Porsche Cayenne 958 Buying Tips and Pre-purchase Inspection Tricks

• Make sure the previous maintenance records are present for the car,
• Check brakes, since brake pads and discs are quite expensive,
• Check for leaks (i.e. transmission fluid, engine oil, and other fluids),
• Tyre depth shall be at least 5 mm ,
• Check coolant level and the fluid condition, Make sure the thermostat and water-pump has been replaced per 100.000km.
• Invest on a Porsche specific OBD tool, (i.e. Icarsoft, Durametric, PIWIS) to check present fault codes for all ECUs

Early 2011 model year V8 engines suffer from aluminum variocam bolts failure, which requires an engine replacement. Make sure, the faulty bolt-cams are replaced.

Transfer case failures are common for V8 engines, where the vehicle hesitates to move at low speeds on 2nd, 3rd gear. The symptom is like ignition fault, and there are two types of this failure reported to date,

1- Low mile vehicles : Water condensation in the transfer case. Necessitates a rebuild or brand-new transfer case,

2- High mile vehicles : The problem is generally solved with a reliable oil change. Consecutive changes with a few hundred kms may provide a guaranteed fix.

We recommend to check oil change records of transfer case especially by using a reputable oil (i.e. Ravenöl)

Coolant pipes and coolant bridge is prone to fail and a must check item for pre-purchase inspection.

For V8 Engines (S, GTS, Turbo) thermostat housing is also re-designed by the factory after 2014. So, older model vehicles shall be also upgraded to the latest part to prevent coolant leakage from Thermostat housing. 

Lock and unlock the vehicle, then open all the doors using outer handle to make sure door actuators are working. Failed actuators enable you to open the door using indoor handle, but the outer handle does not work.

They are prone to break especially the complete unit at the driver side is generally faulty. Make sure, all 4 buttons are functional.

Due to connector based problems, the bose amplifiers are reported to fail. The faulty amplifiers are known to make a muffled popping noise whenever you start the car.

Open and close the power tailgate multiple times, to check if there exist a noise coming from commonly failed struts.

Oil pressure shall be at least 3 bar at 5500 rpm.

Cayenne 958 rear wiper motors are known to leak washer fluid, and work intermittently without activation request from the driver. Also , as a result of washer fluid leak on the tailgate actuator, the connectors corrode and gives warning on the dashboard ‘trunk open’. Though it is relatively cheap repair, you are advised to check this from vehicle history.