Panamera Front Diff Failure

[dab996]

Hi,

I spoke with Stephen Chapman this morning who suggested I post the following as he's never heard of a front diff failing on a Panamera before and i can't find any ref on any forums: So if anyone has any advice, I'd be hugely grateful.

My 2011 Panamera Turbo with 59000 miles has developed a noise that can only be described as a rotating whooshing sound that increases with speed. If you move the PDK from D to N and free wheel the noise disappears and other than this noise the car drives perfectly, with no warning lights. I was advised by my Indy to take the car to Bristol Transmissions, which I did and I quote "We road tested your vehicle and confirmed there was a noise present. Your vehicle was then put on the ramp and ran up to confirm exactly where the noise was coming from. This was pinpointed to the front differential". Bristol Transmissions have been trying to source parts to repair without success so are now offering a brand new replacement front diff fitted at an eye watering £2735 + VAT. One point of interest was another comment Bristol Transmissions made, which is they were shocked that a front diff would fail on a Panamera given the car has only done 59k miles and that i should approach the Porsche GB for any goodwill towards cost.

I shall also post this in the General section.

Thanks,
Darren

 

[justin f]

when did you last have the front diff oil changed

from justin

 

[colin4763]

It would seem that your Panamera is now not the only one with a front diff issue. I put my 2013 Turbo in for service on Monday and had taken it in 3 weeks previously for a check because of a metallic knocking from the front end when on or close to full lock. I was advised by the dealer that it was normal as the all do that in really cold weather it is just tyre skip. They got one of their technicians to come out in the car with me and I was told by him that it was safe to drive.
I have had the car 18 months and it has full service history and is a few miles short of 44K. I did not use the car very much after that as I was really concerned that it was a serious fault despite what the technician had said.

This is part of the message I received from Porsche today "I have spoken to the technician who will be working on your vehicle to remove the engine and gearbox and he has said he will look at the driveshaft first and then inspect the differential. At this stage he suspects it’s the front differential that requires replacement however further diagnosis will have to be carried out once the engine and gearbox is removed." Price quoted to repair £3060 but ". I just wanted to make you aware there will be further costs involved once we have diagnosed the issue due to parts and possibly additional labour"

Colin F

 

[dab996]

Hi Colin,

Sorry to hear of the issue with your Turbo. Having read your comments, I would consider that a metallic knocking from the front end when on or close to full lock doesn't sound like a front diff issue as you would expect this to be a rotational noise. Also tyre skip is normal in cold weather on full lock given the size of tyre, which I get on both my 911 and Panamera and I don't believe this is representative to the metallic knocking.

If I can be of help, I'd be happy to have a conversation to discuss my experience and subsequent resolution - PM and I'll send you my mobile.

Cheers,
Darren

 

[colin4763]

Hi Darren

PM Sent

ColinF

 

[colin4763]

Time for an update on my car.
I finally got it back from the main dealer yesterday (Friday) which means they had it for just shy of 7 weeks (from 13th December), as far as I can tell other than the service which included an air con and brake fluid service and changing the rear wiper, it was only worked on in the last 2 - 2 1/2 weeks due to Christmas, New Year, Covid, Phase of the moon etc. But credit where it is due they did give me a loan car which while nowhere near a Porsche it was OK. They were a little bit lacking in the updates department as I did not hear from them until 7th January and only after several calls and unkept promises of them being returned.
I did manage to get them (reluctantly I think) to speak with Porsche UK regarding a good will payment as I was and still am of the opinion that this type of failure should not happen on a 44k mile £100K+ car. This was only after I had spoken to Porsche UK customer service's very helpful lady named Sasha. Porsche UK agreed to chip in with £500 towards the repairs, which I am grateful for but whilst I am aware that technically they had no obligation to contribute anything I didn't think was exactly overgenerous, you will see why in a moment.

Upon arrival to collect the car I found it had been cleaned for me and they appear to have taken care over it and done a good job. I cannot fault the attention I received at the dealership other than the time taken to actually confirm the diagnosis of the drivetrain fault and then repair it. I think it may have been exacerbated by the fact that the service agent I was dealing with was off sick over / just after Christmas so there was no one chasing up the repairs in house.
So the bit you really want to know - How Much?
Well thanks to Porsche UK's contribution I only received a bill for the car's service & replacement of the differential of £6280 Inc. VAT. How much!!!!

Colin F

 

[colin4763]

I have been a bit lax with the updates on my diff saga so I shall bring it back upto date. After getting my car back from the dealers after the new front diff was fitted and my wallet lightened by over £6000 everything was fine or so I thought as I drove away. Sadly not the case on the journey home i noticed a single knock apparently from somewhere in the drivetrain when adding (gentle) power to pull away from turns or out of roundabouts. I lived with it for a couple of days then as I could not tolerate it any more rang the dealers for them to look at it again as having spent all that money on repairs I wanted it to be perfect. It was about a 10 days before they could provide a courtesy car so I just didn't drive it as the noise combined with the thought of the money already spent on repairs was seriously affecting any enjoyment I was getting from my car. I took it in on the appointed day and the service advisor came out in the car with me and within 100yds he confirmed he could hear the knock I was referring to. So I left the car with them and went home in the courtesy car ( I probably shouldn't complain but a FIESTA! - and one with a really annoying TPS malfunction). The service adviser called me a couple of days later to say a senior technician had been out in my car and could also hear the knock I reported. Also the symptoms had worsened as the knock was also present under acceleration in a straight line and not just coming out of corners etc.
About 2 weeks later I "popped" in as I was passing to see if anything had been found / resolved. Sadly the car was in the car park and not the workshop. I spoke with the service adviser who stated they were talking with Porsche UK about the problem and would let me know shortly. About a week later the service adviser called me and said that Porsche UK were of the opinion that the problem was the driveshaft from the gearbox to the front diff. This meant (you guessed didn't you) that they would need to take the engine and gearbox out of the car again. As I write this I am waiting for them to carry out the repairs which I was told should be completed this week and for a call to say the car is ready.
I have mentioned fairly voraciously that I was unhappy with receiving the car back from them initially with a similar fault which had not been diagnosed when the drivetrain was removed or on the subsequent test drives that they have told me they carried out. In response to this I was assured that they would keep costs and parts prices as low as possible and I should only be looking at a bill of around £4500 this time. So a total of around £11,500 - what a bargain this Porsche is proving to be!
I will update this thread when I receive the car back and can assess its function again and also know what the financial damage to me was this time. But in the meantime if you wish to pass a hat round for me any donations would be gratefully received.

 

[billy_a1]

Hi, so i have a similar experience, my front diff was making a noise, took it to an indy and they said it was the front diff, my car is 2016 with only 50k miles on it. surely the diff should not wear out so quickly as such low miles.

Has anyone else experienced this issue on a cayenne too ?

thank you