Minor service that has just escalated and escalated

aholymanjones55 · Aug 12, 2021

My first post in a while, whilst like everyone else gone quiet during this COVID-19 experience.

So I thought I would share this as where we are today,12 August 2021[they have had the car now into Day4] Porsche Reading are in now in uncharted territory.

Car went in on Monday for it 2 year service 10 days before the day since it’s last major service in 2019. I had another 5k to go but the biannual option won the day. Brake pad warning light had come on a week before. Car was registered March 2016 now with 47k on the Clock.

Extras include wiper blades, clean out sunroof and fuel filler pipes, new rear brake pads and two new front tyres. Oh and refresh A/c. Tyres were the originals and was going to replace pre winter but there offer made since to cover off all together. Backs bedding changing at Christmas after a piece of flint cut into the tyre at 3.3mm.

Then came the rub, at idle engineer picked up something not quite right. Brain had an error code on cylinder 4. The resolution was do a spark plug switch to isolate if the sparkplug at fault. It was not. That meant a new fuel injector £1,800. There was one further step that does not warrant commentary. Nobody ever heard of a failure at this mileage but would be ordered in and then we would be good to go.

Further the engineer found oil in head of Cylinder4 from a failed gasket. The two incidents are not related. This would require fixing once Porsche Uk is made aware and to see what goodwill offer is forthcoming. Photos taken such a report can be submitted. This is very expensive. When I know how this pans out I will share. This is the sixth Porsche in 22 years of ownership and never taken the extended warranty always self insured….

Yesterday new injector arrives and gets fitted. It does not fix the error code.

Hence now in uncharted territory. Nobody ever seen this before. It seems to be mechanical. So requires…

Next step is to take the head off. So it’s now with PUK. What a coincidence.

Keep you posted.

I’m not a betting man but given I’m off to Le Mans on Wednesday. Will it be fixed before then? GTS is the drive to and from Le Mans….

I got a courtesy car last night after I explained I could manage without the car for a couple of days but now expected a car as is normal because I never expected a saga and fitted the maintenance around Porsche’s work cycle and lack of spare cars at the moment. So at least that’s a positive here.

Cheers

aholymanjones55 · Aug 14, 2021

The error code was first registered on Saturday 31 July 2021 around 2pm. It's not anything that the Driver is made aware of. It's an internally generated code used by Porsche. The car runs fine its on at idle that the issue occurs. Hence I had not picked it up given I dont stand and listen to the car at idle....perhaps I should in the future..its misfire.

The spare parts need for the engine are not held in the UK parts bin. They will arrive on Wednesday, just as I drive off to le mans. So won't be sorted until I get back on Tuesday 24th.

petercook · Aug 26, 2021

It's why the extended warrantee is, in my opinion, good value - now Porsche have stopped requiring the zillion point check at a ridiculous cost!

richardfleming · Aug 28, 2021

petercook said:
It's why the extended warrantee is, in my opinion, good value - now Porsche have stopped requiring the zillion point check at a ridiculous cost!

+1

aholymanjones55 · Oct 12, 2021

Well it’s time to close this report down.

I’m not going to give a day by day account of my experience here. It’s been an exhausting and very frustrating process.

Suffice to say I feel I have left no stone unturned in my attempt to resolve. like all disagreements it’s been a compromise on both sides ultimately to conclude.

Its taught me three lessons. Don’t think a Porsche SUV is the same as an Audi and assume it will cost the same To run. If you run outside of the 3 year new warranty take out the extended warranty. Finally a mechanical failure is not easy to diagnose from the when the computer says you have a problem.

We still don’t know what’s wrong but Porsche engineering do believe the next steps they plan to take will resolve the issue or issues.

it’s now over two months since the car went in will no reported display issues to the driver.

Corporate Porsche GB tried their best but at the end of the day they were not supportive. OPC tried their best.

Its time to have a parting of the ways. The car goes back this week and my ownership ends.

I won’t be replacing the Macan with another Macan!

Cheers

gtipirelli · Oct 12, 2021

Sorry to hear about this whole saga, we also have a 2016 Macan 2.0 that is on 40k miles since new and I don’t have the extended warranty(never have had with any car after 30 years driving)

we we had a new transfer box earlier this year fitted FOC but other than that no issues in the 5 years of ownership. I am happy to keep having the car serviced at an OPC but will look at an indi for anything else unusual that may go wrong as they are a fraction of the price.

That at may not work for the issue you had but it does sound like an exceptional issue.

the Macan is such a great car and fits our family requirements perfectly so not sure what would come next. My wife wants a Cayenne but I don’t !!

good luck with your search for a replacement

aholymanjones55 · Oct 13, 2021

It's such a shame. Love the car but just not prepared to go along with the spanner thrown at us here or the excessive Porsche costs of what is basically a run around. I'll call it a Newbury Tractor as compared to Chelsea Tractor.

It does seem the transfer box is known issue. Mine is fine one of my a mates in Macan S just needed replacing. Going rate is £3K I gather.

Purely out of interest added up total cost of ownership and its working at close to £1 a mile The car had just under 48K when traded- in......138 trips to the petrol station and averaged 34.5 miles to the gallon. All disks now replaced front and back. Water Pump replaced. Never had a car the chewed disks so quickly. Fronts went at less than 18k. Then the engine issue.......!

We have decided to go back to a John Cooper Works Mini and found a nice example MY 2020 Clubman with low miles less than 2K that got all the 'bells and whistles' and the new BMW M135 engine at 306 bhp. So this should keep me happy for my potting about when not driving the GTS.

Cheers