2006 CS acquired!

[fredjchavez]

Hello,

This is an EXCELLENT resource! I have been reading the content for a long time.

I just acquired a 2006 CST. I had been tracking the VW for years hoping reliability would greatly increase but could not seem to stomach the uncertainty. I never really considered the Cayenne as it was beyond budget (tell recently). What convinced me to look for a Cayenne was the "down ticks" in pricing for various marks. So, after deciding that the money made sense, I signed up for an account here. :)

Prior to my ownership, the vehicle received a cooling pipe upgrade at the dealer via warranty and I hope I am good to go although one issue surfaced last night having to do with the HID headlights. Several drivers in front of me were holding up their hands to their rear view mirrors to block my low beam headlights. I verified it myself by driving in front the Cayenne and sure enough...both sides are too high. They appear to operate correctly as witnessed by the level changes seen upon power up and in the course of driving. I read the manual and found where/how to adjust the level but I do not have the proper tool to accomplish the task. I can sorta fit a flat blade screw driver but am not able to positively turn the plastic allen bolt (I do not want to strip it).

Question: is the adjustment for halogen or bi-zenon lamps OR both?

So I called the dealer in Walnut Creek and the Service Advisor claims that there is no way to adjust the height and they are designed to auto level and the lights are so great that is why people are blinded by them. I explained that other makes I have owned had adjustment (BMW's have a thumb wheel easily accessible when the hood is lifted). The advisor did not acknowledge my story and downplayed my concern. I also explained that page 373 in the owners manual covered the adjustment procedure and he indicated that it was for non-xenon. I gotta say that I HOPE there would be a note to this effect in the manual but maybe not.

It is not a crime to be ignorant but wouldnt you ask your customer why he thinks there should be an adjustment capability and had he asked, I would have told him that there are two plastic doors with a headlight up/down symbol which leads me to believe they can be height adjusted. I cannot imagine that Porsche would deploy a system that cannot be adjusted by the service department. If halogen lamps are adjustable, it doesnt make sense that xenon lamps presumably twice as bright as halogen would not be as well. I conclude that I wasnt getting through to him and stop trying and politely offered to come in.

Anyway, I hope this guy is a betting man and I am tempted to wager 100 bucks that says the height can be adjusted...rather easily if you have a allen head (or torq...cant tell) with a flex handle.

Thanks everyone for taking time to post and help each other out. Without this resource, I would have had no clue what to ask, what to look for, or what to do as practically anything made by the luxury marks is very complicated. I also would not have made this purchase.

Regards

Fred

[Clutch-n-Throttle]

Congratulations! Welcome to the club. You will not be disappointed with the Cayenne. As with all German vehicles, as long as you keep up the maintenance and dont neglect your vehicle, it will run forever. :thumbup:

[Bill_SoCal]

Congrats on the Cayenne!

All the best,

Bill :beer:

[fredjchavez]

Thanks for the warm welcomes.

Here is a followup on the glaring headlight issue.

I went into the Walnut Creek Porsche Dealer. The advisor informed me that the headlight aim was not adjustable as he stated on the phone...I was really hoping to get someone different as I was 98% sure they guy didnt know what he was talking about. I asked him to obtain higher authority...The service manager cam out and said that his car has the same issue as well...he stated "they all have this issue and they cannot be adjusted because they auto level". Very disappointing. I plan to write a letter to the owner after I get their names explaining the situation.

In any event, here is a picture that shows how/where to adjust or compensate or adjust for headlight beam height. The procedure is mostly trial and error till you get the hang of how many turns it takes to alter the angle (2 complete turns is very noticeable). You do not have to remove the assembly all the way...just slide it out far enough to access the plastic adjustment screw.

I would expect each side to be a mirror image (turning to the right for driver assembly is the same as turning to the left for the passenger assembly). If anyone could verify this, the picture would be complete.

[pcrow63]

Hi.

Great info - my recently acquired 2006 V6 Cayenne just failed it's ministry test today on one low headlight adjustment!

The handbook says as they are self-levelling it has to go to the Porsche Dealer, so I was very pleased to see this post and do it myself in 5 mins!

Thanks again.