Black Smoke & Poor Performance: Cayman Issues Solved?

Hey there! Had a similar issue with my 2013 Porsche Boxster last year (I'd say I have some experience with Porsches). Those symptoms sound really familiar, it turned out to be a faulty injector in my case. Had to take it to my trusted workshop and they diagnosed it pretty quickly. The repair, including parts and labor, set me back about 515€ but it fixed all those issues you're describing, the black smoke, sluggish performance, and hard starts all went away. Can you share which engine variant your Cayman has? That would help me give you more specific info based on my experience. Also, are you getting any specific error codes with that check engine light?

Thanks! I've got a Cayman with 33253 KM on the clock, and it was just serviced recently. Your injector experience sounds spot on, the symptoms match up perfectly. I'll definitely get those error codes checked first thing tomorrow. I'm kinda hoping it's just the injector like in your case, sounds like a straightforward fix. Bit worried about the cost though, prices have probably gone up since your repair. Did you go with OEM parts for your Boxster? Really appreciate the detailed response!

Hey again! Yeah, I definitely went with OEM parts for my Boxster, with these cars, it's just not worth taking chances with aftermarket stuff. You're probably right about the prices though, everything's gotten more expensive lately. Actually, funny you mention the mileage, my Boxster had around 35000 KM when this happened, so pretty similar to yours. And yeah, like yours, mine had just been serviced too, which is why the issue caught me off guard. Just to expand on my earlier experience, when they replaced the injector, they also gave the fuel system a proper clean. Made a massive difference to how the car runs. The workshop told me these direct injection engines can be a bit sensitive to fuel quality too, so I've been more picky about where I fill up since then. Let me know what those error codes show up, if it's anything like what I had, it should point pretty clearly to the injector issue. And hey, even if the repair costs a bit more now, at least you know what you're dealing with. These cars are pretty solid otherwise!

Thanks so much for all that info! That's really helpful about the OEM parts and fuel system cleaning, definitely gonna mention that to my workshop. It's pretty reassuring that our cars had such similar mileage when this happened. Makes total sense about being picky with fuel quality too, I've probably been a bit casual about that. Will definitely start being more selective about where I fill up once this is sorted. I'll update you tomorrow after I get those error codes read. Really hoping it's just the injector like yours! Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience, it's made me feel a lot better about the whole situation. Will let you know how it goes!