1997 Porsche Boxster

Problems owners report

Complaints filed with NHTSA about the 1997 Porsche Boxster, by the system named in each complaint. One complaint can name several.

• Air bags7
• Electrical system7
• Power train5
• Seat belts4
• Engine and engine cooling3
• Vehicle speed control1
• Equipment1
• Exterior lighting1

NHTSA ODI complaints (public domain) · updated 23 Oct 2026 · 0 injuries and 0 deaths reported

Compared with other years

NHTSA ODI complaints by model year

New York safety inspections

At its first New York inspection the 1997 Porsche Boxster failed the safety check 0.96% of the time — 40% less often than the average 1997 passenger car (1.60%). Median odometer at inspection: 64,658 miles.

NY DMV Vehicle Inspections (vezn-fmmk), initial inspections since Aug 2021 · how we count

In the Netherlands

181 first registered in 1997 are on Dutch roads; 57% arrived later as imports.

Most common APK defects

• Bandenspanning niet op juiste waarde104
• Overmatige vloeistoflekkage overige vloeistoffen39
• Dimlicht onjuist afgesteld25
• Band(en) aanwezig met een profieldiepte van 1,6 t/m 2,5 mm21
• Waarschuwingsinrichting airbag- / gordelsysteem geeft defect17
• Ruitenwisserinstallatie geeft onvoldoende zicht12
• Stuur- of fuseekogel met slijtage kleiner of gelijk 1,0 mm9
• Kentekenplaatverlichting werkt niet (goed) / ontbreekt7

Colours

RDW Open Data: registered vehicles and APK defects (CC0) · defect descriptions in the RDW's Dutch wording

In the United Kingdom

266 cars built in 1997 were licensed for the road at the end of 2025, and 425 more were declared off the road (SORN).

Department for Transport and DVLA, vehicle licensing statistics (table VEH0124, year of manufacture) · Open Government Licence v3.0

MOT test results in Great Britain

In 2023, 415 of these cars first registered in 1997 took their annual MOT test. 71% passed first time; among all cars first registered in 1997 the figure was 64%.

DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023 (Department for Transport) · Open Government Licence v3.0 · first tests only; a fix made at the test station within the hour still counts as a fail

In Finland

32 of these cars first registered in 1997 were in use in Finland on 30 Jun 2026, with an average of 149,000 km on the odometer at their last inspection.

Traficom (Finnish Transport and Communications Agency), open data on vehicles in use · CC BY 4.0

In New Zealand

33 1997 cars are on the New Zealand register; 97% arrived as used imports, 3% were sold new in New Zealand.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Motor Vehicle Register (March 2026) · CC BY 4.0

Fuel consumption

Official Canadian test results for 2 variants: combined 12.0–13.5 L/100 km (about 17–20 mpg US), CO₂ 276–311 g/km.

Litres per 100 km. Natural Resources Canada, Fuel consumption ratings (open.canada.ca) · Open Government Licence – Canada

Recalls in Canada

1 Transport Canada recall for the 1997 Porsche Boxster.

Transport Canada Vehicle Recalls Database · Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada

Recalls

Whether a recall was fixed on a particular car is known only to the manufacturer: check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

NHTSA recalls · summaries in NHTSA's own words

Service bulletins

What Porsche told its dealers about the 1997 Porsche Boxster: known faults, fixes and updates.

NHTSA manufacturer communications (public domain)