Owners Suffering from the Cayenne Vibration DEFECT

[Ignited]

I have a 2005 ctt with 10k miles on it. It has 1 year left of warranty plus cpo (2 years). I have the vibration!! F'ing annoying. It has been to the dealer several times, wheels speed forced balanced, new tires, everything. Still there. I am at a loss of what to do next.

hey carrerac3, get them to put it on a lift (be sure they turn off the suspension first!!) and they will find the problem. It is the rubber carrier bearing near the middle of the drive shaft. That is the part they call the cardan. They will find that it is worn. You are very fortunate to have an extended warranty on you ctt!!

Where are you located??

Tim

[carreracup03]

I am in NY. I brought it to two dealers (one in CT and one in NY twice) ... and both of them claim it is not the cardan shaft or the bearing. Thats what I thought it was.

The steering wheel starts to shake at about 65 mph and faster. From my understanding on this board ... cardan shaft problems start at lower speeds.

Thanks for all the help.

Thanks,

Andy

I have a 2005 ctt with 10k miles on it. It has 1 year left of warranty plus cpo (2 years). I have the vibration!! F'ing annoying. It has been to the dealer several times, wheels speed forced balanced, new tires, everything. Still there. I am at a loss of what to do next.

hey carrerac3, get them to put it on a lift (be sure they turn off the suspension first!!) and they will find the problem. It is the rubber carrier bearing near the middle of the drive shaft. That is the part they call the cardan. They will find that it is worn. You are very fortunate to have an extended warranty on you ctt!!

Where are you located??

Tim

Edited May 4, 2009 by carreracup03

[carreracup03]

I bought a set of the newer oem cayenne 18" wheels ... the ones that look similar to the GTS wheels, on ebay. I was going to use them for winter wheels. Even though I had my 19" speed force balances with new tires, I decided to put yokohama goelander HTS on the 18's. I had them road forced balanced as well. I figure I will give it one more shot to fix the problem, and then just sell the car.

First test drive tonight ... I think the vibration is gone. Can these cars actually be that sensitive to wheel balancing. That is rediculous ... and a major design flaw. I will drive it to work in the morning and confirm it is fixed. Car is still shaking at speed. Very upsetting!!!

Edited May 5, 2009 by carreracup03

[Ignited]

I bought a set of the newer oem cayenne 18" wheels ... the ones that look similar to the GTS wheels, on ebay. I was going to use them for winter wheels. Even though I had my 19" speed force balances with new tires, I decided to put yokohama goelander HTS on the 18's. I had them road forced balanced as well. I figure I will give it one more shot to fix the problem, and then just sell the car.

First test drive tonight ... I think the vibration is gone. Can these cars actually be that sensitive to wheel balancing. That is rediculous ... and a major design flaw. I will drive it to work in the morning and confirm it is fixed.

Got my fingers crossed for you, Andy. Sorry to hear you want to sell. It is a magnificient automobile when everything is working right.

Are the wheels proprietary to the Cayenne? They don't fit other models? I don't know about wheel balancing...when I bought mine it had brand new Pirelli P-Zeros with fresh balancing all the way around. I love driving it in the worst Texas weather...rock solid.

Tim

[Guest]

I bought a set of the newer oem cayenne 18" wheels ... the ones that look similar to the GTS wheels, on ebay. I was going to use them for winter wheels. Even though I had my 19" speed force balances with new tires, I decided to put yokohama goelander HTS on the 18's. I had them road forced balanced as well. I figure I will give it one more shot to fix the problem, and then just sell the car.

First test drive tonight ... I think the vibration is gone. Can these cars actually be that sensitive to wheel balancing. That is rediculous ... and a major design flaw. I will drive it to work in the morning and confirm it is fixed.

Got my fingers crossed for you, Andy. Sorry to hear you want to sell. It is a magnificient automobile when everything is working right.

Are the wheels proprietary to the Cayenne? They don't fit other models? I don't know about wheel balancing...when I bought mine it had brand new Pirelli P-Zeros with fresh balancing all the way around. I love driving it in the worst Texas weather...rock solid.

Tim

please keep your fingers crossed for me also. I have the same issue with mine, MY04 CS, for some time now. Changed the former wheels with the winter wheels, OEM 18" with Pirelli Scorpion M+S 255 wide, and the same thing, kept vibrating even the wheels were checked for wheel balance many times.

Then, I got new wheels and tires on 20", the tires are Pirelli Scorpion Assimetrico and had them on the car for about a week now, the car has the same issue. Then I ordered NEW dirveshaft, which is going in tomorow morning, though I have my doubts about loosing these vibrations. Also, I'll have also new allignment done.

so, after all these things will be done I hope my car will run great again. also, along with the cardan I had ordered all the bolts, and also the rubber connector, plate, etc. almost everything will be new :)

about the driveshaft: I had visually checked the "newer" cardan shafts, and these are the same as far as I could see, some changes in the rubber quality, design but not much. and FYI these are the same as for Touareg and Q7, some of these "sister" cars use the same 1246mm cardan shaft. The producer is the same for all three of them, just the price is a little bit different :).

tomorow will be big day for me and the question is: Will I loose the vibrations or not?

if not, what next?

[carreracup03]

Stealthtt, please let me know how you make out with the drive shaft change. My car is still under warranty!!! I called PCNA national and registered my problem. They are going to have a National Tech check out my car. I am guessing it is the shaft as well .... but who knows.

Let me know what happens with you and I will pass this info to the Nat. Tech.

Also I am curious what they are going to charge you for parts and labor.

Thanks,

Andy

[Ignited]

Stealthtt, please let me know how you make out with the drive shaft change. My car is still under warranty!!! I called PCNA national and registered my problem. They are going to have a National Tech check out my car. I am guessing it is the shaft as well .... but who knows.

Let me know what happens with you and I will pass this info to the Nat. Tech.

Also I am curious what they are going to charge you for parts and labor.

Thanks,

Andy

What they charge will make you glad you have a warranty, Andy!! The shaft (presumably Porsche, not VW) was $775. Labor varies and mine was done as a rush job on a Saturday afternoon and included the time and gas to go get the part. With tax it came to a little over $1K. Next time I will know to ask for the VW part. I had a private shop do the job.

Thanks, StealthTT!!

Tim

[Guest]

MY CAR DOESN'T SUFFER ANY MORE OF THE VIBRATION ILLNES!!!!!!

What I doscovered is that I have some small problems with the FABSPEED pipes (2ndary cat delete)! and also take a look at the material quality - got them for less than a year. a friend of mine who works with metals told me that this doesn't lool like T304, what they are claiming on their site :( I will send them an email and see what they will say about this.

I dont understand how, but somehow the driver side pipe is hiting the metal brace that keeps the VCU in place. You dont want to hear that!! it sounds like the ****, if the road is bumpy, or if I accelerate hard over 4k rpm this pipe is hiting that metal and it sounds cheap. in a week or so I'll get myself a custom Magnaflow catback but using bigger mufflers than the majority.

what I know about the warranty is that they are supposed to change it uder it. the driveline is supposed to be under warranty for 5 years.

as for the DRIVESHAFT>

the producer off most of the cardans (driveshafts), front shafts, etc.. for the EUROPEAN CAR MAKERS IS: GKN UNICARDAN. so, if you find a distributor there you'll probably get it cheaper: here I payed about 700$ - labour included, while the Porsche dealer quote me for 1200$ without labour. THe Austrian Porsche dealer from Wien quote 1000 EUR, just for parts, so in the end I got a good price and warranty for 1 YEAR. The prosche one comes without the big rubber thing on the end of the cardan, but this include this also.

The interesting part is that this cardan can be rebuilt and rebalanced!!!! you wont find the carrier bearing for sale, but if you find a shop that works with UNICARDAN you'll get it less cheaper, here it was arround 250$ ballanced. Porsche doesn't sell parts for rebuilding it but these guys will.

here are some pictures of the cardan shaft vs. the new one. sorry for ****y phone camera:

and the Fabspeed pipe that is hiting the metal brace, is this how a T304 SS should look, in less than a year and less than 10.000 km? :

TTL

Ilie.

[carreracup03]

wow glad to hear you solved the problem.

Apparently the turbo and turbo s have different shafts. the turbo has part number 955 421 020 14 and the turbo s has 955 421 020 23.

Anyone know the difference and if the S version is bigger ... or better.

Thanks.

[Loren]

wow glad to hear you solved the problem.

Apparently the turbo and turbo s have different shafts. the turbo has part number 955 421 020 14 and the turbo s has 955 421 020 23.

Anyone know the difference and if the S version is bigger ... or better.

Thanks.

And the MY09 Turbo S has yet a different shaft 955.421.020.24

[Guest]

according to these guys from UNI cardan, there are 2 types of driveshafts on these cars - both can be find on Cayenne and also on Touareg or Q7:

one short - what I have 1246mm

and the long one - assume the turbo s one.

If you look to the P codes might be different, but in reality a small close to zero difference since they are not producing this item.

There isn't a visible difference between the older and the improved one for the S. The main thing is inside, at the end of it and at the middle bearing and rubber quality - it resists better at heat.

but you find other differences, afaik

Ilie

Edited May 6, 2009 by stealthTT

[Guest]

Latest news:

Vibration is still there :(:(

I really dont know what to say. I just have some minor vibrations at about 110-120 km/h, and then nothing. I've hit today close to 240 kmh and nothing, what could it be?

have done the allignment, replaced the driveshaft, new tires and wheels.

what next?

[red_turbo]

Latest news:

Vibration is still there :(:(

I really dont know what to say. I just have some minor vibrations at about 110-120 km/h, and then nothing. I've hit today close to 240 kmh and nothing, what could it be?

have done the allignment, replaced the driveshaft, new tires and wheels.

what next?

Hello all, just wanted to comment on this thread that I just had to have the cardan replaced @ 70k miles. Pretty disheartening, considering it's a primary component of a typical SUV. Paid $1500 in the Seattle area. Thanks to everyone else for the discussions because I was able to figure out the problem even before driving it into service.

As for vibration, stealthtt, I had the same symptoms but I had the dealership rebalance my tires with roadforce and the majority went away. The new shaft has helped a little bit, but my experience was the rebalance solved the majority. Try to find a deal if you can, paid $160 for it... :o

[Guest]

Latest news:

Vibration is still there :(:(

I really dont know what to say. I just have some minor vibrations at about 110-120 km/h, and then nothing. I've hit today close to 240 kmh and nothing, what could it be?

have done the allignment, replaced the driveshaft, new tires and wheels.

what next?

Hello all, just wanted to comment on this thread that I just had to have the cardan replaced @ 70k miles. Pretty disheartening, considering it's a primary component of a typical SUV. Paid $1500 in the Seattle area. Thanks to everyone else for the discussions because I was able to figure out the problem even before driving it into service.

As for vibration, stealthtt, I had the same symptoms but I had the dealership rebalance my tires with roadforce and the majority went away. The new shaft has helped a little bit, but my experience was the rebalance solved the majority. Try to find a deal if you can, paid $160 for it... :o

seen this just now, sorry.

the rebalance of the tires solved the rest of the problems.

now the car is running smooth like its new :)

[emildg]

i have a 06 Cayenne. back when i used to take the car to the dealer for routine servicing, I had told them to document what sounded like a joint trying to bend incorrectly noise every time I'd U-turn. Three times they said they couldn't find anything.

I now have 88k miles on the car and the other day i took a standard U-turn and all of a sudden felt a strong knocking from under my arm rest. After taking it to the mechanic, we found that the central rubber bushing is basically shredded inside (you can see right through it) and the only solution is a new driveshaft as porsche refuses to sell the bushing separately (you have to buy the entire rear shaft).

honestly, what kind of a car needs a new driveshaft at 88k miles? i called the dealer and they said they can't do anything and that i shouldn't hold my breath about porsche NA having any pity on me since I have 88k miles and no junkyard has the part in stock..calling my attorney tomorrow!

[jsu626]

I have recently purchased a Cayenne GTS 09. Since I had the car, I noticed the vibration through the car after 80mph. This lead me to this forum. I've brought the car back to the dealer, and they have replaced everything under the car (I mean everything). The national tech has seen, and after 4 weeks at the dealer, it still the same. Since I bought the car in April I have only had the car for 2 weeks. It is extreamly frustrating, and ready to call a lemon law attorney. Frankly, I don't think Porsche knows the answer either.

Anyone has a lemon law attorney on hand?

[cnavarro]

Although not a Cayenne, I had this problem with an '04 vw Treg v8 - they replaced everything short of the driveshafts, which I told them the problem likely was. Got tired of fighting with them over it and got rid of it. I now have an '04 vw Treg v10, no problem what so ever. Different driveshafts from what I was able to tell.

[darrinsmith]

Hi

Same problem on 2003 Turbo, replacement shaft required at approx 100,000km cost AUD $1,500.

Good luck with your law suit.

Porsche Cars Australia's official line to owners here is "Go F*ck yourself!"

We have no re-dress against the manufacturer here.

Cheers

DS

[DSPTurtle]

I just had to have my driveshaft replaced this week at 67,000 miles. Also the left front control arm... as the main bushing failed. Supposedly both are extremely common.

Jason

2004 Cayenne S

[jsu626]

It has been 3 months since I posted my problem, and just to update everyone; Last month Porsche N.A. finally agreed to settle with me at 20K and make me go away.

To make matters worst, there were 3 warning lights that kept coming on. After 4 trips to the dealer, they finally got it fixed;

- PSM Failure

- Chassis Failure

- Headlamp Failure

Time to sell it

[horstle]

my guess as to how many would be few. my take on vehicle problems and those the people that are on the forums is that they (we) are very detail oriented and aware people who notice even the slightest issues. i am not saying there is not a problem with the Cayenne, i am saying that there are thousands of Cayennes on the road and if you read this forum, there may be a total of 10-20 people with issues. PCNA will never consider this a big problem with so few people complaining. IMHO By the way, i am seriously considering the purchase of a Cayenne, i currently drive a 997S, but every time i drive a Cayenne i love it. and no i have never noticed the vibration thing, but i will be sure to pay more attention from now on.

I have a lot of troubles with my CTS, but what I never expected is that Porsche does not care at all about well known problems. Even if they appear only at few cars - a brand like porsche should fix immediately without letting they customers discussing in a forum. Second, most porsche drivers do not complain as they were told fairy tales from the dealers why and what is broken, and pay without teking a second opinion or looking into some blogs

[horstle]

Every case is different, but driveshaft problems are unlikely. Im aware of one Cayenne TT owner who had both front axles replaced, the steering rack, the cardan shaft, and a brand new set of tires sent to Tire Rack to be heat cycled, trued and balanced, none of which fixed his slight shimmy.

as you can read below driveshaft problems are very likely - beside others with that car

[Guest]

from what I've learned a new driveshaft without a forced balance of the wheels is worthless.

[Matt Todd]

Yeah I have the same issue with my 2004 CTT, I put the car in neutral while still rolling and the vibration does not go away, so I know it's not the engine or transmission doing it. The cardan shaft was replaced before I bought it. After a bit of driving it eventually goes away.

Edited March 5, 2018 by Matt Todd