Ok guys so I have always wanted a Cayenne and done a lot of asking and been told they were pretty reliable cars. I finally bought one and had to accept 90k miles for my price point. First 2 weeks I'm loving the car. I had a 911 once and had the same type of enjoyment from the cayenne accept this car will pull my boat and car pool my kids. Anyway, two weeks in and one morning the car won't start. It's now at the dealer and I am wondering if I should expect a lot of issues on a turbo S with 90k miles? I wanted to get some feedback from other owners who maybe have similar or more miles. Thanks in advance. Btw porsche has not diagnosed the problem but thinks it's either the key programming, ignition sensors or the steering column. I'm hoping it's not the steering column because that's like 3k.

 

My 05 Cayenne Turbo just hit over 90k miles and other than a few fault codes calling for new spark plugs and ignition coils, it's been perfect. I've had it now for over 4 years.

I stopped taking my car to the dealer and now take it to an independent mechanic that specializes in Porsche and charges half the rate (Yelp is your friend). Not that the dealership is bad, but they charge quite a bit. I also bought my own OBDII scanner to help me better understand fault codes and issues.

The only time I've had a starting issue with a Porsche was with my 07 Cayman. The key got stuck and the dealer had to pry the key out and then replaced it with a new reprogrammed key under warranty.

I hope your issue gets solved. There's another thread here discussing "lazy starts" and fuel pumps. Check it out:
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/cayenne-955-957/351145-interesting-lazy-start-fix-957-a.html

 

Thanks for the feedback. Yes I read that thread and was thinking that my car was doing that before it completely died. Not sure if it's related. I found a porsche shop but they said with the possible key ignition issue I'd better take it to the dealer.

 

I had the cardan shaft go on my 08 turbo at 85k, but managed to just buy and install the bearing kit which saved me a lot as porsche only sell the whole shaft. Also had the starter go. but other than that, no other issues.

 

My bearing went out too shortly after I picked mine up. Thankfully it was covered under warranty. They ended up separating the driveshaft pieces and didn't put them back together correctly, thus making it worse than it was when the bearing went out. 24 hours later into a 2 hour job (its what they quoted the warranty company) they got it right.

 

Ive got almost 200k miles on mine with no unexpected issues that weren't directly my fault. Im chasing a vacuum leak right now, but it doesn't effect how the car runs. I broke 2 cardans, both when driving it hard.


Other than that its been perfectly reliable with minimal issues outside of maintenance.

 

That's great news at 200k. I am feeling pretty good about that. Is yours a turbo and do you smell burning smell when driving it hard and fast?

 

Not that I've noticed. When you say burning, what does it smell like is burning? Ive smelled a stronger fuel smell after long pull to like 135+ and then exiting the freeway immediately, but other than that its a mostly odorless experience.


I must admit I don't get the opportunity to open her up often. Im working late tonight and my commute normally Im lucky to go over 40 mph, but tonight if its clear I'll give it a blast and see if I notice anything.

 

I found out I had bad valve cover gaskets. All fixed no more smell. Thanks

 

coolant pipes had to be replaced at 92k on mine and drive shaft at 95k

 

Glad you got it figured out!


I did do a couple quick pulls yesterday, but I didn't smell anything. I did notice a huge cloud of soot behind me after my first pull, Im guessing because I hadn't really wrung it out in high rpm in a few weeks it had some build up that got blown out because on the second pull, no smoke at all.