Owners have filed 67 complaints on the Porsche 911, covering 1990–2014. The system named most often is Engine (32 reports). Worst years by volume: 2007, 1999, 1995; cleanest: 1990, 1991, 1996. 3 reports describe a crash. On average the car was 7.1 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Porsche 911
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 67 911 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine 32 Read
Coolant leaking from a flange on top of the engine (rear engined car) caused rear tires to get wet and lose grip while driving on the street. Porsche dealer fixed the problem under warranty. Apparently this is a common issue with 2002-2012 porsche turbo, gt2, and gt3 cars
I had a known issue of coolant leak with a hosing/fitting fail on my engine. The fitting or glue/epoxy came lose causing a massive leak of coolant. The car had to be towed an extensive distance for repairs and repair was very costly for a part that was only $300. To prevent it from happening again, I had the dealer…
I had to pay thousands of dollars to have the coolant lines secured into the engine of my car. This car has a known fault in where the coolant lines come unsecured from the vehicle, dumping all coolant within seconds. Not only does this overheat the engine, but slippery coolant all over the rear tires of a vehicle…
Engine And Engine Cooling 9 Read
Cooling fitting failure on porsche 911 gt3 rs 2007 with glued in fittings
My car began leaking coolant. After towing my car to the repair shop I was told my metal coolant fittings are held in with epoxy and one of them had failed. To repair this is a $6000.00 job. After calling the dealer I found out this is a fairly common problem but that porsche is unwilling to do anything to help the…
The contact owns a 2007 porsche 911 turbo. The contact stated that antifreeze leaked into the engine and the entire under-carriage. The vehicle had neither been diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 46,000. ..updated 08-07-13 *bf the consumer…
Electrical System 5 Read
The car battery exploded when I turned the ignition key. The car is always parked in the garage when not in use. As the car has very low mileage, about $15k miles over a period of ten years, and I am the original owner. When the car was not in use the car was connected to a smart charger, manufactured and recommended…
Need kit to solve airbag problem. *bf the air bag warning light had come on and did so each time the vehicle was in motion. The consumer was informed that the seat belts had come in contact with the wiring and a kit was needed to solve the problem. (vehicle model/ porsche 996 c2)
Consumer states: vehicle doors unlock and windows roll down automatically without being touched. The vehicle does this whether keys are in the ignition or not. Dealer installed new drivers door key switch assembly at the consumers expense
Air Bags 4 Read
Car was struck on left side, just forward of the passenger compartment by a large vehicle traveling approx. 55mph. Car was severely damaged and driver suffered head trauma. Side air bag failed to deploy. No airbags deployed
The contact owns a 1999 porsche 911. Upon starting the vehicle, the SRS indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to porsche of arlington (3100 jefferson davis hwy, arlington, va 22202). The contact did not know the diagnosis results; however, the seat belts were replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure…
Airbag warning light came on and remained on, dealer replaced airbag unit, still comes on while driving
Wheels 2 Read
Was leaving freeway and went to hit the brakes and had no traction. Had smelled a liquid, which in retrospect seems to have been coolant. Missed hitting other vehicles, but the car was in a single car accident - vehicle damage was excessive and the car is not repairable. I was seriously injured with multiple broken…
Coolant hose coupling came lose while driving the vehicle at speed, resulting in loss of all engine coolant. Coolant spilled resulted in temporary reduction of vehicle traction, fortunately without incident. Engine damage due to possible overheating is under investigation
Steering 2 Read
"permanent" coolant hose attachment failed; it came loose from its mounting in the engine resulting in coolant sprayed onto tire, with complete loss of control during a turn , including 270 degree spin, and leaving roadway; fortunately no other vehicles were nearby, so a collision was avoided. Apparently, this is not…
I was driving on a 16 lane major highway in toronto in the express lanes at 70 mph. Without warning the engine lost all power and stalled. The check engine light was flashing. It was difficult to stop safely since the power steering and power brakes were not functioning with the engine stopped. It would not restart…
Power Train 2 Read
Cause of problem is due to clutch master slave cylinder internal leak. Premature failure of slave cylinder. Clutch paddle was depress and will not return fully. Few days later, clutch paddle would stay put on the floor of the car. Check out the blog and it is a very common premature failure for this typical model…
I am concerned that this coolant hose issue will effect my car and cause a safety hazard. I feel that there should be a recall from porsche to fix this. I understand that the engine coolant hose is glued on using epoxy instead of welded or threaded. Also, I don't want to have to shell out $3.5k to fix this should it…
Tires 2 Read
Driving gently at 50mph down a smooth road the tire suddenly deflated; I pulled over to swap it out for the spare. On examination of the tire the inner side wall delaminated in 2 places, I could find no reason for the failure. There are no screws or nails or other damage that would explain why it deflated other than…
This is the second time this brand of tire has slipped off the wheel while on the Highway at 55 miles an hour or better. It put me as the driver at severe risk and the car has been damaged twice now. The tire size is Continentals Sport Plus 265/35 ZR 18. They were like new with little mileage. This is a collector item…
911 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Unknown Or Other | — | — | |
| 2007 | Engine | 1 | — | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2000 | Electrical System,equipment | — | — | |
| 1999 | Air Bags,seat Belts | — | — | |
| 1998 | Exterior Lighting | — | — | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 1996 | Structure | — | — | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 1991 | Engine | — | — | |
| 1990 | Structure | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 45 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.5 |
| Worst single series | 4 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 7.1 years |
A model average of 1.5 hides a worst series at 4. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the 911?
By complaint volume, 2007, 1999, 1995 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which 911 years are the cleanest?
1990, 1991, 1996 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Porsche 911 have?
67 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1990–2014. Of those, 3 describe a crash and 0 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.