Open safety recalls, the components owners report failing most often, crash-test results and running costs for the 2001 Porsche Boxster — assembled from NHTSA and EPA records.
Everything on this page applies to the model as a whole. Run its 17-character VIN to decode that exact car — its engine, trim, assembly plant and factory equipment — alongside these records. Free, no account.
Run a VIN →Recalls and complaints are filed against a specific model year, so figures differ from one year to the next even within a single generation. See every Porsche Boxster year.
NHTSA lists 4 recalls for this make/model/year. Recalls apply to the model, so some may already be fixed on this specific car — check with a dealer using the VIN.
Issue: CERTAIN 2-DOOR CONVERTIBLE PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE TIPTRONIC (AUTOMATIC) TRANSMISSION MAY HAVE BEEN PRODUCED WITH AN INCORRECTLY ADJUSTED KEY-LOCK-CABLE DOWN TO THE SHIFT SELECTOR. IF THE KEY-LOCK-CABLE IS NOT ADJUSTED CORRECTLY, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE IGNITION KEY WILL SNAG UPON BEING REMOVED FRO THE IGNITION LOCK OR THE SLECTOR LEVER CAN BE SHIFTED FROM POSITION "P" WITH THE IGNITION KEY REMOVED AND THE LOCKING BUTTON OPERATED.
Risk: IF THE SELECTOR LEVER IS THEN SHIFTED FROM POSITION "P" TO POSITION "R, N OR D" WITH THE VEHICLE PARKED, AND IF THE PARKING BRAKE IS NOT ON, THE VHEICLE WILL NOT BE SECURED FROM INADVERTENLY ROLLING AWAY, INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE CABLE ADJUSTMENT AND, REGARDLESS OF THE RESULTS OF THIS INSPECTION, THE KEY-LOCK-CABLE MUST ALSO BE ADJUSTED. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN JULY 15, 2003. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT PORSCHE AT 1-800-545-8039.
Campaign 03V004000
Issue: SABERSPORT IS RECALLING 16,270 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT." THESE LAMPS DO NOT CONTAIN THE REQUIRED AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS.
Risk: DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy: SABERSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 11, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SABERSPORT AT 1-909-598-7589.
Campaign 09E012000
Issue: DOPE, INC. IS RECALLING 42,540 COMBINATION CORNER AND BUMPER LAMP ASSEMBLIES OF VARIOUS PART NUMBERS SOLD FOR USE AS AFTERMARKET EQUIPMENT FOR VARIOUS PASSENGER VEHICLES. THESE HEADLAMPS FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT." THESE LAMPS DO NOT CONTAIN THE REQUIRED AMBER SIDE REFLECTORS.
Risk: DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy: DOPE, INC. WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JULY 28, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DOPE, INC. AT 1-626-272-1798.
Campaign 09E025000
Issue: Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche) is recalling certain 2003-2020 Porsche Macan, Cayenne, Panamera, and Cayman S, 2001-2004 Boxster, Boxster S, 2004 Boxster 50 JAHRE SPYDER 550 vehicles. Please see the recall report for a complete list of all affected models and model years. The caps that cover the low-beam headlight horizontal adjustment screws are missing, which can allow the headlights to be improperly adjusted. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk: Improperly adjusted headlights may not illuminate the road properly, or cause a glare to oncoming drivers, which can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will inspect the headlights for sealing caps and install missing caps as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 28, 2022. Owners may contact Porsche's customer service at 1-800-767-7243. Porsche's number for this recall is ANB4.
Campaign 22V656000
The parts named most often across 13 owner complaintsfiled with NHTSA for this make, model and year — the closest free answer to “what is likely to go wrong?”
1 fire
The right front suspension failed. Something broke so that the wheel/brake component bent away from the car causing a sudden left hand turn/jerk. This was confirmed upon exiting the car and looking at the front right semi-attached wheel. The car traveled THROUGH highway safety cables, front windshield shattered, right passenger side arm bag deployed and car stopped in median before going into oncoming traffic. The car is currently being picked up and accessed by insurance company. No warning lamps or messages. The front end did seem to "float" prior to the accident - I figured I had a tire problem and was looking to exit the highway up the road. I went to the ER and had flying glass injuries resulting from the crash. Car is a "garage queen!" I never race or have never been on a race track. I have all records of care. No prior accidents or changes have been made to the car. It is 22 years old and was in excellent shape. I have read about incidents like this since the accident - specific to this car model in online sources. I am reporting this to my local Porsche club also so they can be proactive.
1 crash · 1 injured
Complaints are self-reported and skew toward problems people find alarming, so treat this as where to look, not a defect rate.
Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) failure due to premature degradation of plastic wiring harness connectors for ABS wheel speed sensors located in each wheel well. ABS warning light illuminated alerting to the disabling of the system. Issue confirmed by independent repair facility. Dealer was engaged, but denied coverage due to vehicle being out of warranty and no recalls initiated.
There are thousands of complaints/postings appearing on the Internet, including fixes, (many of which may be equally dangerous) whereby the vehicle's central locking mechanism fails, making it impossible for passengers to egress through either door or window. The locking mechanism on the driver's side door has a cheap part that is known to commonly fail. When it does, neither the driver nor passenger door may be opened from either inside or outside of the vehicle. The central locking system is tied in with the door lock, and the windows may sometimes also fail when the lock mechanism fails. We had to remove a fuse from her car to reset the windows so we could extricate her. The Internet is replete with unofficial fixes for this problem, frequently using home-made parts, and Porsche representatives commonly acknowledge the issue and charge a great deal to repair using the same flawed parts. In the event of a crash, both driver & passenger may be trapped with no possible means of egress, without disassembling the driver's side door, which would be impossible in an emergency. I am shocked and outraged that this condition has been allowed to go unaddressed for years, despite being so commonly known that there are literally hundreds of Internet posts and videos telling owners how to temporarily fix their cars using either Porsche parts, or in many cases, home-made parts which would also be seriously dangerous. It is unbelievable that NHTSA has never acted on this issue to compel Porsche to make so many thousands of vehicles safe. Merely googling "Porsche Boxster Lock Problem" will produce literally hundreds of videos demonstrating the problem and several home-made fixes. The American driving public deserves better than this from NHTSA and Porsche. Please do something about this while I look for a replacement car for my 16 year old daughter, whom I pray will not ever be in an accident in this car and become trapped, causing her death!!!
1.EARLIER DATE FIXED WIREHARNESS/DRAINED PARTS AT LOCAL BMW REPAIRMAN GARAGE RESOLVED 2. LATER IN CITY,TURNING IN MOTION CAR SUDDENLY STALL/POWERLOSS OF BRAKES,CLUTCHSTICKY,HEAR TIMING ODD,STEERING DIFFICULT HAD TOWED TO PORSCHE DEALER . GARAGE).PORSCHE DIAGNOSED W MULTIPOINT INSPECTION ,PORSCHE ONLY DID WORK COVERED BY 3RD PARTY EXTENDED WARRANTEE FOR A OIL WATER SEPARATOR AND WATER RADIATOR REPLACED AND TOLD ME ENGINE HAS ISSUES,5 MOS LATER STILL AT PORSCHE,CAUTION TO DRIVE,TOWED OUT, PORSCHEMANUF /CR/SC CODES TO REPAIR UNTIL THEN RELEASED CAR W OPERATIVE/SAFETY ISSUES DEALING WITH AIRWATER BLOW OUT ON ENGINE SEALS, AND LOSS OF POWER FOR SAFE DRIVING AND STOPPING AND PARKING.PORSCHE MUST PAY FOR THESE ISSUES REPORTED FOR RECALL REQUIRED MORE THAN JUST WARN ME.HAND BRAKE SUDDEN NONHOLDING SO DRIFT POSSIBLE IN PARKING,BRAKES/CLUTCH UNSAFE PER TOW TRUCKER , ELECTRICAL /TRUCKSWITCH/ROOF /DOOR SWITCH UNABLE TO EXIT /ENTER VEHICLE SAFELY.EACH TIME PORSCHE INSPECTS AND I REPEAT THERE IS FORGET/HEARING ISSUES NOTED, AND DIDNT DO THE MANUFACTURER CODED SAFETY MEASURES AND SAYS DIDNT INCLUDE THE DRIVER WARNINGS /CONCERNS OF SAFETY TO CHECK ON PAPERWORK TO TRACK CONVERSATIONS JUST WHAT MECHANIC DIAGNOSIS DESPITE SAFETY CODES. ATTACH BRAKES CODE/ELECTRICAL CODE/POWERTRAIN CODE/ENGINE RECALLCODE (SAFERCAR.GOV) TRAPPING DRIVER/PASSENGER FOR CRASH & INJURIES AFTER INSPECTIONS/VERBAL CONCERNS UNRESOLVED AND RISK OF SAFETY.NEW BATTERY PLACED IN MONTHS PRIOR.HOUSING AND LUBRICATION SYSTEMS AT JOINTS CONCERN AT SEALS FROM BLOW OUT OF AIRWATER SEPARATOR CREATING AN EMERGENCY ON VEHICLE,IS PORSCHE WAITING TILL A NEW ENGINE WHILE CODESAFETY ISSUES.PORSCHE NOTED FAN BELT,POWER TRAIN CODE ISSUES,REQUIRED FOR SAFETY. APPARENTLY THE WATER RADIATOR/WATER PUMP BLEW HOT STEAM THRU ENTIRE ENGINE PARTS LOOSENING THEIR EFFECTIVENESS TO BE SAFE DRIVING WITHOUT CONCERN OF ACCIDENT /DEATH.
WAS DRIVING ON THE FLORIDA TURNPIKE IN THE MIAMI AREA, UNDER RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC, DOING ABOUT 75-80 MPH WHEN THE FRONT LEFT TIRE BLEW UP FROM THE SIDE WALL. ALMOST LOST CONTROL OF THE CAR. THE TIRE HAS A 4" OPENING ON THE SIDEWALL CLOSE TO THE WHEEL. CALLED HANKOOK, THEY SENT ME TO A LOCAL DISTRIBUTOR WHO SAID HE COULDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. TIRES WERE ABOUT 2 YEARS OLD WITH PLENTY OF THREAD LEFT. LAST HANKOOK TIRES FOR ME, FAMILY AND CLOSE FRIENDS. I AM REPLACING ALL THE TIRES ON THIS CAR. TIRE IS A HANKOOK VENTUS V12 EVO. *TR
AIR BAG LIGHT IS ALWAYS ON YET IT IS NOT DEFECTIVE. MANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THIS SAME PORSCHE ISSUE. THEY WANT 500 TO FIX IT. *TR
MOTOR FAILED WHILE TRYING TO START IT. ALL VALVES BENT. REPLACED AT MY EXPENSE. I BOUGHT THE CAR NEW AND IT WAS SERVICED AS PER FACTORY RECOMMENDATIONS.
REAR MAIN SEAL OIL LEAK PRONE TO THE PORSCHE BOXSTER. UNIT WAS FIXED 18 MONTHS AGO UNDER NORMAL FACTORY WARRANTY AND FAILED AGAIN. THE COST OF THE FIX WAS OVER $1,900.00. SHOULDN'T A FIX DONE BY THE DEALER LAST LONGER THEN 18 MONTHS AND 5,500 MILES? PORSCHE TOLD ME TO "DO WHAT I NEED TO DO" TO RECOVER FRONT HE LOSS. *TR
I WAS RECENTLY TOLD BY A PORSCHE DEALER THAT THE REAR ENGINES SEALS NEED TO BE REPLACED FOR $2400. AFTER RESEARCHING THIS EXTENSIVELY OVER THE INTERNET, MOST IF NOT ALL PORSCHE BOXSTERS NEED THIS REPLACED BEFORE 60,000 MILES. AND THIS IS DUE TO INAPPROPRIATE SEALS BEING USED UP TO AT LEAST 2004. PORSCHE EVEN DURING THE LATE 1990'S, REPLACED ENGINES UNDER WARRANTY BECAUSE OF THIS PROBLEM. IT IS VERY EVIDENT THAT THE ISSUES WITH THE REAR MAIN SEALS ARE AN EPIDEMIC AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED FOR ALL VEHICLES AFFECTED. I CALLED PORSCHE HQ AND THEY DECLINED TO DO ANYTHING UNDER GOOD WILL. IT IS JUST NOT RIGHT WHEN SO MANY OTHER PEOPLE ARE AFFECTED. *JB
PORSCHE BOXSTERS FROM 1999-2004 HAVE A DEFECTIVE REAR ENGINE SEAL WHICH FAILS IN ALL VEHICLES. THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL BECAUSE EVEN THE DEALER SAYS IT IS COMMON. THIS IS A VERY COSTLY FIX AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEALT WITH YEARS AGO. THE NHTSA EVEN HAS TECHNICAL BULLETINS ISSUED ON THIS. THIS IS FAR TOO COMMON OF A DEFECTIVE PART WHICH NEEDS TO BE RECALLED AND FIXED BY PORSCHE. THEY HAVE SINCE THEN REPLACED THE REAR SEALS WITH A DIFFERENT TYPE USED ON CAYENNES. *JB
2001 PORSCHE BOXSTER AIR BAG SYSTEM FAILED. REPAIR TO THE SEAT BELT BUCKLE THAT IS LINKED TO THE AIRBAG SYSTEM WAS NOT PERFORMED AND THE AIRBAG LED WAS AGGRESSIVELY RIPPED OUT OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL CLUSTER. *TS *JB
THE CONVERTIBLE TOP UNLATCHED BY ITSELF WHILE DRIVING. THE WINDOW AT NIGHT CANNOT BE SEEN THROUGH THE CONVERTIBLE TOP WINDOW DUE TO CRACKS AND NEEDS CONSTANT REPAIRS. THE SUSPENSION OF THE CAR HAS A CRACKING SOUND WHICH THE DEALERSHIP HEARS BUT IGNORES, THE WINDSHIELD CRACKS ALL OF THE TIME IT SOUNDS LIKE THE CAR IS GOING TO SPLIT IN HALF, THE SUSPENSION MAKES A VERY LOUD METAL CRACKING NOISES AS IF IT IS SEPARATING FROM THE VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING. *LA
Showing 12 of 13 complaints.
NHTSA has no NCAP crash-test rating for this model/year (common for older, low-volume, or heavy-duty vehicles).
Over 5 years this costs $10,000 more in fuel than an average new vehicle.