Are there inherent problems with a Porsche Cayenne

engine problems.. check www.carcomplaints.com

Coolant tubes, cardan shafts (drive shaft central bearing goes bad), noisy HVAC blower motors all fail prematurely

Repairs are very costly unless you can do the work yourself. Fuels pumps go, coolant tubes, chain tension er, water pump, all had to be repaired on my 2004 Cayenne. Also brakes have to be replaced every 10,000 or so miles. They take turns needing replacement, first the front and then the back. Tires are minimum $800-$1,000. they seem to wear every 15,000 or so miles. And the radio PCM amplifier had to be replaced, I loved my car, but finally sold it at 105,000 miles. IF you can afford the repairs then go for it. I do not know if later models were any better.

Get a car history from the owner. I kept all my repairs receipts. Did I mention fuel pumps also had to be replaced.

We have the V8 Cayenne S from 2012, about 40K miles. If you buy CPO with Porsche it is great b/c it includes the extended 7yr + 100K mile warranty for trivial cost. And when something breaks, it is NOT TRIVIAL. Recently our 2012 Cayenne experienced a COOLANT LEAK due to the ENDEMIC PORSCHE COOLANT PIPE ATTACHMENT DESIGN found on all models, including high end 911's and Panamera's from the 2010-2014 time period. Porsche decided to use LOCTITE adhesive to attach critical cooling tubes within the engine instead of a simple screwed-clamp (No Joke, across all 3 models!). Porsche filed a 25-pg NHTSA response from the factory that shows their weak coolant "water neck" adhesive design. Our Cayenne cooling tube connecting the 2 halves of the engine came loose, and all the coolant escaped the car in less than 30 seconds. Luckily we were on surface streets, and after flat- bedding the SUV 30 miles to the nearest dealer, the cost to repair was $5,500. We are real fortunate that our SoCal Porsche Advisor went to bat for us with PCNA, and that thankfully PCNA covered $4,800 of the cost, out of warranty. The repair requires that the ENGINE BE REMOVED from the car! (like a Ferrari 30K mile service!)

2010-2012 Cayenne S & turbo models (V8 engines, 4.8 DFI): The camshaft bolt shearing problem affects 2010-2012 Cayenne V8 models (S & turbo). The bolt in question is an aluminum/steel core version, and Porsche's recommended update is all steel. Bolt shearing happens in different places, especially the head, and the affected engine will have varying degrees of damage, up to full replacement, which according to various Cayenne forums, happens frequently. Panamera V8 engines from the same & earlier time periods are also affected. Porsche issued a Workshop Campaign (WC-22 issued March 2013) to address a subset of affected vehicles. Some failures have occurred on vehicles outside the campaign. A Porsche dealer can run your VIN thru the WC system to see if your Cayenne is covered. For failures not covered by WC- 22, you can ask your Service Advisor to contact PCNA to authorize a repair or engine replacement under the Emissions Warranty, which would cover damage from the camshaft programmed to control emissions output, which is 7yrs/70K or 8yrs/80K depending on multiple factors including the state the car was purchased in. The Federal Emissions Warranty is 8yrs/80K.

There is a good overall review of the Camshaft Adjuster Bolt Sheering problem by a set of attorneys in California. They describe: "The problem lies in the aluminum camshaft adjuster bolts which have a tendency to sheer off, which prevent the camshafts from running. If this occurs in the camshaft that operates the vacuum pump, the power braking will also fail, which will result in an extremely dangerous situation especially if the driver does not have the strength to brake the car without the vacuum powdered brakes. The bolts themselves may also drop into the engine and cause the engine to fail." The link to this article published Aug-2016 is here: http://www.bestattorney.com/blog/porsche-camshaft-defect- comes-to-light

So sad, Porsche you should be ashamed for your poor engineering quality, especially for a premium sports car, suv or sedans manufactured in the Las 20 yrs. I own 3 classic Porsches and by far way way more reliable than anything made by you in the last 20yrs. Take lessons from Toyota or Honda! Every time I want to purchase a newer late Porsche all I see is temporary gratification. $$$ out the window!!!

Jack, I beg to differ. I have owned more than 25 Porsches in the last 25 years, currently owning a 1972 911, 1976 911, 2004 996 C4S, 2009 997 Carrera 2 PDK. The air cooled cars need far more maintenance per mile driven. I have to do the valves and gaskets every year, points, spark plugs every 20k miles, bushes, gear shift linkages. I had to do engine out valve jobs on both before they reached 100k miles. Both the water cooled cars have over 100k miles and I have never touched anything on the engine other than 1 spark plug change, 1 AOS and oil changes every 7k miles. The newer cars get driven a lot harder too.

Took delivery of the new Cayenne S 3 in January 2018. Not seen any other new ones on the road in Switzerland so far. Had the car for five weeks now and endless problems. Amongst other the cover on the rear wiped simply falls off. The entire navigation system and radio is faulty, simply freezes for hours on end. Last week the hard rive crashed. Porsche also sold me carpets which they now informed me are not being manufactured so I can't get them. Yet they do not refund me for the carpets. I ordered the car in September 2017 and made it clear that I need an English manual, they had all this time to provide it but still have not. Poor product and shocking sales service.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I am waiting for the new X5 before Deciding what to buy I would prefer Cayenne 3. fantastic design. Fantastic driving experience. But how reliable? A friend of mine has 1 Panamera....now selling after Less than 1 year for too many problems.

I want to share a troubleshooting experience with a 2014 cayanne hybrid. I added some aftermarket parts to the electrical system (I know, frowned apon) in the midst of fiddling around in the rear compartment that houses the hybrid batteries I bumped the orange latch for the disconnect. Photo below. That set off a code on the dash called "hybrid system warning" the car would function normally except it would not start. Simply sliding the lever on the orange switch closed repaired it. 24 hours and two mechanics later.

2015 cayenne s having problem with transfer case.

2015 Cayenne S 32000 Kms having issue with transfer case and navigation/radio

My 2012 Cayenne transfer case blew out at 68000 miles. Had it repaired to the tune of $5100 and sold the bitch. The shop that repaired it stated the transfer cases are a VW part and fall apart often. Luckily I sold it for $8k more than I owed. Done with Porsche. Good luck with German garbage.

I am selling my 1984 Porsche 928s, I no longer have the time to drive it or take care of it. the engine is a 4.7 which is in great running condition 140k a/c& heat works good. please email me for more info. cybernetmobility@gmail.com

My 2011 Cayenne has had zero mechanical failures nor problems. 112,000 miles as of today. Have lived in 3 states with it. High elevation and very aggressive mountain driving (fast, curvy & steep ups/downs. Tires are the only real expense. Must be lucky with getting a perfectly built unit or maybe because anal retentive and take in for every single service period. Plan on keeping it for another 40K miles.

oh wait, edit.... drivers seat fan failed, vent tabs and window opener chromed plastic tips (all plastic pieces) broke off but everything is functionable and unless I told someone, they wouldn't notice.

this looking for a car

Ann - Not sure if you still check this thread, but can you let me know which dealer you dealt with since I just had the same coolant issue and it's way too expensive to pay out of pocket for a known issue / poor design. Thank you.

2015 Cayenne S with 35k miles showing following issues: 1. Hesitation when acceleration. 2. Cruise control not maintaining the set speed when going slight uphills. Took it to the dealership since it is a certified with warranty. Dealer replaced the transfer case under warranty. The hesitation is better, but it is not gone. Technicians couldn’t find anything wrong. Cruise control issue seems to be ok now. Only time will tell. Anyone have any similar issues with 2015 Cayenne S? If you did what was done to correct it. Appreciated the feedback. James

GuruY9JR9, could acceleration hesitation be due to a software problem? Normally, there is a response lag programmed into the ECU, which changes according to driving style. Do you still have the same issue when you enable sport driving mode? If the response becomes quicker when you drive in sports mode and the lag returns in normal driving mode, this can be considered usual unless it lags for too long.

I would recommend not going with a 2004 or earlier. I have a 2004 S, and while it is a great driver, it has had it's share of issues. I do the brakes myself, only about $140 for front and rear pads, and about the easiest change I have seen in 40 years of wrench turning. I got 40,000 miles out of my brakes, and my Continental tires, so I think perhaps the folks only getting 10,000 may be perhaps enjoying the turbo a bit much, or have a lot of curves in their routine driving roads. I did the coolant tubes, which on the 04's is a "one and done" repair that gets rid of the plastic. bigge3st issue is that at 120,000 miles I have a ticking noise that I am told is caused by the #8 cylinder spawling metal. still doesn't burn oil, but sooner or later something is going to go. Still, gotta say, nothing drives quite like a Porsche!

Problem, reduce engine power light comes on my 2012 Porsche Cayenne hybrid. Try to accelerate on freeway and the car de-accelerates. Any ideas what causes the problem? Service department clueless

I'm the second owner of a 2004 Cayenne S that had 40,000 miles when I purchased it and now has just turned 70,000. I have replaced brakes, coil packs, spark plugs, coolant lines, water pump, two pulleys, power steering pump, batteries, rear drive shaft, flex coupling on drive shaft, front drive shaft, front differential, front driver side CV axle, thermostat, mass air sensors, camshaft position sensor, crankshaft sensor, starter makes noise, motor mount, and tires. From what I understand I still have the engine, transmission, and transfer case yet to contend with, then a wiring harness that becomes brittle in the end. So just about every component of this vehicle will have to be replaced or repaired. I am thankful I didn't get soaked purchasing it off the lot. This is my first Porsche and what a disappointment! When a premium is paid for a luxury vehicle, it is expected to be engineered to justify the premium. Porsche has to be taken to court for many of these issues which are known to plague each and every vehicle to be taken care of. They seem to be content producing low quality vehicles that have their dissatisfied customers paying for costly repairs that often exceed the value of the car which decreases whether repairs have been made or not. I have friends who drive Kia, Toyota, Honda, Ford, and Nissan who get a great laugh each time I call needing ride to work. When I go on road trips I rent a car so I can feel confident I'll make it there without issue. Here's the kicker, the car drives like a dream! I've never been more satisfied with a vehicle's handling, I love it! So I'll continue repairing issues as they come up and smile each time I am behind the wheel.

I have the basic model of the porsche cayenne with the 3.2 V6 engine and when I went for the classic service I was told that there is a very small leak in the gearbox. because I don't have the money to do it I left it. It's been a long time and the car hasn't shown anything. The help I would like is for someone who has experience to tell me if it can really theoretically apply and if I should do it or not because the cost is high enough to ask me (I was told this by representatives of porsche)

I have a 2015 Cayenne S with 60K miles on it and it hesitates when accelerating, especially when going uphills and when the weather is hot. Took it to the dealership several times and they claimed this is how it was built for this year model. You had to floor the car for it to downshift several gears (not just one gear which it doesn't do anything to the rpm or the speed) in order for it to go. And yet, there is still a few seconds delay. Also had the transfer case replace when it was under factory warranty. Very disappointing. I have much fewer issues with my old BMW X5.

I’m having the same problem with the same your car make and model, I noticed the turbo does not kick in.