FriscoTexasGuy

The satin platinum is an intriguing choice as well as these HRE P101s in satin charcoal. Thoughts?

JCBH

Just received our Panamera Turbo S e-hybrid...absolutely love it - a terrific addition to our lives. FYI, those of you with Turbo S e-hybrid's there is a great tire that a Porsche friend told me to get...replaced the Pirelli's that came with the car (21"). He suggested I get the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires (275 35 ZR21 front and 325 30 ZR21 Rear) - rears are nuts! Same size as our GT3RS rear tires!
These new tires have a cool acoustic foam insert, as well...neat. As well, per the owner's manual (and Porsche's engineer), they suggested I set cold comfort partial load tire pressures to 33 all around. Very cool.
Some more pics below of the car and charger...installed another charger in our larger space, and ordered a third for our work warehouse to charge while working...cool tech.
Here are some photos...









Charger installed, 50 amp, 240...charges in 2.5 hours...so cool.

sriklin

Hey AJ,
You are still not alone. The dealership had my Panamera from Monday morning through today to install a new GPS communication module. I was told that they had the right module delivered from Germany last week. This would be the third, as the the first replacement module also would not program when they tried to replace the original module. The newly installed module apparently programmed properly. They then took the car for a drive to pick up all of the satellites, and when they returned to the dealership, the computer threw a communication error code. The dealership cleared the module and tried to reprogram it, but the module would not program. They put my original inoperable module back in, and had me come give them the loaner back and take my car home while they order the fourth GPS module. Unfortunately, I noticed on the drive home that the car settings were not quite right. Worse, the charging port will not unlock. I am taking the car back to them to leave in the morning, and have requested a loaner until they get it right.
I am beginning to think about asking for a refund or a replacement, as I have had the car since March, and it has never been fully operational. The frustration in paying this much for a Porsche and still not having it right after three months and numerous service visits has me about at the end of my rope...or should I say Porsche's rope..

sriklin

One more thing I forgot to share: There is apparently a recall out by Porsche on the 2018 Panamera Hybrid to replace one of the coolant hoses. The dealership was unable to give me a complete explanation, and the service guy mentioned that he thought it was for the air conditioning. My concern is that it was actually for the battery cooling system, and I intend to find out the answer in the morning when I return the car. I strongly suggest everyone contact their dealer to inquire about the recall, as if it is related to the battery cooling, this is recall must be the result of a serious problem someone had.

ssiminou

If you want to go the 'buy-back' route:
I don't know what country you are in, but in the US and especially in California, your car would be considered a lemon and would therefore be subject to a Manufacture Buyback. If the dealer has attempted to fix the problem three or more times, or if your car has been out of service (I believe it's for 2 or 3 weeks) total, they should lemon the car, and pay back whatever you gave them for the car, including all interest, taxes, and registration if you 'bought' the car, and refund all lease payments if you 'leased' the car. This is the only benefit to paying California's high taxes: you can get a lawyer and the manufacture will pay you back for everything, cover your attorney's fees, and maybe even give you additional compensation. I have no idea the policies in place in other countries or states, but I'm sure there is something in the law to protect consumers.

My previous Panamera had three transmission failures and my only regret was not following the above advice. And although GPS is a relatively minor thing compared to a mechanical issue, a customer who spends that kind of money on a car deserves better, whether that be a refund or another car (but same trim) they could put you in.

ssiminou

A recall could be a result of something bad happening to someone, but it could also be Porsche engineers trying to get ahead of the problem. My Mercedes Cabriolet had a campaign and a recall. The campaign was voluntary, but strongly recommended and they completed it when I took the car in for some warranty work. The recall had to be completed before I could even buy the car, but no one had ever experienced the thing the recall was trying to fix (driver's airbag suddenly opening). Mercedes engineers saw the issue on I think around one million cars and were forced to issue this mandatory recall. So no injuries, but it prevented them from ever getting sued or being responsible if something bad were to happen. I guess this is good news then, it means someone actually cares about fixing the issues people are having with their hybrids. Maybe there'll be a campaign to alleviate the GPS issues.

ssiminou

I don't really understand Porsche Connect, it seems to be another weak link that makes up Porsche. Mbrace from Mercedes is so much easier, just one app, and the dealer sends you an invite and that's it. Anyways, here are my questions:

Could someone explain how you and your dealer set up Porsche Car Connect and which app you use? Did you have to buy anything? I heard there are different packages to purchase, but is the basic stuff free for a few years? Did a SIM card just come with your car or is that something you had to do on your own? There seems to be a new one just for the new gen Cayenne, but the Panamera is using the older version.

Big Ben

If you want to gain 2 mpg on the e-hybrid mode, trying turning off your A/C. Last week in So, Cal, it was in the 70s so I turned off the A/C and to my delight the night full charge went from 28 to 30. The other day, I had 30 in the garage and then with the A/C off, it showed 32. This week, the A/C is back on as the heat is coming.

If you drive like Miss Daisy and keep your commute around 20 miles, you can get pretty good mpg. 698 miles at 58.8 mpg. Still on my first tank. I am going to keep driving like Miss Daisy to see how high I can go. Once I get bored with that, I will let loose.

ssiminou

SaratogaLefty

If you are watching the review videos that were done in South Africa on the 2017 E-Hybrid models or if the reviews you are watching are more than six months old, then they are out of date. The 2017 E-Hybrids were not released in the US and the 2018 E-Hybrid models were held up until early Spring this year. There was a lot of speculation about why the cars were held up for so long and many thought it was due to EPA delays. In fact the EPA had nothing to do with the delays. Porsche held up the cars themselves in order to input significant software and firmware updates. These updates were input at the various port locations right around January of this year. I don't know exactly what characteristics were impacted, but I can tell you from my experience with my car, the shifting and braking issues are essentially non-existent. The downshift to 1st gear when stopping slowly can be a little bit annoying, but I attribute that the the fact that first gear is extremely low. When you accelerate the car moves out of first gear almost immediately. If I had my way I would start out in second gear all the time. As for the regenerative braking, again, I don't find the transition from regenerative to harder braking to be noticeable at all. The car in general is a dream to drive in normal driving. I almost always keep it in electric until that is exhausted and then when the ICE comes on it is hardly noticeable except for the tach needle moving. The other day I drove an actual 26 miles in electric only mode. Mostly driving between 30-55 mph the entire time although the last five miles were on the freeway at 75 mph. That is the best actual total miles I have experienced thus far. The car always starts out with more miles indicated initially than I realize in actuality. On that day I got 26 miles it started out showing 28 miles available. No Air conditioning on and the outside temp was 65-75 degrees.

Big Ben

I was mostly driving in E-mode except for 2 trips of 95 and 80 miles round trip from home. Those 2 trips, I placed it in Hybrid mode with various "20 second" boost to see how fast we can go. I do like the "golf cart mode" of driving in all electricity, however, I do feel like I am missing the push back to your seat feeling of the v8 that I have driven. As soon as I get out of the driving Miss Daisy mode, I will evaluate if the Turbo S is more my style.

cometguy

I was at my dealership this morning to try to get the obnoxious "warning" sound turned off when my rear hatch (liftgate) opens and closes. The owner's manual on my old Panamera said that the service department could turn this off, and I had it done on my 2015 Panamera. But the technician today said he couldn't find a way to turn it off in my 2018 Panamera, and he has a call into Porsche USA to inquire. Meanwhile, I asked him about any recall, and he said that he looked and could not find any current recalls on the 2018 Panamera E-Hybrids.

sriklin

Thanks for all of your positive thoughts. The dealership had to order the part for the nonworking electric charge port door. The service guy showed me the Porsche bulletin, and told me they have had the problem on ICE Panameras and e-hybrids. Hopefully a working GPS module will arrive with the electric port charging door and my car will finally be totally operational.
Thanks ssiminou on the Lemon Law info. I was a trial attorney before I started my energy company. Tomorrow the dealership and PCNA get the legal letter to start all of the notice deadlines advancing so that I can simply file suit in 30 days. I am in Texas, and our Lemon law was written by the car dealers, so it is not helpful. Our Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act has more teeth. I feel better now that I am taking action and resolved to fixing the issues in their repair garage or my home Court. My attorney friends will take care of me, and they will have to pay their attorneys, as well as mine, enough to buy several Panamera's, and buy me a new working Panamera in the end.

ssiminou

What your doing is great. Someone has to speak up about Porsche basically using some of us as Guinea Pigs to find and resolve issues. I also think there are rules about customers talking to dealers directly about the lemon law. Something I saw on a VinWiki video with Ed Bolian. They might quickly offer to just swap you into a new hybrid Panamera and pay the difference. Hopefully they'd have a similar vehicle to yours in stock, as long as your okay with that.

Clandrel

WOW!

That looks fantastic! Do you know if the rim is wider on the Turbo hybrid? The rear tyre on the normal hybrid is 315.

Best

/C