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I made a warranty claim for spider cracks in the piano black window trim of my 2020 Macan as pictured. My dealer (Porsche Danbury, CT) inspected the car and agreed that it was a defect and would be covered under warranty. I called to book a service and the dealer confirmed the parts were also in to replace the faulty trim. When the car went in for the service and the warranty work the tech called to say the service manager denied the claim saying it wasn’t a defect as the cracks were not through the surface. I argued that was exactly why it was a defect - it was sub-surface, therefore a design or manufacturing defect and not wear and tear or damage.
I contacted Porsche NA who said they’d investigate with the dealer but, of course, since it was obviously just a phone call rather than a physical inspection of the car itself the denial was upheld.
I am very disappointed in Porsche. This is clearly a defect. It’s also worrying that the dealer agreed with the claim when they thought they were getting the lease back to resell but when we subsequently decided to buy the car out and keep it until lease rates stabilized, suddenly it was not a valid warranty claim. We also had issues with cracked door handles. This generation of Macan is clearly under engineered as we had neither issue with our previous Macan.
What do you think? The issue affects all four window trims on both sides of the car.
Looks definitely like a warranty issue. It looks awful and saying it is under the surface is a ridiculous statement. When you communicate with NA or the dealer, use email, not the phone. You want a paper trail in case it gets messy.
PPF those immediately upon delivery (or once you get yours replaced). They are a common design element in many modern cars and they scratch up so badly across all mfgrs I have seen in short order.
Maybe try another dealer. I had an issue w/ my Panamera that was a warranty "grey area". One dealer said no coverage no way. The other dealer went to bat and got Porsche to pay for 75% of the job.
PPF those immediately upon delivery (or once you get yours replaced). They are a common design element in many modern cars and they scratch up so badly across all mfgrs I have seen in short order.
Maybe try another dealer. I had an issue w/ my Panamera that was a warranty "grey area". One dealer said no coverage no way. The other dealer went to bat and got Porsche to pay for 75% of the job.
They are sub surface. The surface is fine so ppf would not have helped.
When the dealer reversed his decision and refused to back the warranty claim I even said OK, fine, I’ll pay for the replacement just to get it done. He told me that although the parts were only a few hundred dollars, the labour would be a couple of thousand. They really didn’t want to do it for some reason.
Depending on how much free time you have it could be fun to attempt to small claims PCNA from your local jurisdiction. This seems like a clear manufacturing defect to me, they shouldn't be able to get away with denying it.
It must be infuriating that the dealer used the sub surface cracks as the argument to deny when that's the reason why the claim should be covered.
Depending on how much free time you have it could be fun to attempt to small claims PCNA from your local jurisdiction. This seems like a clear manufacturing defect to me, they shouldn't be able to get away with denying it.
It must be infuriating that the dealer used the sub surface cracks as the argument to deny when that's the reason why the claim should be covered.
I know. It’s infuriating that they said it was a known issue, accepted the claim, ordered the parts then denied it when the car went in for the work.
I’m not minded to waste any more time filing a claim. After two Macans, a Cayman and a 911 I’ll probably just write it off as yet another so called quality heritage brand losing their way and looking for any excuse to save money instead of standing behind their product.
We were very loyal to the Porsche brand and our dealer but they evidently both don’t give a **** about that so we will probably just go elsewhere in future.
I have had several issues like this with new Porsches under factory warranty. The idea that "trim is not covered" keeps coming up with warranty repairs on my Porsches. Sorry about this, it is infuriating.
Alcantara headliner on my 911 fell and they said it was "trim" and not covered - it cost $4000 to replace. Just for the part. Another $1000 in labor. I replaced it myself to avoid labor. 3.5 years into the warranty. Also had a Macan door card had a broken clip or tab that caused it to come undone -- and it was deemed "trim and or abuse". 20k miles on the car, under factory warranty. Ironically the only person who'd ever had a go at the door panel was the dealership replacing a window regulator a couple years prior.
I was equally as unhappy as you must be about this. That said I still love the vehicles... I just wish they'd stop this nonsense.
I've never had an issue with an engine or mechanical component... it's always trim that's the issue.
I have had tons of Land and Range Rovers, anything on the car is covered under factory warranty without issue. Even things I've broken. They cover it, and guess what... I come back...
Last edited by Nashvegas; Mar 2, 2024 at 12:23 AM.
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Window Trim Fractures
