BDSTLCTT

Hello everyone, decided to join the forum today since there seems to be very knowledgeable posters here...My name is Beau and I live in Missouri. Greetings to everyone!

I have had my 2005 Cayenne Turbo for almost three years (will be 3 in late July I believe). So far I love it, but it does have a few issues. And a big problem for me is that I live in Columbia which has no Porsche dealer. We have VW, Mercedes etc but they can't help me much. We do have a good Indy place called Walt's VW, Porsche, Audi. I try to go there as the closest Porsche dealers are in KC and STL, two hours away each.

The first issue I noticed seems to be a common issue in the first gen models. When accelerating around 40 MPH there is a hard transmission clunk that can be somewhat scary when not expecting it. Seems very hard on the gears. I've scoured the internet about this issue, but I've read so many things I can't even remember exactly what I should do. I seem to recall it being the TCM or an ECU update?

Next, I had to take it to a transmission shop about a year ago due to the torque converter seal issue that caused it to leak tranny fluid on the floor. $1800 bucks later that issue was no more.

Now just a few days ago I noticed a new leak on the garage floor and when I took it in to VW they thought it was the Turbo leaking, and would need to pull engine and everything out and do 20 hrs of labor. (My Walt's Porsche guy is out of town until Monday)

I'm hoping it's a smaller issue that can be resolved for a few hundred bucks.

Any links to proper discussion on these issues, or quick answers would be greatly appreciated. Sorry if I typed too much on my first post here. I got to about page 5 and couldn't find the exact issue.

Thanks for reading

XR4Tim

Transmission issue sounds like valve body. Search "valve body" in this forum, and you should get some good results.
If the oil is coming from your driver's side turbo, it's most likely just a bad o-ring on the intercooler hose. It's a very common problem on the 955 Turbo, and a VW dealer tech may not know about it. Actual leaky turbochargers are very rare.

BDSTLCTT

Thanks so much for the response, that is great news if that is the case!

Divot

Transmission valve throttle body. Common issue. You feel/hear a clunk on hard downshifts.

Not sure about the leak.

Pro tip - Use the indy if possible. They work on repeat business and word of mouth, more than warranty work.

BDSTLCTT

Well I just got a call back from my local indy shop. At first they said the same thing that a turbo leak is extremely rare, but to their shock and mine it is indeed leaking, not a lot, but some. It's only got 68k miles on it too. Said it would be about $2000 worth of labor.

I can afford it but do I want to start dumping this kind of money into an 05? Or should I upgrade?

Dennis C

My 2004 Cayenne S has a slight oil leak right now too. It's just starting to leave spots on the garage floor.

Apparently, the Cayenne shares the rear main seal with the 996. My mechanic feels that my rear main seal is the culprit. There have been several updates to the RMS part for the 996, and hopefully they will help with the Cayenne also. Unfortunately, it's a pretty labor intensive job.

wrinkledpants

The charge pipe on the driver side will usually have oil in it since the crank case vents into the intake. If a lot accumulates in that pipe, it can leak out the pipe and appear that the turbo is blowing oil into the charge pipe. Driver side turbos seems to be the turbo that people replace a lot, and I suspect many are getting replaced when the turbo itself isn't actually bad. Maybe ask them why they think the turbo is leaking. I think a lot of people will see a damp charge pipe and assume the turbo is leaking oil. The real issue is just that the o-ring at the charge pipe connection is leaking oil, and you just need to fix that o-ring.

If it were me, I'd replace that o-ring, clean up that area if it's an oily mess, and take a look at the compressor wheel itself and the housing inside to see if oil is pooling up in there, or if the compressor wheel is damp. Then I'd continue to monitor your oil consumption. If you're using a fair amount of oil (a quart in under 1K miles), and you pull off that charge pipe and see a ton come out, then I'd suspect the turbo or the crank case venting system.

mtnrat

x2 what wrinkledpants says. Is it leaking on the drivers side?

BDSTLCTT

Yes it is the drivers side area. He said they couldn't find any leak at first and finally found something.

I'm going to ask him the things you all mentioned when I go pick it up today.

Thanks for the helpful comments!