Cayenne S "Meowing" Sound !?
 

Hey guys,

Im new to the board, just bought a 2006 Cayenne S and have a question. I hear a "whining" "grinding" sound when I start my car and when I rev it. It's louder when the engine has cooled and follows the RPM's. I am thinking Power Steering pump, but the steering feels great and never gets hard. The noise doesnt change when turning the wheel or anything. I am thinking I am hearing it on the ACC belt aread below the driver side MAF. The tech at an indy shop today said it was normal. I have had the car for a week and I know for a fact it wasnt there when I bought it. I added the Porsche PS fluid to bring the line up to the MAX on the PS reserviour.

Any other ideas? Its embarrasing when I start it out and about. It sounds like something could be rubbing on the belt? Bad tensioner?

I uploaded the video to youtube for you guys to hear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ttzQ4pFIQs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQvunPbeqCA


Thanks,

Joe

Sounds perfectly normal.

I had the same concern after taking delivery of my 2004 CS. Visited the local P dealer for basic service and heard the same sound from several other CSs.

There are a lot of other potential faults but that sound is not one of them.

Enjoy your ride.

I did not listen to the vid but I suspect you're talking about the Air Injection Pumps. They run for apx 2 min. after startup (cold). Yes, to me it sounded much like a power steering pump. If that's it it's normal and you will get used to it.

My '97 M3 has the same type system and the bearings in it's air pump are much louder right now but I just don't want to replace it at this time.

Do you have PDCC?

My PDCC whines like that, but bnot as loud. It has nothing to do with PS.

answers
 

did u ever figure out the noise?

Bringing this up. My -08 CTT (approx. 53 k miles on it) makes very similar noise. Also when driving slowly window open I can hear like relay clicking sporadicly. First I thought it was heat expansion noise but it is definitely some sort of switch/relay. Not sure if these are connected, maybe my PDCC is gone bad, maybe this is normal. I have surely read these machines make all sort of noises. I also have the annoying but harmless break squeal but that I can fix myself by changing the pads, I think they are close to retirement. PDCC I won't touch, I have full Porsche warranty until next year so the local dealer can take care of it. I am anyways getting warranty extension until 2017 so if it is about to brake it will be out of Porsche GmbH profit.

What is kind of funny is these machines making all these noises you cannot find in Lexus, MB or BMW high end products. RR either, although that comes with loads of problems if you are unlucky...

Replying to myself.

I went by local Porsche garage today and the 'mastertech' diagnosed the noises: whining sound indeed is the power steering pump which actually is not conventional but tandem pump working also for PDCC. Sound usually gets gradually worse and the pump needs to be replaced. But some noise is always expected, the pump works much harder than your normal power steering pump. The sound from my car is on the limit whether it would go for warranty (they actually need to make a video and send it to Porsche for approval!) but he said if/when it gets any worse should be no problem. So no rush on that.

The clicking sound actually in his opinion is heat extension after all - on that I am not convinced yet because I think it starts immediately even with cold engine. But maybe the exhaust fumes are so hot to begin with that it starts immediately. Need to check that and ask them to review when I go back for my warranty extension check. At that time we agreed to take a shot and try to get the pump change approved as well.

So in summary my learning was a clearly audible whining noise which to some extent changes pitch when the steering wheel is turned is not normal even for PDCC Porsche but it is not an instant catastrophe awaiting necessarily either.

Break squeal is exactly as I presumed, high performance brakes just do not compare to Chevy truck etc. brakes - for better and for worse. Through rinsing has worked for few days and will continue with that. After all inside you cannot hear it ;)

All 957s with PDCC make a whining noise from the pump. It's 100% normal due to the tandem pump design. The relay clicking, I would say is unrelated, and might be something to look into.

Yes that is what I understood. I guess how much is the issue, at least according to garage. On the other hand if they happen to change it under warranty I will not object ;). Interesting to see how loud the new pump is...

The clicking I rationalized today cannot be heat extension. Standing still in traffic lights etc. never ever occurs but clearly audible when moving. And it is erratic, not related to potholes etc. Neither when turning the wheel so unlikely CV joint related. Interesting too see what is the explanation, if I ever find out...need to put my wife behind the wheel while hanging out from open door under the car....

Video unavailable
 

I’m having a similar issue. Do you still have the video available and can you tell me what the problem was?
Thanks,
Robby

I doubt you'll get a reply since his post was made almost 9 years ago. It would be better if you put up a video so we could hear the sound your Cayenne is making.

If it's a whine during cold start, especially in the winter, it's completely normal. If it's abnormally loud or keeps up after the engine is fully warm, you may need to change the power steering reservoir as it supposedly has an internal filter that can clog. It's surprisingly one of the cheapest parts on a Cayenne being under $100 bucks.

Interesting, any details on this?
Part number, installation info?