cayenneturboabbe

hi all:

i am new to this site and i need some help. please offer what you think.

little bit background of me, international student studying MBA at Michigan State University. I bought a 02 BMW m3 the second day i arrived. love the car, love the convertible. however, winter here is as bad as hell, based on what i heard from second year and locals. even though my m3 has a hard top and a set of winter tire, i am seriously thinking buying a large SUV, (one of my friends is 280+ lbs). Cayenne is the first car on my list.

right now i am looking at either a 06 cayenne-s, with 30-40k miles and might have some warranty left or a 04 cayenne turbo, with 55k miles and no warranty left. they are pretty much the same price. from what i know from a friend who has a 04 cayenne turbo in Vancouver, Canada, this car is amazing to drive. however, servicing is extremely expensive and minor problems never end. for those who own a 04 turbo, is it true with you too or my friend is just unlucky enough to own a defect of this early year model.

i understand a 06 will be more reliable and probably more fuel efficient, and i don't have to worry about defect, but i am a performance guy. this is my first SUV and i don't want to be disappointed by its performance. that being said, can i really tell the difference between a S and a turbo? i mean, you can only drive up to 45 miles/hour in a city, Legally.

anyways, any feedback is greatly appreciated. i am ready to join the porsche family and enjoy this forum.

thanks

mike

Hey Mike,

I have a 04 Turbo I'm looking to sell shortly. Feel free to email at info@rockstarmedia.biz if you have any questions. I'm located in Novi just outside Detroit. Bill

Thought I would share the new ride from Michigan.

I'm located in Novi....

Thought I would share the new ride from Michigan.

Hello,

I have a 04 Cayenne TT and when I turn at low speeds like when parking or in a parking lot maneuvering it shutters and clunks badly. At first I thought this was a CV joint. Possibly the inner or outer on both sides in the front but after having a friend drive slowly with the wheel turned I can see the whole front right CV/Drive Shaft will pop or jerk when turning. It's almost like a tooth or cog is skipping. I'm wondering if this is a stepper motor that needs to be replaced or is this something else? It's a constant pop, pop, pop at full steering lock and lessens when you straighten the wheel out.

Thanks for any help!!!!!!

Bill

It's probably the coolant tube. I haven't heard on any of the various forums for over the past year on the head gaskets going (not that that's impossible). There is a TSB that details the parts list and Sunset Imports is way cheaper than anyone else on what you'll need. If you're worried about a head gasket, get a leakdown test.

Thanks for the info! I think I'm going to keep an eye on it and drive very good:) I'll perform a leakdown test to see if any alarms come up too. I'm having all the tubes replaced this week along with a coolant flushed and replaced. I'll keep an eye on my coolant level and also the exhaust smell along with checking the oil and under the oil cap. I guess this is my best defense at the moment.

I just had this happen yesterday. Did you happen to get any coolant leak into the intake. My mechanic found a slit trace of coolant on the intake valves and is not positive it's from this or a head gasket. I really don't want to have to replace my head gaskets on a guess:) Thanks for any advice!!!! Bill

Unfortunately I'm back with bad news! I have a 2004 Turbo Cayenne I just bought. I was getting ready to leave yesterday morning for work and noticed a puddle of coolant under the truck. I ended up taking all the under body and under hood plastic off to see were the leak was coming from. They definitely crammed that engine into this car too:) I came to conclusion it was leaking from the top center in the back of the motor. I felt better that it was only a tube or connection leak. I ended up having it flat bedded to my local mechanic and they determined it was a hose from under the Intake Manifold towards the back of the engine. I'm waiting to get the part list today too. When he had the Intake Manifold off he noticed Coolant beads on the intake valves. He's not positive if this is from the coolant tube or a Head Gasket. I'm not sure if this just seeped under when sitting all night when leaking.

I guess I'm curious if any one has had this issue or Head Gasket issues? I'm kind of stuck wondering if this just happens to be from the coolant tube leak under the intake or if I really need to go through with a head gasket change.

He's fixing the tube that created the leak and putting the Cayenne back together and I'm going from that point. I was wondering if there are any steps I should take to check if the head gaskets are leaking? In know I could do a cylinder pressure test, white smoke out the tail pipe, check the oil for coolant and so on...

Thanks for any help!!!!

Bill

Thanks everyone! I'm going to try this shortly and see what happens.

Hello,

I just bought a 04 Cayenne Turbo. It just started creating a thud sound and feel when stopping below 5-8 mph. The transmission shifts flawlessly up and down through the gears. This only occurs when it's in automatic mode after it shifts to 2nd at about 5 miles per hour or below. It's not happening during the shift to second gear too. Only after it's in second then as you gradually role to a stop it makes the thud. The thud sound and feel doesn't get recreated when accelerating too. When I'm in triptronic mode the sound and feeling is almost gone and sometime doesn't exist. It feels like the sound is coming from under my seat area but hard to tell. Any incite would be great!!!!!

Thanks....

Bill