tow PORSCHE 911 CARRERA 2003 4.G Owners Manual

DearPorscheOwner
Alothasgoneintothemanufactureofyour
Porsche,includingadvancedengineering,rigid
qualitycontrolanddemandinginspections.
Theseengineeringandsafetyfeatureswillbe
enhancedbyyou...
thesafedriver...
whoknowshiscarandallcontrols,
whomaintainsthevehicleproperly,
whousesdrivingskillswiselyandalwaysdrives
withinher/hisowncapabilitiesandthelevelof
familiaritywiththevehicle.
Youwillfindhelpfulhintsinthismanualonhow
toperformmostofthecheckslistedonthe
followingpages.
Ifindoubt,havethesechecksperformedby
yourauthorizedPorschedealer.
12Controls,Instruments
Beforedrivingoff...
Check
thefollowingitemsfirst

I>Turntheengineoffbeforeyouattemptany
checksorrepairsonthevehicle.
I>Besurethetiresareinflatedcorrectly.
Checktiresfordamageandtirewear.
I>Seethatwheelboltsareproperlytightened
andnotlooseormissing.
I>Checkengineoillevel,addifnecessary.
Makeitahabittohaveengineoilchecked
witheveryfuelfilling.
I>Checkallfluidlevelssuchaswindshield
washerandbrakefluidlevels.
I>Besurethevehiclebatteryiswellcharged
andcrankstheengineproperly.
I>Checkalldoorsandlidsforproperoperation
andlatchthemproperly.
I>Checkandifnecessaryreplacewornor
crackedwiperblades.
I>Seethatallwindowsareclearandunob-
structed.
I>Checkairintakeslotsandareabetweenlug-
gagecompartmentlidandwindshieldarefree
ofsnowandice,sotheheaterandthewind-
shieldwipersworkproperly.
I>Ifachildwillberidinginthevehicle,check
childseaVchildseatrestraintsystemtoen-
surethatrestraintsareproperlyadjusted.
I>Checkallexteriorandinteriorlightsforoper-
ationandthatthelensesareclean.
I>Checktheheadlightsforproperaim,andif
necessary,havethemadjusted.
I>Checkunderthevehicleforleaks.
I>Besureallluggageisstowedsecurely.
Emergencyequipment
Itisgoodpracticetocarryemergencyequip-
mentinyourvehicle.
Someoftheitemsyoushouldhaveare:
windowscraper,snowbrush,containerorbag
ofsandorsalt,emergencylight,smallshovel,
first-aid
kit,etc.

Inthedriver'sseat...
I>Checkoperationofthehorn.
I>Positionseatforeasyreachoffootpedals
andcontrols.
Toreducethepossibilityofinjuryfromtheair-
bagdeployment,youshouldalwayssitback
asfarfromthesteeringwheelasispractical,
whilestillmaintainingfullvehiclecontrol.
I>Adjusttheinsideandoutsiderearviewmir-
rors.
I>Buckleyoursafetybelts.
I>Checkoperationofthefootandparking
brake.
I>Checkallwarningandindicatorlightswith
ignitiononandenginenotrunning.
I>Startengineandcheckallwarningdisplays
forwarningsymbols.
I>Neverleaveanidlingcarunattended.
I>Lockdoorsfrominside,especiallywithchild-
reninthecartopreventinadvertentopening
ofdoorsfrominsideoroutside.
Drivewithdoorslocked.
Ontheroad...
I>Neverdriveafteryouhaveconsumedalcohol
ordrugs.
I>Alwayshaveyoursafetybeltfastened.
I>Alwaysdrivedefensively.
Expecttheunexpected.
I>Usesignalstoindicateturnsandlane
changes.
I>Turnonheadlightsatduskorwhenthedriv-
ingconditionswarrantit.
I>Alwayskeepasafedistancefromthevehicle
infrontofyou,dependingontraffic,roadand
weatherconditions.
I>Reducespeedatnightandduringinclement
weather.
Drivinginwetweatherrequirescautionand
reducedspeeds,particularlyonroadswith
standingwater,asthehandlingcharac-
teristicsofthevehiclemaybeimpaireddue
tohydroplaningofthetires.
I>Alwaysobservespeedlimitsandobeyroad
signsandtrafficlaws.
I>Whentired,getwellofftheroad,stopand
takearest.Turntheengineoff.Donotsitin
thevehiclewithengineidling.
Seewarningson"EngineExhaust".
I>Whenparked,alwayssettheparkingbrake.
MovetheTiptronicselectorleverto"P"orthe
gearshiftlevertoreverseorfirstgear.
Onhillsalsoturnthefrontwheelstowardthe
curb.
I>Whenemergencyrepairsbecomenecessary,
movethevehiclewellofftheroad.Turnon
theemergencyflasheranduseotherwarning
devicestoalertothermotorists.Donotpark
oroperatethevehicleinareaswherethehot
exhaustsystemmaycomeincontactwithdry
grass,brush,fuelspillorotherflammablema-
terial.
I>Makeitahabittohavetheengineoilchecked
witheveryfuelfilling.
Controls,Instruments
13

Breakinhintsforthefirst

2,000
miles/3,000kilometers
Thefollowingtipswillbehelpfulinobtainingopti-
mumperformancefromyournewPorsche.
Despitethemostmodern,high-precisionmanu-
facturingmethods,itcannotbecompletely
avoidedthatthemovingpartshavetowearin
witheachother.Thiswearing-inoccursmainlyin
thefirst2,000miles/3,000km.
Therefore:
t>Preferablytakelongertrips.
t>Avoidfrequentcoldstartswithshort-distance
drivingwheneverpossible.
t>Avoidfullthrottlestartsandabruptstops.
t>Donotexceedmaximumenginespeedof
4,200rpm(revolutionsperminute).
t>Donotrunacoldengineathighrpmeitherin
Neutraloringear.
t>Donotlettheenginelabor,especiallywhen
drivinguphill.Shifttothenextlowergearin
time(usethemostfavorablerpmrange).
t>Neverlugtheengineinhighgearatlow
speeds.Thisruleappliesatalltimes,notjust
duringthebreak-inperiod.
14Controls,Instruments
t>Donotparticipateinmotorracingevents,
sportsdrivingschools,etc.duringthefirst
2,000miles/3,000kilometers.
Theremaybeaslightstiffnessinthesteering,
gear-shiftingorothercontrolsduringthebreak-in
periodwhichwillgraduallydisappear.
Breakinbrakepads
Newbrakepadsanddiscshavetobe"broken
in",andthereforeonlyattainoptimalfriction
whenthecarhascoveredseveralhundredmiles
orkm.
Theslightlyreducedbrakingabilitymustbe
compensatedforbypressingthebrakepedal
harder.Thisalsoapplieswheneverthebrake
padsandbrakediscsarereplaced.
Newtires
Newtiresdonothavemaximumtraction.They
tendtobeslippery.
t>Breakinnewtiresbydrivingatmoderate
speedsduringthefirst60to120miles/lOO
to200km.Longerbrakingdistancesmustbe
anticipated.
Engineoilconsumption
Duringthebreak-inperiodoilconsumptionmay
behigherthannormal.
Asalways,therateofoilconsumptiondepends
onthequalityandviscosityofoil,thespeedat
whichtheengineisoperated,theclimateand
roadconditions,aswellastheamountofdilu-
tionandoxidationofthelubricant.
t>Makeahabitofcheckingengineoilwithevery
fuelfilling,addifnecessary.

Safety
Belts
/!\Warning!
Alwaysmakesureyourandyourpassen-
gers'safetybeltsareproperlyfastened
whilethevehicleisinmotion.
Failuretofollowsafetybeltwarningsmay
resultinseriouspersonalinjury.
t>Foryourandyourpassengers'protection,use
safetybeltsatalltimeswhilethevehicleisin
motion.
t>Useappropriatechildrestraintsystemsforall
smallchildren.
Properwearingofsafetybelts
t>Safetybeltsmustbepositionedonthebody
astorestraintheupperbodyandlapfrom
slidingforward.Improperlypositionedsafety
beltscancauseseriouspersonalinjuryin
caseofanaccident.
t>Theshoulderbeltshouldalwaysrestonyour
upperbody.Theshoulderbeltshouldnever
bewornbehindyourbackorunderyourarm.
t>Formaximumeffectiveness,thelapbelt
shouldbewornlowacrossthehips.
t>Pregnantwomenshouldpositionthebeltas
lowaspossibleacrossthepelvis.Makesure
itisnotpressingagainsttheabdomen.
38Controls,Instruments
t>Beltsshouldnotbeworntwisted.
t>Donotwearbeltsoverrigidorbreakableob-
jectsinoronyourclothing,suchaseye
glasses,pens,keys,etc.asthesemaycause
injury.
t>Severallayersofheavyclothingmayinterfere
withproperpositioningofbelts.
t>Beltsmustnotrubagainstsharpobjectsor
damagemayoccurtothebelt.
t>Twooccupantsshouldneversharethesame
beltatthesametime.

Careandmaintenance

t>Keepbeltbucklesfreeofanyobstructionthat
maypreventasecurelocking.
t>Beltsthathavebeensubjectedtoexcessive
stretchforcesinanaccidentmustbein-
spectedorreplacedtoensuretheircontinued
effectivenessinrestrainingyou.
Thesameappliestobelttensionersystems
whichhavebeentriggered.
Inaddition,theanchorpointsofthebelts
shouldbechecked.
t>Ifsafetybeltsdonotworkproperly,seeyour
authorizedPorschedealerimmediately.
t>Ifthebeltsshowdamagetowebbing,bind-
ings,bucklesorretractors,theyshouldbere-
placedtoensuresafeoperation.
t>Donotmodifyordisassemblethesafetybelts
inyourvehicle.
t>Thebeltsmustbekeptcleanortheretrac-
torsmaynotworkproperly(seealso"Car
careinstructions").
t>Neverbleachordyesafetybelts.
t>Donotallowsafetybeltstoretractuntilthey
arecompletelydryaftercleaningorthismay
causedamagetothebelt.

Belttensioner

Dependingontheforceofacollision,fastened
frontseatbeltsaretightenedinanaccident.

Thebelttensionersaretriggeredin:
-
Frontandrearimpacts

Thebelttensionersarenottriggeredin:
-
Sideimpacts

-
Vehicleoverturning

Note
The
belttensionersystemcanbetriggeredonly
once;thesystemmustbereplacedafterward.
Workmaybeperformedonthebelt-tensioner
systemonlybyanauthorizedPorschedealer.
Smokeisreleasedwhenthebelttensionersare
triggered.Thisdoesnotindicateafireinthe
vehicle.

0
SafetyBeltWarningSystem

Anaudio-visualwarningsystemisintercon-
nectedwiththedriver'ssafetybelt.
Everytimetheignitionisturnedon,thegong
willsoundforabout6secondstoreminddriver
andpassengertobuckleup.
Thesafetybeltwarninglightsintheinstrument
panelandon-boardcomputerwillgooffassoon
asthedriverhasbuckled
up.
Inertiareelretractor
The
combinationlap/shoulderbeltwithinertia
reellockingmechanismadjustsautomaticallyto
yoursizeandmovementsaslongasthepullon
thebeltisslow.
Rapiddecelerationduringhardbrakingoracolli-
sionlocksthebelt.Thebeltwillalsolockwhen
youdriveupordownasteephillorinasharp
curve,otherwise,theshoulderbeltwillnotinhibit
yourupperbodymovement.
t>Assumeacomfortablesittingposition.
Theshoulderbeltshouldalwaysrestonyour
upperbody.Theshoulderbeltshouldnever
bewornbehindyourbackorunderyourarm.
t>Tofasten,graspbeltandpullthebeltina
continuousslowmotionacrossyourchest
andlap.
t>Insertbelttongueintobuckleoninboardside
ofseat.Pushdownuntilitsecurelylockswith
anaudibleclick.Pullthebelttocheck.
t>Pullshouldersectiontomakesurebeltfits
snuglyacrossthepelvis.
t>Beltsshouldfitsnuglyacrossthepelvisand
chest.Makesurethereisnoslackinthebelt.
t>Tounfastenbelt,pushinreleasebutton
(arrow)onbuckle.Belttonguewillspringout
ofbuckle.
t>Toreleasealatchedbelt,leanbacktotake
thebodypressureoffthebelt.
t>Tostorelap/shoulderbelt,allowthebeltto
retractasyouguidethelatchtoitsstowed
position.
Pleasenotechapter"Automaticlockingretrac-
tor".
t>t>t>
Controls,Instruments
39

ChildRestraintAnchorages
Pleasenotechapter"Automaticlockingretrac-
tor".
Ifyourchildrestraintseatorseatsrequirethe
useofatetherstrap,youwillwanttousethe
anchorpointsprovidedbehindtherearseat
backrestsunderthecarpet.
Toensureproperinstallation,seeyourauth-
orizedPorschedealer.
Thetetherstrapcanbemovedtotheotheran-
chorpointifrequired.

/!\Warning!
Childrestraintanchoragesaredesignedto
withstandonlythoseloadsimposedbycor-
rectlyfittedchildrestraints.Undernocir-
cumstancesaretheytobeusedforadults
safetybeltsorharnesses.Suchusecould
resultinseriouspersonalinjuryordeath.
I>Donotmisuse
thechildrestraintanchorages.
Theyarenotdesignedtowithstandloadsim-
posedbyadults.

I>I>I>

Controls,Instruments
41

Airbag
Systems

TheAirbagsincombinationwiththesafetybelts
makesupasafetysystemwhichoffersthe
driverandthepassengerthegreatestknown
protectionfrominjuriesincaseofaccident.
Evenifyourvehicleisequippedwithairbags,

thesafetybeltsmustbewornatalltimes,

becausethefrontairbagsystemisonlyactu-
atedbyfrontalcollisionswithanimpactofsuffi-
cientseverity.
Seeshownfigureforrangesofeffectiveness.
44Controls,Instruments
Belowtheactuationthresholdoftheairbagsys-
tem,andduringtypesofcollisionswhichdonot
causetheactuationofthesystem,thesafety
beltsprovidetheprimaryprotectiontotheoccu-
pantswhencorrectlyworn.
Therefore,allpersonswithin
thevehicle
mustalwayswearsafety
belts(inmany
states,statelawrequirestheuseofsafety
belts).Seealsothechapter"SafetyBelts".
Thefrontairbagsarelocatedbehindthepadded
steeringwheelpanelonthedriver'ssideandon
thepassenger'ssideinthedashboard.
Thesideairbags(POSIP-PorscheSideImpact
ProtectionSystem)areinstalledinthedoors
underthedoortrimpanel.
Function
Thefrontairbagsaretriggeredduringafrontal
collisionofsufficientforce.
Intheeventofasideimpactofcorresponding
force,thesideairbagontheimpactsideistrig-
gered.
Theinflationprocessgeneratestheamountof
gasrequiredtofilltheairbagsatthenecessary
pressureinfractionsofasecond.
Airbagsprotectthefaceandupperbody,whilst
simultaneouslydampingthemotionofthedriver
andpassengerintheimpactdirectioninthe
eventofafrontalimpactorsideimpact.
A.Danger!
Toprovide
optimaloccupantprotection,
airbagsmustinflateatveryhighspeed.
Ifyouarenotwearingyoursafetybeltor
aretooclosetotheairbagwhenitsde-
ployed,inflatingairbagscanresultin
seriousinjuryordeath.
t>
Makesuretherearenopeople,animalsor
objectsbetweenthedriverorpassengerand
theareaintowhichtheairbaginflates.
t>Sitbackasfarfromthedashboardorsteer-
ingwheelasispractical,whilestillmaintaining
fullvehiclecontrol.
t>Donotleanagainsttheinsideofthedoors.

t>
Alwaysholdthesteeringwheelbytheouter
rim.
Neverrestyourhandsontheairbagpanel.

t>
Nevertransportheavyobjectsonorinfront
ofthepassengerseat.

t>
Alwayskeepthelidofthedoorstoragecom-
partmentclosed.Objectsmustnotprotrude
outofthedoorstoragecompartment.

t>
Giveyourpassengeralloftheinformationin
thischapter.

t>No
changesmustbemadetothewiringor
componentsoftheairbagsystem.

.
@
ParkingbrakewarninglightUSA
Parkingbrakewarninglight
Canada
Thewarninglightswillgooutaftertheparking
brakeisfullyreleased.
Thewarninglightsarenotanindicatorthatthe
parkingbrakeisfullyset;itisonlyintendedto
beawarningtoreleasetheparkingbrakebe-
foredrivingthecar.
ACaution!
Apartiallyengagedbrakewilloverheatthe
rearbrakes,reducetheireffectivenessand
causeexcessivewear.
[>
Releasetheparkingbrakefully.
[>
Whenparkingyourcar,alwayssettheparking
brakebypullingallthewayuponthelever.
[>
Movetheselectorleverto"P"(Tiptronic)or
movethegearshiftlevertoreverseorfirst
gear(Manualtransmission).
[>
Onhillsalsoturnthefrontwheelstowardsthe
curb.
Brakes
[>Makeitahabittochecktheoperationofyour
brakesbeforedriving.
Keepinmindthatthebrakingdistanceincreases
veryrapidlyasthespeedincreases.At60mph
or100km/h,forexample,itisnottwicebut
fourtimeslongerthan30mphor50km/h.Tire
tractionisalsolesseffectivewhentheroadsare
wetorslippery.
[>Therefore,alwaysmaintainasafedistance
fromthecarinfrontofyou.
Note
Eventhoughthebrakediscsconsistofalloyed
greycastiron,theywillunavoidablystarttocor-
rodeifyourcarisparkedforanextended
period.Thebrakeswilltendto"rub"asthere-
sult.
Thenature,extentandeffectsofcorrosionde-
pendontheamountoftimethevehiclewas
parked,whethergranularorliquidroadsaltwas
spreadandwhethergrease-dissolvingagents
wereusedincarwashes.
Ifthebrakingcomfortisnoticeablyimpaired,we
recommendhavingthebrakesystemchecked
byexpertsatanauthorizedPorschedealer.
Brakesystemfunction
YourPorscheisequippedwithapowerassisted
hydraulicdualcircuitbrakesystemwithdisc
brakesatthefrontandrear.
Bothcircuitsfunctionindependently.Onebrake
circuitoperatesthefrontandtheotheroperates
therear.
Ifonebrakecircuithasfailed,theotherwillstill
operate.However,youwillnoticeanincreased
pedaltravelwhenyouapplythebrakes.
Failureofonebrakecircuitwillcausethestop-
pingdistancetoincrease.
A
Warning!
Riskofanaccident.
Intheunlikelyeventofhydraulicfailureof
onebrakecircuit:
[>
Pushthebrakepedaldownfirmlyandholdit
inthatposition.
Amechanicallinkageactivatesthesecondcir-
cuit,andyouwillbeabletobringthevehicle
toastop.
[>
Afterbringingyourvehicletoacomplete
stop,avoiddrivingthevehicleandinstead
haveittowedtothenearestauthorized
Porschedealerforrepair.
[>[>[>
Controls,Instruments
53

Brake
booster
Thebrakeboosterassistsbraking
only

whentheengineisrunning.

Whenthecarismovingwhiletheengineisnot
running,orifthebrakeboosterisdefective,
morepressureonthebrakepedalisrequiredto
bringthecartoastop.
Moistureorroadsaltonbrakesaffectsbraking.
Whenthevehicleisdrivenonsaltedroadsfor
extendedperiods,thebrakesshouldbewashed
downthoroughlyaboutevery2weeks.Anauto-
maticcarwashfacilitycannotdothisjob
properly.
Brakeswilldryafterafewcautiousbrakeappli-
cations.

A.Warning!
Drivingthroughwatermayreducethetrac-
tion.
Moistureonbrakesfromroadwater,car
wash,orcoatingofroadsaltmayaffect
brakingefficiency.
t>Cautiously
applybrakes
to
testbrakesafter
beingexposed.
Brakewear
Yourcarhasexcellentbrakes,buttheyarestill
subjecttowear.Therateatwhichtheywear
dependsonhowthebrakesareused.

t>
Havethebrakesysteminspectedattheinter-
valsrecommendedinyourMaintenance
Booklet.

8
@
WarninglightUSA
WarninglightCanada

Ifthelightsintheinstrumentpanelandon-board
computerstayonwhentheengineisrunningor
comeonwhiledriving,thebrakepadsareworn,
excessively.
t>Donotcontinuetooperatethevehicle.
HaveyourauthorizedPorschedealerinspect
orreplacethebrakepads.
Brakepads
Wearonthebrakepadsandbrakediscs
dependstoagreatextentonthedrivingstyle
andtheconditionsofuseandthereforecannot
beexpressedinactualmilesontheroad.
Thehigh-performancebrakesystemisdesigned
foroptimalbrakingeffectatallspeedsandtem-
peratures.
Certainspeeds,brakingforcesandambient
conditions(suchastemperatureandhumidity)
thereforemightcausethebrakestosqueal.

Newbrakepadsorlinings

Newbrakepadshavetobe"brokenin",and
thereforeonlyattainoptimalfrictionwhenthe
carhascoveredseveralhundredmilesorkm.
Theslightlyreducedbrakingabilitymustbe
compensatedforbypressingthebrakepedal
harder.Thisalsoapplieswheneverthebrake
padsandbrakediscsarereplaced.
Controls,Instruments
55

Switching
offPSM
[>
Pressthe"PSMOFF"logooftherocker
switch.
PSMisswitchedoffafterabriefdelay.
WithPSMswitchedoff,thePSMOFFwarning
lightintheinstrumentpanelandtherocker
switchindicatorlightarelit.
Duringbraking,thevehicleisstabilizedeven
whenPSMisswitchedoff.
One-sidedspinningofthewheelsisprevented,
evenwithPSMswitchedoff.
PSMshouldalwaysbeswitchedonduring
"normal"driving.
However,itcanbeofadvantagetoswitchoff
PSMtemporarilyinexceptionalsituations:
-Onaloosesurfaceorindeepsnow
-When"rockingthevehiclefree"
-Whenusingsnowchains.
Tiptronicvehicles:WhenthePSMisswitched
offtheslipmonitoringfunctionoftheTiptronicis
alsodeactivated.

Switching
PSMbackon
[>
Presstheindicatorlightintherockerswitch.
PSMisswitchedonafterabriefdelay.

e

Infonnationlight
-ThePSMinformationlightintheinstrument
panellightsupforalampcheckwhentheig-
nitionisswitchedon.
-ThelightindicatesPSMinterventioneven
whenPSMisswitchedoff(brakeregulationin
theeventofone-sidedwheelspin).
4D
Warninglight
-Thewarninglightintheinstrumentpanel
lightsupincombinationwiththeindicatorlight
intherockerswitchforalampcheckwhen
theignitionisswitchedon.
-Incombinationwiththeindicatorlightinthe
rockerswitch,thelightindicatesthatPSMis
switchedoff.
-Thelightsintheinstrumentpanelandinthe
on-boardcomputerindicateadefect.
PSMisoutoforder.
Thefaultshouldberemediedimmediatelyat
anauthorizedPorschedealer.
Towing
Refertothechapter"Towing".
Handbraketests
Handbrake
tests
ontherollerteststandmust
beperformedonlywiththeignitionswitchedoff.
Refertothechapter"Four-wheeldrive".
Controls,Instruments
59