2021 Cayenne S Leather Dash Problem
Thread Starter
AutoX
Joined: Mar 2024
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Budget cars don't have leather dashboards.
I should hunt down my recently retired Porsche salesman and thank him for being persuasive in 2022 that I should not get a leather dashboard: Bill Wilkerson, retired December 31st from Porsche Kansas City. He was more interested in helping me as a customer than in his commission and dealer profit.
But there are still threads singing the praises of leather dashboards - a recent one: https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-...l-leather.html
I should hunt down my recently retired Porsche salesman and thank him for being persuasive in 2022 that I should not get a leather dashboard: Bill Wilkerson, retired December 31st from Porsche Kansas City. He was more interested in helping me as a customer than in his commission and dealer profit.
But there are still threads singing the praises of leather dashboards - a recent one: https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-...l-leather.html
The plastics don't look right at all, but they probably won't pop as easily as leather...
Thread Starter
AutoX
Joined: Mar 2024
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
yes it is true the CPO warranty wouldn’t cover it, officially. @MSCA had luck w pcna, i am not sure if he called or emailed. he can advise. also if you search there is at least a couple other long threads on leather dash failure and replacement.
with warranty repairs, there always seems to be a person or two who manages to get something covered out of warranty, or via cpo warranty even if it technically isn’t covered. those cases are always hard to assess online. we don’t know their personalities or presentation. some people have the kind of personality where people are willing to just do things for them. some people may have bought 15 porsche vehicles and may be known by the dealers and a dealer may just do a repair because of the buyer history. sometimes a person at a dealer will just feel bad for someone and you catch them on the right day. my opinion, smaller dealers see nicer than the bigger dealers when you stop and go in and talk to them. that is my experience. my fiancé and i stop and porsche dealers in our travels and just go in and talk to them. at this point i will 100% buy my next porsche from boise porsche, where i bought the car i have now.
with warranty repairs, there always seems to be a person or two who manages to get something covered out of warranty, or via cpo warranty even if it technically isn’t covered. those cases are always hard to assess online. we don’t know their personalities or presentation. some people have the kind of personality where people are willing to just do things for them. some people may have bought 15 porsche vehicles and may be known by the dealers and a dealer may just do a repair because of the buyer history. sometimes a person at a dealer will just feel bad for someone and you catch them on the right day. my opinion, smaller dealers see nicer than the bigger dealers when you stop and go in and talk to them. that is my experience. my fiancé and i stop and porsche dealers in our travels and just go in and talk to them. at this point i will 100% buy my next porsche from boise porsche, where i bought the car i have now.
Thanks. I guess I will need to try more dealers for my luck.
8th Gear
Joined: Nov 2024
Posts: 8
Likes: 9
From: Ft Lauderdale Florida
Shoot, your warranty is expired.
Mine had the same terrible issues (you can search for the photos i posted), and dealer replaced it under warranty, within 1-2 days around 45,000 miles on the car, and told me the cost was around $10K if not under warranty. They said they have a dedicated person on staff for these dashes, as their failure rate is quite high.
My windshield is tinted, and the car is always garaged, so unsure why this happened.
But, the same dealer also said it costs less than $500 for a reputable shop to fix it. Check with your service advisor they may have someone they can refer you to, if Porsche wont step in for the quality issue.
Mine had the same terrible issues (you can search for the photos i posted), and dealer replaced it under warranty, within 1-2 days around 45,000 miles on the car, and told me the cost was around $10K if not under warranty. They said they have a dedicated person on staff for these dashes, as their failure rate is quite high.
My windshield is tinted, and the car is always garaged, so unsure why this happened.
But, the same dealer also said it costs less than $500 for a reputable shop to fix it. Check with your service advisor they may have someone they can refer you to, if Porsche wont step in for the quality issue.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 10,538
Likes: 176
From: NE Florida
Oh great! Mine is nowhere near as bad as the OP's but I have a spot on my relatively new-to-me 2021 GTS (w/ CPO) dash. I was hoping to wait until it got worse to mention it to the dealer but I guess I'll mention it to them next time I'm in there.
5th Gear
Joined: Jan 2026
Posts: 5
Likes: 1
I have a 2019 that had this happened to on both sides (driver and passenger) behind the clock.
I followed the video on YouTube of the guy doing this repair to his leather dash on his corvette with similar bubbling and delaminating issues.
If you’re careful, it works quite well. Doesn’t leave holes noticeable unless you’re really moving it around. Just be patient with the process.
I used leather conditioner following this and it also helped a bit as well.
I followed the video on YouTube of the guy doing this repair to his leather dash on his corvette with similar bubbling and delaminating issues.
If you’re careful, it works quite well. Doesn’t leave holes noticeable unless you’re really moving it around. Just be patient with the process.
I used leather conditioner following this and it also helped a bit as well.
Last edited by twelveam; Jan 22, 2026 at 01:49 AM.
Intermediate
Joined: Jan 2026
Posts: 31
Likes: 9
Wow, gonna have to keep an eye on our Leather dash! The car is parking outside and we are using the sunshade as often as possible. Trying to have the front windshield tinted but the shop doesn't want to do it since they can't guarantee the dash wont get damaged from the tint solution.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2025
Posts: 2,814
Likes: 1,592
From: Monte Sereno, CA
Wow, gonna have to keep an eye on our Leather dash! The car is parking outside and we are using the sunshade as often as possible. Trying to have the front windshield tinted but the shop doesn't want to do it since they can't guarantee the dash wont get damaged from the tint solution.
Though I have windshield sunshade, I rarely use it.
Last edited by MSCA; Jan 29, 2026 at 02:26 PM.
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Advanced
Joined: Mar 2021
Posts: 64
Likes: 37
From: Roswell, GA
@MSCA Good to know! The shop said if I sign the waiver and take responsibility for moisture damages then they will do it. Not sure worth taking the risks.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2025
Posts: 2,814
Likes: 1,592
From: Monte Sereno, CA
@MSCA Good to know! The shop said if I sign the waiver and take responsibility for moisture damages then they will do it. Not sure worth taking the risks.
As this guy is asking you to sign a waiver, he is not the right guy for the job and you should NOT get it done here.
Intermediate
Joined: Jan 2026
Posts: 31
Likes: 9
Yes, I also had many cars tinted at this place and others and never have any problem. It is actually one of the most reputable and qualified shop in our area; they usually do high end cars. I tried another shops, told them about the potential issues and they say no to the job.
There are posts regarding this issue if you search of "porsche leather damage from tint"
There are posts regarding this issue if you search of "porsche leather damage from tint"
Last edited by Phoenix72; Jan 29, 2026 at 06:13 PM.
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 245
Likes: 64
From: Boston, MA
After an initial rejection, I just heard back from my dealer that they are covering replacing the dash on my 2019 Cayenne S CPO with 73K miles. I am both pretty pumped that they are replacing it and disappointed that they will fix that but not the 6th gear shudder issue. I also don't know if this is a standard CPO claim, a courtesy repair or a dealer loyalty repair. Will know more later, but my service manager said it was an $11K repair when all is said and done. Wow.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jan 2025
Posts: 2,814
Likes: 1,592
From: Monte Sereno, CA
After an initial rejection, I just heard back from my dealer that they are covering replacing the dash on my 2019 Cayenne S CPO with 73K miles. I am both pretty pumped that they are replacing it and disappointed that they will fix that but not the 6th gear shudder issue. I also don't know if this is a standard CPO claim, a courtesy repair or a dealer loyalty repair. Will know more later, but my service manager said it was an $11K repair when all is said and done. Wow.
Recommend scheduling an appointment for ASAP before something changes or they renege/modify the offer.
