NHTSA Complaint #10520895 — 2004 PORSCHE 911 GT3

THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO MY AWARENESS OF NHTSA PE13-009. I AM THE THIRD OWNER OF A 2004 PORSCHE GT3 THAT I USE PRIMARILY FOR TRACK DRIVING DAYS AND OCCASIONALLY FOR STREET USE. WHEN I PURCHASED THE CAR IN 2010, I WAS AWARE OF MANY REPORTS FROM OWNERS OF SIMILAR CARS THAT HAD EXPERIENCED SUDDEN COOLANT LOSS FROM ANY OF EIGHT GLUED-IN TUBE-LIKE ALUMINUM FITTINGS TO WHICH COOLANT HOSES ARE ATTACHED. THE REPORTS DESCRIBED THE CATASTROPHIC EFFECTS OF COOLANT LOSS, PRIMARILY ON THE TRACK, THAT IN SOME CASES RESULTED IN LOSS OF CONTROL TO THE AFFECTED CAR AND/OR LOSS OF CONTROL TO CARS FOLLOWING THAT CAR. A NUMBER OF CRASHES WERE REPORTED. THESE REPORTS ARE CONTAINED IN VARIOUS ONLINE FORUMS, INCLUDING RENNLIST.COM. BECAUSE I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF THIS FAILURE OCCURRING TO MY CAR, I PROPHYLACTICALLY HAD MY ENGINE REMOVED AND ALL EIGHT COOLANT PIPES WELDED INTO THE ALUMINUM MANIFOLDS THAT THEY HAD ORIGINALLY BEEN GLUED INTO. I DID THIS AT A COST OF $2500. I THINK IT WOULD BE PRUDENT FOR PORSCHE CARS NORTH AMERICA TO RECOGNIZE THE ISSUE CREATED BY THIS POOR DESIGN AND CORRECT IT BY RECALLING CARS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN REPAIRED, AND REIMBURSING OWNERS, LIKE ME, WHO TOOK IT UPON THEMSELVES TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM BEFORE THERE WERE ANY CONSEQUENCES. IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT VARIOUS SIMILAR-ENGINED FACTORY RACE CARS MADE BY PORSCHE DURING THAT ERA, INCLUDING THE 2001 GT3 RS THAT I OWN, USED A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT (AND MORE ROBUST) THREADED MEANS OF ATTACHING THESE COOLANT FITTINGS TO THE COOLANT MANIFOLD. *TR