Is the infamous drive shaft (or cardan shaft) issue limited to certain years? If so, does anyone know for what model year it was remedied?

 

Most rear cardan shaft issues were on the earlier Cayennes (04-05). Newer versions of the shaft are less likely to fail, possibly newer materials or other design updates. There is ID/part number on a sticker on the shaft with a letter code. Earliest I've seen are C and they go on from there (D,E,F,etc.) with every new update to the part.

 

Thanks bensonJ - much appreciated. I have an '08 GTS so I'm hoping I won't need to deal with this issue...

 

Drive shaft center bearings fail at approx 60,000 miles. The earlier 04, 05 Cayennes have hit this mileage and therefore are failing. Later model Cayennes have less mileage and therefore have not shown as many failures.
Whether there have been design improvements to prevent bearing failures on later model cardan shafts, will have to wait and see when the later models hit the 60,000 mile mark.

 

Wonder how approximate that 60k number is.. I'm about to cross the 70k mark with the original driveshaft.

 

does your driving habit affect the lifespan of the driveshaft? Cayennes are heavy, and fitted with a powerful engine.. I am thinking that law of physics says it should.

 

I suspect this effects it a lot - as will doing a lot of off-road stuff or fording large/deep puddles.. One is impact load peaks, the other is getting dirty water where it isn't wanted (on bearings..)

 

Thanks everyone for all the input. I'm wondering if there was a change made at a certain model year to prevent this problem or at least lengthen the time between failures.

 

Us turbo folk probably see this failure sooner than the normally aspirated.

 

2005 CTT failed at around 25k miles. This is a serious design flaw. I think the coolant pipe issue is the real problem in these cars.

 

2008 turbo 57,000 drive shaft replaced under warranty

 

I have a 2008 GTS so I guess I'm not immune either. Oh well, I'll just have to see how it goes and if it does "go", hopefully I'll still be under warranty (have an aftermarket warranty 'till 80K I think). Having owned probably 25+ SUVs I don't think there's any particular brand or model that doesn't have the potential for drive shaft problems. As such, I always try to drive it such that I'm stressing the drive shaft & related bearings as little as possible. This includes not abruptly laying on or off the gas pedal; making sure I'm totally stopped before changing gears, etc. I think the worst things you can do (in normal street driving at least) is to stomp on the gas pedal from a stop or also suddenly and completely lifting off the gas pedal. All that said, I think I'm able to make just about any SUV drive train "clunk" at will, unless it's brand new with next to zero miles. My old Chevy Tahoes & Blazers (the 70's full size models - still love 'em) were notorious for going through U-joints and I remember how nice it was just after installing new ones. Back then it was a fairly easy and cheap DIY repair if you had a vice and a hammer...

 

YES - I agree w/deilenberger 100% - I suspect it affects it allot - thus my previous post. Other than us enthusiasts I would imagine most people pay little to no attention to driving style whatsoever, especially in regard to stuff like this. That said, I sometimes feel handicapped and destined for insanity due to my own OCD...

 

Sorry to resurrect this but this is good reading for a soon to be newbie Cayenne S owner. A Cayenne S with only 20k Kms on it has been sitting by the window beckoning me for quite some time now. I think I will be succumbing very soon.

I've been talking to a lot of enthusiasts and also been reading a lot of posts about the C which leads me to conclude that the 'drive shaft' is indeed its "Achilles' Heal". If and when I get the C, I'd like to replace it immediately. Would anyone know the cost of this? Anyone who was gone through this unfortunate issue? Hope you can share the info on costs and if there's a... DIY....why not?! TIA!

 

If I read you correctly - this S has "20k Kms"? That's like no miles. The driveshaft should be just fine unless the P!G has been really abused. Mine has 70,000 miles on it (~110K KM's?) and its still on the original shaft. As I mentioned above - I think environmental (driving in mud, fordling large bodies of water - ie puddles) off-road and abuse (hard starts, abrupt shifts) has more to do with failure then anything else. Abuse your P!G and you'll eat a driveshaft sooner or later. Baby it and they appear to last quite a while.

As far as DIY - sure spend some time here and on RENNTECH and RENNLIST and you'll find lots of disussions on DIY replacement, and sources for rebuilt shafts. It's all out there - just takes a bit of searching on your part.

And of course you can do what I did - which is invoke Eilenberger's Law of Parts (You'll never need what you have..) - order and carry a spare bearing with you in the P!G (I also carry a spare coil..)