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New Cayenne owner

Cayenne74

Well-known member
Joined
13 Dec 2018
Messages
95
Hello All. Lurked on here for the last 2 or 3 months whilst looking to buy a Cayenne and found it a good source of info so thanks to all who post in the forum here for your (unknowing) help and advice! I purchased an '06 3.2 V6 at the start of November and it is my first Porsche and also my first SUV. I always said I would never buy an SUV but came to realise they do have their uses with a growing family! After I decided I was going for an SUV I opted to look at Cayennes as people praised their handling & performance, some going as far as to say it drove like a car. I have to say I don't agree with that but it does handle well for the size and weight of the vehicle. I looked at about 6 cars before I plumped for this one and went for it based on it's low previous owners and full Porsche SH, albeit it's done 115k miles. The guy I bought from seemed like a bit of an enthusiast owning other interesting cars including a 944 S2 convertible. I like to buy older second hand cars from their owners as opposed to a dealer as I feel it gives you a good gauge of how the car has been looked after and they tend to give you lots more info on what they have done to the car and any faults it also has, although more on that later!

After reading up on Cayennes and the common faults with the various types (955s in my case) I opted to go for a 3.2 on standard suspension as I thought this would 'de-risk' things slightly for me. Ironically the first car I looked at and drove was a 3.2 from a dealer but I chose to look at this as it was low mileage, good history and I wanted to drive the best one I could to see what it was like then work back from there. The car was out my budget range but it gave me a great guide of how a well looked after one should feel and perform. It also started to get me up to speed on what things came as standard on them and what was deemed as extras - I quickly learned that everything is an extra on a Cayenne (maybe other Porsches too?)! I did drive 3 x 4.5 N/A versions which impressed with the V8 and truth be told this was the model I was looking for, but each one I looked at had loud ticking noises from the top end of the engine and I was concerned there were future problems in store for me given the 4.5s known engine issues. Some of the cars I looked at were complete sheds and I nearly threw in the towel at one point thinking I wouldn't get something decent for my budget. It seems they are not as robust as you would think and some of the interiors in particular squeeked, rattled and were generally falling apart. Maybe a sign of owner abuse or maybe they had been pulled apart looking for internal problems. Something to look out for if you're looking at them anyway. The car I finally bought was the last throw of the dice for me on the Cayenne front and it proved to be the basis of a good car. It also came with a set of winter alloys with Dunlop tyres which was handy. My car is quite poorly specced compared to the others I looked at - it doesn't even have heated seats or cruise control! Weirdly it does have Xenon lights and the Bose system. I also liked the colour combo of Lapis Blue and grey leather interior as most of the others I looked at were black or silver.

The first thing I had done was put the car into a local specialist to have a major service carried out so all oil and filters changed, new wiper blades all round, spark plugs, etc. I have a few issues with the car which I am gradually getting round to sorting. The boot sometimes likes to not open which I first noticed a few days after getting the car. The little microswitch on the handle wasn't making a noise so I thought this was dodgy. Fast forward a couple of weeks later and whilst the handle was now making the noise the boot was jammed shut. After driving off however it decided to ping up the warning light telling me it was open and leaving the interior lights on! It was frosty that day so unsure if anyone else has experiences this? It also sometimes takes a few attempts to shut the boot - unless you really slam it shut it doesn't catch. I would appreciate anyones thoughts on this and if they have solved this issue. In the meantime I have sourced a new handle and actuator incase this is the issue and plan to it this soon.

The car has xenon lights (main beam anyway) but when I turn the lights on I get 3 warnings - 2 for the cornering lights and 1 for the headlight adjust. The lights are adjusting themselves okay when turning on so I'm not sure why I am getting this fault showing. I changed both cornering bulbs despite the old ones looking fine but still get the 3 faults. I then read on a forum that sometimes the lights don't click back into place properly when being refitted and that you have to really click them in to the point where you think you've broken them! The first time I reinserted the headlights I definitely didn't do this as the next time I really noticed the snapping noise when you turn them right in. I think my next approach is to remove the light and see if I can pull the connection coming from the car out the holder and attach it to the back of the light then switch on to see if the connector isn't going in all the way when the light is on the mounting plate. Again, I'd appreciate any thoughts on this issue.

Rear parking sensors work intermittently, rain and damp weather makes them not work which in Scotland is pretty much every bloody day! Not sure if you can have these tested on a reader to see the specific fault?

Drivers front window regulator cable snapped the other day so I bought a new regulator and was going to fit myself as I have done lots of these before but then googled it! Half the door has to come apart to do this! I changed one on my other car in the summer which took 1 hour start to finish but the Cayenne looks like a half day shot as the entire glass comes out on a frame. In a way it's genius and in another way it is the most over engineered solution I have ever seen plus they have taken the decision to fix the inner door panel and the regulator using rivets! Mental.

I have also noticed this morning that I seem to have a leak from the NSF below the headlight which is washer fluid so possibly the headlamp wash leaking? I notice they were both working the other night so perhaps a connection has popped off?

Apart from the niggles I am warming to the car and I do enjoy driving it, albeit it is very underpowered. I should have held out for a V8 or a Turbo but lesson learned. For those of you thinking that these would be worse for fuel, I am not so sure. Opinions on forums vary with some saying that they are all roughly the same so better going for the bigger engine versions, and others insisting that the 3.2 is more economical in the real world. My mpg over the last 6 - 7 weeks has been 17.1 but it is a very heavy car with an underpowered engine so to be expected and I knew it would be like this before I purchased. It's mainly short journeys I am doing with the odd run of say a 60 mile round trip. If you reset the mpg on the longer trips the car says it is getting 26.5mpg which is probably right. I only do about 5000 miles a year anyway so not too bad.

So, this is where I am and how I got here. Hopefully not too boring and I'll post up info on the fixes and how things go over the next few weeks and months. I purchased a new Kenwood head unit and fitting kit(including an adaptor to get around the MOST issue of the Bose fibre amp) as I want to replace the ancient PCM 2.1 system in the car with something that has up to date sat nav and Android Auto/Apple carplay in it so that will be a days work over the Xmas hols if the weather is nice. As I mentioned earlier any advise with the above issues welcomed.
 

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Nice looking Cayenne, Once you've sorted the small niggles i'm sure it'll serve you well.. Not knocking your V6 but 17mpg is shocking my Turbo gives me 22 with mixed driving....
Enjoy!
 
22?! Really?!!! I thought 17 was shocking but didn't want folks jumping on me with the 'what did you expect' line!

To be honest, if things go the way they are with it I reckon I will be on the look out for a Turbo next summer as I am really liking it, I just need more oomph.
 
My car is a 30k mile 2013 model and If i drive it hard everywhere I can get 8mpg :eek:
But I'm a seasoned driver and don't need to race the C63 (old Corsa drivers) anymore.
Enjoy what you have for a bit and as you say move to a Turbo with options you'd like.. be choosy as there's plenty out there...
 
Yours is probably a tad more efficient as it is the newer model, improved economy, etc so would make sense.

Yep, I'll enjoy it for now. I won't be racing anyone in mine for obvious reasons..................
 
Nice car!

The newer ones are miles more efficient. My 955 turbo achieved a lofty 10.7mpg last week!

This week I'm deliberately trying to keep it off boost this week and so far am getting a much healthier (but far less fun) 16.1mpg so far.

The trouble is the turbo is soooo addictive when you want to press on, and with air suspension in 'sport' it has no roll in the corners. To me it does handle like a big, powerful saloon. Miles better handling than our Range Rover Sport.

Look forward to reading the updates!

:thumb:
 
Happy Xmas all! I've been off for the festivities the last week and managed to get a couple of things done on the car.

Boot issue is now fixed. I ended up replacing the handle, actuator and the lock latch. I think the lock latch was the biggest problem. When I looked at the new one I bought I thought at first it was a different part from the one in my car as it seemed to have a small sensor which mine didn't. It turns out that this bit was completely worn away on my car, hence the reason why it was taking a few attempts to shut the boot before it 'latched' (the electronic noise you hear a split second after it shuts). Took me about an hour to do it all so not bad. I used a how to on Pelican Parts to strip out the rear panels but I think I could have got away with just removing the inner handle to the lower edge and working with the panel hanging off from the bottom as the access is quite good. I still have an issue with the boot freezing shut which I reckon is a design fault. I smeared the rubber seals with Vaseline and Teflon spray and it seems to stick at the lower section of the hatch where it turns in to the lower lip of the boot above the bumper. A lot of water seems to run down and gather there and I think it just freezes when it's cold.

I tried to solve my light warning problems but with no joy. I removed the lights and then removed the connections coming from the car into the back of the lights (the ones attached to the black plastic light mounting trays) plugging them in manually to see if they were not connecting properly, but still the same issue. I'm unsure what to try next and would welcome any suggestions. Brand new bulbs in there and the fuse is fine. Would a diagnostic reveal a fault code?

I have the car going in to Motortune in Shotts to have the window regulator replaced. I decided I couldn't be bothered stripping the door apart in this weather so just booked it in. They are also going to look at the leaking headlight washer jet issue. I had the headlight out yesterday to inspect it and can see it weeping just below the big black plastic thing that's attached to the jet. I'm assuming the bumper will have to come off to inspect properly however.

Today I spent over 4 hours fitting the new head unit. What a pain that was. I had half the car in bits to get GPS antenna, microphone, USB cables and HDMI cables installed neatly! Not a great result in the end either as I only have sound coming from the right channel so need to put a call in to the chaps who supplied the new harness tomorrow to see if they can shed any light on the problem. My car has the Bose system fitted so I had to purchase a very expensive harness to overcome the fibre optic amp. Hopefully it's a simple issue but I did double check all my connections before the final install. I'll post up in more detail how I did it if anyone is interested although I did find a very good guide online which help me immensely removing the trim I had to.

https://cai-store.com/pages/cayenne-radio-installation-instructions-for-2003-2010

I also done a neat little install for the USB and HDMI cables into the lower centre console cubby unit which I am quite proud off. Despite only having half a car of sound I do have Android Auto and Apple Carplay now plus Spotify.
 
For the headlights ..

Remove the headlights , unplug the wiring from the plastic tray .. remove the orange rubber seal then plug the wiring direct into the headlights .. push headlights loosely back in place ..

Start the car and turn lock to lock .. see if they work .. only one side will work on each lock.

A fault with a single bulb or Wiring will also stop the system from working and you will get a message.

Gen 1 Cayennes suffer from poor headlight connections .. normally its the indicators that stop working but this is something you can at least try .

If it does work .. ie cornering message goes then post and ill explain the work around .

Yes you can read out fault codes for the headlights .

The usual fault for a lvl message is a sensor failure .. its connected .. i think .. n/s/f and n/s/r to the wishbone suspension arms ..

Basically its a black box with an arm that connects to the suspension ..

The rod will either be broken or if you unplug it youll see the wiring pins are green and corroded ...

The front one being the most common for this .
 

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Thanks for the reply. I did what you suggested with the lights but never removed the orange seal from the plug so will try this tomorrow and post back. Just to clarify it's not just a warning message I get, the bulbs don't illuminate either.

Regards the sensors you mention on the suspension arms are those sensors solely for the cornering lights? I'm assuming if it is the sensor at fault a diagnostics would specifically pinpoint which one?
 
If one cornering bulb blows then the other side will stop working .. so a fault one side will stop the other side from working .

Only on the very early Cayennes though .

The orange seal on the plug .. this can stop the wiring connector going in far enough .. hence remove it just to check.

To check the sensors you can see a value on a tester .. you just rock the car and see the value alter but to be honest its pretty quick just to unplug them and have a look at the wires .. ive changed a few over the years due to water ingress.

You do get fault codes for these but not always and it may not be these .. this is just something you can check.

I belive the sensors are also used to a degree on the air suspension system ... manuals are at work so cant read up on it atm.
 
Yes, I'd read that before about one side not operating if the other has an issue. I'd put two new bulbs in so I know those are good. I also have the headlight levelling warning up too despite them self-levelling fine when you switch on the xenons.

I'll try and get back into the lights over the next few days and will post back how I get on. Yesterdays time was taken up removing the new head unit and checking all the wiring to see if something had come loose during my install. All was fine and after a call to the company who sold me the items they advised to swap round the left and right RCAs to see if the sound would switch across to the left side. Unfortunately it doesn't and still comes out the right speakers only so they reckon there is something wrong with either the speakers or amp currently in the car. I think it is the black box on the MOST harness they have supplied as the speakers and amp all work fine when the PCM 2.1 is plugged back in. The black box must have some form of DAC in it as the signal coming from the head unit is being outputted via the RCAs (analogue) then goes into the black box and leaves as an optical signal (digital) to go the Bose amp then the speakers. I'm disappointed they didn't offer to send out a new harness and for me to return the old one so they can test it for faults. It was £700 worth of gear and now about 6 hours of my time. Very frustrating and I think it will all be going back to them for a refund! They left it with me to get my amp tested locally but I can't see there being anything wrong with it if it works in it's current state.
 
I cant really help with the radio im afraid , i know standard Porsche set ups but not modified or after market items .

The head lights will cycles through full up , full down with ignition on .. it sets the end stops for each headlight motor .. if theres a fault on the system .. ie lvl sensors it will then flag a message.

If you havent already then check fuse 54 in the left hand fuse box please .
 
I still haven't had time to check the headlight connections again and remove that orange seal but I have checked fuse 54 and can confirm it is intact. I think that fuse was one of the first things I checked before I went ahead and replaced the bulbs.

My time has been taken up with a dodgy drivers door lock the last few days! Went out to the car and unlocked it after a cold night, shut the drivers door and it bounced back open. I couldn't get the thing to latch when closing. After fiddling around with it I managed to flick the latch down so it was in the closed position with the door open. Bad move as I then couldn't get the door shut at all. It was cold overnight as in minus 1 but that's not really that cold so wasn't sure if this was the issue but the latch was moving manually. The car is in the garage this Friday to get the window regulator replaced so I'll get them to take a look at the lock whilst they have it all apart.

My boot lock fix hasn't been a success either it would appear. On a couple of occasions over the weekend the boot has failed to open and that is after me changing the lock latch, actuator and handle. When you touch the handle it's like there is no power getting to the lock. Next time you go back to it, hey presto, it works and opens. I'm not sure if anyone has had this issue before but not being able to get in the boot other than through the glass hatch is a pain to say the least.

Are the Cayenne locks a known issue or am I just unlucky? It's the daft things like this that can really put you off a car, not expensive issues to fix but problematic intermittent faults. :nooo:
 
A total guess based on what you have described .. the wiring comes through the tailgate hinges .. perhaps a broken wire there might be the cause ...

It would explain why sometimes it works but not others .

Try some lubrication spray direct into the door catch / lock .
 

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