05 Cayenne How to get to 200,000 miles

[AVFPolo]

Hi All,

 

I have an 05 Cayenne S which I bought six years ago with 40,000 miles on it. I live in New England and put approximately 15,000 years a year on this vehicle. I've found the Cayenne to be a great daily driver especially during the long, snowy winters that we have here. I've had all the normal wear and maintenance work performed by a local independent shop. To date I've never had any unscheduled work performed.

 

Last fall, when it had 125,000 miles on it, I had the drive shaft replaced as the center bearing support was on it's way to failing. At the same time I also upgraded the coolant tubes with the metal replacement unit and replaced the nine year old battery for good measure. The only other repair I've made is for the driver's side seat back which came loose and was an easy fix.

 

So far I'm very happy with my Cayenne ownership experience and I'm touching wood while stating this. I'm hoping to keep the vehicle for another four or five years. The undercarriage and body are still in excellent condition. And not a squeak to be heard after all the miles over our notoriously rough roads. I've done a lot of searching for common problems with the Cayenne S and it seems that the driveshaft and coolant tubes are the most common problems. Is there anything else that I should consider doing in order to achieve my goal of 200,000 mile of service?

 

Thank you in advance for your valued advice.

 

- Ed -

[wvicary]

The only other items I can think of that might cause issues are the climate control blower motor, water pump, fuel pumps and lower ball joints or control arm bushings and ignition coils. I've 205,000 km on my Cayenne and it also sees off road use.

[AVFPolo]

Thank you for your reply.

 

The water pump was inspected when the coolant tubes were replaced a few months ago. Appeared to be in good working order. I'm planning on changing the spark plugs in the next couple of days and planned to also change out all ignition coils at the same time to be on the safe side.

 

Does the climate control blower motor give any signs of failing prior to final failure?

 

- Ed -

[clarksongli]

Hey so i live in CT, and frequent Maine and VT quite a bit as well.  I bought 04 CTT with i think 40 or 50k on it?  i have almost 120k on it now.  Things i have done:

 

coolant pipes

water pump

tstat

belts

drive shaft

brakes

plugs

filters

fuel pump

battery

 

The blower motor will start making noise before it goes....so you'll hear it most likely.  I have what i believe to be the original coils as well.

 

Honestly i think coils get replaced way more often than they actually fail.....i have several race engines and the CTT, all use very similar coil on plug setups.....while i do carry a few spares, i don't blindly replace all of them just for fun.  just my 2 cents.

 

I think a big thing to get miles out of the car.....fluid changes.....don't wait for the 20k point, and don't believe "lifetime" fluid claims.  I've been following my changes with oil analysis work as well....for my driving i tend to have very good wear signs around the 5-7k mark....the oil shows plenty of additives left, and very low PPM levels for lead/iron/Al.  my car burns nearly no oil over the oil change span, suggesting the ring seal is still pretty good....lots of oil changes? Maybe it helped....i don't know.

 

I also change the tranny fluid every 50k or so.  I think this is honestly why my valve body is still running well.....the first few changes there was an incredible amount of lead in the fluid.....the best guess of the lab was Porsche had used some sort of marking compound, or anti-gall during assembly.  After the first change the second was much cleaner.

 

So really my suggestion....frequent fluid changes + normal maintainence....

 

Some other things that i see go bad often:

1.  starters

2.  front diff (they get noisy, but i've never actually seen one fail completely)

3.  T Case actuator

4.  Kessy module

5.  vacuum hose to the brake booster

6.  Coolant reservoir

7.  tranny valve body ( as i mentioned)

 

FYI, i do a lot of heavy towing of construction equipment and tree/stump pulling since i live in the sticks.....my car sees everything from mild to wild.....owning these things is a hobby for sure.  Stay up with the maintenance and you'll be fine.

Edited February 16, 2015 by clarksongli

[Pipefighter76]

Hello. My 05 cayenne s has 176,000 and I was wondering the same thing. I am a firm believer that with good maintenance we can break 200,000. Mine runs like a tol and has had those major repairs done. Coolant pipes, motor mounts, drive shaft, and I just had the valve covers done. The dealer wanted 1900. The euro shop got the job done for 700. The left side was dripping on the exhaust. There was a smell an a bit of smoke but nothing ever made it to the bottom of the vehicle. I'm thinking about the trans valve body next. From what I hear this will smooth out the downshifts. ( just a little noticeable when stopping) I love the cayenne and it's going to be hard to sell. good luck.