RoadVitals

1989 Porsche 944 Problems

Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
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Latest Feb 29, 2000
Components namedHow many of our component categories appear on at least one report for this model year. One report can name several.
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Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
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What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 1989 Porsche 944, 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

  • Engine1100.0%

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

Engine

Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

I CONTACTED THE LOCAL DEALER AS WELL AS PORSCHE(ATLANTA OFFICE). ALMOST EVERYONE WITH A 944S OR 1989-91 944S2 HAS REPORTED THIS FAILURE OR DEFECT. THE CAM CHAIN TENSIONER HAS A PLASTIC RAMP WHICH CRACKS AND FAILS CAUSING CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE. PLEASE LOOK ON WWW.RENNLIST.COM UNDER 944 SITE. DO A SEARCH ON CAM TENSIONER AND YOU WILL SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING THIS PROBLEM. PORSCHE SAYS THERE IS NO PROBLEM AND WILL NOT ISSUE A SERVICE BULLETIN FOR AN INSPECTION INTERVAL. THE PLASTIC RUNNER BEGINS TO CRACK AND THEN FAILS CAUSING THE CHAIN TO CATCH AND COME APART. VALVES/PISTONS COLLIDE CAUSING CATASTOPHIC FAILURE. PART REPLACEMENT COST $300. PLASTIC GUIDE IS NOT AVAILABLE SEPARATELY SO YOU MUST BUY THE ENTIRE HYDROLIC TENSIONER. ANOTHER MODEL, PORSCHE 928S AND 928 S4 USE THE SAME TENSIONER SO THEY ARE AFFECTED AS WELL. THE PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE ARISING AT ABOUT 60-100,000 MILES. THIS MAKES MOST OF THE CARS ABOUT 8-11 YRS OLD SO THE PROBLEM IS BASED ON TIME/USE ISSUE. I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY PORSCHE WILL NOT ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. I HAVE THE TENSIONER AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW AND CAN PROBABLY GET MORE FROM OTHER OWNERS AS WE ALL COMMUNICATE REGULARLY ON WWW.RENNLIST.COM. *AK

NHTSA ID 719463 · filed Feb 29, 2000

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

Data on this page last refreshed .