NHTSA Investigation DP21001

Backup Lights Fail To Illuminate

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has completed its review of a defect petition received on November 20, 2020 requesting an investigation into the failure of reversing lights to illuminate in certain Model Year (MY) 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera vehicle with manual transmissions. The reversing lights fail to illuminate when the subject vehicles are shifted into reverse.The reversing lights provide a warning to other drivers and pedestrians when the vehicle is reversing. The reversing lights also provide some illumination for the driver when reversing at night. Failure of the reversing lights can cause an increased hazard to the vehicle, its occupants, surrounding vehicles and nearby pedestrians. As of April 14, 2021, NHTSA has identified only one consumer complaint alleging a failure of the reversing lights in NHTSA's database. This complaint was received from the petitioner. Neither NHTSA nor Porsche have received any allegations of crashes or injuries associated with the failure of the reversing lights to illuminate.Porsche determined that the reversing lights on the MY 2012-2015 Porsche Carrera vehicles were becoming inoperative due to the failure of the transmission side actuation mechanism. Porsche determined the weld between the shift rod and the stopper plate was below manufacturing specifications in some vehicles due to production weld process variations. Porsche modified production weld specifications to improve the strength and consistency of the weld joint between the shift rod and stopper plate. In January 2021, Porsche initiated a Service Action (228/20) on MY 2012-2015 Porsche Carrera vehicles with active notification of potentially affected customers to remedy the reversing light failure in the affected vehicles. Warranty coverage on the affected components has been extended to 15 years from the new vehicle delivery date with unlimited mileage. Porsche will replace the transmission in the affected vehicles with a new transmission with the modified weld specifications for the shift rod - stopper plate joint. NHTSA believes there is a high likelihood that many affected vehicles will be remedied with this action.After thoroughly assessing the material submitted by the petitioner, information already in NHTSA's possession, information submitted by Porsche in response to an Information Request letter and the potential risks to safety implicated by the petitioner's allegation, as well as Service Action (228/20) initiated by Porsche offering extended warranty coverage, NHTSA does not believe that a formal investigation is warranted. After full consideration of appropriate factors, the petition is denied. A denial report will be posted in the Federal Register.The ODI report cited above can be viewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI number 11376617

An investigation is a separate record from a recall and from a manufacturer communication. A manufacturer campaign to repair a safety defect or a failure to meet a federal safety standard.