PORSCHE BOXSTER · model year

2006 PORSCHE BOXSTER

7 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2006PORSCHEBOXSTER carries 7 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2006 BOXSTER is engine with 2 filings, followed by air bags:frontal (1) and electrical system (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.

NHTSA currently has 5 investigation files overlapping the 2006 BOXSTER. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

7
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

7 filings

Crashes Reported

0 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
ENGINE2
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1
POWER TRAIN1
STEERING1
SERVICE BRAKES1

Recent Complaints

20210622ENGINE

Car has 65,000 miles when water-pump failed catastrophically (pump drive shaft sheared) while driving causing breakdown. Needed to be towed to repair facility. 1. Water Pump failed - shaft connecting pully system to impeller sheared in half. Part is available for inspection. 65,000 miles on the engine 2. Car stopped running due to overheating and loss of electrical power - I had to stop in the middle of a busy street and wait for a tow . 3. Car was repaired by dealership and I have the damaged part, service reports and invoice. 4. This occurred without warning - while driving at approx 55mph I heard a "bang" and the coolant and electrical lights lit up on my dashboard. Engine temperature rose rapidly and battery drained quickly. Images of water pump drive shaft show a manufacturing defect of the shaft having been partially compromised prior to the sharing (failure). Google searches show that issues with Porsche Boxter water pumps - including my year and model.

20200906SERVICE BRAKES

I PURCHASED THE 2006 BOXSTER IN JULY 2010 FROM A PRIVATE PARTY, AND SOON AFTERWARD, STARTED TO EXPERIENCE INTERMITTENT ABS/PSM SYSTEM FAILURE WARNING LIGHTS. THE ORIGINAL PORSCHE WARRANTY WAS DUE TO EXPIRE IN JANUARY, 2011. I TOOK THE CAR TO FLEMINGTON PORSCHE IN FLEMINGTON N.J. THREE TIMES IN AUGUST, 2010, BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM. THE WARNING LIGHTS PERSISTED. THE CAR WAS TAKEN TO KNOPF PORSCHE IN ALLENTOWN, PA IN 2012, AND THEY TOO, WERE UNABLE TO GIVE A DEFINITIVE DIAGNOSIS, BUT OPINED THAT THE WARNING LIGHTS WERE FALSE POSITIVES, AND THE SYSTEMS WERE FULLY FUNCTIONAL. LAST YEAR, I WAS FORCED TO MAKE A HARD STOP, ALL FOUR BRAKES LOCKED, THE CAR SKIDDED, AND THE BACK END OF THE CAR BEGAN TO 'FISHTAIL.' THE ABS/PSM SAFETY SYSTEMS ON THIS CAR ARE CLEARLY NOT RELIABLE. IT IS MY OPINION THAT PORSCHE HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP FIX THIS ISSUE BECAUSE THE PROBLEM WAS IDENTIFIED WHILE THE CAR WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY, THE DEALERSHIPS DID NOT AGGRESSIVEL

Mileage: 27,000

20130905ENGINE

DRIVING ON FREEWAY AT ABOUT 70 MPH AND INTERMEDIATE SHAFT FAILED. CREATED DANGEROUS SITUATION AS ENGINE STARTED BILLOWING SMOKE, OBSCURING TRAFFIC CAUSING MANY CARS TO SWERVE DANGEROUSLY AND HAD STOP ABRUPTLY. CAR TOWED TO REPAIR SHOP EMPIRE AUTOHAUS, INC. WHERE PROBLEM WAS DIAGNOSED. OWNED CAR FOR THREE YEARS WITH ZERO PROBLEMS AND REGULAR SERVICE. LEARNED THAT MANY PORSCHE AUTOMOBILES WITH THE M96 ENGINE (UP TO 25%) WITH LESS THAN 90,000 MILES HAVE HAD SAME PROBLEM AND HAS YET TO BE ADDRESSED BY MANUFACTURER. *JB

Mileage: 81,254

20130905POWER TRAIN

DRIVING ON FREEWAY AT ABOUT 70 MPH AND INTERMEDIATE SHAFT FAILED. CREATED DANGEROUS SITUATION AS ENGINE STARTED BILLOWING SMOKE, OBSCURING TRAFFIC CAUSING MANY CARS TO SWERVE DANGEROUSLY AND HAD STOP ABRUPTLY. CAR TOWED TO REPAIR SHOP EMPIRE AUTOHAUS, INC. WHERE PROBLEM WAS DIAGNOSED. OWNED CAR FOR THREE YEARS WITH ZERO PROBLEMS AND REGULAR SERVICE. LEARNED THAT MANY PORSCHE AUTOMOBILES WITH THE M96 ENGINE (UP TO 25%) WITH LESS THAN 90,000 MILES HAVE HAD SAME PROBLEM AND HAS YET TO BE ADDRESSED BY MANUFACTURER. *JB

Mileage: 81,254

20130905STEERING

DRIVING ON FREEWAY AT ABOUT 70 MPH AND INTERMEDIATE SHAFT FAILED. CREATED DANGEROUS SITUATION AS ENGINE STARTED BILLOWING SMOKE, OBSCURING TRAFFIC CAUSING MANY CARS TO SWERVE DANGEROUSLY AND HAD STOP ABRUPTLY. CAR TOWED TO REPAIR SHOP EMPIRE AUTOHAUS, INC. WHERE PROBLEM WAS DIAGNOSED. OWNED CAR FOR THREE YEARS WITH ZERO PROBLEMS AND REGULAR SERVICE. LEARNED THAT MANY PORSCHE AUTOMOBILES WITH THE M96 ENGINE (UP TO 25%) WITH LESS THAN 90,000 MILES HAVE HAD SAME PROBLEM AND HAS YET TO BE ADDRESSED BY MANUFACTURER. *JB

Mileage: 81,254

20121102ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

I AWOKE ONE SATURDAY MORNING AFTER IT HAD BEEN RAINING ALL NIGHT TO FIND MY SPOILER UP (WHICH IS ONLY SUPPOSED TO GO UP AT 75 MPH), MY CAR WINDOWS DOWN AND MY REAR LIGHTS ON. WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO MOVE THE VEHICLE AND SHUT THE WINDOWS, NOTHING WORKED. THE CAR RAN OKAY, AS FAR AS I COULD TELL, BUT THE ALARM STARTED TO GO OFF WHILE DRIVING AND I ENDED UP HAVING TO DISABLE THE BATTERY JUST TO STOP ALL OF THE MALFUNCTIONS THAT WERE HAPPENING. THERE WERE MULTIPLE FAULT CODES ON IN THE ON BOARD COMPUTER, THE CONVERTIBLE TOP WOULD NOT GO DOWN AND MANY OF THE INTERNAL BUTTONS/SWITCHES DID NOT WORK. AFTER THIS HAPPENED I ATTEMPTED TO DO SOME RESEARCH TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO CAUSE THIS. I WAS AMAZED AT HOW MANY CASES OF THIS EXACT SAME SITUATION THERE WERE FLOODING THE INTERNET. APPARENTLY THE VEHICLE IS DESIGNED SO THAT IF CERTAIN DRAINS ARE CLOGGED, WATER LEAKS INTO THE CAR ONTO THE BACK CARPETS UNDER THE SEATS AND CONVENIENTLY UNDER THOSE CARPETS ARE THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULES/

Mileage: 17,000

20061004AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED EACH TIME THE ENGINE WAS STARTED OR WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE AIRBAG LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY A DEALER WHO DETERMINED WHILE THE AIRBAG LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED, THE AIRBAGS WOULD NOT DEPLOY IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH. ALSO, THE DEALER DETERMINED THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE SEAT NEEDED TO BE ADJUSTED FORWARD SO THE AIRBAG LIGHT WOULD NOT ILLUMINATE. AFTER THE CONTACT ADJUSTED THE SEAT AS INSTRUCTED BY THE DEALER, THE PROBLEM PERSISTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT ALERTED. UPDATED 10/31/2006 - THE AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATED ALTHOUGH THERE WAS A PASSENGER IN THE SEAT. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER THREE TIMES FOR THE SAME FAILURE BUT PROBLEM STILL EXIST. *NM

Mileage: 3,800

Compare 2006PORSCHEBOXSTER to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2006 PORSCHE BOXSTER have?
The 2006 PORSCHE BOXSTER has 7 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 2006 PORSCHE BOXSTER?
The most-complained component for the 2006 PORSCHE BOXSTER is ENGINE with 2 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include AIR BAGS:FRONTAL and ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
Is the 2006 PORSCHE BOXSTER safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.