garrett376

You may have given up on your Cayenne already, but a friend of mine complained of a delay on a steep driveway in reverse, and topping off the transmission - only 0.5l was actually added - fixed that issue; it always occurred in the past, and now never does.

Quadcammer

thats interesting info, unfortunately my issue is not on steep slopes, but rather slight inclines. I was pretty careful when checking trans fluid level, but I can always double check that.

thanks

garrett376

What specs did you check the trans fluid at? It seems to work best at the lowest value of the range: steady stream at 35ºC - don't wait for the higher 45ºC value.

golftime

Interesting discussion for sure. Good to hear others have experienced this problem since my dealer looked at me as if to say they never heard of any such problem. When I back out of my driveway, the roadway has a decent incline but I wouldn't call it steep. It's hard to describe the sensation, but after shifting from reverse to drive, and lightly touching the accelerator to pull out, it feels like a second or two of slippage, and then you get a slight lurch or bump as if it has grabbed, and it accelerates away. At speed, my transmission shifts very smoothly with no lag or noticeable slop, and I have never noticed any problem when pulling out on a steep grade as long as I'm not shifting from reverse to drive. I am also pretty sure it has nothing to do with motor mounts. Given the feeling, I would swear it is the TC, but if it is, the rebuilt ones have the same problem. I now plan to check my trans fluid level just to be safe.

jonUF02

OK, I've had my 2011 CS for about 6 weeks now. I mostly drive just around town, slow speed limits. Occasionally I punch it up a freeway ramp or 1st car at a red light. Initially I hated the power delivery curve of the engine. Every gear of 8 is felt up and down. Coming from only Mercedes for the past 8 or 9 years it's quite different. I did nearly an hour test drive with private owner sale. It drove nicely on the freeway, but you're just not used to a car enough to notice the small things on a test drive. My Mercedes which I still own both are a 2012 E550 and a 2015 GL550. The power delivery from the biturbo V8 paired with 7Gtronic trans is smooth and swift, the turbos push the acceleration curve like a continuous climb. I feel like I really have to stomp my foot down on the CS to get good acceleration. Sport mode is better on acceleration, but much harder / less comfortable on the gear changes. My MB 7 speeds I barely notice the gears at all, on the Porsche I feel every one. At 106K miles, I feel like it's probably time for a full transmission service, which may smooth things out a bit, but I have no reference of driving the car with low mileage on it. I'm starting to adapt to the Porsche, and I reset all the throttle and trans adaptations so it could adapt to me. I'm feeling much better driving it now. It does take turns great for a vehicle of the height and weight. that was the selling point. I don't even have the fancy suspension bits like PSM or air, just plain steel suspension and a V8 engine. I find the springs stiff for daily driving, very bouncy over every inconsistency in the road. My E550 also had steel spring suspension and drove much softer, but doesn't take a turn that great. Awesome in a straight line 0-60 in 4.5 seconds, which I will miss. I chalk up the shifting and stiff suspension to being a sports oriented vehicle designed for Porsche. I'm sure a Touareg would drive much differently and the air suspension would do wonders in a comfort mode. I just don't have experience with those vehicles for reference.

I'm growing to enjoy the Cayenne, but my next will likely be a Mercedes ML/GLE with some AMG package. I agree the build quality of Porsche seems underwhelming for the price. Just look at the number of "sticky" problem threads here. Go to the MB forums and the only discussion is regular maintenance items, various tunes, the odd electrical problem, and very few mechanical failures. The worst failure in my M278 Mercedes engines are oil seeping through the cam sensors into the engine harness. This is easily prevented with regular visual inspection of easy to reach cam sensors. The parts for Porsche are ridiculously expensive, even compared to Mercedes, and aftermarket parts for trim, lights, and such are nearly non existent. Most significant and shockingly common problems or repairs on the Cayenne require dropping the entire drivetrain, like simple motor mounts, or taking apart the top half of the engine to replace failed vacuum lines.

I do feel the occasional slip/delay in shifting from R to D when cold, like leaving my driveway (flat ground). I'm hoping trans flush/service will correct this and ease out the shifting a bit.

Mrg02D

The only complaint that I have as far as driving goes for my 2015 Cayenne S is what I believe to be turbo lag when driving in normal mode. Everything else is very smooth when driving in normal mode. In sport mode, it’s much more “harsh”.

dan212

In my case, don't think I am encountering Turbo lag in my 2018/GTS. But the transmission is in the lowest gear possible by default. Desperately wants to get into 8th. So booting the gas will call for multiple kick down shifts. Thats normal IMHO.

If I know I am going to boot it, I flick the paddles 2-3 times to downshift and then I can accelerate into go-to-jail speeds very quickly.
Same as I might when driving a manual transmission.

chsu74

My transmission lurch has not comeback since we flushed my transmission in my CD last year. Remember my gearbox was almost 1qt low when calculating the in and out fluid qty? Maybe your gearbox is still a tad bit low of fluid..

DAVfoto

low fluid can cause transmission shift issues at lower speeds. I'm having jolts when moderate braking and it jumps from 5th gear to 2nd and just jolts my ***. I've noticed little jerks when just pulling out after starting car on very light acceleration, one jerk only. I do plan on looking into a tranny fluid change or flush possibly. Case was replaced 34k miles ago but I will change the fluid to see if that fixes or doesn't fix the issue. Same my shifts are fine in higher gears or if in sport mode. I tend to sometimes just shift it myself and when braking I'll keep the rpms up by downshifting in the 3-4k range, keeps the shifts a bit more crisp and less jolt while braking.

golftime

It appears the fluid level might be an excellent place to start. For those that have done this, is the trans fluid checked and added from underneath using the plugs in the pan? And if so, doesn't it require a durametric to ensure it is checked at the correct temperatures since the fluid expands with temperature?

NYoutftr

I agree

I just bought a CPO 2014 Loaded, I hate it.
I test drove multiple Cayennes, but never noticed all the stupid things Porsche did wrong.
Explain why you cannot close the rear hatch from the FOB, or open up any door when you stop and get out and leave the car running, you have to hit the unlock button, dumbest things, go on and on.
I love my 911, but this Cayenne is going down the road next year

SteveLyons

FWIW I find this thread strange as my Cayenne does not have any of the issues stated in the initial post nor the follow on replies. My 2013 GTS is very smooth in town and or on the highway. There must be something wrong part wise with your vehicle(s)?

My Cayenne has 80k miles with all original suspension and drivetrain parts.

maybe a fluid or bushings issue?

hotrod2448

I hate it for the guys not happy with their vehicles but, I'm with you. The only real complaint I have with my Cayenne is the garbage dieselgate software but, my warranty is up this year and that is going to get addressed shortly after. Other than that I think I've had one issue with it in 3 years (door latch) which was annoying but, nothing major enough to put off owning it.

Ripking

I've had my CTT for about 3 weeks now. I am wondering if people complaining about the transmission are either used to dual clutch or ZF8 trans that are just lightyears ahead of what is in a 958. Love pretty much everything about the car other than the transmission and throttle mapping. Sport mode solves a little bit of it, but the bottom line is as others have said in here, it's desperate to get to 8th and so it feels like it hulks around a lot. I'm slowly getting used to being more of a 'lead foot' while driving it and am getting used to how to better modulate the acceleration for smoother and quicker movement. Also what I have really noticed with this car vs other 'crossovers' I've driven is that if you're expecting it to drive like a crossover... don't. Drives much more like a truck IMO than a car. And maybe that's the disconnect for some folks that were expecting a more car-like SUV driving experience. The macan gives you more of a crossover car feel if that is what you're after. They're just too damn small.

Gary958.2 S

With the CD, one issue you apparently don't have to deal with is the Transfer Case. Since it shares the TC with the Toureg, and is different than the rest of ours, it does not seem to have (or so I hear) the same jerky issues. My Cayenne S gasser is just a month and a half in my hands with 90K kms on it, and I've been monitoring every little jerk, seems to come and go -- sometimes smooth all the way up, other times a few jerks and stutters but difficult to separate the jerks from the upshifts unless you stay in manual mode. But I am becoming a bit paranoid about my TC, thinking I might have to foot the bill for an exchange TC. I did change the fluid about 2 weeks ago, and noticed a slight improvement, wonder if a second fluid change might be worth doing to really flush out the gunk. Also interested in the trans fluid comments, and agree that some of the shifting anomalies are definitely due to the rush to 8th gear (all OEM's trying to get good gas mileage ratings), so I'm tending towards Sports or manual shifting.

Gary