 NOTICE FOR REPLACEMENT OF BOTH FRONT SEATS. NO PARTS WERE AVAILABLE. SERVICE MANAGER PAT COLLINS. *AK

NHTSA complaint #10074071 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 2,000 miles Vienna, VA

EQUIPMENT:APPLIANCE:AIR CONDITIONER

WHEN THE AIR CONDITIONER A/C WAS ENGAGED CONDENSATION APPEARED AND SPREAD ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD. THIS REDUCED THE DRIVER'S VISIBILITY. ALSO, INTERMITTENTLY DOOR REMOTE OPENER FAILED TO FUNCTION. *AK

NHTSA complaint #10050116 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 2,000 miles Vienna, VA

EQUIPMENT

WHEN THE AIR CONDITIONER A/C WAS ENGAGED CONDENSATION APPEARED AND SPREAD ACROSS THE WINDSHIELD. THIS REDUCED THE DRIVER'S VISIBILITY. ALSO, INTERMITTENTLY DOOR REMOTE OPENER FAILED TO FUNCTION. *AK

NHTSA complaint #10050116 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.