Hi Just taken on a 2005 3.2 and seems to be in need of more than just a little TLC but nothing too serious ( touch wood).
This is what i have experienced so far
1) The radio just tells me i have a system error and cd/satnav/phone can't be found i looked in the compartement in the back and all i have a wriring connections but no amp or cd changer and when i turn the volume up i get the hiss of whatever signal i can pick up at 99.5 fm! so ordered a car play android unti from ali express as i drive 100 miles a day so need something and at the momenbt its just my phone connected to a bluetooth speaker
2) in an effort to get a reset on the radio i read that you can disconnect the battery so i undid one of the seat rail bolts but the other had been tightened by a gorrrila and in side it was all rounded off so i hed to get my dremel out so i could at least undo it and access the battery! Once both the bolts were removed the seat should flip over giving access the the battery - issue is i only get about 10 degrees of flip as i cant actually get into the battery . did i miss something in the videos i have watched of people checking the battery or is there a secret catch i dont know about? any ideas what could be stopping the seat from flipping please as not being abole to access the battery if i need to is pretty scary !
3) the rear wiper didnt work so i have taken it apart and found it was seized so i removed the shaft and cleaned it up and greased it so it now moves and all is good ( just have to remember to check its lubed ok every now and again) i have seen this issue before on BMWs so while annoying is at least an easy fix.
4) the headlights indicators and side lights have a fun game of illumination roulette somtimes they will work somtimes they wont if you give them a tap they do, so looks like i need to get at the plugs and give them a good clean.
5. i do have a receipt at 110k miles for the prop shaft bearing being replaced which is nice as it is now on 23k so fairly recent and that is pretty much the only history it has apart from a hat full of old MOT certificates all with no real advisory notices too

6) every tme i fill up with petrol and get back in the car i have to go through a ritual to get the immobiliser to deactivate this usually adds 10 mintues to every fuel stop and is really annoying as i cant help but think what if it does not deactivate? if anybody else has experienced similar it would be good to know

7) body work-its got some scrapes and trolley rashes but nothing too major otherwise its good
8) interior shows signs of being owend by multiple people but after giving the seats a good feed and clean and a little TLC im hoping it will be fine just ordered a new latch for the sunglasses compartment from ali express for £4 so i can see more thasn the just the back of the cubby hole when i look in the mirror

I am though happy with it just getting used to being in an auto again and my old c class i could avg high 50's mpg so thats going to be a shock to the wallet but its cheaper on insurance so using "man maths" and it being ULEZ compliant I can justify it not costing any more

 

Wow, 17 owners and all those issues - was the car free? With all those random issues it almost sounds like it was a flood car and salvage title.

No sound from the stereo could be the PCM itself (your new head unit will fix that) or could be the amp, especially if it.got wet from a flood or clogged sunroof drains.

You can disconnect the battery just by removing the acorn nut for the ground in front of the seat. Did you slide the seat forward at all so it can tilt back once you remove the 2 front bolts. Did you slide out the rear seat rail plastic covers? Are the seat rails rusty from being wet - maybe the pivot pins that let it tilt back are rust.seized.

I'd pull out the front carpet and thick foam pad underneath and see if there is evidence of water in the floor. If it was ever wet, the huge wire.bundles have splices in them and those splices corrode and you'll have all sorts of odd electrical issues.

Seems like you're in for a lot of work to end up with a slow and heavy Cayenne since it's a base with 3.2 V6. If do more investigating on the condition of the car before spending any money on parts or bodywork - you may be much better off starting with a better example.
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My notes from doing this on my 2004S:

If ever needing to disconnect the battery for safety reasons while working on the car, there is no need to do the full process to get battery access. In front of the right seat rail, on the floor, is a plastic cover. Pull that straight up and it will unsnap. Under there is the bolt that connects the other end of the negative battery cable to the chassis. So undo that to effectively disconnect the battery.

But if you want to access the battery for some other reason, I'll guess the specific problem you're having here is that you've found the wrong bolts to remove. Easy to do. Here are my notes on that issue:

- on the carpet ***on the floor*** right in front of the seat rails are two plastic covers, snapped into the floor, one on each side, aligned with the seat rails. NOT the ones at the end of, and on the level of the actual seat rails.

- remove those plastic covers - they just pop straight up and off

- underneath where the covers were will be a single M10 XZN screw (2 total - one under each cover). There are other M10 XZN screws on the actual seat rails - do not touch those ones.

- remove those screws using the special socket and a socket extension. It is a slightly tight fit to get those screws, but it can be done, and is easier and better than removing carpet or other things I've seen in the videos, etc.

- pivot the whole driver's seat assembly, including rails, rearward. It should pivot very easily - if not, check on what is restricting it and fix. To get it to go back all the way, after it clears the steering wheel, slide the seat forward so it can tilt further back.

 

Thanks for the replies!
I have managed to access the battery but great tip about the connection in front of the seat.

As for flood damage n'ah i think its just not been used enough and left sat for a while judging by the mileage history growth over the MOTs i can see.
Head unit installed and it met my expectations that were low but for £43 what do you expect - it does car play thats really all i wanted it for.
Intermittenet headlights was an issue which i did not know i had until it got dark but found the vieo on youtube of how to fix that so that was a nice easy 5 minute job

Still working my way through the issues and it is a bit of a fix one find another at the moment- got an ABS light now and the lack of upward shifting ( below 4k rpm)unless you manually select nut orderend new sensor for the front right which was the reported culprit as cleaning it didnt seem to do anything.
Got to look at te 4wd actuator thing to get that light off as it seems to be inoperable and not even the switch lights up thought it might have flashed or something but its easy enough to access thankfully.
Did change the front discs and pads at the weekend that was a nice easy job and apart from getting the pin to move took no tine at all tip learnt is to have the wheels turned to full lock to give easier access thats for sure.

out enjoying the sunshine in the Staffordshire Moorlands
Progress is being made