Overview
- Owners reported sudden engine shutdowns or no-starts beginning December 1, leaving hundreds of cars inoperable across cities including Moscow, St. Petersburg and Krasnodar.
- The incidents are tied to the factory Vehicle Tracking System introduced in 2013, which can immobilize a car when it loses satellite connectivity.
- Dealership group Rolf says all models and engine types in Russia could self-lock, noting a surge in service requests from November 28 and advising manual resets of the alarm unit as a bypass.
- Owner groups report temporary recoveries after disabling or rebooting the VTS or disconnecting the battery for hours, but service centers remain swamped and some faults recur.
- Porsche’s Russian and global offices have not issued a public explanation, there is no evidence of a deliberate attack, and no other countries appear affected.