Porsche Hit with Lawsuit Over Alternator Defect

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Porsche Cars North America, Inc. alleging that some of the company’s cars are defective and pose a “significant safety risk.”

According to the lawsuit, the alternator cables in the 2005-2008 Porsche 911 vehicles can malfunction and prevent the alternator from properly charging the battery. As a result, owners may be unable to drive their cars as there is not enough electric charge to power the vehicles and could even get stuck out on the road should the charge run out while driving, according to the complaint. In the worst case scenario, the suit claims, the cars’ headlights could turn off during a storm or at night due to the insufficient charge – well before the vehicle is disabled.

Plaintiff Paul Butler claims that his key got stuck in his 2007 Porsche 911 S C2 Cabriolet and would not start – even though he just replaced the battery. Butler took his car to the dealership, which discovered that the new battery was “insufficiently charged” – a problem that was only resolved after the mechanic replaced the wiring harness from the alternator, according to the suit. The plaintiff had to pay more than $3000 for this repair.

The suit claims that Porsche knew about the problem, but didn’t warn consumers or try to fix it. It seeks to cover people in California who own or lease a 2005-2008 Porsche 911 vehicle.

The suit is Paul B. Butler v. Porsche Cars North America.