'06 Cayenne Right Front Wheel Bearing?

[Bill_SoCal]

Good morning,

Anyone lost a wheel bearing on their Cayenne? I have not heard of this occurring, however, yesterday as I was running the mountain road I take into the office and I started to get the squealing sound of a failing wheel bearing from my right front axle. The noise continues regardless of how I turn, however, it does diminish when I apply the brakes. All four brakes are relatively new. Cayenne just hit 60K on the odometer.

Before I take it to the dealer, thought I post to see if any other issues with wheel bearings. It has been raining for the last few weeks here in So Cal and I've done my fair share of driving through storm run off's on my commute...can't imagine water getting into the wheel bearing area though.

Appreciate any input here.

All the best,

Bill :beer:

[wvicary]

Cayenne wheel brngs are reliable over all and I've never had a brng make a squealing noise or lesson when applying the brakes but more of a hum or drone type of noise that changes with loading. I would have the brakes inspected again.

[PTEC]

I've seen a few fail but as mentioned they don't really squeel when they start to fail. Its usually more of a rumble or low drone. Try getting up to speed and swerving side to side slighty. If it comes and goes with direction change it could be a wheel bearing.

[Bill_SoCal]

HELP! :help:

Well, I landed in San Diego today from my business trip and finally had a chance to swing by the dealer to look at my squealing noise that I thought was my R/F wheel bearing. My '06 Cayenne has 60,900 miles on it and is a Porsche CPO (Certified Pre-Owned), so I was confident whatever it was would be fixed and covered by Porsche. Wow was I wrong on the diagnosis and coverage.

I wanted to make sure the Porsche tech understood what I was hearing, so after I had the Cayenne written up for service and I got my loaner paperwork for the car rental, I handed the keys to the Porsche tech and we went for a ride. He immediately heard the noise and starting swinging the vehicle back and forth to determine the root cause...not a wheel bearing. The determination was my drive shaft center bearing was failing and the squealing I was hearing was initial failure warning prior to the bearing spinning out of the rubber housing and bouncing the drive shaft around. Great. We knew what it was. We get back to the dealer and let my service adviser know what the issue is. Guess what? Not covered by Porsche CPO. Had it been the wheel bearing, it would have been covered. At this point I'm kind of pissed :censored: . How can Porsche give me CPO coverage and not cover non wear items? I understand bulbs for headlights and that kind of thing...but a drive shaft bearing failing at 60K on a 2006?

So...I'm sitting there steaming :cursing: that the repair is not covered. Okay...I'm thinking I'll have to spend a few hundred bucks. Nope. $1400! Needless to say, I decided not to have the repair done at that point and see what options I have for a DIY project and/or getting the repair covered by Porsche. So here I am. I'm sure there are postings for this repair, however, I did search and I did not find any specific to changing the bearing and housing.

I would really appreciate some input:

1) I'm mechanically inclined and have a roll-away full of tools...is this a project that can be tackled in the driveway?

2) Has anyone had this repair covered under the Porsche CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) coverage?

3) If no to questions 1 and 2, is $1400 really the going rate for this repair?

4) If DIY, appreciate any part numbers or being pointed in the right direction as what I need to ask the dealer for in order to support this repair

Thank you!

Bill :beer:

[TopGun2000]

you will need a factory service manual if you want to DIY

by the way, i'm already tired of P service. $450 for a spare key/remote, $1100 for filters, oil, spark plugs change (40k major service on CTT), give me a break.

Edited February 17, 2010 by TopGun2000

[rizzo]

HELP! :help:

Well, I landed in San Diego today from my business trip and finally had a chance to swing by the dealer to look at my squealing noise that I thought was my R/F wheel bearing. My '06 Cayenne has 60,900 miles on it and is a Porsche CPO (Certified Pre-Owned), so I was confident whatever it was would be fixed and covered by Porsche. Wow was I wrong on the diagnosis and coverage.

I wanted to make sure the Porsche tech understood what I was hearing, so after I had the Cayenne written up for service and I got my loaner paperwork for the car rental, I handed the keys to the Porsche tech and we went for a ride. He immediately heard the noise and starting swinging the vehicle back and forth to determine the root cause...not a wheel bearing. The determination was my drive shaft center bearing was failing and the squealing I was hearing was initial failure warning prior to the bearing spinning out of the rubber housing and bouncing the drive shaft around. Great. We knew what it was. We get back to the dealer and let my service adviser know what the issue is. Guess what? Not covered by Porsche CPO. Had it been the wheel bearing, it would have been covered. At this point I'm kind of pissed :censored: . How can Porsche give me CPO coverage and not cover non wear items? I understand bulbs for headlights and that kind of thing...but a drive shaft bearing failing at 60K on a 2006?

So...I'm sitting there steaming :cursing: that the repair is not covered. Okay...I'm thinking I'll have to spend a few hundred bucks. Nope. $1400! Needless to say, I decided not to have the repair done at that point and see what options I have for a DIY project and/or getting the repair covered by Porsche. So here I am. I'm sure there are postings for this repair, however, I did search and I did not find any specific to changing the bearing and housing.

I would really appreciate some input:

1) I'm mechanically inclined and have a roll-away full of tools...is this a project that can be tackled in the driveway?

2) Has anyone had this repair covered under the Porsche CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) coverage?

3) If no to questions 1 and 2, is $1400 really the going rate for this repair?

4) If DIY, appreciate any part numbers or being pointed in the right direction as what I need to ask the dealer for in order to support this repair

Thank you!

Bill :beer:

Bill,

I've asked about one specific aspect of this job from another member of this forum about the special tool the manual says you need. The manual says you need a bearing centering tool for the Cardan shaft replacement.

I was told it is not necessary and that it will self center so long as you tighten the center bearing last.

It is a two person job since the shaft is so long. Mostly because during the install you need to make sure you do not "bend" the rubber in the bearing carrier too much prior to installation.

If you are mechanically inclined, have a set of XZN bits (aka Triple Square), and a helper you should be able to tackle the job in your driveway with your Cayenne jacked up for easy access.

PorscheLibrarian can help you with the manuals or you can buy an All Data subscription for the same info.

http://www.suncoastparts.com/category/955ttmech.html

Hope that helps!

KR

[wvicary]

It's an easy,one man DIY. There is no one that can replace the centre brng last time I looked into it which was about a year ago.

[Bill_SoCal]

Thanks very much for the feedback guys...I really appreciate it.

wvicary - please clarify "...There is no one that can replace the centre brng last time I looked into it which was about a year ago."

The more I think about this whole drive shaft bearing failure, the more concerned I am over the Porsche CPO program. I have to believe this failure is covered...my warranty expiration for the CPO is 12/16/2012.

"The Porsche Approved Limited Warranty Coverage

This Limited Warranty offers value with a full peace of mind. Porsche Cards N.A. will repair or replace with a new part distributed by Porsche Cars N.A. any factory installed part that is faulty in material or workmanship under normal use.

Okay, that's the legal ease...how can this not be covered? This is clearly a failure and not a maintenance item. Any idea how I should proceed with escalation? I've been a great Porsche customer...I own three and have been very pleased. The situation at the dealer today has really tarnished my view on things. I don't get it...not like I had a brake pad issue, spark plug replacement, or other maintenance item. This is clearly a drive train failure that should be covered. Is this coverage discretionary?

How can Porsche simply state this is not covered?

Bill :beer:

Edited February 18, 2010 by Bill_SoCal

[bigbuzuki]

I had my cardan shaft replaced recently at approximately the same mileage as yours.

Mine was replaced under the CPO warranty, no questions asked.

I would ask the dealership to provide a written explanation of how it is NOT covered under the CPO warranty you have .

Can you try another dealer?

Edited February 18, 2010 by bigbuzuki

[TopGun2000]

some dealers are more ****ty than others

#1 obtain written explanation from the first dealer

#2 take your cayenne to another dealer

you don't want the first dealer to work on your cayenne anyway

complain to Porsche N.A. about the first dealer once everything is fixed under warranty

[Bill_SoCal]

bigbuzuki/TopGun2000,

Thanks for the feedback. I have a call in for the Service Manager at Dealer #1. I have a call in at my other local dealer to discuss the service with them as well. What's sad here is I've purchased three cars over the years from Dealer #1. I'm so pissed at this point, not only will they (Dealer #1) not be working on my Cayenne, they won't be getting my potential future business or referral business that I've sent there way either if they should have covered this repair and didn't. I'm fortunate that I have a few dealers that are not too terribly far out of the way. I hope to have this resolved and the vehicle in the shop. Even as a DIY, the part is over $700.00. I will provide an update after I talk to the Service Manager at Dealer #1 and my other dealership.

All the best,

Bill

[Bill_SoCal]

Dealer #2, which is obviously Dealer #1, will cover the repair for me.

:thankyou:

All the best,

Bill :beer:

[wvicary]

Glad you're getting it covered. About your questions- Two piece driveshafts have a centre brng and carrier that can be replaced separately without replacing the complete driveshaft. Cayennes and Touaregs have a two piece shaft but when I tried to get a failed shaft rebuilt I was told it couldn't be done.

[rizzo]

Bill, can you report back as to whether or not the drive-shaft replacement solved the noise problem or not? You described a squeal vs. a roar.

Another forum member has described a "roar" similar to my own description but after looking at the car for two days his dealer said it is the differential.

Here's the link to the post:

Sound at all similar to your experience?

Please advise.

Many thanks!

KR

Dealer #2, which is obviously Dealer #1, will cover the repair for me.

:thankyou:

All the best,

Bill :beer: