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I’m short, the engine of my 2017 Macan S totally pooped the bed about a week ago. I got a low oil pressure warning and immediately pulled over and parked the car safely. I shut the car off for about 15 minutes, giving the computer and whatnot enough time to reset, started the car back up, and heard a lot of valve clatter. I immediately shut the car off again and called for a tow to the nearest dealer - Porsche of South Orlando. The service guys drained the oil and sent me pictures of what looked like a glittery oil mess on the oil filter. They told me the engine was completely destroyed and that I’d need a replacement at the cost of about $30,000 plus labor.
I bought the car 10 months from an Infinity dealer in Ohio as a non-CPO and it had about 60,000 miles on it. I have a slush fund of about $5,000 that I had set aside for emergency repairs, but the there is no way that I can afford to replace the engine. When the engine died, I had about 75,000 miles on the odometer.
I sent out a request for assistance from Porsche North America about a week ago, but I’ve yet to hear back from them.
I really hope that Porsche can come to my rescue in this matter, but I learned from my time in the military to never get tour hopes up about anything. I certainly learned a valuable lesson here - don’t buy an expensive car outside of warranty!
It’s a shame, I absolutely love my Macan S. It’s been the perfect vehicle for my lifestyle. Depending on the outcome of the situation, it might be a while before I recover financially from this, but I hope it’s not my last experience owning a Porsche.
Was there an oil leak? When was the last oil change? Was the level up to snuff from the last change? Damn man, that blows.
Nope, no oil leaks. The oil was last changed almost 5,000 miles ago. I was just getting due for a change.
yeah, it’s the worst case scenario. When I bought the car I believed that the engines internals were basically bullet-proof, so long as everything else was maintained properly. I thought I might get stuck with an overpriced oil pump replacement or something like that (hence the $5,000 savings I had towards repairs), but I never dreamed a modern Porsche engine would die at 75,000 miles. Frankly, I hadn’t heard of this happening when I researched buying a used Macan.
I'd recommend that you start looking for a used engine with some sort of warranty...
good luck!!!
I've read many, many times not to own a Porsche without some sort of warranty - it's not just the purchase price of the vehicles, it's also the maintenance, etc.
I'm sorry to hear that, sucks. Shocking how expensive those motors are. I have a 15 I purchased new in 14 (Macan S) with 30K on it. Hearing things like this makes me wonder if I should sell it...
Really sorry to hear about this. I agree, you should try to find a used engine. You might get lucky and get it done for way less. If you really love the car, that has some value. You are already out the money.
I’m short, the engine of my 2017 Macan S totally pooped the bed about a week ago. I got a low oil pressure warning and immediately pulled over and parked the car safely. I shut the car off for about 15 minutes, giving the computer and whatnot enough time to reset, started the car back up, and heard a lot of valve clatter. I immediately shut the car off again and called for a tow to the nearest dealer - Porsche of South Orlando. The service guys drained the oil and sent me pictures of what looked like a glittery oil mess on the oil filter. They told me the engine was completely destroyed and that I’d need a replacement at the cost of about $30,000 plus labor.
I bought the car 10 months from an Infinity dealer in Ohio as a non-CPO and it had about 60,000 miles on it. I have a slush fund of about $5,000 that I had set aside for emergency repairs, but the there is no way that I can afford to replace the engine. When the engine died, I had about 75,000 miles on the odometer.
I sent out a request for assistance from Porsche North America about a week ago, but I’ve yet to hear back from them.
I really hope that Porsche can come to my rescue in this matter, but I learned from my time in the military to never get tour hopes up about anything. I certainly learned a valuable lesson here - don’t buy an expensive car outside of warranty!
It’s a shame, I absolutely love my Macan S. It’s been the perfect vehicle for my lifestyle. Depending on the outcome of the situation, it might be a while before I recover financially from this, but I hope it’s not my last experience owning a Porsche.
had the same thing happen to my Macan S at 35k miles .. I had tuned it and drove it like an ******* and the engine seized on me causing the car to go in neutral on highways it was very bad , luckily for me I had an aftermarket warranty My Porsche dealer charged me 28k out he door with labor... you can do a few things man get the car towed home purchase a aftermarket warranty wait a month or two and file a claim
had the same thing happen to my Macan S at 35k miles .. I had tuned it and drove it like an ******* and the engine seized on me causing the car to go in neutral on highways it was very bad , luckily for me I had an aftermarket warranty My Porsche dealer charged me 28k out he door with labor... you can do a few things man get the car towed home purchase a aftermarket warranty wait a month or two and file a claim
Which aftermarket warranty company did you have at the time of your engine failure? The car is able to move briefly under its own power I just don’t know how many miles before the engine seizes like you said.
I dutifully serviced my X5. After a dealership oil change, oil cooler repair and 4wd service, my engine grenaded 100 miles from this 900 dollar service. I was told I was “negligent on my servicing” and it would not be covered and a new engine was $26k. The car was covered under extended warranty. We eventually settled. So even a manufacturer dealership can foul up.
I would certainly explore your Porsche dealership options. But they will just price out of the catalogue and present you with a bill.
I would also look at used engines, and find the right Indy shop to put it in. $35k is more than the value of your car. If it really is $35k, this is just a car, don’t get emotional, loving a car is silly. Find a used engine $15k, get it put in for $5k? Your done for $20k? I’m sure your car is worth $10k as a roller?
Also talk to your insurance company. Some policies have a clause for breakdowns.
My neighbors X5 broke a timing belt. The broken fibers wrapped the crank and took out the crank seal. new engine or engine out service. They sold the car as a roller.
My macan is in for a new pdk, the warrantee is up shortly. I am way too emotionally attached to this car. From my glass house to yours.
Suggest you call Jason Breitfeller, the owner of Breitwerks in Suntree, Fl (just north of Melbourne). He specializes in Porsche engine rebuilds. 321 806-8664. He's a very knowledgeable, no bs guy and it would be invaluable to have a outside opinion/estimate. He may also be able to hook you up with a used engine if he agrees that yours is toast.
I hate this for you. It's sickening to think about and even worse to experience, I'm sure.
Have an 18 Macan S and will be following this thread with a lot of interest. Hopefully PCNA will step up. Worst case, hope you can find a good used engine.
Which aftermarket warranty company did you have at the time of your engine failure? The car is able to move briefly under its own power I just don’t know how many miles before the engine seizes like you said.
My warranty is based out of Massachusetts only https://www.automoblog.net/used-car-warranty-companies/ here are some links call around and see who covers engine and transmissions , this is the most cost effective way bro , trust me
I know it was a big ask, but Porsche North America has said that they won’t help me in replacing the engine.
I contacted my insurance company last night (USAA) and I started a claim with them. I explained that the car is likely totaled due to the cost of an engine replacement and they are in the process of doing their insurance thing.
Maybe I’ll get lucky and they’ll agree the car is totaled and cover the loss.
That’s strange. I scratch my head when I read about these engine failures, and glitter in the oil, and wonder what component turned to dust or failed.
I know the engine is all aluminum and is pretty rock solid. It’s not a bad design and is very durable.
if it was me, well I’m submitting oil samples to a lab to check for metal wear already. But I would of taken the valve covers off and taken a look first, to look at the cam line wear, and check the turbo to see if it spins. Figure out where the metal in the oil came from. It could just be a blown turbo bearing.
Toast is like the main crank shaft bearings are blown, and you break a connecting rod, or throw a rod out the side of the engine case. Or a valve drops in the cylinder and punches a hole through the piston crown.
I think this dealer is just lazy, and showed you metal in the oil and claimed it’s toast. The filter did what’s it’s supposed to do which is trap metal in case a metal part wears quickly, to save the engine before it’s toast.
I think your engine is in a saved state, and wants to be investigated and healed. Get your car back home, and call that guy up. Put $1K into diagnostics, and roll the dice on it being a under $5K fix.
True Story - My engine on my '96 93 C4S grenaded back in 2001 with only 14,000 miles on it. Crankshaft when right through the block. I too, had USAA and contacted them for an insurance claim. Know what their response was? They cancelled my policy after being a 20 year customer. That's right, cancelled it. So be careful going down that path if you want to stay with USAA. That was twenty years ago, but that was how they operated at that time.
You will not get any help from Porsche NA, don't waste your time.
You really have two choices as a practical matter. 1) Sell the Macan "as is" or if you have the energy, part it out. A salvage yard would love to have it, especially if the panels are straight. 2) Find a salvage year with an engine you can buy, there should be plenty around. Use an Independant shop that works on Porsche/Audi to do the swap, A quick search found these, plan on $ 5K for labor.
Longshot? Covert it to Electric/Battery power by contacting a specialty shop that does that sort of thing.
On my 993, I could not locate any engine with less than 90K miles on it in the USA, my car only had 14K miles on it. So I had Porsche build me an engine from scratch in Germany (3 month wait) and air-freighted it over. It was painfully expensive, but the right move on that vehicle. Good luck
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My 2017 Macan S, total engine failure
