Porsche’s flagship, the 911, has many different series, but none of them have been as successful as the 997, released in 2005 and running until 2012. Introducing changes such as a direct injection system and a PDK “Dual Clutch” transmission, the 997 became faster, lighter, and far more fuel savvy than its predecessors. Even though it is considered one of the best cars in the world, the 997 still faces its share of problems, a traditional one lying with the ignition coil.
When a car begins to misfire, you know that there’s something going wrong. Typically, a misfire will be most easily detected when the car is idling, and that idle is jerky and erratic rather than smooth, but misfiring cylinders can also be felt at higher speeds, giving the car’s movement a distinctive lurching feel. There are a number of things that could cause such an issue—like bad spark plugs, cracked cylinder heads, and other things—but one of the most likely is that the ignition coil is malfunctioning.
The ignition coil takes the relatively low voltage produced from the car’s battery and slings it around until it reaches the tremendous level needed to power the car. If there are cracks in the engine coil—which develop from time, poor driving conditions, and, sometimes, bad construction—then the sparks being sent to the cylinders will get dropped from time to time, leading to the misfiring.
Along with the misfiring, a cracked ignition coil will also lead to a greater rate of fuel consumption, as not all the fuel being pumped into the engine is being ignited. If left to worsen, a bad ignition coil will eventually fail completely, rendering your car immobile. To prevent this from happening, take your 997 to a specialized German import repair garage where they can determine whether or not your engine coil is to blame, or if perhaps another issue is at hand.
Search for a local, independent Porsche repair shop with Porsche mechanics that have dealer-level expertise at a fraction of the expense.