My wife was washing our brand new Cayman S this morning in our driveway. It is moderately steep, and the car was nose high. Upon rinsing, water started running/dripping into the passenger side floor. We have scheduled service with the dealer next week as a result, but was wondering if anyone else had ever experienced this. Thanks in advance!

When I installed an XM radio the other day (custom, hidden in glove box installation); I chose to hide the antenna under the exterior cowling adjacent to the windshield wipers. During the routing of the wire, I had to remove the cabin air filter assembly. I couldn't believe what I found, but a large gap (3/16") along one complete side of the blower assembly where it penetrates through the sheet metal and connects with the frame for the air filter assembly.

Clearly the assembler failed to align the interior's self adhesive closed cell foam rubber gasket during assembly. This interior gasket error would cause the blower to primarily just recirculate cabin air because it would be the air's course of lease resistance. Also, there is exterior gasket between the air filter assembly and the metal frame; this one was installed incorrectly as well (one of the four sides was folded under itself)! The exterior gasket error would undoubtedly have caused a leak for me as well if I parked my CS nose high.

Both repairs can be performed from outside of the car. To perfect the interior gasket's seal, just apply silicone adhesive around all four sides of the rectangular penetration, sealing the closed cell foam rubber to the steel frame. Let this dry overnight before reinstalling the air filter assembly. To perfect the exterior gasket, I ran the closed cell foam rubber gasket under hot water for 4-5 minutes to relax it for it to regain it's original shape. When reinstalling, it is very easy to make the same mistake that the original installer did. Therefore you should put a length (about 5") of masking tape along the the front (front of car) edge of the gasket to hold it in an exaggerated inward position. Then when the air filter assembly is nested into place, remove the masking tape and the gasket will snap right into place.

I think these two installation errors would be very easy for the original factory assembler to make so I would recommend that anyone interested remove their air filter assembly and inspect the gaskets carefully. Checking the interior gasket will require a small inspection mirror and a flashlight. I hope this helps!

Regards, Joe

You will find water after a wash/rain in all Porsches under the door jams and under the hood. That is why drying takes longer than washing. However unless extreme hose pressure is used it should not make its way into the actual passenger compartment unless the door was not closed or a window not fully up.

Fretking,

You are not the only one to experience this. I washed my car (not with jet hose) on level ground yesterday and water was found on both sides of door seal where the cayman logos are, but it didn't get into the cabin inself. Strange, I would say, as it never happen to my 3 MBs before. Idiosyncracies of Porsche ???

The first time I washed my car and dried it I lifted the front hatch to find water all over the place around the wiper area and sides. No big deal to clean, but it surprised me that this would happen with this car.

Normal with Porsches. Does make drying the car a bit of a larger chore and you have to make sure if your dealer washed it that they didn't short-cut that step although it shouldn't cause any problems.

I was finding the lower edge of the carpet on both door panels wet after washing the car or after a rain storm. Took the car to the dealer who claimed the the inner door seals and the panel sealants had failed, a problem they had never seen previously.

The area between the windshield and the front trunk is a lot like the under hood area in any standard front engine automobile. All the items found there are weather resistant and are expected to encounter the elements. If you look closely, you'll notice that all of the rain water that cascades down your windshield during a rain actually collects at the windshield wiper cowling area and is drained directly into the area of the battery and etc. This battery area has two very substantial drains that allow the water flow to pour out into the front left and right wheel wells and two or three that drain near the cars center line.

The cowling drain holes and the perforated covers that cover this area have ventilation openings sized small enough that leaves and debris shouldn't find their way in, ultimately preventing the plugging up of our five drain holes.

Regards,
Joe

So what did your dealer find?