Things are looking up for the Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet after last month’s service. But there’s still the issue of that CD player…
| Driver's Log | |
|---|---|
| Date acquired: | Oct 2012 |
| Total kilometres: | 106,000 |
| Kilometres this month: | 2000 |
| Costs this month: | $0 |
| L/100km this month: | 16.0 |
Well I’m pleased to say that this month has been a little less eventful. After last month’s servicing, windscreen etc. the car has settled back into the daily grind just fine. Well, when I say ‘just fine’ I mean ‘almost’ fine.
It can hardly be a surprise that a car which spends its life in the extremes of the desert summer won’t develop problems here and there. The latest appeared while I was on my way to Abu Dhabi one day and pulled in at a petrol station for a bite of lunch. The 911 Turbo was left outside in the sun for half an hour or so and when I returned it fired up fine but a warning appeared on the dashboard ‘Failure of engine comp. blower’.
So the following day I dropped into the Porsche Service Centre and they had a look at it for me. When you lift the tail lid on the car there is a blower fan attached to the underside of it which runs to cool the engine bay. A quick check by Porsche confirmed the blower fan wasn’t working and so they asked me to book it in. Thankfully they told me it was fine to use the car in the meantime as the blower only cools the engine bay, and doesn’t have a bearing on keeping the engine itself cool, and seeing as the first appointment I could get was five weeks away then I would have been struggling otherwise. As usual the inevitable question of the cost arose but again I was told this would be a warranty covered fix and won’t cost me anything, which continues to reinforce my decision for the initial outlay for the extended warranty.
In addition to the blower I am receiving a warning on the PCM unit telling me there is a connection problem with the CD changer. There is a CD changer in the car as it was there when I bought it but I have never used it as I have the iPod connection fitted. However there must be a loose connection somewhere meaning the head unit is not getting a signal from the changer. I chatted to Porsche when in for the blower and asked if the changer could just be removed, but was told that as I have a warranty I should just get this fixed at the same time as the blower, so that will also be looked at.
As the car has had a bit of a rough few weeks I thought it time to lavish some TLC on it so I spent an enjoyable afternoon scrubbing inside and out to get it gleaming again. A full wash, polish and interior scrub have it back to looking its best. I’m not sure if this is a western thing or not, cleaning your own car because it certainly doesn’t appear to be the norm in the land of extravagances that Dubai is, but it is something that I always did back home in Scotland come a Sunday afternoon, wash the cars, and I still enjoy doing it. I find there is something extremely satisfying about spending a few hours giving the car a once over and the feeling of accomplishment when complete, and you stand back to admire the elbow grease you’ve put in. More satisfying than spending 20 minutes in a waiting room at the petrol station while someone else cleans the car anyway.
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