2005 Cayenne Base Motor Dead?
05-15-2019, 02:47 PM
#31
no way with only 70 thousand miles that the engine is bad. some kind of an ignition problem, or mass air meter disfunction
I have a bad feeling our trusty P!G might have given up the ghost yesterday. We've owned it for 7 years and 70,000 miles with regular maintenance and any need work preformed by a local import shop (No close Porsche dealer).
Was on my way home from a short errand when the engine started to hesitate and lose power. Accelerating slightly eased the hesitation but there was still an obvious shudder/shaking from the engine. Luckily I was about 50 feet from home and was able to turn into our drive and coast to a stop with the engine sputtering and lugging to a stop. I turned the ignition off, did a quick under the car check for the loss of any bodily fluids - none seen. Under the hood fine too. I tried to start her one more time and it was the roughest idle I'd ever heard and felt. It ran for maybe 5 seconds and died - with notable white exhaust that reeked of unburned gas. We've had no issues with the engine the whole time we've had it. No noises, no knock, no ticks, no hesitation, nada. No warning lights on the dash before this episode either. Hooked up my code reader and i'ts not spitting anything out
I've had it towed to my local mechanic who will take a look at it beginning of the week. I guess I've come here to share my tale of woe and was wondering if there would be any speculation as to what could cause such a 'catastrophic' (possible) ending to our P!G. The cylinder scoring issues seem to give some sort of warning, a blown head gasket shouldn't be that dramatic either right?
Thanks for any ideas or advice. - Hopefully this doesn't turn into a what should I buy now thread by next week....
Was on my way home from a short errand when the engine started to hesitate and lose power. Accelerating slightly eased the hesitation but there was still an obvious shudder/shaking from the engine. Luckily I was about 50 feet from home and was able to turn into our drive and coast to a stop with the engine sputtering and lugging to a stop. I turned the ignition off, did a quick under the car check for the loss of any bodily fluids - none seen. Under the hood fine too. I tried to start her one more time and it was the roughest idle I'd ever heard and felt. It ran for maybe 5 seconds and died - with notable white exhaust that reeked of unburned gas. We've had no issues with the engine the whole time we've had it. No noises, no knock, no ticks, no hesitation, nada. No warning lights on the dash before this episode either. Hooked up my code reader and i'ts not spitting anything out
I've had it towed to my local mechanic who will take a look at it beginning of the week. I guess I've come here to share my tale of woe and was wondering if there would be any speculation as to what could cause such a 'catastrophic' (possible) ending to our P!G. The cylinder scoring issues seem to give some sort of warning, a blown head gasket shouldn't be that dramatic either right?
Thanks for any ideas or advice. - Hopefully this doesn't turn into a what should I buy now thread by next week....
05-15-2019, 03:03 PM
#32
Instructor
Thread Starter
Should clarify that we've put about 70K on it - bought it with 68,000 on the ODO so we're right around 140K total if I'm recalling it right.
sorry for the confusion
05-15-2019, 06:18 PM
#33
OP, you should probably take a step back and evaluate all the options.
I know this might sound absurd, you might want to do long term total cost analysis and see what you can buy for that same monthly cost of the keeping Cayenne on the road.
Spending 5K on engine swap on a car that's worth about as much is questionable, as you don't' know if anything else will pop up or how much more life you can get out of your car.
You said you don't have a lot of time because of family and work. So if time, warranty, and predictable monthly cost is important, you can look into getting a new vehicle. My top pick would be new Toyota Rav4 hybrid. Yes it might seem a lot of dough to drop on a car, but if you consider long term total cost of ownership, I think you'll be way ahead.
With a new efficient car/SUV you'll probably save on gas and have a reliable transportation for next 5-10 years.
I know this might sound absurd, you might want to do long term total cost analysis and see what you can buy for that same monthly cost of the keeping Cayenne on the road.
Spending 5K on engine swap on a car that's worth about as much is questionable, as you don't' know if anything else will pop up or how much more life you can get out of your car.
You said you don't have a lot of time because of family and work. So if time, warranty, and predictable monthly cost is important, you can look into getting a new vehicle. My top pick would be new Toyota Rav4 hybrid. Yes it might seem a lot of dough to drop on a car, but if you consider long term total cost of ownership, I think you'll be way ahead.
With a new efficient car/SUV you'll probably save on gas and have a reliable transportation for next 5-10 years.
05-15-2019, 06:25 PM
#34
RL Community Team
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
I'm really sorry for you that this happened. When the engine lost oil pressure, I'm surprised there wasn't some type of audible error alarm and a message, more that just the gauge needle showing low pressure. I'm very curious to get the report from the mechanic once he pulls the oil filter to see what happened in there or if there's metal in there.
05-15-2019, 06:48 PM
#35
OP, you should probably take a step back and evaluate all the options.
I know this might sound absurd, you might want to do long term total cost analysis and see what you can buy for that same monthly cost of the keeping Cayenne on the road.
Spending 5K on engine swap on a car that's worth about as much is questionable, as you don't' know if anything else will pop up or how much more life you can get out of your car.
You said you don't have a lot of time because of family and work. So if time, warranty, and predictable monthly cost is important, you can look into getting a new vehicle. My top pick would be new Toyota Rav4 hybrid. Yes it might seem a lot of dough to drop on a car, but if you consider long term total cost of ownership, I think you'll be way ahead.
With a new efficient car/SUV you'll probably save on gas and have a reliable transportation for next 5-10 years.
I know this might sound absurd, you might want to do long term total cost analysis and see what you can buy for that same monthly cost of the keeping Cayenne on the road.
Spending 5K on engine swap on a car that's worth about as much is questionable, as you don't' know if anything else will pop up or how much more life you can get out of your car.
You said you don't have a lot of time because of family and work. So if time, warranty, and predictable monthly cost is important, you can look into getting a new vehicle. My top pick would be new Toyota Rav4 hybrid. Yes it might seem a lot of dough to drop on a car, but if you consider long term total cost of ownership, I think you'll be way ahead.
With a new efficient car/SUV you'll probably save on gas and have a reliable transportation for next 5-10 years.
I suspect OP bought the Cayenne because they liked the car and it was a good balance of practicality, and fun. The V6 Cayenne engine has a pretty good reputation so while OP suffered a failure, it wasn't due to any common issues that would necessarily effect the replacement motor. I don't think its unreasonable that with a new motor, their car would be good to go for the next year at least without another issue, probably 2-3 years.
A $5000 unexpected expense sucks, but is spending $30,000 just to have a predictable monthly cost really worth it? Its trading today's big problem for much bigger problem that will drag on for many years. OP could put a new engine in their Cayenne every year for the next 6 years for that much. If you spread out the cost of repairs and maintenance over the years, I think you'd have a pretty hard time getting anywhere near the cost of even just the depreciation losses on a new car over the same period of time.
05-15-2019, 09:00 PM
#36
I don't think any Porsche has ever been bought because it was a good financial decision (Well maybe the 918 and 911R flippers but that's a different world of lunacy)
I suspect OP bought the Cayenne because they liked the car and it was a good balance of practicality, and fun. The V6 Cayenne engine has a pretty good reputation so while OP suffered a failure, it wasn't due to any common issues that would necessarily effect the replacement motor. I don't think its unreasonable that with a new motor, their car would be good to go for the next year at least without another issue, probably 2-3 years.
A $5000 unexpected expense sucks, but is spending $30,000 just to have a predictable monthly cost really worth it? Its trading today's big problem for much bigger problem that will drag on for many years. OP could put a new engine in their Cayenne every year for the next 6 years for that much. If you spread out the cost of repairs and maintenance over the years, I think you'd have a pretty hard time getting anywhere near the cost of even just the depreciation losses on a new car over the same period of time.
I suspect OP bought the Cayenne because they liked the car and it was a good balance of practicality, and fun. The V6 Cayenne engine has a pretty good reputation so while OP suffered a failure, it wasn't due to any common issues that would necessarily effect the replacement motor. I don't think its unreasonable that with a new motor, their car would be good to go for the next year at least without another issue, probably 2-3 years.
A $5000 unexpected expense sucks, but is spending $30,000 just to have a predictable monthly cost really worth it? Its trading today's big problem for much bigger problem that will drag on for many years. OP could put a new engine in their Cayenne every year for the next 6 years for that much. If you spread out the cost of repairs and maintenance over the years, I think you'd have a pretty hard time getting anywhere near the cost of even just the depreciation losses on a new car over the same period of time.
I think the math is wrong. In your hypothetical annual engine cost example, you'd have spent 30K and have a worthless 20+ y.o car after 6 years. Not to mention hassle, downtime and additional fuel and repair costs.
If you spent 30K on a new car, then at least you'll have a car that's worth 12-15K in 6 years and would have spent minimal amount on maintenance, less fuel cost and potentially trouble free first 5-10 years. Also, if you buy one of those crazy high resale value models, then depreciation would be even less.
Also, my suggestion was based on cons listed on post #29. OP's vehicle already has 175k miles on the odo. Sometimes a person need to take a step back and see what other options are available, and weigh pros and cons of each. If the person has an ability and time to DIY an engine swap, then I'd say go for it. But if a person doesn't have the time or the desire to DIY engine replacement, and worried about risking 4--5K on engine swap or not sure about getting another Cayenne with potential issues, then it's a good idea to step back and explore other options. YMMV
Sorry OP about your car, wishing it all works out for the best.
05-15-2019, 09:18 PM
#37
Rennlist Member
Look at it this way: Are you likely to find a more reliable vehicle than your Cayenne with a 48k motor for your $5k? Nope. No way. Take a look at CL and FB and see what kind of SUV you can get for $5k.
05-15-2019, 10:21 PM
#38
Instructor
Thread Starter
OP, you should probably take a step back and evaluate all the options.
I know this might sound absurd, you might want to do long term total cost analysis and see what you can buy for that same monthly cost of the keeping Cayenne on the road.
Spending 5K on engine swap on a car that's worth about as much is questionable, as you don't' know if anything else will pop up or how much more life you can get out of your car.
You said you don't have a lot of time because of family and work. So if time, warranty, and predictable monthly cost is important, you can look into getting a new vehicle. My top pick would be new Toyota Rav4 hybrid. Yes it might seem a lot of dough to drop on a car, but if you consider long term total cost of ownership, I think you'll be way ahead.
With a new efficient car/SUV you'll probably save on gas and have a reliable transportation for next 5-10 years.
I know this might sound absurd, you might want to do long term total cost analysis and see what you can buy for that same monthly cost of the keeping Cayenne on the road.
Spending 5K on engine swap on a car that's worth about as much is questionable, as you don't' know if anything else will pop up or how much more life you can get out of your car.
You said you don't have a lot of time because of family and work. So if time, warranty, and predictable monthly cost is important, you can look into getting a new vehicle. My top pick would be new Toyota Rav4 hybrid. Yes it might seem a lot of dough to drop on a car, but if you consider long term total cost of ownership, I think you'll be way ahead.
With a new efficient car/SUV you'll probably save on gas and have a reliable transportation for next 5-10 years.
Here's how I'm breaking it down $6000 for getting current Cayenne back on the road. If we drive it for 3 years - that's $6000/36 = $166 a month. Even at 2 years we're talking $6000/24 = $250/month - Granted this doesn't cover any maintenance or unforeseen costs for that time frame, but think you'd be hard pressed to get into a comparable quality vehicle at those monthly values. One of the 'worst' things we ever did was test drive this Cayenne 7 years ago - it has completely jaded us on the build quality of most other vehicles. Sure that might sound snobby, but I sure would be hard pressed to any purchase any non-premium brand and feel satisfied. Even my father in-law's Lexus 350 can't even come close to the Cayenne in "fahrvergnügen" - OK got a little off track.
Anyway I feel more comfortable with this unexpected motor bill and not taking on another note for $20,000 to $30,000 on a new vehicle. If in 3 years this Cayenne is still driveable we'll still get some trade in value toward its replacement - cause right now it's just scrap/parts value.
Last edited by Swedge; 05-15-2019 at 11:05 PM. Reason: Grammar
05-15-2019, 10:24 PM
#39
Instructor
Thread Starter
I like this idea. The weakest point a high-mileage Cayenne is the motor. Sure, there are some problems with microswitches and whatnot, but most of the truck seems to be completely bulletproof out to 250k or more. If you replace the motor with one that will give you 100k of service, that will take you out to 250k+!
Look at it this way: Are you likely to find a more reliable vehicle than your Cayenne with a 48k motor for your $5k? Nope. No way. Take a look at CL and FB and see what kind of SUV you can get for $5k.
Look at it this way: Are you likely to find a more reliable vehicle than your Cayenne with a 48k motor for your $5k? Nope. No way. Take a look at CL and FB and see what kind of SUV you can get for $5k.
05-15-2019, 10:36 PM
#40
I'm always tempted by the BMW's. I saw a beautiful 2012 3 series coupe for $8000 a few days ago. I was so close to buying it before I remembered its a BMW and there's a reason they depreciate so fast.
05-15-2019, 11:11 PM
#41
Instructor
Thread Starter
A good friend just just bought a BMW X5 and he loves it. I tried to get him into a Panny, but I think the price tag for a new one was too high and he was worried about buying used. We'll see what he thinks a year from now.
05-16-2019, 08:42 AM
#42
Rennlist Member
One of the 'worst' things we ever did was test drive this Cayenne 7 years ago - it has completely jaded us on the build quality of most other vehicles. Sure that might sound snobby, but I sure would be hard pressed to any purchase any non-premium brand and feel satisfied. Even my father in-law's Lexus 350 can't even come close to the Cayenne in "fahrvergnügen" - OK got a little off track.
Full disclosure: I own 4 Porsches. The Cayenne, a 928, and two 986 Boxsters (one is my daughter's car). When this comes out in conversation (either with my wife or with others), I'll point out that all four of my Porsches together cost less than her Cherokee.
05-16-2019, 10:31 AM
#43
Instructor
Thread Starter
So for ****s and giggles, I pulled the carfax report on the 48K engine. It was issued a salvage title due to flood damage after Hurricaine Sandy in 2012.... somehow I think I might want to stay away from that engine. Could have been minor, but could have residual salt water damage....
05-16-2019, 10:38 AM
#44
Race Car
Originally Posted by Swedge
So for ****s and giggles, I pulled the carfax report on the 48K engine. It was issued a salvage title due to flood damage after Hurricaine Sandy in 2012.... somehow I think I might want to stay away from that engine. Could have been minor, but could have residual salt water damage....
05-16-2019, 11:04 AM
#45
Instructor
Thread Starter
The more I ruminated on it, i wondered why there was a 48K mileage engine sitting out there for so long when everything else seems to be in the 75K to 150K range. It's been available for salvage since 2013 too. I received a set of pictures of the car not showing any external damage. Most others have front end or crash damage that ended them up in a salvage yard. Glad I spent the few bucks to check that.