Debuting for the 2004 model year, the Porsche Carrera GT became one of the hottest supercars of the mid-2000s along with the Ferrari Enzo and Mercedes SLR McLaren. It's very rare to see one in public, and as such, recalls are even more rare. That's why this new recall from Porsche regarding the Carrera GT's suspension caught our attention.
To Porsche's credit, there's no mention of any accidents regarding compromised suspension components, never mind injuries. Listed as recall campaign number 23V-241 with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 489 Carrera GTs are included in the recall for North America, constituting a majority of the 675 cars sold to buyers in the US and Canada.
The problem relates to the spherical joints connecting the wishbone suspension components. According to Porsche, these components are made from a material that doesn't provide "sufficient resistance to intergranular stress corrosion when exposed to salt and mechanical stress over service life." As a result, the joints could crack and possibly lead to a failure of the wishbone suspension.
Per the recall announcement, Porsche unexpectedly discovered this problem during a routine vehicle inspection. In August 2019, a customer's car was with Porsche for unrelated servicing when spherical joints were found broken on one side. A subsequent investigation of the other joints found no damage. Porsche embarked on a more thorough investigation to determine if this was a systemic or isolated incident, but given the extreme rarity of the Carrera GT, that obviously wasn't easy.
By the end of March 2023, Porsche had collected enough data to issue a recall "out of an abundance of caution." No other vehicles were found with damaged joints, but Porsche did note a higher level of surface corrosion in locations where road salt is extensively used. There's no mention of whether these cars were driven in winter conditions, but salt residue can certainly persist on dry roads long after snow is gone.
Porsche doesn't have replacement parts available yet. This fix is to manufacture new components using higher-grade materials, but the automaker will first inspect cars to determine if abnormal wear exists. If that's the case, owners will be advised to not drive their vehicles until the retrofit is available.
