Hi
I have a 2011 Panamera 4 (CPO) that has a loud, high pitched whine or whistle at certain speeds (between 55-63 and again between 83-90). The whine/whistle is coming from behind the front center console area and is louder in the 83-90 speed range. The noise doesn't go away after taking my foot off the gas, it might change in pitch a little but it doesn't go away.
My wife drives clients around for business and the whine/whistle has been mentioned by her clients during the drive. We can't keep driving this expensive car with this distracting whine/whistle. To us the noise is like fingernails on a chalkboard.
The dealer has been in contact with Porsche Corporate to find the cause of the whine/whistle. They've been communicating to their Porsche network about the whine/whistle for the past four months and the suggested repairs included repositioning and extending the A/C drain tubes, replacing the floor insulation under the two front footwells, replace the blower motor and completely replacing the transaxle (differential). None of these repairs stopped the noise.
After the last repair (transaxle replacement), we drove the car with two gents from Porsche Corporate, one is a District Service Manager and the other a Field Technical Manager. The field technical manager heard the noise (prob because he was in the front passenger seat) and the other didn't (back seat). At the end of the ride, they said they'd still continue researching a solution but they concluded that there may not actually be a solution. The Field Technical Manager did suggest bringing in more sophisticated recording equipment to diagnosing the problem. Well they are now ignoring my requests to actually do what they said they could do.
Because the noise is still there, I was assigned a Porsche agent and an internal investigation was opened into the noise with the option to repurchase a new Panamera. This is because Porsche Corp is telling me they can't or won't continue trying to stop the noise problem. The Porsche internal investigation came back with a compensation offer of $3,000 cash towards a 2014/2015 Porsche. My reply to them was that it's a very insulting offer given I payed +$75,000 for a Panamera that arounds like a referee's whistle. Why should I be left on the hook for a car that sounds like a Honda Civic when it hasn't been maintained. This is really frustrating.
BTW, I have a 2002 911 Carrera which I had to pay out of my pocket for the LN IMS which later turned into a Class Action lawsuit because Porsche wouldn't admit that they made a bad IMS, they simply settled rather than admit fault. I'm real concerned that this noise is a precursor to something bad like the IMS (engine failure). I can just see something wearing down over time and going very, very bad.
So my question to the forum is...
What happens when Porsche can't fix a problem that they know is a problem ?
What happens when Porsche refuses to fix a problem that they know is a problem ?
I've already contacted a lemon lawyer but maybe I should make a YouTube video (Nick Murray) ?
What if I put the car into neutral when I hear the noise to see if it stops. Can I do that, put a Panamera into neutral at 55 mph ? Maybe I can drop to 6th gear when I hear it.
We love our Panamera but we can't keep driving it while it makes this noise. I wish Porsche could just fix the noise problem. This has been a very frustrating process with Porsche Corp.
Thank you
John Giles