Any bad reports on the Cayenne

I sold Porsches for a couple of years. No longer do, but the Cayenne is the most awesome 4X4 i've had the pleasure to drive. The one persistant problem I've seen was the rear hatch indicator light would stay on. I'm quite sure this was fixed within the first year of production. Option list can be a little confusing also.

This is one of the best cars (or trucks) every built. I have had mine for a month it handles like a sports car, stops like it hit a brick wall, and accelerates like a porsche. Go with the S its got enough power (more than enough)and will hold its resale value better than the overpriced turbo or underpowered base model with the VW engine. This may be the best car ever built, it is a blast to drive, looks great and has safety features everywhere! I bought an 05 for $53K.

Steve - Taken from

What's Good Porsche's BMW X5 and Range Rover rival 4x4 launched UK November 2002.

4,782mm x 1,928mm x 2,855mm. Same structure and four wheel drive system as VW Touareg but with Porsche look. Originally two models: 4.5 litre 340bhp S, which does 0-60 in 7 seconds and gets to 150mph for £45,000; and 450bhp Turbo which does 0-60 in 5.4 seconds and goes on to 165mph for £69,000. 250bhp 3.2 V6 (basically a Touareg V6)came August 2003 at £35,000. High spec. Five 3-point seatbelts. Strong residual values.

Club at

What's Bad Another tarmac crunching, fuel guzzling big 4x4. Uneven front tyre wear with inside edge of tread scrubbing off first. Patchy build quality, including badly fitting doors and carpets. Controlled supply ensures that demand exceeds it. What to Watch Out For Check front tyres regularly. Can wear to illegal in 9,000 miles. Recalls February 2004: Joint Cayenne/Touareg recall because spring in parking brake mechanism may damage wiring beneath leading to a fire risk. May 2004:

100,000 Cayenns and Touaregs recalled because pin linking rear seatbelt to its anchorage may separate.

you asked for reports...

my opinion iz: geez they're big. is Porsche becoming a brand with ever increasingly bloated automobiles? will Porsche release their own version of the Bulgemobile? what am I talking about? well, our 2002 911 Cabrio is longer and wider than our 1989 Jeep Cherokee Limited...

for the cost of a Porsche 4X4 you can get an automobile that performs like a *real* Porsche..

Oh, Take me back to the...days of my '64 356 Super 90 that is. :-)

I'll take the overstear any day to yellow interior and purple piping. To the days when people owned Porsche's because they loved the Mark, not the money it represented. :-( In those days we were refered to a "Porsche owners" not as "Owners of a Porsche." Sigh....

first P-Car I rode in didn't have interior door panels

When it takes a $150k a year factory trained computer tech to fix your beloved behemoth, you may change your mind about the Cayenne... My wonderful '85 Carrera still has only 1 computer, thank god!!!! My '70

911T has no computer, even better! My independent mechanic told me the other day, that the Cayenne has over 45 different computers, that tie into each other. The new BMW 745 supposedly has over 70... We can only pray that they are not running on a Microsoft platform!! When was the last time your home computer crashed? OK, line up at the dealership, as our tech has an opening next month.... It will be interesting to see how they hold up after 3-4 years and a 100k miles...

Most environmentalists dislike SUVs in general...

And speaking as someone who drives a Boxster, I don't like having to crane my neck to see around them. :-)

BFMartin

I have had a email from UK owner, see bellow, all I could say that I recognize the attitude and arrogance of Porsche management:

Dear Martin,

I have been surfing the net in desperation. Please forgive me for contacting you on different matter, however it still relates to Porsche AG displaying there high handed and arrogant attitude towards their customers.

I am the owner of a Porsche Cayenne S 2004 model. The car has been defective since new. Porsche have the nerve to tell me the vehicle functions correctly and the problem displayed is "state of the art". What a joke, in bad taste I might add.

The car makes a clunking noise, when driving in traffic. At speeds around

10mph, one accelerates to move forward and then touches the brake to slow down, as you do in traffic, CLUNK! This varies in intensity from audible to loud to severe, with accompanying vibration.

After six months of having no success with the dealer, Porsche decided to return the car to Stuttgart. The factory engineers finally diagnosed the fault as the action of the longitudinal clutch opening and closing. However this is caused by an interaction of electronic control units, which they describe as state of the art. They have no fix and are not able to offer any solution at the present time. My reasonable requests are to fix the problem or give me a new vehicle without the noise.

This does not happen on all cars of that model, they do not know why. They tell me on some cars it is very noticeable on others not so. The worst part is, they maintain it only happens under certain driving conditions. Yes indeed TRAFFIC, most unusual, I think not.

What an attitude and they think it reasonable for a customer to accept this as final. Do they not realise that the continued existence of Porsche AG, depends solely on it's customers. I thought that you may be able to assist me in advising me as to how to further my campaign, to obtain satisfaction. Surely only embarrassment and bad publicity will bring them to heel.

Regards,

Myer Bennett

There you go!! I'm certain that more problems like this will surface in the future.... I'm not sure if it's Federal or State law, but in California we at least have the "Lemon Law." Where if a new car goes back to the dealer 6 times for the same problen in a 12 month period, and they are still not able to repair it, the dealer is obligated by law to buy the car back for the original purchase price....

The California "Lemon Law" is the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act and does not say anything about "6 times for the same problem in a 12 month period". It does say a "reasonable number of repair attempts" for problems that "substantially impair the use, value or safety" of the vehicle and allows the manufacturer to replace the vehicle OR refund the purchase price.

Song-Beverly also allows the purchaser to be charged for the usage of the vehicle, even if the purchase price is returned, and provides a formula for establishing this charge.

What is "reasonable" depends on the circumstances and severity of the defect. During the first 18,000 miles or 18 months the presumption is the manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts if the problem results in a condition likely to cause death or serious bodily injury and the manufacturer has made repairs on two or more occasions; four or more times for the same problem or if the vehicle is out of service for a cumulative total of more than 30 days for any number of problems since delivery.