2011 Porsche Cayenne
Complaints about this year name camshaft far more often than the other years of this generation — 27% of them, about 67× the usual rate of 0.4%.
First year of a new generation. The Porsche Cayenne was redesigned for 2011. A first year carries problems nobody has found yet, and they are found by the people who buy it — which is worth knowing before you become one of them.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 208 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 53 |
| Involving a crash | 6 |
| Recalls | 5 |
| EPA combined | 18 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- bolts — 34.6% of this year's complaints, against 8.6% across the other years of this generation (4×). Owners wrote it as: bolts, aluminum, loss, adjuster.
- hard — 8.7% of this year's complaints, against 0% across the other years of this generation (43.3×). Owners wrote it as: hard, complete stop.
- turbo — 8.2% of this year's complaints, against 0.2% across the other years of this generation (36.8×). Owners wrote it as: turbo, cayenne turbo, writes, regards.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- bolts — 21% of complaints, 52× usual
- aluminum — 15% of complaints, 38× usual
- replacing — 10% of complaints, 24× usual
What owners wrote
CAMSHAFT ADJUSTER BOLTS SNAPPED WHILE IN OPERATING MODE.BEING MADE OF ALUMINUM NOT STEEL AS IN PREVIOUS YEARS CAUSED THE ENGINE TO STOP OPERATING. PORSCHE USA REFUSED TO COOPERATE CITING AN OUT OF WARRANTY REASON.VEHICLE ONLU HAD 84000 MILES WHEN THIS FACTORY…
THE CAMSHAFT ACTUATOR BOLTS BREAK AND CAUSING INTERNAL DAMAGE TO THE ENGINE, THE VEHICLE LOSE POWER SUDDENLY AND DIFFICULT TO ENGAGE THE BRAKE PEDAL.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 16V169000 SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC Fixed free of charge.
- 12V065000 EXTERIOR LIGHTING Fixed free of charge.
- 22V656000 EXTERIOR LIGHTING Fixed free of charge.
- 17V368000 ENGINE Fixed free of charge.
- 15V016000 ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Porsche Cayenne was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2011 Porsche Cayenne? What happened to yours?
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