Novice Cayman Owner Needs Advice

[Amit]

I am reasonably knowledgeable about cars but have never owned a Porsche until 3 months ago.  It is a 2010 Cayman S.  I bought it with only 6000 miles on it.  Now I have about 9600 miles and a "Service Now" message has come up on the Instrument Cluster.  I also own a Mercedes and a BMW and those cars usually have slightly more descriptive messages, such as "Service A" or "Service B" or "Oil Change".  So you have some idea of what the car is telling you to do.  What's with this cryptic "Service Now" message?  What service is it asking me to do?  I can take it to the dealer, but I would like to educate myself a little bit before going there.  The owner's manual seems to suggest that an oil change needs to be done at 10,000 miles but I am not sure that is what the car is telling me to do.  Any explanations/lectures welcome.  I am looking to become a little more knowledgeable about the car.  Thanks in advance.

[Beanoir™]

Hi Amit, 

 

Sounds like just the 10k mile oil change to me.  Might be some other time based items that need to be done also.  

 

What is the service history of the car? When was the last one?

[duncan]

On a 2010 car the service schedule is based on miles (20,000 mile intervals) or an equivalence of every 2 years, whichever comes first. As your car has only done 9000 miles then it should have been time based, this is what the factory schedule is / was.

2010 car purchased new.

2012: anniversary of purchase, Minor service - oil & filter change, cabin filter change, plus really should change brake fluid. Car still under Porsche warranty.

2013: anniversary of purchase, car drops out of warranty.

2014: anniversary of purchase, Major service, as minor service plus engine air filter and spark plugs, plus really should change brake fluid.

2016: anniversary of purchase, Minor service and change poly rib drive belt, again really should change brake fluids.

And then continue to repeat in that fashion. All the services should include a check that the lights, doors, washers, etc, etc work, why the brake fluid change isn't included but is an option is, to me at least, a mystery.

Whether at 9000 miles a plug change is necessary I will leave to you, were the plugs being changed on mileage then it would be at 40,000 miles, I.e 'failure' expected after 40,000 but before 60,000 miles.

Some independent garages also recommend changing the coolant every 3 years.

As suggested above, check your service records (book and receipts), it maybe that because of the minimal miles or perhaps an oil change only on say, change of ownership your car has become out of sync with the OEM schedule.

The service light needs either dealer electronics or a specialised code reader to reset it, on the basis that a previous owner wasn't driving around with the warning and warning light showing I would assume that a non standard service was done almost 2 years ago.

[Amit]

Beanoir, Duncan, Thank you both for the detailed replies.  I did not get any service documents with the car, but I know the dealership at which the previous owner bought the car.  So I will check with them about service history.  I am learning a lot already from the two messages above.  Thanks once again.

[Amit]

One more question.  I have a generic OBDII scanner.  If I get the oil change done at an indie shop, can I use my scanner to clear the 'service now' message?  thanks.

[duncan]

Probably no, the cheapest scanner I have seen that claims to do it is the iCarsoft Por II scanner at about £160ish.

Though if you are going down that route you will need to have access to a Windows based computer to set it up.

Above that is the Durametric system at £400 up which replicates the dealer systems, again that will need a Windows computer.

All depends on how long you intend to keep the car, if it's less than 2 years and with such a low mileage the stamps from an OP dealer or recognised specialised Indy may pay dividends in the long run.

As my own car is just past a 12 month mark in the service regime, I have done my own additional oil and filter change without a reset and deferred a decision until next year on whether I buy a scanner and service the car myself, pay an Indy or retain a full OP set of stamps in the service book.

Others can no doubt advise of a suitable OP or specialist Indy if you give your location

[Amit]

thank you all.  Any Indy Porsche specialist suggestions in the Bethesda Maryland  or Fairfax Virginia area would be much appreciated.