Odd issue on my 981 Boxster

Today I took my 2013 Boxster on a 400 mile road trip up to visit my good friend from north of the border, Guenter, near Niagara. . The car, which I acquired last year with 16,800 miles on the clock, performed flawlessly as usual. However, today not 5 miles across the CA border, I got a message that said something like Steering Function Diminished - OK to Continue Driving. I noticed no effect on the steering; however, a few minutes later I noticed the climate control stopped working (no fan) and I lost seat ventilation as well. The car continued to drive fine. A another few miles, and a got a notice the Auto Start/Stop function was disabled. I should point out it was in the upper 80s F and very humid all day. I had the AC and vented seat on all day - a 7.5 hour drive. Of course, I started to worry and Guenter informed me there were no Porsche dealerships in the area should the problems continue or escalate. At the hotel, I decided to let it cool off for a while - maybe 45 minutes - and went back outside. Put the key in, started it up, and the messages and symptoms disappeared. We took it on about a 20 minute drive to dinner at a local vineyard and all seemed fine. Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts what might have happened?

Gary

2003 Boxster 2.7L - Midnight Blue Metallic, Savanna Beige, Metropol Blue (now owned by son)
2013 Boxster 2.7L - Dark Blue Metallic, Yachting Blue, Blue

I have not had that sort of issue with our 2014 Boxster, but I replaced the battery at 8 years as a preventative maintenance item. I have seen similar issues with other makes. So - how old is the battery? Late model cars with extensive electronics seem vulnerable to weird faults as the battery ages.

Yep, weak battery. Time to replace. Note car programming needed if not replacing with exactly the same specification battery.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/2025 08:36AM by jg wnc. (view changes)

Thanks, guys. Yes, not sure of the age of this AGM, but I suspect it could be the OG. Hopefully, it’ll be fine until I return home later this week. It’s got a service interval message anyway, so I schedule some time with my indie.

Gary

2003 Boxster 2.7L - Midnight Blue Metallic, Savanna Beige, Metropol Blue (now owned by son)
2013 Boxster 2.7L - Dark Blue Metallic, Yachting Blue, Blue

Those are the telltale signs of a weak / dying battery.
Replaced it and everything will be back to normal.

Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 316,000+ miles: [garage.pca.org]
[www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

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Quote
Pedro (Odessa, FL)
Those are the telltale signs of a weak / dying battery.
Replaced it and everything will be back to normal.

Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Thanks, Pedro. Hopefully, it’ll get us home. Guenter says hola!

Gary

2003 Boxster 2.7L - Midnight Blue Metallic, Savanna Beige, Metropol Blue (now owned by son)
2013 Boxster 2.7L - Dark Blue Metallic, Yachting Blue, Blue