There are 9 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2008 Porsche Cayennein NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
The contact owns a 2008 Porsche Cayenne. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 19V446000 (Power Train) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list. The local dealer previously completed the recall remedy. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was sent confirmation of the VIN being clear of recalls. In addition, the contact stated that the VINTool shows 1 recall associated with the VIN however, per the NHTSA VIN Tool shows no recalls associated with the VIN.
A START IGNITION WON'T START AND I HAVE TO PLUG THE KEY IN ORDER TO STARTED THE VEHICLE
ENGINE RUNNING INCREASINGLY ROUGH ON ACCELERATION. MECHANIC FOUND DRIVESHAFT FAILURE DUE TO EXCESSIVE AXIAL PLAY FROM CENTER DRIVESHAFT SUPPORT BEARING. DRIVESHAFT REPLACED. MORE THAN 50 SIMILAR FAILURES ARE DOCUMENTED ON GOTACLASSACTION.COM. I'VE ATTACHED COMPLAINT TO PORSCHE, THEIR RESPONSE AND REPAIR INVOICE. *TT*JB CONSUMER STATED PARTS WAS ORDERED. *JB
MY CAR IS GARAGE KEPT AND VERY LOW MILES (70K+) SINCE I WORK MOSTLY FROM HOME. I SUDDENLY STARTED TO HEAR A BAD NOISE COMING FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE CAR AND COULD FEEL THE CAR SHAKING WHENEVER STARTED TO ACCELERATE. TOOK TO A PORSCHE SPECIALIZED MECHANIC THAT TOLD ME IT IS A RECURRING ISSUE ON THE CAYENNE. LONG STORE SHORT, SPENT TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS TO FIX THE ISSUE.
WITHIN MINUTES OF DRIVING MY SON TO SCHOOL, I HEARD A GRINDING SOUND FROM UNDERNEATH MY CAYENNE, THEN A SQUEALING, AND THE CAR BEGAN TO VIBRATE VIOLENTLY DURING ACCELERATION. THIS HAPPENED VERY QUICKLY AND WAS FRIGHTENING BECAUSE I WAS CROSSING A BRIDGE IN MORNING TRAFFIC. THE SERVICE MAN AT THE PORSCHE DEALERSHIP TOLD ME THAT THIS IS AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH THESE VEHICLES AND THAT MY DRIVE SHAFT HAD COME APART. I AM A VERY CAREFUL DRIVER AND MY CAR HAS LOW MILES. I BELIEVE THAT THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL AND THIS IS SAFETY ISSUE BECAUSE OF HOW QUICKLY THIS HAPPENED WHILE DRIVING. *TR
DURING LOW SPEED DRIVING (ROUGHLY 20MPH) IN CONGESTED HIGHWAY TRAFFIC, I ATTEMPTED TO SHIFT GEARS ON THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION IN MY 2008 PORSCHE CAYENNE GTS. UPON DOING SO, THE CLUTCH PEDAL LOST ALL RESISTANCE AND PINNED DIRECTLY ON THE FLOORBOARD. AS I BEGAN NAVIGATING TOWARD THE SHOULDER, SMOKE BEGAN POURING INTO THE CABIN. AS I REACHED THE SHOULDER, THE CAR CAUGHT ON FIRE. I ESCAPED UNHARMED BUT THE ENTIRE CAR BURNED AND WAS TOTALED. PORSHCE HAS SINCE BEEN EXCEPTIONALLY RELUCTANT TO SPEAK WITH ME. THIS EVENT HAPPENED IN OCTOBER (2009). MY INSURANCE COMPANY (STATE FARM) HAS SUBROGATED ON MY BEHALF AND THREE MONTHS LATER, PORSCHE IS STILL NOT DISCLOSING THE FINDINGS OF THEIR INVESTIGATION NOR HAS ANYONE FROM PORSCHE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH ME SINCE EARLY NOVEMEBER. THIS WAS A LOW MILEAGE VEHICLE (ROUGHLY 12,000 MILES) AND MAINTENANCE WAS PERFORMED ACCORDINGLY TO THE MANUFACTURER'S RECOMMENDATION. AS PORSCHE'S FIRST MODEL OF THEIR POPULAR FAMILY SUV TO HAVE A MANUAL TRANSMISSION - I FEAR FOR THE SAFETY OF OTHER OWNERS AND THEIR CHILDREN. *TR
The contact owns a 2008 Porsche Cayenne. The contact stated while driving 50 MPH, the vehicle started wobbling with a loud sound coming from the vehicle. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the driveshaft needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred several times. The manufacturer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was already repaired under warranty. No further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 150,000.
I PURCHASED MY 2008 PORSCHE CAYENNE TURBO AS A SECOND OWNER BUT BEFORE THE PURCHASE WAS COMPLETED THE COOLANT HOSE RUPTURE FAILURE OCCURRED. THE REPAIR WAS AT A COST WELL NORTH OF $2000 AT THE MOTOR WERKS PORSCHE OF BARRINGTON. I ALSO HAVE A 2002 PORSCHE 996 TURBO WHICH JUST RECENTLY RUPTURED THE COOLANT HOSE. THE COST IS ONCE AGAIN RIGHT AROUND TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS. I'M JUST FED UP THAT THIS EPOXY FAILURE WITHIN THE COOLANT SYSTEM WHICH HAS AFFECTED SO MANY PORSCHE OWNERS. I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT THIS ISSUE IS NOT FIXED EVEN IN THEIR LATER MODELS BUT VERY HAPPY TO FIND OUT THAT MAYBE SOMETHING WILL ARISE WITH THESE COMPLAINTS. *TR
ON MY 2008 PORSCHE CAYENNE S ( PURCHASED IN MARCH 2007) I HAVE AT LEAST 3 TIMES EXPERIENCED A INCORRECT DOWNSHIFT INITIATED BY THE AUTOMOBILE IN ALL CASES THE CAR/COMPUTER OBVIOUSLY WANTED TO SHIFT DOWN TO A LOWER GEAR ( GOING UP A STEEP HILL AT HIGHWAY SPEED, TRAVERSING A STEEP PARKING LOT AT LOW SPEED) ETC RATHER THAN SHIFTING ONE GEAR THE CAR SEEMS TO HAVE SHIFTED 2 OR 3 GEARS AT ONE TIME THE ENGINE REVVED TO ABOUT 5000 RPM WITHIN THE RED LINE LIMITS- VERY NOISY AND DISCONCERTING I EXITED THE PROBLEM BY MANUALLY SHIFTING TO NEUTRAL WHICH CLEARED THE PROBLEM THEN BACK TO DRIVE I REPORTED THE ISSUE TO MY DEALER WHO OBVIOUSLY COULD NOT REPRODUCE THE VERY INTERMITTENT PROBLEM, HE ALSO SAYS HE CHECKED THE COMPUTER LOG AND COULD NOT FIND ANY REPORT AND THAT THERE NO SERVICE BULLETINS RELATING I THINK THAT THIS COULD BE A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE BEING POTENTIALLY A MAJOR DRIVER DISTRACTION. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026