The 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet (996.2) is the all-wheel-drive soft-top 911, built for 2001–2005. It pairs the open body with the same 3.6-liter M96 flat-six and viscous-coupling AWD as the Carrera 4 coupe, driven through a six-speed manual or five-speed Tiptronic S.
It carries the same M96 engine concerns as the rest of the Carrera range — the sealed IMS bearing, bore-scoring risk and weeping rear main seals — across the single-row IMS years, so a documented retrofit and a clean bore-scope matter more than the build date. The convertible body adds weight and sheds a little rigidity; the Mezger engine that avoids the risk lives only in the Turbo and track cars.
US NHTSA campaigns for this model. A listed campaign may not apply to a particular car, and may already have been remedied — check a specific car by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Not on its own. The single-row IMS bearing that's the version of greatest concern spans roughly the whole 996.2 run (MY2002–2005), so a later build year doesn't buy you out of the risk. What actually reduces it is a documented IMS retrofit and a clean bore-scope — evidence, not model year. If you want the issue off the table entirely, a Mezger-engined car (Turbo or GT3) doesn't have it.
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