2013 Porsche 911 Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2013 Porsche 911, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Exterior lighting350.0%
- Airbags116.7%
- Engine116.7%
- Visibility116.7%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Exterior lighting
Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting.
From owner reports, verbatim
Rear taillights can fall off the vehicle. This component is available for inspection and causes issues when other motorists are unable to see turn signals, brake lights, fog lights, and reverse lights. Mine fell off while driving on the highway and then through the city. There were no warning lights or indicating of the issue.
The taillamp housing failed, and taillamp fell out of the vehicle. Online research shows that this is a design defect that Porsche learned of early in the "991.1" generation cars, as it is reported by multiple owners at multiple sites online. Well, happened to my early 991.1 also. Porsche recognized the fatigue-failure within a year or so of launch, and instituted a fairly simple fix, by adding a metal reinforcement to the backside of the taillamp, to reinforce the insufficient plastic-only initial design. They launched this revised taillamp into 2014MY or early 2015MY cars (not sure when). No failures since. Porsche attempted to sweep this defect 'under the rug' by NOT recalling all earlier cars to institute a fix, but rather would just repair cars that failed under warranty. Porsche should not accept taillamps falling off of cars, especially at owners expense (and Porsche pricing!! Ouch). Please investigate.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Airbags
Reports naming the air-bag system — deployment behaviour, inflators, sensors and warning lights.
From owner reports, verbatim
The door panels at the top wrap on my 2013 Porsche 911 and I understand this is a problem on Porsches 911 delivered between 2012 - 2019 A number of recommendations have been made for owners to glue the panel. This panel is designed to release in a side impact condition and any glue modifications to this panel would violate the designed operation. The manufacture is well aware of this issue and has replaced a number of them out of warranty for free, but you have to back them in a corner.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Engine
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.
From owner reports, verbatim
AT HIGHWAY SPEED EXPERIENCED BRIEF, COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE, THEN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED ENGINE POWER FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE DRIVE. THIS TYPE OF ENGINE FAILURE IN A MANUAL TRANSMISSION RESULTED IN RAPID DECELERATION. GIVEN THIS ENGINE BRAKING IS A RESULT OF ENGINE FAILURE, THE RAPID LOSS OF SPEED HAPPENS WITHOUT BRAKE LIGHTS ALERTING OTHER DRIVERS TO SPEED REDUCTION. TESTING INDICATED A FAILURE OF THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP ACCORDING TO PORSCHE TECHNICIANS.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Visibility
Reports naming windshields, glass, wipers, defrosters and mirrors.
From owner reports, verbatim
I WAS PULLING INTO MY GARAGE AND NEARLY RAN OVER MY WIFE DUE TO THE GLARE ON THE WINDSHIELD . THIS CAR HAS A VERY LIGHT COLORED DASH TOP. THE GARAGE WAS SHADED BUT THIS WAS A BRIGHT SUNNY DAY.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .