So, a solid CEL is better than a Flashing CEL, right?

Mine just popped on. Haven't noticed any noises, back fires or change in character. It was a complete surprise to have it come on. Local shop doesn't have an opening until later in the week, but will still drop it off in the morning. Maybe it's because I haven't pushed the engine lately and the car is rebelling. I've driven it about 200 miles since last filling up with gas, so don't think it's the cap.

This is also what I get for thinking how well this car was made and that this 2009 997S is much more rock solid than either Boxster I've owned. I've had it for 14 months with the only trip to the shop being a loss of windshield fluid (leaky headlamp washer) and the annual service. The car has 9750 miles, and is only 250 miles shy of when my last Boxster lost its engine, that's what got me thinking of how much better this car is built. Oh, well, I'll stop jinxing myself in the future.

be taken seriously.

A 2009 997S... Are you sure the CEL is not just a service engine soon warning? I'm not current on newer Porsches but I know from my work that some other car makers use the CEL for notifying the driver the engine oil (for example) needs servicing. IIRC one BMW owner (a co-worker) reports his new BMW's CEL is due to a bad brake light bulb.

Check the fuel cap. It can take a while for a leaking cap to cause a CEL.

But without knowing the error code(s) you are better off getting it into the dealer's service department pronto. The car -- I assume -- still has a full warranty. Make use of it.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

Thanks, I was hoping that solid was better than blinking. It is under warranty, thankfully. I did get that service beep a few months back when the car was due for it's annual physical. They cleared it then. It showed up only as the red ! along with the OBC message to bring it in for service. This one is the orange/yellow engine-shaped light on the Tach, along with the red ! saying to bring it to the dealer. The dealer wanted me to wait until Thurs, but since this is my daily driver, I didn't want to drive that much with the CEL on. Was hoping for a Porsche loaner, but unfortunately, they are going to give me an Enterprise rental. Yuke. Even though I hate SUVs, a base Cayenne for a couple of days would have been interesting.

Also consider getting a code reader and reading the code yourself. Works on all recent cars, not just on P-cars. $40-80 and it has saved me many more $ than it cost on my other cars even ignoring its potential utility on the P-car. It enables you to have some idea of what is wrong so you can figure out if you need immediate service or not. Not knowing is the scary part.

Even if you do no work yourself, even if the car is under warranty,

To some extent, I'm a bit anal, and when I topped off the oil recently, I was trying to get the diagram of the oil can on the cap to be horizontal. Must not have tightened it up all the way, although, I did go in to see if it was tight after the CEL came on and swear it didn't move a lick. Oh, well. Need to get me one of those code readers for my Birthday.