Consumer Reports

[mrrogers]

Consumer Reports magazine really bashes the Cayenne in terms of reliability. I heard that the 2003 and 2004 models have issues, but they bash even the 2005 and newer models. Do you think it is a case of a limited production car and the disgruntled owners complain more? Am I correct that the ignition coils and the coolant tubes are the two worst problems on the 2005 and newer cars?

[TopGun2000]

the ignition coil problem is so easy to fix by yourself...

[wvicary]

Consumers Reports is rubbish mag that's why. The great poison of society. Educate yourself on forums like Renntech with responses from people who actually own these vehicles and use them everyday in the real world. If possible speak the techs at your local dealer who repair them for another point of view. There have been many owners of the Cayennes that have never set a foot wrong while others have had repeated problems.

I personally think the biggest weakness with Germans cars are the techs working on them... they often don't fully understand the complicated systems on these vehicles are they misdiagnose them causing repeated returns by the customer to sort out a problem which causes poor vehicle reviews.

Just my two cents...

[wirunner]

Consumer Reports magazine really bashes the Cayenne in terms of reliability. I heard that the 2003 and 2004 models have issues, but they bash even the 2005 and newer models. Do you think it is a case of a limited production car and the disgruntled owners complain more? Am I correct that the ignition coils and the coolant tubes are the two worst problems on the 2005 and newer cars?

I couldn't agree more. Highly unreliable vehicle after owning two.

With that said, I have no intent to get rid of mine and didn't buy it for it's reliability. Although, I haven't seen mine in almost two months (still at dealer)...

[SPIRO]

I take the Consumer Reports reliability ratings with a grain of salt. I once had a Toyota 4Runner that was a lemon. Not only did the axle seal leak 13 separate times, but Toyota ultimately could not or would not fix it. Consumer Reports counts this as only one problem wrong with this vehicle. Yet they rated it as the most reliable 1997 vehicle. On the other hand, I have had what they call an "unreliable" ML320 that has had 170,000 trouble free miles, and I am extremely pleased with my Porsche. Consumer reports does not take into account the quality or integrity of dealer warranty service, which in my experience is far superior from Porsche.

Some vehicles, and some model years, may be associated with more problems, but you have to consider the whole package, including the likelihood that Porsche will take care of your problem under warranty or CPO.

[mrrogers]

Thanks for the detailed replies.