2004 Porsche Cayenne Steering Problems

The contact owns a 2004 Porsche Cayenne. The contact stated that while the vehicle was taken to the dealer for a recall repair appointment, he noticed that the steering wheel had a quarter inch of play. The U-Joint connection was severely corroded. The dealer diagnosed that the steering column and steering shaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 266,969.

I HEARD SOME KNOCKING FROM THE AREA OF THE FRONT LEFT WHEEL WHILE DRIVING ON A CITY STREET ABOUT 30 MILES PER HOUR. I STOPPED AND INSPECTED UNDER THE CAR AND SAW NOTHING. SO I DECODED TO BRING IT TO MY SERVICE PROVIDER. I DROVE ABOUT 3 MILES AT SLOW SPEEDS TO GET TO THE SERVICE PROVIDER. AFTER ABOUT AN HOUR THEY FOUND THE PROBLEM. ONE OF THE BOLTS THAT HOLDS THE KNUCKLE TO THE WHEEL HAD BACKED OUT AND WAS BANGING AROUND THE BREAK SYSTEM. THEY SAID I COULD NOT DRIVE THE CAR UNTIL IT WAS FIXED.

DT: THERE WAS VIBRATION THAT AFFECTED THE STEERING COLUMN, AND IT WAS FELT THROUGH OUT THE STEERING WHEEL. ONE COULD FEEL VIBRATION WHEN THE VEHICLE ONLY HAD FORTY-TWO MILES ON IT. ONE COULD HEAR A NOISE WHEN MAKING A RIGHT OR LEFT HAND TURNS. THIS VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED ON AUGUST 28, 2004, AND WAS AT THE DEALERSHIP ON AUGUST 31, 2004. THE DEALER BALANCED THE TIRES. ON SEPTEMBER 27, 2004 IT WAS BACK AT THE DEALER FOR VIBRATION, AND THE DEALER SAID THE TIRES WERE WORN OUT. THEY ATTEMPTED TO FIX THE VEHICLE SIX DIFFERENT TIMES. THEY REMOVED AND REPLACED THE STEERING COLUMN, AND PUT ON NEW TIRES AND WHEELS. BUT STILL WAS HAVING THIS PROBLEM. CONSUMER IS A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR FOR THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, AND HE WANTED TO ADD THAT DURING AN ARBITRATION HEARING PORSCHE WAS UPSET WITH THE MENTIONING OF NHTSA. *AK