too_good
New member
All - I have just joined PCGB to highlight to fellow owners that defective bolts/screws used in the camshaft assembly of early mk2 (958) Cayenne 4.8 V8s built between 2010 and September 2011 can potentially lead to immediate engine, brake hydraulics and/or power steering failure. Porsche has issued recalls for these models in other countries accordingly over the last few years (details below). The aluminium bolts used in the two camshaft controllers are increasingly well documented as not fit for purpose and prone to shearing off in to, and stalling, the engine - potentially causing a crash.
I only bought my FPSH 60 plate CTT with 51k miles 2 months ago (having previously owned cars including 2 x BMW M3s, a Mercedes SL500 and their ML350 SUV) - my family and I love the car and I'm proud to own it, but feel disappointed that such a material design fault has gone unaddressed by a brand I have associated with ‘high quality’ - and indeed integrity. I have verified using a dental mirror that the faulty aluminium screws are, unsurprisingly, present. The tell-tale sign is whether there is a 'pin' in the centre of the bolts/screws used to secure the camshaft controller (if there is no centre pin, the bolts should be the replacement steel variant). I can post more on this if there is interest, but otherwise the forum posted below exhaustively covers this topic and covers technical aspects which are beyond me (my posts are at the end of the thread, including a picture of the offending bolt).
This is a fault known to Porsche, with affected models in the US subject to both a Workshop Campaign around 2013 (known as WC22) and a ‘live’ US/Canada-wide recall campaign (coded AH08) – per a 'Safety Recall Report' filed by Porsche North America with the US's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (the equivalent of the UK's Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency) in May/June. The report filed by Porsche NA states: "On May 31, 2017, the product safety committee of Porsche AG came to the conclusion that...a safety related defect could not be excluded. It was therefore decided to conduct a voluntary recall of all potentially affected vehicles in the U.S. and Canada." This amounts to 17,986 Cayennes and Panameras (various Panamera models used the same faulty camshaft adjusters over a slightly longer period).
Tellingly, the NHTSA acknowledgment of the safety recall issued by Porsche asks them to "explain why this recall was filed in June 2017 when recalls for the same failure were initiated in April 2013 for substantially similar vehicles in Japan and during January 2015 for vehicles in China and Korea."
Whilst I can find no reports of this issue in the UK on the owner forums I have looked at, the body of US owners is much larger (and more vocal?!). Given the recall in various other countries and the fact that I have verified the same bolts are used in my UK car, it is reasonable to assert that our cars would also be affected sooner or later. There are reports of out-of-warranty owners having to pay $35k for a new engine or taking the hit on a preventative repair (costing c.$2,600) and I do not want to leave this issue unaddressed. I have checked the Workshop Campaign/recall history of the car and there is nothing relevant to speak of.
Regrettably, Porsche have seemingly elected to take no action in the UK (or other countries around the world) where the same faulty vehicles have been sold. Indeed, I have just called Porsche GB's Customer Assistance line to highlight the above and request that my car is repaired - the message was that they "cannot authorise a repair unless a GB recall has been issued." Naturally I am not happy with this response and do not accept it - as I told Porsche, I shall therefore refer this serious safety defect to the DVSA for their attention next week, along with the supporting documentation (WC22, AHO8 and the NHTSA letter). I’ll wait a few days as I am interested to hear from other concerned owners in the first instance.
FYI, I originally learnt of this fault via the active 6SpeedOnline community in the US (which has already helped me identify/solve an issue with lumpy acceleration attributed to dirty Transfer Case oil - another story, but the other component as far as I know which routinely can cause very expensive issues with 958 Cayennes – any model or year I believe). There are 39 pages of posts on the camshaft issue via the below link, with a similar story on another US Porsche owner forum (www.rennlist.com). It is quite possible that the coordinated efforts of those on the forums to raise the issue led to Porsche initiating the current recall (numerous owners filed reports with the NHTSA so it was likely only a matter of time before they investigated - point being, I would very much welcome it if you would reply to this thread if you also own one of these cars and share my concerns. Some coordinated action of our own is in order as it stands.
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/cayenne-958/319690-snapped-camshaft-adjuster-bolt-engine-brake-hydraulics-failure.html
[FONT=credit suisse type light"]
[@Porsche GB – given your affiliation with PCGB, you may well read this! If so, I urge you please to do the right thing and proactively resolve this matter in short order.]
I only bought my FPSH 60 plate CTT with 51k miles 2 months ago (having previously owned cars including 2 x BMW M3s, a Mercedes SL500 and their ML350 SUV) - my family and I love the car and I'm proud to own it, but feel disappointed that such a material design fault has gone unaddressed by a brand I have associated with ‘high quality’ - and indeed integrity. I have verified using a dental mirror that the faulty aluminium screws are, unsurprisingly, present. The tell-tale sign is whether there is a 'pin' in the centre of the bolts/screws used to secure the camshaft controller (if there is no centre pin, the bolts should be the replacement steel variant). I can post more on this if there is interest, but otherwise the forum posted below exhaustively covers this topic and covers technical aspects which are beyond me (my posts are at the end of the thread, including a picture of the offending bolt).
This is a fault known to Porsche, with affected models in the US subject to both a Workshop Campaign around 2013 (known as WC22) and a ‘live’ US/Canada-wide recall campaign (coded AH08) – per a 'Safety Recall Report' filed by Porsche North America with the US's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (the equivalent of the UK's Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency) in May/June. The report filed by Porsche NA states: "On May 31, 2017, the product safety committee of Porsche AG came to the conclusion that...a safety related defect could not be excluded. It was therefore decided to conduct a voluntary recall of all potentially affected vehicles in the U.S. and Canada." This amounts to 17,986 Cayennes and Panameras (various Panamera models used the same faulty camshaft adjusters over a slightly longer period).
Tellingly, the NHTSA acknowledgment of the safety recall issued by Porsche asks them to "explain why this recall was filed in June 2017 when recalls for the same failure were initiated in April 2013 for substantially similar vehicles in Japan and during January 2015 for vehicles in China and Korea."
Whilst I can find no reports of this issue in the UK on the owner forums I have looked at, the body of US owners is much larger (and more vocal?!). Given the recall in various other countries and the fact that I have verified the same bolts are used in my UK car, it is reasonable to assert that our cars would also be affected sooner or later. There are reports of out-of-warranty owners having to pay $35k for a new engine or taking the hit on a preventative repair (costing c.$2,600) and I do not want to leave this issue unaddressed. I have checked the Workshop Campaign/recall history of the car and there is nothing relevant to speak of.
Regrettably, Porsche have seemingly elected to take no action in the UK (or other countries around the world) where the same faulty vehicles have been sold. Indeed, I have just called Porsche GB's Customer Assistance line to highlight the above and request that my car is repaired - the message was that they "cannot authorise a repair unless a GB recall has been issued." Naturally I am not happy with this response and do not accept it - as I told Porsche, I shall therefore refer this serious safety defect to the DVSA for their attention next week, along with the supporting documentation (WC22, AHO8 and the NHTSA letter). I’ll wait a few days as I am interested to hear from other concerned owners in the first instance.
FYI, I originally learnt of this fault via the active 6SpeedOnline community in the US (which has already helped me identify/solve an issue with lumpy acceleration attributed to dirty Transfer Case oil - another story, but the other component as far as I know which routinely can cause very expensive issues with 958 Cayennes – any model or year I believe). There are 39 pages of posts on the camshaft issue via the below link, with a similar story on another US Porsche owner forum (www.rennlist.com). It is quite possible that the coordinated efforts of those on the forums to raise the issue led to Porsche initiating the current recall (numerous owners filed reports with the NHTSA so it was likely only a matter of time before they investigated - point being, I would very much welcome it if you would reply to this thread if you also own one of these cars and share my concerns. Some coordinated action of our own is in order as it stands.
https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/cayenne-958/319690-snapped-camshaft-adjuster-bolt-engine-brake-hydraulics-failure.html
[FONT=credit suisse type light"]
[@Porsche GB – given your affiliation with PCGB, you may well read this! If so, I urge you please to do the right thing and proactively resolve this matter in short order.]