CSR

Porsche · NHTSA safety record

2015 Porsche Cayenne

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

13

Complaints

0

Crashes

0

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2015 Porsche Cayenne have filed 13 safety complaints with NHTSA between October 2015 and May 2025. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 3 of them (23%). The typical failure was reported at 16,000 miles, the median across the 5 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 2 recalls covering this vehicle. A further 1 defect investigation is open and unresolved.

Recalls (2)

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:PEDALS AND LINKAGES

16V169000 · March 23, 2016

The defect
Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche) is recalling certain model year 2011-2016 Cayenne vehicles manufactured April 28, 2010, to January 11, 2016. The brake pedal pivot pin may be missing a circlip, allowing the pivot pin to move and the brake pedal to dislodge.
The risk
If the brake pedal dislodges, the driver may not be able to apply the brakes, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Porsche will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake pedal assembly circlip, installing any missing circlips, free of charge. The recall began on July 8, 2016. Owners may contact Porsche customer service at 1-800-767-7243. Porsche's number for this recall is AG02.

Porsche Cars North America, Inc. · up to 88,300 vehicles across all model years covered

SUSPENSION

14V824000 · December 29, 2014

The defect
Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche) is recalling certain model year 2015 Cayenne Diesel and Cayenne S vehicles manufactured November 26, 2014, to November 27, 2014. Due to a manufacturing error, the suspension alignment on the front and rear axles may not have been performed correctly and the screw connections of the camber, toe and caster may not have been tightened with the specified torque.
The risk
If the suspension alignment was incorrectly performed, vehicle handling could be reduced, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Porsche will notify owners, and dealers will perform a front and rear suspension alignment, and check the screw connections for the proper torque, retightening as necessary, free of charge. The manufacturer has not yet provided a notification date. Owners may contact Porsche customer service at 1-800-767-7243. Porsche's number for this recall is AF04.

Porsche Cars North America, Inc. · up to 2 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations (1)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

EA21002

Still open engineering analysis · opened September 17, 2021

the air bags

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been no reported field ruptures in any non-recalled desiccated PSAN inflators.It is understood that desiccants fully saturate at some threshold, at which point any additional moisture will not be captured. This means the degradation process observed in non-desiccated inflators using propellant 2004 may also occur in non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004, assuming additional moisture enters the inflator and high temperature cycling occurs. Based on available information, desiccant saturation can occur within the first five years in the worst environments, and the time required for full saturation is affected by multiple factors. While no present safety risk has been identified, further work is needed to evaluate the future risk of non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004.Three entities -- Takata (now known as TK Global), the Independent Testing Coalition, and Exponent -- have been studying the long-term behavior of Takata desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004L (as well as 2004) in the presence of moisture and temperature cycling. The research efforts, which include development of predictive modeling techniques and field sample analysis, are ongoing. To date, none of the researchers have identified field evidence showing that propellant 2004L is undergoing a degradation process that leads to aggressive deployment and potential rupture. However, the time in service of such inflators remains short compared to that of the inflators using propellant 2004. Further study is needed to assess the long-term safety of desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L.The Office of Defects Investigation is opening this investigation to examine whether a safety defect related to propellant degradation exists in non-recalled desiccated PSAN frontal inflators manufactured by Takata. This investigation will require extensive information on Takata production processes and surveys of inflators in the field. Lists of recall actions that may have used desiccated PSAN inflators as remedy parts, as well as the makes and models originally manufactured with them, is available with the downloadable version of this document (see nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=EA21002 -- note this information is subject to change/revision as the investigation proceeds). This investigation does not supersede EA15-001, which remains open.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 13.

ENGINE 3 23%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 23%
POWER TRAIN 3 23%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 15%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 2 15%
AIR BAGS 1 8%
STRUCTURE 1 8%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 1 8%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2018 at 4.

2015 2018 2025
2015 to 2025

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

AIR BAGS
Air bag light on occupant not detected code, just like Porsche Mecan campaign AMA2

NHTSA complaint 11664131. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING
June 7-8, 2024 driving in rain, the #17- 25 amp headlight fuse blew, leaving my family and me stranded without headlights in the dark on I-70 highway. When headlights quit during this drive and it became Very Very dangerous! After getting the 2015 Cayenne home, I inspected both headlights. Driver's side headlight had a lot of moisture on the inside of lens. The passenger side headlight had about 1 cup of water inside headlight. Reading about Porsche Cayenne headlights leaking online, this issue should be a recall. I am going to take to dealership have them work on unrelated recall. I will ask them to inspect Cayenne. I can not drive this vehicle during inclimate weather or at night for an

NHTSA complaint 11629837, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Dealership is selling vehicle without disclosing recall information or correcting.

NHTSA complaint 11595610. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING
When I start the vehicle I get an error message that the rear lights are not working properly, but they are functioning well. This message is random and it can show up at anytime. I have contacted Porsche about this and they said that this is due to a faulty part that can be replaced, but requires 5000 USD. This problem was there when the vehicle was under warranty, but they never pursued or investigated it.

NHTSA complaint 11579292. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Headlight not working properly.

NHTSA complaint 11572810. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
On August 21 2021, I was out shopping. When I went out to return home, the car would not start. I could not jump start it or anything. I had it towed to the dealer. I found out from Porsche and dealership that my car was disabled by Porsche Connect. I do not have this service or pay for it. On Friday Sept 3, I was informed by Porsche customer service that it disabled my car because the original owner (in 2015) changed their phone number. So Porsche assumed stolen and shut down. I did not authorize this, I did not sign up for this service. They will not fix the car because they say it is out of warranty. Because I do not know the code to turn the car back on, they want to replace parts and

NHTSA complaint 11431928, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Porsche Cayenne

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2021 18 5
2020 23 4
2019 41 6
2018 13 1
2017 16 2
2016 38 2
2014 53 3
2013 40 3
2012 27 4
2011 30 3

Other 2015 Porsche models

Every Porsche on this site — 35 vehicles, 142 recall campaigns and 1 open investigation .

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst