New S Owner

[PGC9]

Picking up my 04 Cayenne S tonight...

Any feedback would be appreciated, but hopefully just happy comments :cheers:

69k miles with 60k maintenance done.

I also had the dealer service brakes and replace pads (has Brembo turbo brakes) and replace 4 tires (21" wheels) with new performance Conti's.

Have a 3yr/36k mile warranty with $50 deductible.

I know my insurance is slightly higher, and gas mileage slightly lower but one my true concerns... maintenance.

I've done a lot of research on the subject and if maintained and stick to minor/major services (albeit not cheap), the cost isn't outrageous - I can stomach $400-500 if I am planning on it.

With that said, what about out-of-the-blue problems? Happen sparingly? Pretty fair from that end? I have only owned German cars, mainly Audis, one BMW - they aren't Honda Civics but the less 'surprises' the happier I'll be... Last but not least, some have mentioned oil change and filter every 20k miles; there is no way it's that infrequent, your thoughts?

Thanks!

[phillipj]

Congrats on the new ride! It great you got a warranty. That was very wise, I'm not a Cayenne owner so I can"t help much. I know some other members will chime in and give you some good info, That's a beauty...

:welcome:

[deilenberger]

The big three (I see no mention of them being done)

1 - Coils (gave Porsche a really bad reliability rep..)

2 - Cooling pipes - costly but not doing them means they will fail sooner or later

3 - Driveshaft - seems more prevalent on '04 models, but that might just be because there are more of them

Coils - you might be able to get Porsche to pay for them if they haven't been replaced, but that means one has to fail before Porsche will do anything. Replacements are available from NAPA for around $21 each, and the quality can't be any worse then the ones from Porsche

Cooling pipes - do some reading. Not a cheap job, not an easy job. It's a "when" not "if" sort of failure. Some have lasted beyond 100k miles.. and some not.

Driveshaft - seems the rubber mount for the center bearing on it lets go. It isn't clear to me if the rubber fails, or the bearing fails and rips the rubber out. Porsche fix is $ (new driveshaft) - there are rebuilt driveshafts available, and some DIY's on replacing the bearing. Bearings are available for > $80 on Ebay.. I carry one in the truck (spare tire well..)

Other then that - I'd suggest reading here, and becoming a paying member of: http://www.renntech....ayenne-turbo-s/ - paying members have access to all the Porsche service bulletins.

Good luck..

BTW - reliability - probably on a par with BMWs (which sometimes have exploding engines, and most have exploding cooling systems) and perhaps better then Audi (at least earlier Audi's..) It is not a Honda.. but you didn't want a Honda so that doesn't matter. :) :welcome:

Edited July 7, 2011 by deilenberger

[PGC9]

1) No history for Coils at this point - if i were to be pre emptive and get it done fairly immediately what am i looking at? to replace all 8

2) Cooling pipes were done at 33xxx - Once replaced by Porsche is this usually a non-issue going forward?

3) No history that I know of for the driveshaft - is this extremely common? Similar to above, what is the best thing to do? Be pre-emptive and replace the rubber mount and/or bearing?

Thanks

Edited July 7, 2011 by PGC9

[PGC9]

Also, like I said, I pick the vehicle up today - too late for me to go back to the negotiation table and if the above need to be done have the dealership meet me halfway (or all the way)... Do I completely walk away? Thanks all...

[deilenberger]

1) No history for Coils at this point - if i were to be pre emptive and get it done fairly immediately what am i looking at? to replace all 8

I'd at least want to view the PN on the coil.. if it ends with 003 or greater, it's the new "fixed" coils, and they likely won't be a problem. If not - since your extended warranty won't replace pre-emptive, I'd go for the NAPA ones. PN IC643. Made by Beru, reboxed and sold by Echlin. $22/each.

2) Cooling pipes were done at 33xxx - Once replaced by Porsche is this usually a non-issue going forward?

Depends. If it was done sometime in the past year or so - chances are it got the new design aluminum replacement pipes. If you have the work order on it - you can check this by the PN's. There are a number of DIY/FAQs on the pipes, and some include the replacement PN for the aluminum pipes. If it was done fairly early in the trucks life, chances are it just got new plastic ones. In that case you probably have 30k miles or so to think it over.. :)

3) No history that I know of for the driveshaft - is this extremely common? Similar to above, what is the best thing to do? Be pre-emptive and replace the rubber mount and/or bearing?

I wouldn't say it's "extremely" common.. more equal to BMW water pumps. Some seem to last forever, some go rather quickly. It may have something to do with how the truck was used. Lots of off-road stuff is going to put a lot of stress on the rubber mount, as will burnouts and jackrabbit starts. In my case, I've inspected mine twice, and so far it looks just fine. What I did was tossed the bearing in the trunk area since my truck is under CPO warranty, so if it craps out anywhere near a Porsche dealer - it goes to them and gets a new driveshaft. If it does it in the middle of Rt 50 in Nevada - well, I've got a bearing with me, so mebbe I could find a driveline shop to rebuild it by installing my part.

Thanks

No problem.

Eilenberger's Law of Parts: "You never need what you have.." and the corollary: "The chance of needing a part increases with the distance from the part.." - so I carry a few spares in the truck that could disable it (serpentine belt, driveline bearing, spare coil), and I take along a laptop with my Durametric software on it and the Durametric cable. This has worked on many long trips I've taken in the past with a Saab-96 (3-cylinder, 2-cycle.. did coast2coast2coast in it), a lot of BMW motorcycles, a lot of BMW cars, and I'm hoping it works on a Porsche. :)

Edited July 7, 2011 by deilenberger

[PGC9]

Don,

I appreciate it.

BTW, my grandparents lived in Spring Lake for a good decade or so.

Have a lot of friends that spend their summers there, or Manasquan, Sea Girt, etc.

* Pipes were done mid-2007; not sure if that is early in its life or not. I'd have to take a look at the part itself.

* Coils wise is it as easy as on my Audis? Almost like replacing spark plags? For $160 i'd be more than willing to knock that out, but you tell me if I am missing something.

* Last but not least, you think the drivetrain would fall into the warranty? Seems like the biggest possible future cost inhibitor besides the usual stuff

[deilenberger]

Hmm.. and I'm driving out to CA for a few weeks.. :)

Using the right tools you can see if you have the aluminum pipes or not without major disassembly. SEE: http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/porsche-cayenne-forum/550109-plastic-or-aluminum-coolant-pipes-how-to-tell-without-intake-removal.html

Only PITA on the coils is getting the passenger side beauty cover off the engine. It has to be wiggled out from under the engine-brace mount, and under the air-pump mount. Other then that - not a big deal to do. You'll need tools like triple-square (aka spline) drivers, shorty torx drivers (I use the 1/4" drive ones in a tiny wratchet), and probably E-Torx drivers (external torx drivers.) plus normal metric sockets. Good time to replace the plugs if they haven't been done - you can find them for less then $3/each on Amazon with a bit of searching.

And I imagine the driveline would be covered by the warranty - can't see why not, but worth reading the policy very carefully to make sure there aren't oddball exclusions.

[Loren]

Triple Square tools are also known as "XZN"

(12 equally spaced tips, each with a 90 degree angle)

[PGC9]

Snagged the car last night, very excited to give it a go on 101 and what do you know... traffic.

Anyway, it did open up a couple of times and its great (this isn't 1st time I've driven this car, or S or TT, so just reiterates why I bought it)

First impressions ---

1) Gas guzzler but such is life

2) Drove it for a good hour, once I hit streets of San Francisco (stop & go coupled with up & down), the thermostat started fluctuating a bit between the steady 180 and 200-210. At one point, because of first day paranoia I got out and smelled around (small tinge of coolant smell), looked under the car, etc. - once I got home I did get some forum posts showing that in 04's this is a normal occurance. Any clarity on that? Seems a little weird that the thermostat moves like that but then again its a big car. In all cases, once going back down hill or moving a bit it would subside back to 180.

3) My other car is an A4 with 19s and coilovers so forgive me for thinking that the Cayenne's ride is cushy, but is it? Or is it just that I'm so used to feeling everything on the road that I'm just not used to the comfort feeling yet?

All in all, great car - thanks for the help yesterday

@ Don - When and why will you be heading out to Cali? What parts...

[WilliamMacDougall]

3) My other car is an A4 with 19s and coilovers so forgive me for thinking that the Cayenne's ride is cushy, but is it? Or is it just that I'm so used to feeling everything on the road that I'm just not used to the comfort feeling yet?

Congratulations on your new purchase. I am a NEW (USED) Cayenne S Owner also. Just purchased the other week a 2005 and signed up on this forum today. In some ways I wish I would have signed up here before as it is full of so much information. I took mine to get a full inspection prior to buying it at an outside 3rd party garage and all they could find wrong with it was rear tires and brake were excessively corroded from what they thought sitting for so long (it was bought on auction off of lease). I actually negotiated those to be replaced though by the dealership and they just finished yesterday.

The week I bought it I loaded it up and ran it from Nashville to Decatur, AL and loved the ride (a little over 100 miles) it really outperformed by old 2000 ML320 and I would say it is as fun of a drive as my 2008 BMW 328i. In regards to the "cushiness" I had an opposite experience. My last car for 7 years has been the ML320 and I really loved it and ended it with 207k in miles. It was very smooth but it was a completely different vehicle. The BMW 328i is a similar ride and feel (I guess sport car like). I had the hardest time finding a comfortable position for my seat too... and that is when I realized I don't have memory settings for my seat but I tend to be the type that rides different based on mood and time of day anyway.

Edited July 29, 2011 by WilliamMacDougall

[deilenberger]

@ Don - When and why will you be heading out to Cali? What parts...

I've been in CA for about 2 weeks - probably be here another week or so.

Been in Manhattan Beach for the past week, heading back into Culver City (LA) tonight for 2 nights then starting up the coast on Sunday AM. Will probably be somewhere around San Luis Obispo, then? Dunno.. will be visiting some relatives in San Francisco for a few days. Then north Oregon, Washington, and turn right and head for home (with a stop/crawl at Yellowstone..)..

Gotta love the hill-holder (anti-rollback) on the hills of Manhattan Beach, and more then likely SF..