If you recently purchased a 2011 or 2012 Porsche Panamera Turbo, Turbo S or 2012 Porsche Cayenne Turbo you may want to call your dealer. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Porsche is recalling these vehicles for a possible casting defect in the turbine wheel of the turbo charger. (If you can't see the video below, jump to Porsche Panamera Turbo S on fire to watch it directly on our site).
The recall summary goes on to state that if the turbine wheel fractures, performance will be decreased and the turbine shaft may fracture. More ominously, if the turbine shaft fractures, oil could be drawn into the exhaust system which we all know can't be good. When oil touches anything as hot as the exhaust system you'll get some smoke at the very least and where there is smoke, there is usually fire (this looks to be what happened in the video above).
Porsche plans on notifying owners this month and will replace the turbine wheels free of charge. If you don't want to wait for Porsche to contact you, feel free to reach out directly to your dealer or to Porsche at 800-767-7243. If you would like to look up the recall info yourself, visit the NHTSA recall site at safecar.gov. The recall number is AC04.
Other Porsche Blog Posts You Should Read
Voluntary Recall for 2011 and 2012 Porsche Cayenne Owners
Don’t Lose Your Nut(s)
Porsche is extremely over the hill in it cost/pricing. This includes up front to purchase and with repairs and maintenance during the life of the veh. …. period.
No doubt they are beautiful cars but too costly.
@Dick,
I think it all depends on your perspective and the particular car. We have three (3) Porsches: a 1973 911T, a 1997 993 C4S and a 2009 Cayenne. Other than routine and regular maintenance (yearly for the two 911s that don’t get a ton of mileage) all three of our Porsches have been trouble free. Every car manufacturer has issues/recalls. Usually, when Porsche has them, they are fixed immediately and effect a very small percentage of the total production numbers.
I would hazard a guess that most people buying the Porsche Panamera Turbo, Turbo S or Cayenne Turbo or generally not worried about the cost of maintenance and wear parts such as brakes or tires. Besides, depending on miles driven, the service intervals are such that costs should amortize out over time.
No rear view mirrors on cars for journalists? No strange noises noted?? This might be a “good deal” on eBay someday, haha! Actually very sad.
@Dick, I totally disagree. I have owned about 10 Porsches over the last 25 years and they have been the most reliable and cheapest cars I owned in terms of running costs, maintenance and depreciation.
The most costly car I ever owned was a 4 cylinder Ford, which lost 70% of its value in 3 years.
re the journalist in the video, he is either brain dead or blind to keep driving that car with such obvious engine problems.