Hi everyone. I have a '12 CTT we plan to use for towing a good bit this sumer. We'll be towing rough 80-85% of the max capacity for the CTT over some rather long hauls (500+ miles) and in some mountain regions.

My local AD is telling me the car's computer will tell me when it needs oil and transmission fluids changed and other maintenance. I've always been told that this kind of usage puts extra wear and tear on a vehicle.

Will the CTT systems properly account for this? Should I wait for the computer to tell me when the fluids need to be changed and other maintenance needs to be done or should I set a fixed schedule based upon how much I tow?

Also, should I be adding different oil or transmission fluids to better handle the stress of towing?

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

I would say -Yes you are going to put extra stress in the engine and tranny with towing, so I would consider more frequent fluid changes. Depeding on how often You tow i would change oil more frequently and monitor your usage-visually and not relying on a computer- the turbos will burn more oil, but that is to be expected.

That being said these machines are over-engineered and with the power that they pack and the stability systems they tow excellent. I would say that there aren't too many folks that tow with their Cayennes, but that can also be said for Tahoes, escalades, etc- they are family haulers and street queens for most people. They truly are designed to be taken offroad and for towing duty if they are properly equipped. Take a look at the porsche tow hitch and you'll see what I am talking about with being overengineered. I regularly tow my boat with mine and aside from towing with a diesel 4x4 truck these tow better than anything on the market.

I wouldn't take any precautions outside what you would normally take other than making sure you break the engine in with it being new-

 

I am not sure about the 2012's but in my 06 the tranny fluid is 160k/lifetime.

nothing to worry about.

definitely over engineered.