Porsche Services
Best Maintenance Tips That Every Porsche Owner Must Know
Even the best of cars are not entirely immune to damages and regular wear and tear. Every single vehicle, especially an exclusive, luxury ride like a Porsche, is like an investment. Therefore, it is essential that you carry out regular maintenance and checkups to maintain its overall value. Luckily, taking good care of your vehicle is straightforward; you just have to look out for some telltale signs. Here are a few telltale signs and maintenance tips that will help you keep your Porsche in top-notch condition for a very long time.
Car Battery
The battery of your vehicle plays an integral role in its operations. Powering all the electrical components, especially the starter, is an integral part of the engine. A weak battery can leave you unable to use your Porsche; if and when this happens during winters, it could pose a real danger to your health as well. This is why you should always watch out for certain warning signs that can tell your vehicle’s battery is nearing its end.
The following are some of the signs you should watch out for:
Dim headlights
A weak battery will not provide the necessary power that is needed to source power to your car’s headlights. This causes headlights to shine less brightly than usual, which is dangerous for people driving during the night.
Slow start/clicking noise
Any well-functioning battery will start the vehicle in just an instance. However, if you hear any clicking sounds or any form of delays during the starting process, it can indicate faulty batteries in your Porsche.
Heavily coated/corroded battery
Battery acid can often seep out of connection points, leading to a build-up on the battery’s top. Wiping away the corrosion might work for some time but will cause disruptions in your car’s battery life. Its optimal voltage will weaken eventually, which is why it is crucial to take off the coated car battery to ensure the efficient working of your vehicle.
Car does not start
Your car is designed to start by just engaging the ignition. With several tries, your car might successfully start working, but it might imply some sort of an issue with its starter. Inability to start your vehicle indicates the need for a battery change.
Engine Backfire
When nearing its end, your car’s battery can create some sparks that can cause fuel to be collected in the cylinders of your engine. Sometimes, the ignition of this fuel can cause your vehicle to backfire. It is essential that you get this problem diagnosed and fixed as soon as possible.
Low Brake Fluid
As you drive your vehicle, you must be aware of the way it moves. Brake fluid is one of the most integral aspects of your vehicular movement. It helps brakes function smoothly, as and when required. When the driver steps foot on the brake pedals, fluid is released into the lines, and as it enters the lines, the brake pads clamp onto the motor, causing the car to stop. However, there are a few signs to check if your vehicle is low on brake fluid levels and is not stopping right.
Check reservoir
You should start by checking your brake pad reservoirs present in the engine bay. You should review the overall level of the brake fluid to ensure its level is between maximum and minimum. You should also check the color of the fluid. The color must be translucent and not cloudy or dark.
Worn or lower brake pads
Brake pads that are lower than usual and look worn out take in more air than they should in their hydraulic system. This causes them to take in less pressure. Brake fluid is necessary to supply appropriate pressure to the brake pads. With less pressure, more brake fluid can be released than needed, which brings the car to stop. This directly means that your car brake pads need replacement.
Brake fluid leaking
The most integral part of your brake system is the master cylinder, which boosts your brake’s performance to release the brake fluid further. The leakage can be caused because of any part of your Porsche being damaged, namely the bleeder valve, master cylinder, wheel cylinder, piston seal, or anything else.
Brown/Black brake fluid
The color of your brake fluid must at all times be clear and not cloudy, brown, or black. If it appears black/brown, it means it is contaminated and has a lot of moisture. With moisture or contamination, the system will lack a lot of pressure and use more brake fluid than it usually would. It can be caused because of natural aging, weakened rubber lines, or just normal heating.
Metal Shavings In Your Porsche's Oil
It is not uncommon to find metal shavings in your Porsche's oil. Over time, this can happen and disappoint a lot of owners of this luxury car since it does excel in terms of reputation. Metal shavings, if not removed, can potentially damage your vehicle’s engine and its overall performance.
The damage metal shavings can do
Porsche is a performance car; the engine in your vehicle plays an integral role in ensuring the same. However, if there are metal shavings in your Porsche’s oil, your car’s engine performance will be compromised. The engine oil will go through the engine as and when it runs, and with that, metal shavings will also move. This will lead to metal shearing off of your vehicle’s parts, further damaging your car’s engine.
The more metal shavings in your Porsche’s engine, the more poorly the oil will be circulated around in your car, which leads to poor lubrication of the engine and its moving parts. In a worse situation, your car’s engine might get to a point where the oil will not be able to circulate around, causing excessive friction. In such a case, it will result in overheating.
It goes without saying, overheating is extremely dangerous and can easily degenerate into engine breakdown and complete failure. This can also pose a safety hazard to you and your Porsche.
Causes of metal shavings in your Porsche’s oil
There are several reasons why your Porsche’s oil contains metal shavings -
Dirty oil
If your vehicle’s oil is contaminated, it could damage many of its high-grade parts and can cause plenty of problems in the long run. The particles in dirty oil can cause friction instead of lubricating the car’s engine. This friction is what can produce metal shavings that will find their way into your Porsche’s oil. If left unaddressed, the damage it accumulates over time can lead to significant repairs, which will end up costing you a lot more.
Normal wear and tear
Another way metal shavings can be found in your car’s oil is because of natural wear and tear. Over time, mechanical stress on your car’s engine and the motor parts can cause metal shavings to accumulate in the parts. This can also cause similarly negative effects on the performance of your Porsche’s engine and its health. A regular oil change is therefore extremely important.
Poor maintenance
Speaking of oil change, they need to be a part of your regular Porsche maintenance cycle. If not done regularly, your car might not deliver the great performance it is meant to. If you neglect your car’s oil change schedule, its performance will suffer, and metal shavings will start building up and cause engine problems discussed before. If left unmanaged, these issues will start to pile up and potentially lead to more damaging effects on your Porsche.
Engine Heating
The inner workings of your automobile are dependent on the overall health of your engine. The engine is the most important component of your vehicle. When something goes wrong with your Porsche’s engine, it can be pretty alarming and can bring your life to a full stop.
Often, we only discover that there is something wrong with our car’s engine when situations become extremely dire. In the case where your Porsche’s engine is overheating, you might even see some smoke coming out from under the hood.
Your Porsche is just too valuable to let your engine be destroyed this way. It is essential that you know what you can do to try and mitigate all the effects of an overheated engine before it gets too late or your engine will shut down and fail completely.
How can you tell if your Porsche engine is overheating?
There are usually a few telltale signs that can hint your Porsche engine is overheating. The driver usually measures the first sign since the overall temperature will become almost unbearable. The first thing you should be checking is the coolant level of your vehicle. Proper coolant levels must be maintained at all times to increase the overall lifespan of your car. If it gets really low, your car’s engine is in trouble.
You should also watch all the belts and hoses connected to the engine to ensure there are no punctures and cracks in them. The intensity of high temperatures these parts endure is incredible, and they are easily prone to breaking down and stressing out your Porsche’s engine.
The water pump also plays an integral role in your car’s engine performance. Without it, your engine would be far more prone to leakage and overheating. All these parts require maintenance on a regular basis. While it can be a little annoying to have to pay extra on repairs of these parts, it will be just pennies compared to thousands of dollars you could potentially lose if you had to replace your Porsche engine entirely.
Preventing your engine from overheating
Usually, if you are able to keep up with the regular maintenance and tune-up of your Porsche, you do not have a lot to worry about your Porsche’s engine. Regular maintenance and checkups go a long way to ensure no long-term problems occur under your Porsche’s hood.
However, there are a few more things you can do to help prepare yourself in the event of your engine overheating. Ensure you equip yourself with a stash of antifreeze or coolant in a separate jug of water in cases where there is engine trouble on the road. If you have a habit of running your air conditioning regularly, you should probably want to give it some rest every once in a while since it can easily stress your engine. You do not want your replacement bill to heat your brain!
If you notice that your car’s temperature gauge is warning you about a possible overheating issue, it is advisable to pull over and turn your vehicle off as soon as it is safe. When you feel that your car engine is cooled down, you should proceed to check your coolant tank and ensure that there is no leakage underneath the Porsche.
Wheel alignment
Wheel alignment service is like an adjustment for your vehicle’s suspension. When a technician aligns the tires on your Porsche, they are trying to adjust the overall angles of your wheels so they can be fully perpendicular to the ground and completely parallel to each other. This ensures that the tires provide maximum traction. Wheel alignment services will also check for any ball joints or any worn bearings in your vehicle before you can get back on the road.
When you bring in your vehicle for a wheel alignment service, your Porsche repair and service technician will ensure that your vehicle’s front wheel’s caster, camber, and toe angles are all matching your model’s specifications. The specification-matching is essential to achieve optimal straight-line durability, steering wheel returnability, minimal tire wear, and cornering performance.
Do you need a wheel alignment?
Here are some warning signs that your Porsche is asking for a wheel alignment as soon as possible:
Your vehicle is pulling to one side
Underinflated tires can cause your Porsche to pull to one side. However, if your tire pressure is looking good, you might need to get your wheels realigned.
Uneven tire wearing
This is one of the biggest telltale signs of your wheels not being aligned properly. They are not able to put uniform pressure on the tire surface. In such cases, wheel alignment services can be necessary.
Wobbling at higher speeds
Your vehicle might be struggling to stay the course since your wheels might be pulling your vehicle in entirely opposite directions. If this is happening to you at higher speeds, your wheels are misaligned.
Adjusting your steering to drive straighter
If you find yourself constantly adjusting your steering wheel to drive in a straight line, your Porsche might need a realignment service.
How often is tire alignment necessary?
You should go in for a Porsche’s wheel alignment service every 6,000 miles. If you frequently go across rough pavements or unpaved roads, you would want to schedule your appointment with Porsche Motor Car Services even regularly.
If you notice any of the abovementioned signs, you should definitely go for a wheel alignment service.
Maintain your Porsche to avoid any issues
Maintenance is vital if you want to avoid altogether dealing with any form of future damages, high repair costs, and all the headache that goes into getting your luxurious ride all prepped up for your next trip.
Schedule a regular maintenance service for your Porsche and bring it in for an expert to inspect it instead of doing all the guesswork yourself. Bring it to the best guys you know - Porsche Motor Car Services.