malimt

Greetings Forum Members,

I haven't posted here in quite a while because I haven't been experiencing many problems with my car. However, today the weirdest things started happening to the car... All in the matter of hours.

1. I turn on the car, reverse out of the parking lot and head for the freeway, once I get on the freeway doing about 55-60MPH suddenly, I saw the 'Comfort' suspension button and I decided to try it out since I never have in the past. So I press the button and the notification pops up on the screen saying "comfort shock absorber" everything is fine for about 10 minutes or so give or take a few mins and then the light comes on the dash; Faulty air suspension workshop or something like that. I find a safe spot and pull over immediately, turn the car off and get out to look around... Only to see that everything is perfectly fine. Hmmm Weird??? I get back in the car and start it up and the light is no longer visible. It was completely gone. I went from comfort back to normal and still no light... I start messing around with the ride height and still no light... Weird huh? At that point I thought it was some sort of error or malfunction... So I put it aside and start driving and constantly eyeing the dashboard hoping the light doesn't come on again. It never did!

2. I get to college, find a parking spot and turn the car off to head inside! Finished a class and came back outside to go get something to eat. I start my car up and slowly drive out of the parking lot to go grab something to eat and then while waiting at the traffic light the car's "Coolant/Water Temp" starts going up from 80 to 90 and then to 100 which I believe is 3/4 of the way. It has always stayed on 80 or below and never gone above so that definitely freaked me out. I pulled over to a safe spot and turned off the car. I popped the hood open and turned on the flashlight on my phone to scope around for leaks... But nothing under the hood, so I get down and look under and still don't see anything at all... Except on the rear right side by the rear passenger door I see a small squared cover just dangling and hanging out. I slid it and it came off... No biggie because it looked like it had nothing to do with the overheating... So I took the cover out and I was like whatever, I'll just take care of that later. I come back to the car and turn it on again and the temp is still around 90 past the usual 80 mark in the middle. So I was getting worried but then I saw the "Oil Temp" and it was normal below the 90 mark... Seemed fine to me. I started getting more curious and tried everything to find out what was going on... Then I saw that the A/C was off because I had hit the Econ button since it was already cold out and I didn't need the A/C I used the Econ button just to get some air inside... No biggie... Anyways I decided to turn off the Econ button and so the A/C would come on and when the A/C came on about 20-30 seconds later the "Coolant/Water Temp" dropped right to the middle which reads as 80 and everything was fine... I drove around a bit and nothing odd. So I eventually turned the A/C off and everything was fine but I didn't use the Econ button again to see if it would happen again as I got worried since I was on the road. I took off and went on my way back to college.

3. When I was done with my class I went to my car and started it up... Everything was fine and no issues. So I decided to go home and on my way home someone in front of me braked really hard and I had to slam the brakes so the brake pedal went far in... Like went very deep inside but it still worked just as good but it went it much further than it ever has. This was continued until I got home. I parked and turned the car off. I started it back up in about 2-3 mins and went for another drive and then suddenly the brake was fine again??? Very weird... No lights or errors at all for the brake. So pretty much no explanation. So I left it aside and moved on.

4. Later that day, I decided to go and get some groceries and so I turned on my car and backed out the parking... It was in the evening so it had become dark and I turned my lights on to the 'auto' option... Suddenly a light comes saying: "check dipped beam" or something along those lines. I get out and check and all the lights were functioning just fine. I turn the car off and the lights and then I turn it on again after a minute or so and then use the switch to put it into 'auto' again and this time everything was fine and no error light came on again. So I proceeded to go to the store.

Ever since I've had no errors and none of these issues have been repeated so far. It's just been a very weird and stressful day for me. One hell of a confusing day, I thought I'd share my story and possibly get some advice from you all in order to find out what could have caused all these issues in one day. I want to be sure that everything is okay and investigate further specially with the coolant/water temp rising. I did check the coolant level once the car had cooled off a bit and the coolant level was fine. It's just really odd and confusing because I don't what to make of it.

I'd really appreciate some advice.

deilenberger

Numbered paragraphs! Heaven! And it's an '05 CTT right?

If I had to make a WAG - battery is failing. That's just a guess since I'm not there to measure anything, but about 80% of the time (I made that number up.. over 85% of the percentages posted on the Interwebz are made up..) when we see a bunch of possible electrical issues - it's the battery getting low and modules doing odd things because of that.

Problem is - it's not easy on your CTT to tell if the battery is OK since there is no dashboard voltmeter.. plus you may have a vehicle with two batteries. (One under the drivers seat and one under the spare tire..) and if it is - either battery could be at fault.

The other problem is - doing a "load" test on the battery under the seat is a major undertaking since the seat has to be unbolted and tipped backwards, and the carpet lifted up to expose the battery box, which then has to be opened so the load-tester clips can be connected. Or the battery removed. (Depends on the load-tester device being used.)

SO - what to do? Do you have a VOM (Volt-Ohm-Meter)? Even the $2.99 one from Harbor Freight would work (often a freebee coupon for it too..) You need to find a place to hook it up to read battery voltage inside the car, and then monitor your voltage as:

1. Car stationary, nothing on, engine not running
2. Car stationary, engine starting - how low does the voltage dip?
3. Car stationary, engine running - what's the charge voltage at idle once the engine has started
4. Car moving - voltage when the engine is moving the car along and normal accessories are in use.

When you switched on the AC - you also switched on one of the electric fans on the radiator. Your 955 has two fans, one runs continuously when the AC is on, the other one turns on and off depending on engine temperature. They have been known to fail. The symptoms you give of the fluctuating temperatures make me think the big fan isn't turning on when it should be. When you turned on the AC - the small fan came on and provided enough airflow through the radiator to make able to cool down the engine.

What could cause that? A bad fan, or a bad control module, or one that's confused by low voltages.

Ditto on your other failures.

OK - so why aren't I 100% positive that's the cause of your automotive maladies? Because other things could cause these odd happenings. One other not uncommon failure point is the wiring harnesses that run under the carpeting in the front (both driver and passenger side) that get damaged when drains plug up and the footwells fill up with water. Many people never know they are full of water since the foam rubber under the carpet is around 2" thick, and with the carpet there has to be in excess of 2" of water in the footwell for it to appear where you can see it.

And of course it's always possible that each happening was an individual failure, and the Cayenne was just getting even with you for some perceived slight. Did you eyeball a 958 recently? That'll do it..

Good luck! Not sure where to suggest hooking the voltmeter up. Probably on of the 12V outlets. You can get to the connectors for the ones under the glovebox pretty easily by removing 1 Torx-15 screw and dropping the panel under the glovebox.

malimt

Thank you very much for your prompt and detailed response. I really do appreciate the advice.

Yes, it is an 05 model.

No, unfortunately, I do not have a VOM tester and I've never heard of it either haha. However, I know a place where I can have the battery tested. I have a buddy and his uncle owns a mechanic shop and he only works with Audis and Porsches so I'm sure that he'll know how to test the battery for me.

I thought so... I was wondering the same thing about the fans. I'll be sure to check them out as well at the shop because I think at this point it's best to take it to my friends uncles shop just to get it fully inspected and make sure everything is fine including the fans. But as I mentioned in my post after a while I did turn the A/C Completely off and it never overheated again, so I don't really know what to make of that.

Do you think that the brake issue I experienced and the Faulty air suspension error that just disappeared after a simple restart could also be related to the battery?

I really do hope this is just simply an issue with the battery' because that would be an easy and rather simple fix which won't set me back too much. I've been told not to keep this car several times because I'm a college student but for some reason I just don't want to drive any other car!!! I love my CTT and I would spend away everything I have to keep it! That's truly how much I love my car. So I'm going to take it in and have the battery tested first before jumping into any more conclusions.

Petza914

When odd, unrelated systems start displaying error messages or look like they're failing, it's usually the battery. The Cayennes are very sensitive to proper voltage and voltage fluctuations. I'd start there, especially if the batteries are at least 4 years old or have been significantly discharged at some point (light left on, repair with the doors open for a long period of time, etc)

GreasyV8

I'm going to go out on a whim here and say most of your problems/symptoms are coincidences.

I'll explain what I mean, So your first problem with you hitting the comfort suspension button in my eyes has no relation to the error message you received - I've had that same error come up on start up, a following week or two my CTT wouldn't start. Dead battery. So I'd get that tested sooner rather than later as mentioned already, especially if its getting colder round your area like it is here.

Your second one, again, happens to me on a daily basis as I drive mainly in town (UK) in stop start 30mph traffic. My engine hits temperature and struggles to keep the needle dead centre due to the fact it's normally stationary and not getting any cool air. As soon as my thermostat opens (think its meant to be 83 degrees? atleast that's what is stamped on the part) my car starts to cool down. The needle is usually showing 85-95 at this point in the delay between either the thermostat opening more/the fan kicking in.

Now this temp problem I believe will have happened before you just won't have noticed it. It's like a word you've never heard before but then the following weeks you here it again and again, it's not being used anymore you just weren't attuned to it the first time. Same with your temp needle, now you've seen it you'll notice it every time. TRUST me on that. You've already mentioned the coolant level was fine so no cause for concern in terms of coolant pipes hiding any leaks.

I'm at a loss to why you brake pedal got stuck down but I'm not expert on that so won't attempt an explanation!

Your lights again are probably down to the failing battery (if that's what it is) causing everything to go a bit haywire. What I will say on that is I changed my two front sidelights (think they're known as parking lights in the US) and they were fine for a couple of days until I turned them on one day and I had an error message 'Check right cornering light' Both lights work fine just an annoying error.
The strange thing is if I switch the lights on before the engine, I get the error. If I start the engine first and then switch on the lights, I don't So I always make sure the car is running before I play about with those now.

Now go get that battery tested and let's see what happens!

Dilberto

Multiple, random error messages = BATTERY

Wisconsin Joe

Well, some of these are somewhat simple, others, hmmm...

1 - The "comfort/normal/sport" buttons control the shock settings. The rocker switch controls the ride height. The car has "electromagnetoheterodyne" (or something like that) shocks where the "shock oil" has an electric current flowing through it that controls the viscosity, and the stiffness of the shocks. Nothing to do with the air suspension. It may well be a transient issue. If it doesn't come back, don't worry too much.

2 - With the A/C disabled (econ setting) there is no need for the fan to run to cool the condenser. So you won't get as much air across the radiator. So the car might run a bit warmer. As long as it's not "hot", then there's no problem. Or, as was noted, the main fan might not be working right.

3 - No freaking clue.

4 - The 'check dipped beam' error is common. There's a connection issue with the plug. Give the headlight assembly a good strong push inward and this may go away. You may have to take the headlight out and clean the contacts. You may want to do the 'connector wire fix' where the harness is pulled out of the holder and doesn't depend on the position of the headlight being exactly right. A search will find this.

All these happening at once may be a coincidence. Or it may be a sign that the battery is starting to go. Any clue how old it is?
It's not all that hard to get to. You need the proper socket (8mm triple square IIRC) to unbolt the seat, then a cover to pull. It's in the owner's manual.

A "digital multimeter" is a very good thing to have an know how to use. As was noted, Harbor Freight has them, with the right coupon it's free with any purchase (helpful hint: always take one of those coupons when you go. I have 3 or 4 screwdriver sets, 6 or 8 flashlights and 5 of the multimeters). If you don't know what one is, or how to use it, there's a nice tutorial linked in post 23 of the "New Vistior" sticky in the 928 forum. Well worth the read.

There's a "hot post" under the hood that you can get to by simply popping a cover. You can test "sitting" voltage, "Loaded" voltage (when the starter is cranking) and "running" voltage from there. That will give you an idea of how the battery is.
If your buddy knows cars, he can do this. Watch and learn so you can do it yourself.

Pepper Pig

Mines just had a brand new high spec battery, get the same random issues with ‘check lights’ even though the bulbs are working fine.

The temp gauge, I’ve been keeping an eye on mine due to a coolant leak, today I saw it rise above 80, got a bit worried but it dropped back down again. My BMW never ever (in 7 years) went above half way (even getting stuck in London traffic for 6 hours in summer)

Brakes no (touch wood) but these are just a couple of the random issues I’ve been experiencing in ONE WEEK of driving.

I would never touch anything under the VAG brand again.

deilenberger

Your BMW didn't actually have a temperature gauge. BMW "buffers" the reading so over a wide range of temperature conditions the needle points straight up. If it starts to move up from there - something is REALLY wrong and it's already overheated.

It's more an analog idiot light using the needle for the display.

You said:
Just curious.. were none of the flaws you've experienced found during the PPI? You did have a PPI done right? Did you have the service history of the car? No? Did you buy from a private party or a dealer? Didn't the dealer offer some sort of warranty? At least something like 30-days/1,000 miles?

If the answer to all of those is "no" - I think you'd be better served by sticking with something like a Lexus. They're about as bulletproof as you can get (although my wife's '11 RX-350 has experienced more problems than my '11 CTT..)

Pepper Pig

Deilenburger - I did post but before but I think it got lost in space. The car was purchased from my brother and he had it from someone who only had it for a short time due to getting totally frustrated with the coolant pipe issue and made a massive loss on his purchase. I got it cheap so no PPI or whatever you call it. In the UK we have something called PPI that is nothing to do with that and has caused hell for everyone ( a story for another day but all of this is academic really. The car has Full Service History, is only 12 years old (nothing for a modern car) 74k miles (again very low mileage) and has been well looked after, in immaculate condition.

I judge a car on longevity, reliability, craftsmanship and I’m afraid that in respect to this and a 2006 Turbo S that my brother sold last month we’ve found multiple faults, most of which are classic ‘common faulta’ due to poor engineering or manufacturing.

whether or not a car has full service history I wouldn’t expect a cars indicator buzzer to fail, if I think of my combined friends and families cars I can relate to possibly 500+ cars of various makes and this has never happened (but it’s a common fault on the cayenne) yes VAG didn’t manufacture it but something has caused it to fail, bad batch? Something on the Cayenne electrical system it doesn’t like etc etc.

At the same time this has failed my tailgate struts have failed, can’t remember any previous cars failing, even 40+ year old plus Range Rover, what s the reason for this failure? It’s a design flaw, the struts are too compact - (common fault no.2)

At the same time as that the handbrake release damper has failed - again this is a design flaw- over engineered, overthought? Why not use a conventional one that doesn’t use a damper and is less prone to fail? (common fault no.3)

At the same time the careen shaft support appears to have failed, design fault using sub-standard materials (common fault no.4)

At the same time as plastic coolant pipes failed - design fault and obviously recognised as a design fault due to being changed to aluminium - (common fault no.5) also a design fault in itself that the pipes fail and can take out the starter motor (who puts a starter motor under coolant -pipes??) and the fact that the pipes fail and then take out the torque converter gasket meaning a gearbox out job.

At the same time as the headlights fail, random issues all over the place after changing bulbs and checking holders, over engineered design rather than having fixed headlights. (common fault no.6)

At the same time as the automatic transmission valve body fails (common fault no.7)

At the same time as the air suspension compressor fails (common fault no.8) this could be due to the classic piston Ring fail, (just replaced but it’s still showing the fault)

At the same time as the rear middle passenger seatbelt gets stuck (common fault no.9?)

There has to be a time when VAG are accountable for their engineering decisions and choice of suppliers. you can talk about full service history and getting a PPI check but I’m saying that VAG make generally bad cars, totally reliant on this illusion of reliability from their 1980s advertising campaigns. I’ve had a VW before and swore I’d never own another one, and 10 years later after having some extremely reliable BMWs &Nissans I thought I’d give one another go. I’ve had experience from my friends (who are all VAG fanboys) these are the ones who are actually mechanics and think nothing of working on their cars every spare hour they have spending thousands on ‘preventative maintenance’ and to quote one of them circa 1993 after installing 3 engines in his dads car in a week ‘they’re really reliable when they work”

My mates car is in the garage for the dreaded Audi TDI fuel pump issue, and my next door neighbours golf is experiencing a load of random issues.

Please don’t go saying your 5 or 6 year old car is reliable as that is not a test of a good car. Come back when it’s 40 years old and tell me then

deilenberger

Worth reading: https://goo.gl/iH6B2A (had to use a Google short link since the original had words not allowed here.. it's a clean link) - it's funny but also sad since I've had many of the problems he enumerates with BMW engines/cars.



There is probably no really reliable German car - not as reliable as a Lexus. Your consideration of a "good car" as being one I assume still running after 40 years - isn't realistic with any modern car. The electronics simply aren't going to last that long, and modern cars are so reliant on electronics to do everything, that when they start failing (bad capacitors, crappy assembly, etc..) it's simply not economical to fix the car. Cars today that are still running after 40 years are generally simple, rather primitive vehicles with the technology of a farm tractor (Volvo's 544s and 122s come to mind.) That sort of design can't be made to meet current fuel economy or safety requirements so it's a non-starter, nor would anyone actually want to buy one.

You feel VAG generally makes "bad cars" - that's also true of BMW and Mercedes. There are no really reliable German cars made now - the quest for performance and economy, plus a general lowering of manufacturing standards are the major cause.. I was completely unimpressed with the build quality of the BMW E36 series cars - corners were cut all over that car simply to make it cheaper. Mercedes self-destroying wiring harnesses and soft crankshafts, BMW's exploding engines, rear-subframe mount failures - no angels in this bunch.

My independent mechanic makes quite a good living repairing German cars. He'd rather repair old MG's and BNC's and Allards, but the German cars pay the rent. He has said many times that he'd never own any German car without a warranty. And he drives a Honda FIT, which he bought because as he said "No one pays me to fix my own car.."

Coming back in 40 years to tell you something? I'd be delighted, but at over 110 years old I'm not sure that's going to happen.

Also worth reading: https://dougdemuro.kinja.com/german-...mer-1572026115

nodoors

Porsche ownership is probably not for you, Pepper.

I don't think anyone on here who has been around P-cars for a while is going to try to tell you they are reliable or cheap to maintain. They are not reliable and not cheap to maintain. The price gouging on rebranded VAG parts should be criminal and the level of expense, effort, and frequency of replacing the trunk struts does in fact suck along with many other things. It is cool to see a trunk that opens with no visible struts, though, right?! haha

When everything is running well, you are not going to find many cars that perform at the same level and balance, though. The Cayenne does everything really well - except pass a gas station or run for years with continued neglect.

Pepper Pig

nodoors - yes true, I don’t think Porsche ownership is for me, if I wanted to spend every waking day searching the internet for resolutions with a load of lonely old men I’d prefer to get something British - come to think of it though my 40 year old Lotus (Loads Of Trouble Usually Serious) has been more reliable and that is basically a margerine tub with Morris Ital bits designed by a guy who thought seatbelts ‘add too much weight’ and was thrown together in the 70s by some some pitchfork wielding ex-farmers when they weren’t on strike.

On the thing of the struts - I’d prefer them to be large externally mounted ones a la the Pompidou centre in Paris rather than having ‘stealth’ ones that appear to have been borrowed from a kids Lego technic set.

When this has been sold to some poor unsuspecting clown i’ll get something more reliable like an Alfa Romeo