Anyone get a Porsche Safety recall notice?

[DuckMan]

See one headed into our mailbox later today. Anyone else get one?

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[daveo4EV]

could this be the head light issue? lights shine too bright (I've not received anything in writing)

https://www.macanevowners.com/forum...-shine-too-bright-2-941-units-affected.18259/

 

[daveo4EV]

did some digging on Porsche's VIN recall site - found this for my vin - my bet is the postal mail notice _IS_ this recall - but we'll have to wait to find out.

Last updated Feb 01,2025
Recalls
Re-code main control unit for body electronics and control unit for headlights centrally | ARC5 | Nov 27,2024

Description
Due to a software data set error that has since been corrected.
Safety Risk
the main control unit for body electronics and the headlight control units on the subject vehicles were programmed to the European instead of North American specifications.
Remedy
THE REMEDY IS NOW AVAILABLE. The subject vehicles will receive new software for the affected control units.

 

[daveo4EV]

I betting this would be an excellent opportunity to use OTA if Porsche could do it - I'm also betting that this recall will _NOT_ be done via OTA - putting to bed any notion that Porsche has made progress on OTA issues…

dealer applied update for this "trivial" recall (a configuration data set change) is going to be "proof" that OTA updates are still mostly only skin deep PCM level - not actaul vehicle functionality.

it's a pity - cause this is going to cost Porsche quite a bit of money for something that should be an OTA update.

when the postal notification tells you to take your car in for dealer service "free of charge" - you'll know you're not dealing with a modern forward looking company.

 

[DuckMan]

Guess I will skip that one for a bit.

 

[SergeyIndy]

Interested to see if this will be OTA or go to the Dealer.
OTA is usually some simple Infotainment or Map update.
This will probably be the usual drag out dealer only visit that requires connect 12V to charger, run VAL, authenticate with Germany for permission, run update, then check if applied, and so on...

 

[daveo4EV]

I'm just saying that _IF_ Porsche had OTA capabilities - this Recall would be the PERFECT example of where this could be done entirely via OTA with no dealer visit.

It's by definition a "software" only change - not even "code" but rather "data configuration parameters"…

if Porsche can't do this over OTA, they really don't have any meaningful OTA capabilities.

I'm betting dealer visit.

 

[alvaro]

It’s the headlights. Dealer reached out as well.

 

[DuckMan]

It’s the headlights. Dealer reached out as well.

I'll take brighter ones. I like making high beaming monster trucks dim their light bars and aftermarket fog lamps.

 

[SimonEV]

The problem with a safety recall is that an OTA update cannot be presumed to have been applied. NHTSA lists the recall for US cars and the only way Porsche can confirm the uptake is by having Dealer do the update.

 

[daveo4EV]

The problem with a safety recall is that an OTA update cannot be presumed to have been applied. NHTSA lists the recall for US cars and the only way Porsche can confirm the uptake is by having Dealer do the update.

not correct - if you have fleet data you can inventory the fleet remotely and know for a fact which cars do and do not have the update…

it is in fact easier and more accurate than dealer service updating vin's in a DB

I see no reason that you can't have an compliance DB completely harvested from connected vehicle's in nearly real time…

 

[DuckMan]

@daveo4EV agree. fleet telematics could this stuff many years ago. OTA updates for items are easy enough, but security, compliance and regulation should be looked at and codified before pushing code to cars without customer engagement.

 

[daveo4EV]

@daveo4EV agree. fleet telematics could this stuff many years ago. OTA updates for items are easy enough, but security, compliance and regulation should be looked at and codified before pushing code to cars without customer engagement.

tldr; if your software update sucks it doesn't matter how you install it…poor software quality isn't saved by a manual install process.

if they allow dealers to install it via a flash drive or equivalent it's OK for an OTA update - let's not confuse how you ship/install a software update with how you qualify if it's the right collect of bits that you should install on any product.

if you can't validate your software for an OTA update, you can't validate your software for dealer manual install either.

not shipping crap updates to your customer base is table stakes for software updates regardless of how it's installed…

and let's not confuse/assume dealer/service installed updates have fewer problems - just ask the Taycan community how many people had their Taycan bricked and needed entirely new PCM head units (or other major computer components) when a round of software updates hit the Taycan in 2021 and 2022 - being dealer installed didn't save Porsche any headaches there - they still released "crap" that could brick major components, the only difference was the car was bricked in a dealer service bay rather than a customer's garage…

don't ship crap is minimum requirements for any update.

having played at the OTA game for 20+ years at my previous employer any "fear" of OTA vs. alternative distribution/install methods is purely FUD - and means fundementially you don't have confidence in your software - distribution/installation control isn't a "fix" for bad software that should've never been released or was not properly tested.

 

[DuckMan]

if they allow dealers to install it via a flash drive or equivalent it's OK for an OTA update - let's not confuse how you ship/install a software update with how you qualify if it's the right collect of bits that you should install on any product.

if you can't validate your software for an OTA update, you can't validate your software for dealer manual install either.

not shipping crap updates to your customer base is table stakes for software updates regardless of how it's installed…

and let's not confuse/assume dealer/service installed updates have fewer problems - just ask the Taycan community how many people had their Taycan bricked and needed entirely new PCM head units (or other major computer components) when a round of software updates hit the Taycan in 2021 and 2022 - being dealer installed didn't save Porsche any headaches there - they still released "crap" that could brick major components, the only difference was the car was bricked in a dealer service bay rather than a customer's garage…

don't ship crap is minimum requirements for any update.

having played at the OTA game for 20+ years at my previous employer any "fear" of OTA vs. alternative distribution/install methods is purely FUD - and means fundementially you don't have confidence in your software - distribution/installation control isn't a "fix" for bad software that should've never been released or was not properly tested.

Lot to unpack there, but thanks for posting this.

 

[daveo4EV]

got my notice in writing in the postal mail today…

in my caseit's about the headlights

I'm told to take It to the dealer for a "1 hour procedure" but it "may take longer" - please schedule with your dealer service.

Porsche has _NO_ meaningful OTA capabilities - this is a trivial issue to update the vehicle - it's going to take at least 1 hour of shop labor and 2 days of my time - wonder if my dealer will be able to schedule the recall before St. Patrick's day…

if any recall should/could be done via OTA this one should qualify - the fact that they can't do it via OTA - well that speaks volumes about where they are at.

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