Table 1 shows one common equipment related problems of the 2008 Porsche Cayenne.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Equipment problems |
I'm writing this complaint to your agency and urging you to investigate 2008 Porsche Cayenne’s the safety quality of cardan drive shaft. On may 9, 2015, in the evening, I was driving my Cayenne heading home at the speed of less than 55 miles per hour as I just got on the highway. I suddenly heard a loud noise as an explosion from the underneath of my car. Then, I heard the metal grinding noise. I was so scared. I didn’t know what happened to my car. The car was still driving fine, and there was no indication on the dashboard that my car was in trouble. Luckily, there was no traffic behind me, so I reduced my speed to less than 30 miles on the highway and got off the next exit. I stopped by at the nearest gas station. I was checking the underneath of my SUV. I thought perhaps, the muffler was falling off. Well, nothing was falling off my car. So, I drove it very slowly to home because as the car climbing the hill, the metal grinding noise was getting louder. Next day, I had an auto mechanic to check my car, and he told me that the center bearing to the drive shaft was loosening. He told me that I cannot drive the car because in any minute the bearing could be snapped. He advised me to tow my car to a Porsche dealer's services shop. And, I did it. At a Porsche dealer’s service department, they told me that the cardan drive shaft was broken. I couldn’t believe that my car only had 51,871 miles, and the center bearing was broken on the highway suddenly. Per internet research, the average drive shift could be last for 160,000 miles. I really didn’t expect this kind of poor safety quality from a Porsche Cayenne. If you search the center bearing issue of Porsche Cayenne on the internet, you can find a lot of similar stories posted online. Porsche Cayenne has a powerful engine. However, from my incident, I believe the center bearing is the weakest link of the SUV.
In 2010, I bought a '08 Cayenne turbo at 40k miles. Prior to delivery, I had Porsche dealership run a system check to confirm the vehicle was mechanically solid & free of defects. Subsequently, they performed a repair on the coolant pipes (still under factory warranty) and assured me it was in excellent condition to purchase. 105k miles: Cayenne's starter was making noises and not functioning 100% of time, so I brought vehicle to the same Porsche dealership who had been servicing it since 2010. The starter was immersed in coolant. I was informed that my (previously "repaired") coolant pipes had a leak & required repair. I reviewed my previous invoice from original "repair" under warranty at 40k miles & it appeared to be the same issue, same part #s, etc. I received another call a few days later informing me that my Cayenne now had a second coolant leak at the crossover pipe toward the back of the engine near firewall (required removal of the engine in order to repair). The service guy & Porsche tech told me the second leak occurred because the "first" repair (actually the second, if you consider it was already repaired under warranty at 40k miles) then properly pressurized my coolant system, causing the next leak, requiring the "next" repair. Apparently the initial repair done at 40k miles was only enough to hold out until the vehicle was out of warranty. Porsche made the repairs & replaced plastic pipes with aluminum ones this time, on my dollar. I had to pay for two coolant repairs, + a new starter, solenoid, & battery, all collateral damage due to the pipe leaks. '03-'06 Cayennes have well known and documented coolant pipe defects resulting in a class action lawsuit against pcna (see: Cayenneclassaction. Com). '08s + are sure to follow. I confirmed duplicate part #s/labor for warranty repair (no cost) and this repair ($$$). $5,000. 00+ repair. Not a typo.