Black Smoke & Power Loss Plagues Porsche Cayman

Hey there, I had similar issues with my 2019 Porsche Boxster last summer. Those symptoms sound exactly like what I experienced when my DPF got severely clogged. The black smoke, power loss, and high fuel consumption were dead giveaways. Took it to my regular Porsche specialist and turns out the DPF was about 95% blocked. They had to do a forced regeneration first, but that wasn't enough given how clogged it was. Ended up needing a complete DPF replacement and new sensors. It was quite a serious job, had the car in the shop for almost a week. The mechanic explained that city driving with lots of short trips had prevented proper regeneration cycles, which led to the severe blockage. Since the fix, the car's been running like new, no more smoke, power's back, and fuel consumption is normal again. My advice: get it checked at a certified Porsche shop soon. These symptoms shouldn't be ignored as they can lead to bigger engine problems if left untreated. Hope this helps!

Thanks for sharing your experience! That sounds exactly like what I'm dealing with. I'm planning to take it to a certified shop next week. Do you remember roughly how much you ended up paying for the whole repair? Also, has everything been running smoothly since then, or have you noticed any other issues pop up?

Hey again! Happy to give you an update! Since my last message, I got the car fixed and it cost me exactly 1325€, mainly for sorting out that severely overloaded DPF. The mechanic also found and fixed that faulty exhaust back pressure sensor I mentioned earlier, which was definitely contributing to the problems. I've got to say, since getting it fixed last summer, my Boxster's been running absolutely brilliant, like a completely different car! No more black smoke, power's back to where it should be, and my fuel consumption has gone back to normal. I've done about 15,000 km since the repair and haven't had a single issue pop up. Quick tip though, the mechanic gave me some good advice about preventing future DPF issues. I'm now making sure to take the car on regular longer drives (at least 30 minutes) on the motorway to help with the regeneration cycles. Been doing that every couple of weeks and it seems to be keeping everything running smoothly. Let me know how you get on with your Cayman, hope you get it sorted soon!

Thanks so much for all the details! I really appreciate you breaking down the costs and sharing those preventive tips. Just got back from the mechanic today, and you were spot on, it was indeed the DPF and sensor issues. Cost was pretty similar to what you paid, around 1400 €. The whole experience wasn't as painful as I expected. Dropped it off Monday morning, and they had it ready by Thursday. The mechanics were super professional and even showed me the clogged DPF, it was pretty shocking to see how blocked it was! They also gave me the same advice about longer drives for regeneration. Took it for a proper spin after picking it up, and wow, what a difference! The engine's purring again, no more black smoke, and it feels like I've got my old Cayman back. Definitely learned my lesson about regular maintenance and those important highway runs. Thanks again for all your help, really saved me from stressing too much about this!