jtakhtalian

So my 2013 GTS offered up a new surprise today. The driver and passenger inner door panels are bulging out at the center, causing the window to rub against the lip and disfigure the panel more each time I try to bring the windows up. I tried looking to see if the panels somehow became unclipped but it doesn't look like that's the case. It's just that the top is simply disfigured and bulged outward towards the glass. The only way for me to roll the window up is to manually push the bulge down while I bring the glass up. Look at the picture and notice how the edge has a lot of space but where my finger is pointed is literally rubbing up against the window's path of travel. Has anyone seen this before?

deilenberger

Has anyone been into the windows lately? (Mine were replaced about a week ago - front/back passenger side after the car was broken into..) I haven't had that panel off, but every one I've had off typically has a groove or something that goes over metal sticking up out of the door. It's more or less hung there. Only way I can imagine this happening is the panels were off and not reinstalled correctly, or something is restricting their expansion when they get hot causing them to bow toward the glass. Sun and heat will make it rather hot.

jtakhtalian

The front panels haven't been off recently to my knowledge. I've owned the car a little over a year. But the day it happened was extra hot and the car was sitting in the sun. I'm waiting for the sun to go down before I dig into the panel to investigate further. I can't see a way for it to secure properly while it's still attached to the car but hoping something becomes obvious once it's removed. I'm hoping the previous owner had window tint removed and the person doing the job simply reinstalled the panels improperly. It's these annoying things on these cars that don't seem to be an issue on any other brand that frustrate me with Porsche.

wkearney99

In fairness, any brand is likely to have problems if folks working on them screw things up. Porsche often designs things that don't always have an immediate indication of how to service them (but service info has VERY detailed instructions on doing the job). Which can lead to attempting to do the job the wrong way and breaking things. And, as is typical for high-end brands, parts are expensive to replace.

jtakhtalian

So I removed both inner door panels this evening and my suspicion about this being a factory defect was spot on. The padding that's separating from the frame has absolutely no glue sprayed on it or the frame. The edges of the padding in either the far left or far right have been glued but the center is clean. Hence the reason why it warped, likely from the heat. Check out the photos for a better illustration of what I'm talking about.

I considered trying to glue it myself but can't seem to figure out what type of adhesive to use to make it a permanent fix. I'm likely going to visit a couple of local auto upholstery shops to see if they can fix it professionally and permanently. It will require a ton of little clamps to keep the padding against the frame until the adhesive sets. I hope this doesn't turn into a debacle.

deilenberger

If that's folded over on the frame - binder clips will work just fine as little clamps (available at OfficeDepot).. I'd be looking at some contact cement to attach this - the kind that you put on both surfaces and let dry - then bring the surfaces in contact. I'm sure that's what the upholstery shops are going to tell you. I imagine https://www.homedepot.com/p/DAP-Weld...0107/100195615 would work just fine.

Eskimo1

My audio fabricator is a big fan of Landeau top adhesive - it's what he uses on vinyl/leather covered pods that sit in direct sunlight.

Randyg308

its a documented issue, not just the cayennes but 911s as well. do a search and you will see, really not acceptable from a vehicle of this cost and quality.i removed my pass side panel and glued and clamped mine and it seems to be holding, its been over a year since the repair.

jtakhtalian

Thanks. I was going to update my post with the information you shared. My dealer got back to me yesterday and indicated it's a very common issue on the 911's. Especially there cabriolets. But he claims they've never seen it in a Cayenne.... I ended up taking both panels down to a local upholstery shop where the owner and I used what he referred to as industrial grade adhesive to glue the panel back to the plastic frame. Then we placed what seemed like a dozen clamps on each panel using a thin block of wood to spread the pressure more evenly. Because of the amount of the warping, he suggested I place it in the sun so the adhesive cures better in the heat and not to remove the clamps until the next day. That'll be my project later tonight. Hopefully it's a permanent fix. I swear I didn't see or feel any adhesive from the factory along 3/4 of the top where the warping had occurred. The only places where it's tightly glued were a few inches along each edge.

twodollardoug

Did the glue hold?

visitador

In 991 cars, can't do adhesives because it interferes with the airbag function. So, better check that is not the case for Cayennes before putting adhesives

jtakhtalian

So far so good. I was weary about the glue holding but it seems to have set exactly the way we positioned it. The real test will be actually taking it out of the garage and letting it bake in the California sun.

As for the post about the potential issue with airbags, I looked throughout the schematics for the door panel and didn't see an airbag in there. Besides, the warped section was attached at the edges and it sat right above a plastic mold that it had pulled away from. I can't imagine how that could possibly interfere with an airbag deploying should this model have been fitted with one.

twodollardoug

Great... Fingers crossed. We should have plenty of sun these next couple of months. Please keep us updated. And maybe find out what was used. My headliner fabric on my 914 is starting to fall in a few places.

Davide Grilli

is this problem covered by warranty ??

deilenberger

Hi Davide - welcome to the forum.

I don't think this has happened on enough Cayennes to really say, and the few that it has happened to probably were out of warranty.

I do know this is awfully common on the 981 series (Boxster/Cayman) - and it seems to be up to the dealer. Some dismiss it as "cosmetic" others get right on it and replace the panels (they are quite costly - like $3000+ for both door panels). I think appealing to Porsche Cars North-America might result in some satisfaction..

But if you are thinking of a Cayenne and concerned with this - I've been here about 10-12 years, and the instances in this thread are the only time I've heard of this happening.