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FaultScore report

2004 Porsche 911 problems

Owners have filed 10 complaints about the 2004 Porsche 911 with NHTSA between 2011 and 2022. The largest single group is the engine & cooling. Across this model's run it ranks 3 of 7 worst.

Read the complaints What breaks Worst years for the Porsche 911 All 2004 cars
D

FaultScore 71/100

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

How this is worked out

The numbers

10

Complaints

3

Crashes reported

0

Fires reported

3

Injuries reported

15,000 mi

Median mileage at failure

Half of reported failures happened before this

78%

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 41 vs 50 Severity 100 vs 50 Early failure 100 vs 50
The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.
Complaint volume — 41
Against the median year of the Porsche 911. 50 means typical for this model; 100 means roughly double.
Severity — 100
60% of these complaints involved a crash, fire, injury or death, against a national rate of 9.7%.
Early failure — 100
78% of failures with a mileage on record happened under 36,000 miles, against a national rate of 29%.

How 2004 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 2004 Porsche 911

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

Engine & Cooling 8 80.0%

1 crashes, 0 fires · median 17,042 mi

Body & Structure 1 10.0%

1 crashes, 0 fires · median 12,000 mi

Transmission & Drivetrain 1 10.0%

1 crashes, 0 fires · median 12,000 mi

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.

Jul 2011 peak 4 Mar 2022

NHTSA investigations into the 2004 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...

Complaints that involved harm

Reports where the owner recorded a crash, a fire, an injury or a death.

at 12,000 miles Richmond Hill, GA Crash 1 injured

POWER TRAIN

THE EVENT HAPPENED IN 2008. PURCHASED PORSCHE GT 3 FROM PORSCHE DEALER IN 2006. ACCELERATING ONTO A LIMITED ACCESS HIGHWAY FROM AN ENTRANCE RAMP THE CAR MADE A VIOLENT FISHTAIL MOVEMENT IN A COUNTERCLOCWISE DIRECTION CAUSING A 180 DEG. SPIN. I TRIED TO CORRECT BUT NO RESPONSE AND THEN APPLIED BRAKES HEAVILY BUT CAR CONTINUED ITS MOVEMENT EVENTUALLY HITTING A CONCRETE BARRIER IN THE RIGHT REAR. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED AND EVENTUALLY TOTALED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY. AT THE IMPACT SITE I DID NOTICE FLUID ON THE ROAD AND ALSO BACK UP THE ROAD. SINCE MY WIFE WAS INJURED AND NEEDED TO BE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL, I WAS MORE FOCUSED ON TENDING TO HER BUT AS I LOOK BACK AND ALSO READING ABOUT THE COOLANT PROBLEMS THIS CAR IS HAVING I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THIS CAR HAD A DISCHARGE OF COOLING FLUID. AS A SIDE NOTE, I DO HOLD A COMPETITION DRIVERS LICENSE WITH THE SCCA AND HAVE COMPETED FOR OVER 30 YEARS AND HAVE OWNED PORSCHES FOR OVER 40 YEARS. I PRESENTLY OWN ANOTHER 2004 GT 3 AND VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. *TR ## VIN FAILED ##

NHTSA complaint #10514243 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 12,000 miles Richmond Hill, GA Crash 1 injured

STRUCTURE:BODY

THE EVENT HAPPENED IN 2008. PURCHASED PORSCHE GT 3 FROM PORSCHE DEALER IN 2006. ACCELERATING ONTO A LIMITED ACCESS HIGHWAY FROM AN ENTRANCE RAMP THE CAR MADE A VIOLENT FISHTAIL MOVEMENT IN A COUNTERCLOCWISE DIRECTION CAUSING A 180 DEG. SPIN. I TRIED TO CORRECT BUT NO RESPONSE AND THEN APPLIED BRAKES HEAVILY BUT CAR CONTINUED ITS MOVEMENT EVENTUALLY HITTING A CONCRETE BARRIER IN THE RIGHT REAR. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED AND EVENTUALLY TOTALED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY. AT THE IMPACT SITE I DID NOTICE FLUID ON THE ROAD AND ALSO BACK UP THE ROAD. SINCE MY WIFE WAS INJURED AND NEEDED TO BE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL, I WAS MORE FOCUSED ON TENDING TO HER BUT AS I LOOK BACK AND ALSO READING ABOUT THE COOLANT PROBLEMS THIS CAR IS HAVING I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THIS CAR HAD A DISCHARGE OF COOLING FLUID. AS A SIDE NOTE, I DO HOLD A COMPETITION DRIVERS LICENSE WITH THE SCCA AND HAVE COMPETED FOR OVER 30 YEARS AND HAVE OWNED PORSCHES FOR OVER 40 YEARS. I PRESENTLY OWN ANOTHER 2004 GT 3 AND VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. *TR ## VIN FAILED ##

NHTSA complaint #10514243 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 12,000 miles Richmond Hill, GA Crash 1 injured

ENGINE

THE EVENT HAPPENED IN 2008. PURCHASED PORSCHE GT 3 FROM PORSCHE DEALER IN 2006. ACCELERATING ONTO A LIMITED ACCESS HIGHWAY FROM AN ENTRANCE RAMP THE CAR MADE A VIOLENT FISHTAIL MOVEMENT IN A COUNTERCLOCWISE DIRECTION CAUSING A 180 DEG. SPIN. I TRIED TO CORRECT BUT NO RESPONSE AND THEN APPLIED BRAKES HEAVILY BUT CAR CONTINUED ITS MOVEMENT EVENTUALLY HITTING A CONCRETE BARRIER IN THE RIGHT REAR. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED AND EVENTUALLY TOTALED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY. AT THE IMPACT SITE I DID NOTICE FLUID ON THE ROAD AND ALSO BACK UP THE ROAD. SINCE MY WIFE WAS INJURED AND NEEDED TO BE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL, I WAS MORE FOCUSED ON TENDING TO HER BUT AS I LOOK BACK AND ALSO READING ABOUT THE COOLANT PROBLEMS THIS CAR IS HAVING I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THIS CAR HAD A DISCHARGE OF COOLING FLUID. AS A SIDE NOTE, I DO HOLD A COMPETITION DRIVERS LICENSE WITH THE SCCA AND HAVE COMPETED FOR OVER 30 YEARS AND HAVE OWNED PORSCHES FOR OVER 40 YEARS. I PRESENTLY OWN ANOTHER 2004 GT 3 AND VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. *TR ## VIN FAILED ##

NHTSA complaint #10514243 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

The most recent complaints

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

Granada Hills, CA

ENGINE

Yesterday as I was driving in freeway, my friend was following me from behind, he noticed smoke and coolant leaking making his car's windshield dirty. So we stopped at gas station and noticed good amount of coolant leakage from underneath which make the back of the car and tires big mess. I noticed, before my friend's call, the handling and grip of the car was little off, I didn't know why but then I realized leaking made the tires slippery. Tow the car to my house and just wanted to report this. It seems lot of people complain about this issue when I started reading about it last night.

NHTSA complaint #11457590 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 40,000 miles Tracy, CA

ENGINE

THE M96 MOTOR SUPPLIED WITH THIS VEHICLE LINE HAS HAD THE FOLLOWING PROBLEMS. ENGINE BLOCK LEAKS THE BLOCK IS POROUS. RESLEEVED CYLINDERS WERE MAKER FIX ,THE SLEEVES MOVED CAUSING ENGINE DESTRUCTION. A MAIN CRANKSHAFT BEARING WAS DESIGNED OUT. ALLOWING THE CRANKSHAFT TO MOVE FRT TO BACK AND WITH GRAVITY CAUSING A FAILURE OF THE REAR MAIN SEAL COULD NOT FIX IF CRANK HAD MOVED MORE THAN A FEW DEGREES FROM ORIG SPEC.PRIMARY PROBLEM IMS( INTERMEDIATE SHAFT) FAILURE. RESULT, COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF MOTOR. NO FIX FROM MANUFACTURE. AFTER MARKET ONLY SUPPLY. OVER TEN THOUSAND AFTER MARKET REPAIRS DONE.CONSERVATIVE APX COST $,3000 I HAVE MUCH MORE EVIDENCE.

NHTSA complaint #10547657 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 17,042 miles Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

ENGINE

MY GT3 HAS COOLING PIPE ON THE ENGINE EXTERNAL TO THE BLOCK. I HAVE READ THIS IS A SYSTEMIC ISSUE WITH THE ENGINE USED IN GT3 AND TURBOS (METZGER MOTOR). A FITTING COMES LOOSE DUE TO ADHESIVE FAILURE RESULTING I LOSS OF ALL OR MOST OF THE COOLANT FLUID. THE REPAIR REQUIRES ENGINE REMOVAL AND REPAIR OF THE FITTINGS. THERE IS SOME ISSUE AS TO THE PROPER OR BEST REPAIR APPROACH. WHAT IS KNOW IS THAT THE ADHESIVE FAILURE IS ALMOST SURE TO OCCUR. I HAVE BEEN LUCKY AS I HAVE FEW MILES ON MY VEHICLE AND HAVE NOT YET EXPERIENCED THIS FAILURE, BUT VERY CONCERNED THIS WILL OCCUR AND THE SUDDEN LOSS OF COOLANT FLUID WILL MOST LIKE RESULT IN A SPINOUT OR CRASH. EVEN IF NO ACCIDENT WERE TO RESULT, I AM OUT OF NORMAL WARRANTY, THIS FAILURE WILL SET ME BACK $1500-2000. I HAVE FOLLOWED REPORTS OF THE NUMEROUS FAILURES OF THESE FITTINGS ON 6SPEEDONLINE.COM. AS I HAVE NOT YET HAD A FAILURE, I STILL WANT TO REGISTER MY CONCERN SHOULD THERE BE A NHTSA DIRECTED RECALL TO PORSCHE.

NHTSA complaint #10546931 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 12,000 miles Richmond Hill, GA Crash 1 injured

POWER TRAIN

THE EVENT HAPPENED IN 2008. PURCHASED PORSCHE GT 3 FROM PORSCHE DEALER IN 2006. ACCELERATING ONTO A LIMITED ACCESS HIGHWAY FROM AN ENTRANCE RAMP THE CAR MADE A VIOLENT FISHTAIL MOVEMENT IN A COUNTERCLOCWISE DIRECTION CAUSING A 180 DEG. SPIN. I TRIED TO CORRECT BUT NO RESPONSE AND THEN APPLIED BRAKES HEAVILY BUT CAR CONTINUED ITS MOVEMENT EVENTUALLY HITTING A CONCRETE BARRIER IN THE RIGHT REAR. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED AND EVENTUALLY TOTALED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY. AT THE IMPACT SITE I DID NOTICE FLUID ON THE ROAD AND ALSO BACK UP THE ROAD. SINCE MY WIFE WAS INJURED AND NEEDED TO BE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL, I WAS MORE FOCUSED ON TENDING TO HER BUT AS I LOOK BACK AND ALSO READING ABOUT THE COOLANT PROBLEMS THIS CAR IS HAVING I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THIS CAR HAD A DISCHARGE OF COOLING FLUID. AS A SIDE NOTE, I DO HOLD A COMPETITION DRIVERS LICENSE WITH THE SCCA AND HAVE COMPETED FOR OVER 30 YEARS AND HAVE OWNED PORSCHES FOR OVER 40 YEARS. I PRESENTLY OWN ANOTHER 2004 GT 3 AND VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. *TR ## VIN FAILED ##

NHTSA complaint #10514243 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 12,000 miles Richmond Hill, GA Crash 1 injured

STRUCTURE:BODY

THE EVENT HAPPENED IN 2008. PURCHASED PORSCHE GT 3 FROM PORSCHE DEALER IN 2006. ACCELERATING ONTO A LIMITED ACCESS HIGHWAY FROM AN ENTRANCE RAMP THE CAR MADE A VIOLENT FISHTAIL MOVEMENT IN A COUNTERCLOCWISE DIRECTION CAUSING A 180 DEG. SPIN. I TRIED TO CORRECT BUT NO RESPONSE AND THEN APPLIED BRAKES HEAVILY BUT CAR CONTINUED ITS MOVEMENT EVENTUALLY HITTING A CONCRETE BARRIER IN THE RIGHT REAR. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED AND EVENTUALLY TOTALED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY. AT THE IMPACT SITE I DID NOTICE FLUID ON THE ROAD AND ALSO BACK UP THE ROAD. SINCE MY WIFE WAS INJURED AND NEEDED TO BE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL, I WAS MORE FOCUSED ON TENDING TO HER BUT AS I LOOK BACK AND ALSO READING ABOUT THE COOLANT PROBLEMS THIS CAR IS HAVING I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THIS CAR HAD A DISCHARGE OF COOLING FLUID. AS A SIDE NOTE, I DO HOLD A COMPETITION DRIVERS LICENSE WITH THE SCCA AND HAVE COMPETED FOR OVER 30 YEARS AND HAVE OWNED PORSCHES FOR OVER 40 YEARS. I PRESENTLY OWN ANOTHER 2004 GT 3 AND VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. *TR ## VIN FAILED ##

NHTSA complaint #10514243 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 12,000 miles Richmond Hill, GA Crash 1 injured

ENGINE

THE EVENT HAPPENED IN 2008. PURCHASED PORSCHE GT 3 FROM PORSCHE DEALER IN 2006. ACCELERATING ONTO A LIMITED ACCESS HIGHWAY FROM AN ENTRANCE RAMP THE CAR MADE A VIOLENT FISHTAIL MOVEMENT IN A COUNTERCLOCWISE DIRECTION CAUSING A 180 DEG. SPIN. I TRIED TO CORRECT BUT NO RESPONSE AND THEN APPLIED BRAKES HEAVILY BUT CAR CONTINUED ITS MOVEMENT EVENTUALLY HITTING A CONCRETE BARRIER IN THE RIGHT REAR. THE CAR HAD TO BE TOWED AND EVENTUALLY TOTALED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY. AT THE IMPACT SITE I DID NOTICE FLUID ON THE ROAD AND ALSO BACK UP THE ROAD. SINCE MY WIFE WAS INJURED AND NEEDED TO BE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL, I WAS MORE FOCUSED ON TENDING TO HER BUT AS I LOOK BACK AND ALSO READING ABOUT THE COOLANT PROBLEMS THIS CAR IS HAVING I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THIS CAR HAD A DISCHARGE OF COOLING FLUID. AS A SIDE NOTE, I DO HOLD A COMPETITION DRIVERS LICENSE WITH THE SCCA AND HAVE COMPETED FOR OVER 30 YEARS AND HAVE OWNED PORSCHES FOR OVER 40 YEARS. I PRESENTLY OWN ANOTHER 2004 GT 3 AND VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. *TR ## VIN FAILED ##

NHTSA complaint #10514243 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 15,000 miles Southern Pines, NC

ENGINE

THE ABOVE CAR HAS A FACTORY WATER COOLING SYSTEM THAT INVOLVES ALUMINUM PIPING THAT IS EPOXIED INTO THE BLOCK AFTER APPROXIMATELY 24 MONTHS OF USE THE EPOXY FAILS AND ALL THE COOLANT IS EVACUATED FROM THE SYSTEM ALL OVER THE ENGINE AND THE GROUND THE MOTOR COULD SEIZE AND THE COOLANT ON THE ROAD IN THAT VOLUME CREATES A DANGEROUS SITUATION FOR OTHER DRIVERS.THE EPOXY FIX OFFERED BY PORSCHE FAILED 3 TIMES FOR ME (TWICE MORE SUBSEQUENTLY)UNTIL I HAD A SHOP WELD THE ALUMINUM PIPES TO THE BLOCK. *TR ## VIN FAILED ##

NHTSA complaint #10510434 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 21,000 miles Mahwah, NJ

ENGINE

THE COOLANT LINES ARE GLUED IN BY FACTORY TO SAVE COSTS. HOWEVER THE GLUE IS FAILING AND THE COOLANT LINES POP OUT AND ANTI FREEZE IS DUMPED EVERYWHERE CAUSING AN UNSAFE CONDITION . PORSCHE IS AWARE OF THEIR PROBLEM BUT DOING MOTHING ABOUT RECALLING OLDER CARS TO BE REPAIRED. I PAID TO REPAIR MY CAR INDEPENDENTLY BUT PORSCHE OWNERS ARE BEING ENCOURAGED TO REPORT THIS SAFERY ISSUE.

NHTSA complaint #10491708 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 41,666 miles Florham Park, NJ

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

TRAVELING AT A SPEED OF 30 MILES PER HOUR AT A LOW RPM, I HEARD A LOUD GRINDING NOISE UNDERNEATH THE CAR. INITIALLY I THOUGHT ROAD DEBRIS WAS CAUGHT UNDERNEATH THE CAR AND I WAS DRAGGING IT ALONG WHILE DRIVING. I QUICKLY TURNED THE CAR TO THE RIGHT OFF THE ROAD AND TURNED THE MOTOR OFF. UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE I NOTICED ALL OF THE ENGINE'S OIL SPEWING OUT FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE ENGINE. I CONTACTED MY INSURANCE COMPANY AND ARRANGED FOR A TOW VEHICLE. I THOUGHT AN OBJECT STRUCK THE UNDERCARRIAGE OF MY CAR. THE CAR WAS INSPECTED BY MY INSURANCE COMPANY AND DETERMINED TO BE A COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE. NO EVIDENCE OF A ROAD HAZARD PERFORATING THE ENGINE WAS SEEN. SINCE I FILED THIS LETTER I HAVE LEARNED THAT MY ENGINE SUFFERED AN INTERMEDIATE SHAFT FAILURE. THIS IS A DEFECT IN THE M96 PORSCHE ENGINES (1999-2009). THIS DEFECT OCCURS IN WATER COOLED PORSCHE ENGINES. PORSCHE MOTOR COMPANY DENIES RESPONSIBILITY IN THESE VEHICLES BUT RECOGNIZES THAT ENGINE FAILURE DO OCCUR. I HAVE ACCURATE RECORDS WITH THE COST OF THE REPAIR. HOW CAN AN AUTOMOBILE COMPANY RECOGNIZE THAT A DEFECT EXISTS BUT WILL NOT ISSUE OR BE RESPONSIBLE FOR REPAIRS? THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP. UPDATED 09/12/11

NHTSA complaint #10423709 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

at 12,000 miles SAN Diego, CA

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

DRIVING ON FREEWAY WHEN HEARD A WEIRD NOISE FROM THE BACK OF THE CAR AND A MESSAGE IN RED CAME UP ON THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, LOST POWER TO ENGINE, PULLED OVER AND OIL LEAKING FROM ENGINE. ENGINE COMPLETELY DESTROYED DUE TO IMS FAILURE. ENGINE WAS REPLACED WITH RE-MANUFACTURED ENGINE BY DEALER.

NHTSA complaint #10413968 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.