Porsche 996 Parking Sensor Nightmare: Help Needed!

Hey there! I had a similar issue with my 2005 Porsche Boxster (I've got some experience working on cars, mostly basic maintenance stuff). The symptoms were exactly like yours, parking sensors went dead and warning lights popping up. Turned out to be a faulty cable connection in the rear bumper area. My mechanic found that moisture had gotten in and corroded the connections. The fix involved replacing some wiring and connectors, cost me around 170€ at my local Porsche specialist. Before we dig deeper, could you tell me if you're getting any specific error messages on the dash? Also, did this happen suddenly or gradually? Knowing these details would help determine if you're facing the same problem I had.

Thanks for the input! I've got 23826 KM on the clock and my last service was about 2 months ago. This issue started pretty suddenly, was working fine one day, completely dead the next. The dash just shows "Park Assist Failure" and occasionally "Electrical System Workshop!" in red. Tried checking the basics like fuses but no luck. Wonder if I'm dealing with the same wiring issue you had.

Hey again! Yeah, those error messages you're describing sound exactly like what I experienced with my Boxster. When you mentioned it started suddenly, that's another sign pointing towards the wiring issue I had. In my case, I first noticed it right after some heavy rain, which makes sense now that I know moisture was the culprit. Since you've already checked the fuses (good thinking, by the way), I'm even more convinced it's probably the same wiring problem I dealt with. Just to share a bit more detail from my experience, my mechanic showed me the corroded connections after he found them, and they were pretty nasty. The moisture had gotten in through a tiny crack in the protective sleeve around the wiring harness. Given that your car's about the same age as mine was when this happened, it wouldn't surprise me if you're facing the same issue. Quick tip, while you're waiting to get it fixed, watch out when reversing, obviously! I got kind of spoiled by having the sensors and had to readjust to the old-school way of parking for a few days. Let me know what your mechanic finds, I'm curious to see if it's the same problem!

Thanks so much for all the detailed info! This is super helpful, especially knowing about the moisture issue, come to think of it, we did have some heavy rain last week before this started. I'll definitely get my mechanic to check those wiring connections in the rear bumper area. Really appreciate you sharing your experience with the Boxster: sounds like I might be dealing with the same thing. I'll have to dust off my old-school parking skills in the meantime! I will update once I get it checked out. Thanks again for taking the time to help out a fellow Porsche owner with their electrical gremlins!