Porsche gives GT3 owners extra year of warranty, new engines in production April 22

Sat, 12 Apr 2014

While the auto industry reels from massive recall after massive recall, Porsche has quietly been working on a fix for an issue that's forced owners of the new 911 GT3 to park their track-ready rockets for fear of an engine fire. Thanks to a leaked letter from Porsche to a GT3 owner (which has been certified as real), we now have an idea of just where the German brand is at with the fix.

On April 22, Porsche will begin production of a new batch of GT3 engines for the 785 affected models across the globe. As you'll recall, the original issue rested with a screw joint that could loosen the connecting rod. The new engines have an "optimized piston rod screw connection," that should keep the connecting rod in place. Once technical validations are completed, production will kick off and new powerplants will be shipped around the globe for owners of the troubled cars.

Porsche will hand out a certificate to owners of affected cars once repairs have been completed, as a means of documenting the work. To make up for the trouble, Porsche will be giving owners an extra year on their new-vehicle warranty, while the 911 GT3 concierge will be reaching out to compensate them for having to park their car for so long.

Take a look at the letter below. And if you happen to be a 911 GT3 owner, congratulations, hopefully you'll be driving your car soon.

Dear Mr. [REDACTED]: I am writing as promised to inform you about the current status of our solution to the issue with the Porsche 911 GT3 model you have purchased. We are aware that you are currently faced with an unsatisfactory situation. As a Porsche customer, you rightfully expect excellence in product and service performance. This particularly applies to you as a GT3 customer, as a brand ambassador with a shared passion for Porsche. We are in the final phase of logistics planning and technical validation for the optimized piston rod screw connection and we will start production of the new engines the week of April 22nd. These engines will be distributed worldwide for installation in all 991-generation GT3 models built to date. As soon as the new engine for your Porsche 911 GT3 is available, we will make contact with you again to make specific arrangements. Please be assured that we will document the installation of the new engine into your vehicle and will provide you with a certificate to this effect. Furthermore, as a gesture of our appreciation for your loyalty to Porsche, we will apply an additional 12-month Porsche Approved warranty to your 991 GT3 which will commence upon the expiration of the normal Porsche New Vehicle Limited Warranty. Additionally, we wish to compensate you for your inability to drive your GT3 during this time. Our GT3 Concierge will be in touch with you shortly to discuss the specifics and will also be at your service for any other individual assistance you may need. I apologize once again for the inconvenience caused by this issue and thank you for your patience. Yours sincerely, Tim Quinn Vice President, AfterSales Porsche Cars North America, Inc. Please do not reply to this e-mail. If you have questions, please contact 1-800-PORSCHE. Please read our privacy policy. If you would rather not receive future e-mails from Porsche Cars North America, Inc., please contact 1-800-PORSCHE, or use the manage subscriptions link at bottom. © 2014 Porsche Cars North America, Inc. Legal notice www.porscheusa.com.

By Brandon Turkus