Porsche Panamera Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data

Primary Symptom: Pronounced, abnormal vibration felt specifically through the driver or passenger seat frame and floorboard. Operating Conditions: Vibration starts at 45 mph and is most severe between 55-65 mph. Also can be felt at idle when vehicle is in P or N or D. Safety Risk: Distracts the driver from road conditions and the vibration seems to be getting worse over time.

The ride height sensor on the right front suspension is mounted to the upper control arm via a plastic bolt and bracket. This plastic mounting component failed under normal driving conditions. The failure caused the ride height sensor to malfunction, which directly affects the vehicle's air suspension system and its ability to maintain proper ride height and handling characteristics. When driving, I received multiple chassis height warning messages stating that the chassis was too high or too low or malfunctioning. The ride height sensor is a critical component of the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) system. Its failure can result in: - Incorrect suspension height, affecting vehicle stability and handling - Suspension system faults that may trigger unexpected warning conditions while driving - Potential loss of driver control in the event of sudden sensor failure at highway speeds This failure is not isolated to my vehicle. A review of Porsche owner forums including Rennlist and 6SpeedOnline reveals similar plastic mount failures on the ride height sensor across multiple Porsche platforms, including the Cayenne, Macan, and Panamera. The fact that Porsche has since revised the replacement hardware from plastic to metal strongly implies the manufacturer is aware the original design was inadequate. However, no recall or Technical Service Bulletin has been issued to proactively notify owners or provide a remedy at no cost. When the plastic bolt and bracket failed on my vehicle, my dealership replaced it with the current Porsche-supplied metal replacement hardware because the plastic parts have been discontinued. However, the updated metal bolt and bracket are physically incompatible with the existing control arm, requiring the control arm to also be replaced. Owners who are unaware of this incompatibility may drive vehicles with an improperly secured or non-functional ride height sensor, increasing safety risk.

The main water pump on my 2018 Porsche Panamera 4S failed prematurely. This is not a simple external coolant leak; the internal seal failed, allowing pressurized engine coolant to migrate into the vehicle's vacuum system. The coolant traveled through the vacuum lines and contaminated the vacuum solenoids and change-over valves. This failure mode presents a significant safety hazard because the vacuum system controls critical engine components, including turbocharger wastegates and exhaust flaps. Contamination of these components can lead to sudden loss of power, "limp mode" activation while driving at highway speeds, or unexpected engine behavior, increasing the risk of a crash. Cross-Reference to Known Defects: This vehicle utilizes the EA839 V6 engine platform, which is shared with Volkswagen and Audi vehicles (specifically the Audi S4, S5, SQ5, and Q7). Audi and Volkswagen have already acknowledged this specific manufacturing defect in the class action settlement Fiscina v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (Case No. 2:21-cv-11251). Under that settlement, Audi extended the warranty on this water pump to 10 years/80,000+ miles for the exact same failure mode (coolant migration into the vacuum system). Despite my vehicle using the same engine and suffering the exact same mechanical failure, Porsche refuses to offer coverage or acknowledge the defect. I am requesting an investigation into why Porsche models equipped with the defective EA839 engine are excluded from the safety remedies and warranty extensions provided to Audi owners.

The contact owns a 2018 Porsche Panamera. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH, the message "Engine Overheating - Park Vehicle" in red letters was displayed on the instrument cluster. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle. The contact stated that there was a burning odor inside the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer, but was not diagnosed; however, the contact was advised by the dealer that the failure could be related to the coolant pump. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

This vehicle has an engine which has rocker arms that are known to fail. The manufacturer has not issued a recall to fix this issue which can result in a catastrophic engine failure. They have acknowledged the rocker arms in pre 2018 models to be defective and insufficiently reinforced to handle the strain of the valve train.

On my 4th visit to the Porsche dealership and the problem is still not resolved. There are MANY references to the same problem online. The problem: error message on the dash stating REVERSE NOT AVAILABLE and car goes into 3RD gear only and stays there. Only final solution is new transmission which Porsche resists doing It has happened 6 times now. attaching a photo and I have many more of these from 2024

Transmission fault causes car to be stuck in gear and will not shift. This issue appears to be happening quite frequently with these ecars, regardless of mileage. It's dangerous, especially if it occurs on the highway .

Porsche dashboard leather shrunk and pealing out. Vehicle will not deploy the airbags if in accident. It needs to be replaced. It is a common issue. It is a safety hazard.

The contact owns a 2018 Porsche Panamera. The contact received notification of the NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V033000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and advised the contact to park the vehicle outside the garage until parts became available. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Technology change from 3g to 5g. This discontinues the safety notifications including crash /location alerts. Porsche offered a free replacement, and after dealers had difficulty in installing, Porsche offers a minimum compensation, instead of fixing problem. this will affect all Porsche from 2018 and prior that were set up for 3g network connection . Thank you

The auto in question was, and is, under the new car warranty - While driving forward, one of the automobile's display screens displayed an error message stating "Transmission error - Reverse gear not available"; this in itself is not a major issue as the car was in a forward gear. The major safety issue is that the car would not shift gears once this error message cam up. The error has occurred multiple times and, thankfully, did not happen at a critical time - i.e. merging onto a highway. The first time this happened was on August 6, 2020. Porsche was notified of the issue and I was told there was no fix at the time. It happened multiple other times and every time the dealer told me that there wasn't a fix. Porsche did apply a "temporary" fix in the November/December, 2020 timeframe, but this was not permanent and the error happened at least once more after the fix. I continued to check in with the dealer and was always told there was no resolution. In June, 2021 I reached out to Porsche directly, they responded one month later and said they would investigate. In July I was told that there might be a fix by the dealer, but was never called back. I have requested that Porsche buy-back the vehicle given this history, but they indicated that there was a fix and that they would not provide any further resolution. The dealer has applied a software "fix", but I have no faith that this will be permanent, given their history and that it took longer than a year to possibly resolve. This is not unique to my vehicle, per online message boards

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 PORSCHE PANAMERA. WHILE MAKING A LEFT TURN AT 10 MPH, THE CONTACT DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. AFTER THREE ATTEMPTS, THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE, BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED MULTIPLE TIMES. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER (PORSCHE WEST BROWARD, 4641 SW 148TH AVE, DAVIE, FL 33331, (954) 719-0199). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 3,186.

To whom it may concern; I am writing you with deep disappointment as I am experiencing dissatisfaction with the quality of car that I leased on December, 06, 2021. Panamera was always my dream car, however, today it is a life threat to me and my family. The car is experiencing failure during drive, it self shifts itself to neutral while driving as well failed AC system. Yesterday, 3/19/23, on freeway, I almost got into car accident because of that shift. The car suddenly stopped, and almost got hit by other 3 cars behind me. The problem started since December 2022 with a frequency of once or twice a month. I made an appointment with Rusnak Pasadena dealership shop to run diagnostics. They found nothing… based on 15-20 min drive. The problem started increasing in frequency to 2-3 times a week. It is extremely unsafe now. During time I was leasing car, I never missed any payments, was compliant with due dates, being a proper customer to Porsche dealer (which counts back for many years now). Again, I love the car, it is my dream car, however it is a threat now to my life and my family life. I beg your attention to this matter, as it is frustrating and disappointing experience now. Thank you for your time and business, I would like to remain good customer of Porsche in future, [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).