2008 CTT Coolant smell (not a burst pipe)

[acat2002]

This is not the typical (complete loss of coolant) story I read constantly on this forum.

My Cayenne TT is a 2008, so I believe the plastic coolant pipe at the rear of the engine was corrected with an aluminum pipe for MY 2008 forward.

I have 40k miles and more often than not I notice a faint smell of coolant when getting out of the car after a moderate trip (say 10 miles). I know the TTs run hot, noisy and use oil, but the coolant should be contained under normal conditions. This occurs under normal driving conditions in any/all temp ranges.

No coolant level warning light, no temp. warning light and the coolant reservoir is holding the appropriate amount of coolant. Moreover, there is absolutely no evidence of any leaking on the garage floor.

My guess is that a very small amount of coolant is leaking and perhaps evaporating on a hot surface (header, downpipe or something).

Although I'm well within my factory warranty and any repair will be N/C, I still want to know what I'm in for in terms of loss of use. Also, it always helps to ask the "community" if they've run into anything similar because I doubt the service tech will do the same unless there is a SA published.

Any thoughts? I hope they don't have to take the engine out to find the leak.

[RFM]

Best is to pressure test the cooling system, in cold condition and in warm condition. Anyway, MY 2008 Cayenne V8 should have a DI engine with plastic coolant pipes, indeed with different design.

[egr58]

acat2002

I don't have a TT, rather a 2008 CS. I had the same symptoms and a warranty repair corrected the intermittent coolant odor. There is a TSB for the 2008 CS regarding the factory using too much, or the wrong type, of lubricant when originally installing (if memory serves) the thermostat o-ring. Parts replaced, under warranty, included: (1) 948-106-101-03 Intake Socket, water; (1) 948-106-533-00 Sealant, water pump; (1) 000-043-205-93 Kluberplus grease 10; (1) 000-043-301-05 Antifreeze (3.79 L), and removing and reinstalling the thermostat. Hope this helps.

Season's Greetings,

erg58

[acat2002]

Thanks egr58, that may very well turn out to be correct. I guess we'll know for sure when we're in for service first week of new year. It's always nice to have an idea what is going to occur at the dealer before you walk in, or even have a heads-up just in case they get lazy and tell me they can't find anything.

@RFM - MY 2008 retains the plastic coolant pipes, just a redesign? I thought I heard something about aluminum pipes somewhere?, or is that just an aftermarket solution?

cheers

-A

[RFM]

Allu. pipes are replacement parts on Cayenne V8 up to MY 2006 to the well known crack problem, for some obscure reason they made the cooling pipes back in plastic, smaller and different in design by the direct injection system lay out inside the V, at the height of the cylinder heads.

[goldigital]

yes, my 08 Cayenne S had the same issue at 24K km, took to the MCL Motors (Vancouver PORSCHE)and I believe they had replaced housing sealant, o-ring, etc, pretty much ... all what the EGR58 describes in his post! ... all done under warranty of course, and the smell problem is gone.