phale002

Hi Guys,
Just on the verge of getting rid of my jaguar and purchasing a cayenne 4.5s,,,i know this is a well worn thread,,,we know that the 03/04 years had a habit of destroying there engines,,was there a point where they modified and cured that problem?? Someone mentioned that the 06 cayenne was a far superior truck,,all replies appreciated,,,

Dennis C

2003 and 2004 cars do not have a habit of destroying their engines. I'm not sure why you believe this to be true...

phale002

Hi Dennis.
Thanks for the reply,having read a few threads on this and other forums,they seem to have had an issue with the bores/pistons,which some have called "the death click" ,,im sure not all of them in those particular years suffered from it,but there must have been enough to warrant so many posts on these forums.But you as an owner of one are better qualified than me to answer these questions,,your input would be appreciated,,

philg3

This is news to me. My current 2004CT has had no issue with the engine or turbo, nor have I heard of any engine issues elsewhere. As a matter of fact, I had concerns when I purchased this vehicle regarding the turbo -- sounded like a potential problem, and perhaps a costly one. But with 88Kmi it has been a solid performer. The 2004CT has been great, the only reason why I'm selling mine is to make room for a CD that's on it's way.

phale002

Hi Phil,
This is very encouraging news as i love the look of these machines,and i just want to make sure that i buy the most reliable one that i can.If you google cayenne alpha beta model problems,there are quite a few discussions where people have had there engines give up on the 03/04 years,,and on this site,,

Dennis C

You'll find a few engine failures on virtually any make or model. I don't think it's common for Cayennes, but it certainly can happen.

The 4.5L engine in the 2006 is essentially the same as the engine in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 cars. The overall differences from year to year are very small.

gbratk

If you thinking about scored cylinder wall, it is not 03-04MY related. It can happened on even on DFI engines.

4ocious

Many threads, many opinions. Nothing 100% wrong with any year although the earlier Cayennes do share some common problems. However, it appears Porsche fixed a lot of the problems with the 06. But, that said even my 2010 GTS has problems so it really comes down to who owned it previously, was it maintained well, is the service history available, and by all means get a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) before you buy the vehicle you'd like to own.

XR4Tim

2004-2006 naturally aspirated 4.5s had cylinder scoring issues. I've personally seen 5 or 6 Cayenne S engine failures. I do not believe they corrected the problem during the production run.
4.5 turbo and 4.8 engines have piston oil jets to help lubricate the cylinders, and there are very few known failures of those motors.
That said, the majority of the 4.5s haven't had any cylinder scoring issues, and the problems were mostly seen in cold climates. If it feels like you're rolling the dice, spring for a Turbo instead.

disden

I would think it would be a roll of the dice buying an 8-9 year old porsche for a daily driver. The cost of a single problem on an out of warranty Porsche is mind boggling! However that's just my opinion, I just don't like unexpected expenses!

ltc

endless_corners

The cost of a new car is mind boggling. You pay one way or the other i guess.

gnat

Probably the same reason that people believe all 996 engines are going to blow their IMS/RMS in the next 5 miles so you should stop driving it and flatbed it to the nearest shop. The noise to signal ratio is to skewed and unfamiliar people don't know what should and shouldn't be filtered out.

After all, if it's on the internet it must be true.

phale002

Very true Gnat,, I'm virtually sold on the cayenne,its just the thought of having to change an engine that virtually costs the same as the whole truck that gives me shivers,,but just because a few of them have gone doesn't mean they all do,,,,,right

GDA

Huh?

I'd much rather pay 25k for a mint condition older turbo and outlay a grand or so for parts to make it completely mint. MUCH cheaper than spending 100 large for a new one.

On mine I just got I am spending almost 2k for Turbo S arms, trunk shocks, plugs coils and fuel pumps. In reality it only needs a passenger side control arm but I want to spend the next year or two just enjoying the drive so I am taking these items out of the equation as they seem to be "normal" wear/maintenance items for CTTs with 60 to 80k miles on them and with just a tick over 70k I'd bet some of these are about to come due.

I do my own work so I guess that also translates into my cost equation as well.