1998 Porsche Boxster Air bags Problems
- Complaints
- 8about this part
- Share
- 25%of 32 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 47,050miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 8 complaints about the air bags of the 1998 Porsche Boxster, 25% of the 32 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 47,050 miles.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“I have a 1998 posche Boxster. The car has a problem in that the airbag light will come on and the owner will not know if the airbags are working properly or not. Porsche has had over 7 fixes on this issue and none have worked to date. They have not replaced mine under warranty. I have been informed by my local Porsche dealer this is an on going problem. Porsche north america refused to fix this problem because the car is out of warranty.”
NHTSA complaint #10202959, filed 2007-09, 43,000 miles“Porsche started selling boxsters in 1997. The car has a problem in that the airbag light will come on and the owner will not know if the airbags are working properly or not. Porsche has had over 7 fixes on this issue and none have worked to date. They have replace mine under warranty, and it has failed again. I have been informed by my local porache dealer this is an on going problem. Porsche north america refuses to fix this problem sine the car is out of warranty.”
NHTSA complaint #10121034, filed 2005-05, 49,100 miles“The air bag light illuminated on the car spontaneously and stays lit at all times indicating a fault in the system. From all reports on various Porsche discussion forums (thousands of incidents that have been reported and discussed), this is a common problem in the first generation Porsche boxsters. It is a defect in the seat belt buckle and seat belt ground caused by corrosion of the contact points for the seat belt that triggers the light. The purpose of an air bag light is to inform you of a defect in this safety system and to notify you that the system will not operate as it should. …”
NHTSA complaint #10574752, filed 2014-03, 45,000 miles“1998 Porsche Boxster airbag light, related to seat belt buckle, known issue with a fix that has a part number, but Porsche never had a recall so the only way they will replace it for free is if the light came on within the warranty time. Cost out of warranty $500 to $1500. This should not be a warranty issue but a safety issue, if they knew that the part was faulty they should have recalled the part and fixed every model that came out with the old design. There are many reviews all over the internet by 97' to 99' Boxster owners. …”
NHTSA complaint #10282277, filed 2009-08, 60,200 miles“The airbag warning light came on and the dealer stated the left and right seatbelt need to be replaced to correct the problem. The dealer stated that they could not gaurantee that the seatbelts and airbags would deploy correctly if the vehicle was in an accident. Porsche has issued a technical service bulletin on this problem. The question is how many vehicles have the same problem and should this be a recall if it is widespread.”
NHTSA complaint #750130, filed 2001-08Air bags: other model years
Other parts of the 1998 Porsche Boxster
11 complaintsEngine cooling
7 complaintsElectrical system
6 complaintsSeat belts
2 complaintsEngine
1 complaintsEquipment
1 complaintsExterior lighting
1 complaintsFuel system
1 complaintsLatches, locks and linkages
1 complaintsSuspension
1 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
1 complaints
← All problems reported for the 1998 Porsche Boxster
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology