981 Cayman rattle from dashboard area

[SimonOcean]

Just a quick FYI for 981 owners.

I had a faint but persistent rattle from the front drivers side of the car that sounded deep inside the dashboard. I think someone else on here reported a shock absorber top mount that needed replacing. My dealer just diagnosed exactly the same problem, replaced the top mount and the rattle is gone. It was quite an easy fix and thankfully avoided the technicians undoing the dashboard itself. I was fearful that doing that could end up causing more gremlins. So just saying, if your car develops this problem, it may be worth suggesting that they check the suspension mount before doing anything else.

[mc_blue]

Thanks for the update - thankfully haven't experienced this yet. How is your 981 running otherwise?

[Ozzie Osmond]

I had the same rattle - swiftly sorted by the dealership during early weeks of ownership. The car (Boxster) is absolutely excellent - although I detest the ghastly electric parking brake system. Maybe it's less hassle with PDK and a spare foot for the brake pedal....

[SimonOcean]

mc_blue said:

How is your 981 running otherwise?

Terrific. In terms of reliability, everything else is faultless so far. In terms of the drive: really enjoying it. I've owned a few more powerful Porsche's before and more powerful cars in general, but I am enjoying the delicacy of the car's handling. My car has PTV and I do notice more eager turn in compared to cars without that option. It is playful and fun. And it also rewards delicate inputs. It is practical for two people too, with the front and rear trunks.

Negatives:
- Could do with more power. It is an S, so it is quicker than most things on the road and the torque is good but the chassis can easily deal with more power and it would be nice to have a bit more.
- Road rumble / noise is very high, even compared to 997s and 996s. I am on 20" wheels so I suppose that is my fault to some extent and it would be more serene on 19" wheels. Maybe the small cabin accentuates the rumble.
- The sport chrono clock is not reflecting too bad (it reflected terribly on a Panamera that I borrowed while my car was in the workshop), but the silver ventilation trim on the dashboard reflects a bit on the windscreen.
- My car is a manual and I initially found the electric parking brake a pain. However I am getting more used to it and undoubtedly it does tidy up the centre console. The "auto hold" function is very useful as I live on a hill and always have to stop near the crest of the hill before pulling out onto a main road. This works surprisingly well. Agree with the other poster that this would be less of an issue on a PDK car.
- PCM is a bit quirky... after switching the radio off and leaving the car, when I return and restart the car the radio always switches back on. Things like that.

As you can see the negatives are (with the exception of road rumble) scraping the barrel. It is a great car.

One aspect that positively surprises is how much I am getting on with the electric steering. At first (on test drives) I missed the jiggle you got from the previous generation cars. But then the car tracks so neutrally and steers so accurately, quickly and sweetly that I soon got over that. A bit less playful? Yes, but it is still plenty playful enough.

[SimonOcean]

Ozzie Osmond said:

...although I detest the ghastly electric parking brake system. Maybe it's less hassle with PDK and a spare foot for the brake pedal....

I think that if they had positioned the parking brake just behind the gear shift, like on the Macan, that it electric parking brake would be less of a pain and slightly more intuitive.

[Ozzie Osmond]

SimonOcean said:

- PCM is a bit quirky... after switching the radio off and leaving the car, when I return and restart the car the radio always switches back on. Things like that.

You are absolutely right. And to add more joy, the parking sensor display won't illuminate unless the radio is switched on!

I eventually got around these issues by stopping use of the "off" switch completely. Now I just switch to "Aux" instead which is an empty input on my Bose. Problem solved - Permanently silent stereo and parking sensors fully functional - but it seems a pretty daft way to have designed the system.