Total Complaints
3 filings
PORSCHE BOXSTER (987) · model year
3 NHTSA complaints, 2 crash reports. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2005PORSCHEBOXSTER (987) carries 3 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 2 crashes, 0 fires, 2 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 2005 BOXSTER (987) is engine and engine cooling with 1 filings, followed by air bags (1) and electrical system (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.
NHTSA currently has 5 investigation files overlapping the 2005 BOXSTER (987). Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
Total Complaints
3 filings
Crashes Reported
2 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 |
| AIR BAGS | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 |
FALSE AIR BAG MALFUNCTION WARNING LIGHT CAUSED INITIAL DISTRACTION FOLLOWED BY FALSE STEERING WHEEL AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT.. TRYING TO STEER THE CAR DURING THIS EVENT AND DEAL WITH TRAFFIC, VEHICLE ENTERED INTERSECTION AND WAS HIT (T BONED) ON THE PASSENGER SIDE BY ANOTHER VEHICLE.. AIRBAGS ON THE PASSENGER SIDE THEN DEPLOYED.. NO AIRBAGS ON THE DRIVERS SIDE DEPLOYED - ONLY THE STEERING WHEEL AIR BAG PRIOR TO IMPACT.
FALSE AIR BAG MALFUNCTION WARNING LIGHT CAUSED INITIAL DISTRACTION FOLLOWED BY FALSE STEERING WHEEL AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT.. TRYING TO STEER THE CAR DURING THIS EVENT AND DEAL WITH TRAFFIC, VEHICLE ENTERED INTERSECTION AND WAS HIT (T BONED) ON THE PASSENGER SIDE BY ANOTHER VEHICLE.. AIRBAGS ON THE PASSENGER SIDE THEN DEPLOYED.. NO AIRBAGS ON THE DRIVERS SIDE DEPLOYED - ONLY THE STEERING WHEEL AIR BAG PRIOR TO IMPACT.
VEHICLE WAS 2005 PORSCHE BOXSTER. CAR ENGINE SELF-DESTRUCTED WHILE DRIVING HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH. CAUSE WAS FAILURE OF INTERMEDIARY SHAFT BEARING AT 29,000 MILES AS DETERMINED BY ENGINE DISSEMBLY. CAR HAD BEEN PROPERLY MAINTAINED AND SERVICED BY PORSCHE FACILITIES FOR ITS LIFE. INTERMEDIARY SHAFT FAILED AFTER BEARING FAILED, SENDING METAL PIECES THROUGHOUT ENGINE INCLUDING INTO OIL SUMP. TIMING BELT PERFORATED CAMSHAFT COVER. ENGINE WAS IRREPARABLE. THERE ARE MANY OTHER REPORTS ON INTERNET SITES, EASILY SEARCHABLE, FOR "PORSCHE ENGINE FAILURE" OF THIS TYPE. *TR
Mileage: 29,000
Data vintage: August 2026. 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.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 2005 PORSCHE BOXSTER (987); no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.