I have been a senior master tech for Ford for 20 years now, so I wanted to speak with tech working on the vehicle. Mainly to get his honest input (I trust technicians far more than service advisers LOL). I was able to relate with him and respected his input. Plus he was just a super nice guy and seemed trust worthy.

He said that with the 2 stage lobe lift system in these engines (high lift and a low lift cam lobes) that if the failure occurred at light throttle and low RPM, piston to valve collision is very unlikely. He told me this without knowing what I was doing when it failed, so I put merit to that input. My failure did indeed happen at low RPM. I was actually coasting onto my street, a 30mph road. As soon as I touched the gas pedal again, it failed. So to update, as of yesterday they just received the two new cam phasers. There are going to replace the phasers on both banks. I was not told if this is what is going to be the typical recall repair, or if this replacement is due to the failure we had. Regardless, this is the repair they are taking at this time. Knowing the process that goes on in getting approval from manufactures for "additional" recall repairs, or heck any intrusive warranty repair, I am ok with this step in the repair. If valves are bent, it will be quite apparent once the engine is running again.

Honestly I am plenty happy if the repair only requires the new phasers. Sure in a perfect world getting a new Porsche engine in my cayenne with 60,000 miles on it would be awesome. I would rather have the simple repair, than having to have it torn down to replace a cylinder head. They did find all the parts of the bolts that sheered off, so that is not a concern to me at this time.

So that is where we are at now. Porsche is going to replace all 8 bolts and both cam phasers, and see how it goes from there.. The service we have received thus far has been great. We were given a 2017 Limited Edition Cayenne (v6 ugggh lol) as a loaner. "No pets, and no smoking. Other than that this car is yours until your car is ready to be picked up," they said. The technician working on the vehicle seems very confident and proficient. If there is more damage found once they start the engine, I have no doubts that it will be taken care of properly.

I want to thank all of those involved in getting Porsche to acknowledge, or at least to initiate this recall. We literally had less than 100 miles on this vehicle after driving it back to Minnesota from Chicago where it was purchased. It was quite a stress relief to know that it would not be costing us for the repair, or at the very least knowing that I was not going to be fixing it myself......Last thing I want to do is fix my own cars

 

Okay, so I'm working with an owner of a 2012 CS with a 3/12 VIN sticker date &he's checked the passenger side cam adjuster which has the later xxx.22 part number.

Questions:

1. Have there been any issues with that p/n as yet? .... I ask because I've seen that the WC22 &AH08 Recall now seem to be using the xxx.23 parts.

2. Is there an easy way to check the other opposite bank for it's p/n, short of pulling the valve cover?

3. What are the chances that the factory could've assembled that motor with 2 different p/n cam adjusters, with the unseen side being the problem xxx.21 one? .... I think it's very possible, since that's happened over the years with all Porsches.

TIA,
Tom
///////

 

1. None I've heard of.

2. Nope. You'd have to pull the valve cover. No sneaky magic way to see.

3. I'd guess not probable. They realized there was a problem - hence the new part# and new design. They would have to really be brain dead to continue using the flawed part after the flaw had been revealed.

 

Ed, any luck getting your money back? I'm one of the guys who had to replace my Panamera engine after having the camshaft adjuster bolt sever off. I'm anxious to get my $7K back as well.

- Keith

 

I called Porsche-CNA about this (they owe me about $3k).. and they claimed the next notice about the recall would contain details about submitting a claim for repairs already completed at the owner's expense.

What they couldn't tell me is when the next notice would be forthcoming.

 

Yeah, I called Porsche CNA as well when I got the initial notice about the recall. Got the same message but still no sign of anything yet from Porsche about our refund.

- Keith

 

Porsche sure is taking its good old time with this recall.

 

So a new updated on my 2011 Cayenne S. The dealer replaced both variable timing gears, and all the hardware. The vehicle ran great, and appeared there was not additional damage.


We have put about 600 miles on it since, and it just today set a P0308 code. Not sure if related, but will investigate. No engine noise or anything else, and appears to be an intermittent misfire.

 

Hello from London, UK.


I've read all 38 pages of this thread with some dread in the context of my October 2010 build CTT (52k miles) and whether I should get a Porsche warranty (c.$2,600 for 2 years) vs a replacement camshaft assembly for peace of mind (price unknown, but could well be a similar cost to the warranty)! Based on your experiences, there could be a real risk of sudden catastrophic and horrendously costly failure for this model year...so I've a dental mirror arriving today so I can look at the bolts this w/e in the first instance!


I am posting now to highlight that oddly there is zero chatter on this issue in the UK that I can see on any forums (whilst there is not much on the Transfer Case issue either, there is at least some - Porsche also ran a workshop campaign here to 'replace transfer gears' so that would reasonably mitigate noise on this...for now). Maybe I've been looking in the wrong place though. That said, I just called a respected local Porsche indy specialist and the tech of 30 years experience said he has never seen or heard of this issue at all. Peculiar based on the assumption that all our cars are made in the same factory? Maybe they are not afterall or perhaps different markets get some alternative parts...or maybe Porsche changed the camshaft assembly under the radar as part of the TC campaign?!


Anyway, certainly in two minds right now when it comes to the warranty vs preventative repair! Of relevance is that the classic TC fluid issue arose for me 2 months ago with the car being lumpy under hard load...the oil change resolved it and it's all been fine since (thanks again to Don et al on the other thread for the diagnosis/solution). I am booked in for the pre-requisite 111 point check w/ Porsche on Nov 3rd, but I am wondering if this is money well spent given the TC issue can be managed via ongoing maintenance and the camshaft bolt issue may be a red herring for UK cars (if only - bolt analysis to follow!). Point being, my understanding is that these are THE two material and potentially expensive issues related to the car, with it being pretty solid otherwise. High pressure fuel, as well as water, pumps have been done fairly recently. Thought prop/cardan shafts also an issue, but this is only for prior marks, right? Anything I have missed please?


It does not help that I had not been able to find a single decent 958 buying/common problems guide anywhere (although yesterday I found Don's 'if you're thinking of buying...' post thanks to someone putting the link in this thread - the kind of thing I was looking for). Found lots of such guides for 956/7.


I note of course the in-flight US recall campaign (and others in China, etc.) for the camshaft issue - a well deserved result for you all and fantastic that you will be reimbursed or be taken care of (power to the people!). No sign of anything like that in the UK, but comforting to know that any preventative repair should be reimbursed in future if it comes to it. One question on this - you would get reimbursed as part of the recall regardless of whether the preventative work was done at Porsche or elsewhere?


All comments appreciated.


Otherwise, clearly it's all about the bolts so watch this space...


Cheers,
Ben

 

Alas, and unsurprisingly, the dreaded pin bolts are there! Pic attached.



I shall phone around some other indys in London (and a Porsche centre for good measure) as someone must have come across this! Keen to understand the cost of a preventative repair. Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly should I be getting quested for please?

> Replacement of the 2 camshaft adjusters (i.e., left and right bank), to include use of steel bolts? Anything else in particular to mention or ask?

All help/views much appreciated.

Cheers,
Ben

 

That's pretty much it.

Print out and hand them WC22: https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ml#post4524693

Or suggest they check with Porsche AG about the recall currently in progress in the US. Campaign AH08.

 

Many thanks for the repair confirmation Don, as well as the WC22 and recall links.

Interestingly, the parts listed to undertake the fix include mainly aluminium screws! Anyway, this is powerful ammo and it will be interesting to see how Porsche respond when I reasonably ask them to resolve this as I have zero history with them and have only had the car 2 months, bought outside the network, etc. At least it's FPSH and regardless, as clearly stated in the above documents, this is a safety matter.

For those that are interested (perhaps more for other non-US/Canada owners in a bit of limbo like me), the below link includes the US Transport Commission's letter and the Safety Recall Report itself (which states "On May 31 2017, the product safety committee of Porsche AG came to the conclusion that...a safety related defect could not be excluded. It was therefore decided to conduct a voluntary recall of all potentially affected vehicles in the US and Canada." AFAIK, the impacted vehicles being 100% of 958 Cayennes built between 28 April 2010 and 13 Sept 2011 based on the report.

https://porsche.oemdtc.com/129/camsh...namera-cayenne

Cheers,
Ben

 

Be interesting to hear their response to you. Might be time to look at getting the vehicle safety authorities in the UK updated as to what's happened in Japan, China and now the USA.

BTW - the aluminum screws are used extensively on the 4.8 engine - things like all the cover bolts/screws are aluminum one-time-use.

 

Sonnen Porsche still does not have the AH08 Campaign parts available and has not estimate on the timing of their availability.

Very frustrating.

 

Update: called Porsche GB last week requesting that they repair the car, citing the in-flight US recall, prior recalls, etc. Response was a flat: "we cannot authorise a repair unless there is a GB recall." I have flagged the issue on the official Porsche GB owner forum too, but it does not look like an active community for Cayenne drivers sadly - one 958 guy has got in touch so far and plans to check out his bolts.


Anyway, I also asked for some repair quotes today - one response so far is attached which I wanted to share as whilst the parts list looks similar to the WC22 (which I attached when emailing the various indys for a quote), the 2 camshaft controllers are only priced at $60 (x 2)?! This is far too cheap, no? What is the rough price in your experience please?


I am going to approach the UK Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) about this issue (loding a 'serious safety defect' report with them), but shall also write to Porsche GB to give them one more chance to proactively resolve it first. Maybe in the meantime, some fellow UK owners will come forward.


I was on the fence about taking out a warranty (on the assumption that the main/expensive problems are the manageable Transfer Case issues and the faulty Camshaft Controllers, with the 958 otherwise being mechanically sound like my 2 previous Mercs). However, I now see that a third common and potentially costly issue concerns coolant pipe failures on account of the 'glue' used to attach them (subsequently resolved by using bolts)? I thought this was a 957 issue, but it's 958s too? I have not bothered with warranties previously, but annoyingly it appears that early Porsche 958s cannot be relied upon. The lesson learnt for me I think is to never buy first-of-line cars again (prior Mercs and BMWs have been last of line, with none of this inconvenience and potential catastrophic engine failure at any moment). Any other design flaws or weak points to be aware of please? Besides the high pressure fuel pump failing? The cardan shaft failures only affect 957s, right? Thank you for any comments, hope the recalls to repair your cars (or reimbursements) are going to plan.