All-wheel drive system faulty

[ian1975]

Hi!

From yesterday morning, when I turn on the engine, I have an all-wheel drive system error on the multi-purpose display. The car is running...Any idea what's wrong? Is it the battery?

Thanks

Ian

[Loren]

You need to find a shop with a PIWIS tester or a friend with the Durametric Software and read the fault code(s).

Without the fault codes everything is just a guess.

[wvicary]

There are several faults that could be at issue. As Loren stated, you need to have the fault code read and post them on here. Please post the year and model of your vehicle.

[ian1975]

Hi!

From yesterday morning, when I turn on the engine, I have an all-wheel drive system error on the multi-purpose display. The car is running...Any idea what's wrong? Is it the battery?

Thanks

Ian

Loren,

Called porsche dealer to take an appointment, should I buy the piwi or the durametric? what is it? should every porsche owner has one?

Thanks

[Loren]

Hi!

From yesterday morning, when I turn on the engine, I have an all-wheel drive system error on the multi-purpose display. The car is running...Any idea what's wrong? Is it the battery?

Thanks

Ian

Loren,

Called porsche dealer to take an appointment, should I buy the piwi or the durametric? what is it? should every porsche owner has one?

Thanks

PIWIS is Porsche tester tool and you can lease it for about $18,000 per year.

Durametric software runs on your laptop and can diagnose and do many fundemental programming/resets on Porsche car - about $287. Durametric

[wvicary]

Durametric is fantastic value for the money. Highly recommended.

[Deikoo]

This fault can be displayed when the battery is bad. BUT, only if it comes up when you start the car. It can be the 4 wheel drive motor aswell. Check the battery first.

[ian1975]

This fault can be displayed when the battery is bad. BUT, only if it comes up when you start the car. It can be the 4 wheel drive motor aswell. Check the battery first.

Thanks everyone,

Just an update, the next day, the car doesn't start and the battery is dead. I charged for 18 hours and everything is back to normal. This is the second time that is happened to me. Is my battery needed to be replaced? how can you check if your battery has to be replaced? My Porsche dealer charges 470$ + taxes (part and labor) for the installation of a new battery...Any advice?

Ian

[TopGun2000]

This fault can be displayed when the battery is bad. BUT, only if it comes up when you start the car. It can be the 4 wheel drive motor aswell. Check the battery first.

Thanks everyone,

Just an update, the next day, the car doesn't start and the battery is dead. I charged for 18 hours and everything is back to normal. This is the second time that is happened to me. Is my battery needed to be replaced? how can you check if your battery has to be replaced? My Porsche dealer charges 470$ + taxes (part and labor) for the installation of a new battery...Any advice?

Ian

You can follow the info in the owner manual to check/replace battery assuming there are no electrical problems with your car.

[wvicary]

There must be a local independent garage familiar with the Cayenne/Touareg that could test your battery/charging system.

[ian1975]

There must be a local independent garage familiar with the Cayenne/Touareg that could test your battery/charging system.

Brought to the garage this morning, they perform a battery test, it turns out that the battery is fine but maybe there's a problem with the alternator. I hope the alternator is under Porsche original warranty...Will the dealer replace the combo (alternator and battery)?

[wvicary]

What year is your vehicle? There was a TSB for an intermittent charge fault on early models and the charge cable was the fix. The alternators don't often give too many problems on the Cayennes.

[bleo]

Try this simple test before visiting repair shop:

0. Stop and start your engine (in case you got already fault message)

1. Activate off-road /Low Range mode/ driving program (use rocker switch) with gear shift lever in neutral position

2. Drive your car for a while (move forward/backward several meters)

3. Activate on-road /High Range mode/ driving program (use rocker switch) with gear shift lever in neutral position

It may "heal" your all-wheel drive system, e.g. resistor, which identifes mode in which system is and generates fault message when corroded - it happens when you do not use this feature for a long time...

[claudior]

Could be a different issue than mine but the symptoms are the same.

In my case, every single winter this shows up on the dash. The funny part is it NEVER logs that on the onboard computer.

So for several times I complained to the dealer (car bought new, under warranty) and they were NEVER able to find the issue even after replacing the battery. Again, only happened during cold days.

They tried to charge me for their time 'diagnosing' and not finding anything on the computer log/car and I told them and Porsche to screw themselves. After I brought pictures of the dash showing the error they never asked me for any payment again (and when they did I simply refused to pay).

If there is a problem with the car that the dealer cannot find, it is NOT my problem. I told them to go and discuss the issue with Porsche and leave me alone. It was not about the money. Could be $1 or $100. It is a matter of principle. Porsche and the dealer standing for their product. Simple as that.

Most of the time by simply turning the car on and leaving it on for 2-3 minutes then shutting it off and turning it on again, the error would magically disappear from the dashboard.

I had several other electrical issues that no one was ever able to fix. They even flew a guy in from Porsche to see the issues. Never fixed.

Long story short, car is gone and I got a Boxster.

At least no more electrical issues.

Now I am just waiting for the day an IMS failure will bite me and Porsche as usual will say there is nothing wrong and you the customer should pay for a new engine.

Trust me, Porsche does care about their customers as long as their cars are under warranty. After that nothing is their fault, even if it is a problem that happens due to a proven design flaw (like the 06 Cayennes engine angle that allows water in without a way to get out and toasts your coils - three replaced on mine thanks to this design flaw). German Engineering at best. And I say that as an Engineer with 18+ years of experience.

CR