I bought a 2018 Panamera 4S last month and have identified my first problem to resolve. After setting overnight unlocked in the garage, I returned to find the car emitting a constant single beep every 5 seconds. There are no warnings displayed, just a beep. The local dealer can't look at the car for a couple of weeks, so I am turning to the forum for guidance. Anyone here successfully resolve a similar issue?

 

Beep from the exterior or interior? Where does it sound like its coming from?

 

The beep is coming from behind the dash, under the analog dash clock.

 

If it increases in frequency grab wife/kids/dog and run. Seriously though, have you locked/unlocked car, started and driven, etc and still get beeping? Believe two things can cause noise, seat belt chime and parking sensor beeps.

 

Key left in car?

 

^This. Or, one you aren’t using, if you have more than one fob…

 

Initially I tried everything I could think of, including locking/unlocking the car, starting the engine, driving, etc. It just would not stop beeping. So, after much frustration I just locked the car while it was beeping and left it alone for a while. I came back a few hours later and, guess what, it had stopped beeping! That's the good news. The bad news is that I have no idea what was the source of the problem, so I don't know how to stop it if the beeping problem occurs again. Quite weird!

As a related question, are there good reasons to lock the car when parked in a secure garage?

 

Depends on how secure the garage is I suppose. I still lock mine in my home garage just in case someone manages to get in via garage door or side door (I lock the door from garage to the house for the same reason).

 

I have found that newer cars have fewer active "vampire" current draws when the car is locked, than when it is unlocked, therefore the battery charge will be maintained better when the car is locked. Whenever I have mine in the garage, especially if I am not planning on driving it for several days, I lock it. The worst cars for draining the battery when not in use are BMWs. Our 1997 Z3 cannot make it for more than about three weeks before the battery is low enough that the car cannot be started.

I got curious about this a couple of years ago and did a check with an ammeter on several cars that I use seasonally. I found that my Boxster and C240 Mercedes wagon would draw an additional hundred mA when unlocked. The Boxster actually goes to "sleep" when not in use for several days, evidenced by that receiver for the key fob stops operation and the doors must be unlocked manually. I note that owners' manual for my new Panamera explicitly recommends attaching to a trickle charger when the car will not be used for an extended period.

 

I keep my cars locked so a kid can't open the doors. I don't want them playing in there or trying to close the door and smashing a finger, etc.

 

I have an update to share concerning the beeping problem I posted. It's not yet resolved, but I have narrowed down the issue to some sort of problem with HomeLink. I had several more instances of unexplained beeping, but they did not occur while at home. I turned into a gated community about 20 minutes drive from home and the damn beeping started again. Once started, the beeping can take several hours before it stops on its own, as I have no idea how to force it to stop. Subsequently, the beeping occurred again at least 2 more times at the exact same location - turning into the same gated community. That helps narrow it down to some sort of interaction with a specific automatic gate (which I don't have programmed into my HomeLink, and the gate always is open). Never happens anywhere else, including at home, and it doesn't happen every time I pass the gate. Thankfully, for the past month there has been no beeping.

The local dealer has no idea what may be the issue or how to stop the beeping once it starts. I have not tried erasing all the HomeLink codes and starting over, but that's all I can think of doing when it happens again. The dealer did not seem to think erasing codes would make any difference, and I am in no hurry to reprogram HomeLink in the car.

Does this update sound familiar to anyone on this Forum? Otherwise, the car continues to impress in every way.

 

If you were to have an ammeter that has logging capabilities, you'd see that various ECUs go to sleep after various delays. The combimeter may go to sleep after 5 minutes, the body control module maybe after 30 min, the DME may wake up after 3 hours to run a self-check on the evap system.

There's a lot going on behind the scenes.

 

I am certain you are correct. I'm not curious enough to take the time to record readings from the ammeter over a period of weeks, nor am I likely to spring for the purchase a logging ammeter. For my purposes, my investigation means that I lock the cars whenever they dormant for a week or so, and have them on a tender if a more extended rest is anticipated.

My 2022 Panamera eHybrid obviously has all manner of "stuff" happening after it has been shut down. There are occasional beeps, clicks and chirps for about an 1/2 hour after I put it away in the garage that I've observed while working in the area. If it is plugged into the charging station, there are even more noises (fans and pumps for the battery coolant) along with the assortment of beeps and chirps. I have not left it alone, unplugged, for an extended period since I took possession of it last December. These cars are getting progressively more complex with every generation. While I very much like all of the features, I have some misgivings about how well all of these electronics will age, as I tend to keep my vehicles for a long time (I'm on year 42 of 912 ownership). I am heading into my seventh decade, so the Panamera is likely to outlive me, therefore the "misgivings" are somewhat muted.

 

It is advised by Porsche to lock the car, to let it go to sleep and not drain the battery.

 

Sorry, I wasn't saying you need to buy one, I was more trying to give info to people that aren't aware.

FYI, there's no need to log for weeks, just overnight. Any ECU that will eventually go to sleep will have gone to sleep in a matter of hours.