All,
I wonder if anyone knows of this issue. This is a true story, not a joke!

I have a red 2007 GT3, some of you in the bay area may have seen it. I keep the car in fantastic shape. A few days ago, nice sunny day out here in Ca, I go to the garage to start the car up to have a fun ride. I put the key in the ignition, turn it, and BANG, I hear a very loud noise from the front compartment, smoke emanates from the front, and I am thinking something went wrong very badly. Thinking the car had caught fire, I try to open the trunk, all electrical systems are down and the trunk can't be opened. Smoke still coming out, I try to find out if there is any type of manual release for the hood, none! It cannot be opened.

Now, my other car is right next to the Porsche, thick smoke coming out, and I can't move the car out of the garage, I am thinking, God, trouble: the fuel tank can explode, the other car can catch a fire, and the whole house can be burned down! Ran inside, took my wife and son out of the house and anxiously observed the car from outside until smoke stopped coming out and there was no sign of fire. I cautiously approached the car and see this water-like fluid coming down the entire front end of the car. At this point, I am guessing the battery exploded and the water-like fluid is perhaps acid battery. I pour baking soda on it; rest assured, it is battery acid! The car was a total mess, I towed it to the dealership and they confirmed the exploding battery. Now, this was a battery that was completely functional before the incident and always maintained using Porsche charger. The cost to clean up the car and replace the battery >$1000! I call Porsche and asked them to address the issue, I got this lady explaining to me the lead-acid battery physics (I am a PhD in Physics!!) and saying that Porsche cannot cover any of the expenses and it is expected that lead-acid batteries can explode from time to time! I am thinking, WOW, am I talking to Porsche or some used car dealership trying to deny responsibility. Funny (and unfortunately) enough, at the dealership, the service adviser tells me that it once happened at the dealership in the shop as well and the noise was so loud that they could hear it inside the showroom.

Have you guys heard of such a thing? This was an OEM Porsche battery in perfect working condition and just exploded out of the blue. It could have easily exploded the fuel tank and God knows what would have been the result with the car parked in the garage, me in it, my other car right next to it, etc. etc. I am even more amazed at Porsche's response and denial of an responsibility, financially or otherwise. This has left a very bad taste of Porsche in me, in general. I am so upset, this may be my last Porsche ever.

I am telling you all, I have never seen a battery explode like this. Going bad, I understand, exploding, this is a first ever for me. And, the battery was not dry, as evidenced by the acid all over the car and on the floor of my garage.

Be warned, there is something wrong with Porsche OEM batteries and even if it causes serious damage to your car or other property, personal injury, or even death, Porsche will not take responsibility. This is what the lady told me on the phone!

Any comments or suggestions?

Kevin.

 

Kevin,
sorry to hear what happened. surprised & not surprised Porsche is not covering it...

just curious though, are u using the newer style Porsche battery maintainer that's got a Cayenne part number on it? i used to use one of this maintainer & it fried the CGT battery. lucky it didn't explode but it was fried for sure.

 

I have heard of battery explosion. It's a big mess indeed. You should be glad no one got hurt and your engine is in the back.

This obviously doesn't happen often and I don't think it's specifc to Porsche. I wonder if your battery venting tube is clogged.

If someone did get hurt, Porsche would be liable in a court of law I would think.

 

Very sorry for the inconvenient but Batteries do explode much more often than we think.
As far as I know Porsche itself does not build batteries but they buy them from a third party manufacturer which produce for BMW/Mercedes and other...
Your car is MY 2007: the battery is 4 years old and its life depends on many different factors. (car utilisation/temeratures etc etc).
I am not surprised Porsche does take responsability after all that time...
I think no manufacturer would do... for sure not in Europe...

 

Molle is the manufacturer

 

If anyone here would open the luggage compartment, you'd know.

 

I bought it with the car in 2007. I am not sure which part number it has but says Porsche on it and I bought it through their parts department.
Sorry to hear about your CGT. Good thing it did not explode on you. A CGT is a much more expensive tool than my GT3!!
The whole episode has been bitter; especially with the way Porsche has handled it. I had battery tender on my Stradale (it's sold, sadly) and this never happened with that car. I have it on my M3 all the time, the battery has not exploded on me. They are not suuposed to cause explosions; if they do, Porsche should stop selling them.

 

I am glad nothing worse happened. I am not suing Porsche for $1000, but anything more serious they would have been in serious trouble in the courts. The battery tender device is not supposed to "cook" batteries. I will not take that as an excuse from Porsche. I would say bad desing, defective part, etc. etc.
The lady on the phone told me; yep, batteries tend to explode from time to time!! WOW!

 

I think it is ridiculous not to take responsibility for it. This battery had no issues despite its age. Voltage and crank A were totally fine. There was enough electrolyte in it as I saw a big pool of acid on my garage floor as well as all over the car. A battery tender was used on it all the time and those devices are not supposed to cause "cooking" or "frying" the battery; if they do and cause explosion, Porsche should not sell them as an OEM part. If I had the time and the will to sue Porsche; I am sure I can get them over this. As the simplest measure, an arc suppressor device should be used in the circuit so that batteries never explode!

 

I must agree with all of this. Personally I would not consider this to be Porsche's responsibility.

Sorry to hear, it sucks and a PITA but there are any number of reasons not Porsche's fault that caused this to occur.

Best of luck in resolving and moving forward.