- Porsche owners have complained for a while that the transfer case in the Cayenne and Macan are prone to fail.
- Although Porsche offered an extended, seven-year warranty on the Cayenne, some owners say they weren’t informed about the offer, and that the automaker failed to adequately address the issue.
- Now, a 2016 Cayenne owner in LA is launching a class action lawsuit against the automaker.
Porsche is in hot water with a group of consumers in the U.S. after frequent and expensive transfer case issues allegedly impacted the usability of the 2011-2018 Macans and Cayennes, prompting a class action lawsuit.
The case is being brought by Saman Kohanof, a Los Angeles resident who purchased a 2016 Porsche Cayenne in June 2015. By late 2023, with just 60,000 miles (96,560 km) on the odometer, the SUV started “kicking, jerking, bouncing, clicking,” and exhibiting other transfer case-related problems, according to the complaint.
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When Kohanof took his Cayenne to an independent mechanic, he was quoted around $5,000 for repairs. However, in 2024, he learned that many Porsche SUV owners were complaining about transfer case issues, and that an extended, seven-year warranty had been issued for his Cayenne.
On its website, Porsche describes the problem as relating to 2015–2018 Cayennes, and stemming from dirty transmission oil that can “cause a stick-slip effect on the internal disc pack in the transfer gear over the service life of the vehicle.”
However, Kohanof said Porsche declined to cover the repairs to his vehicle. He asked to talk to a manager, but has yet to speak with one. Porsche did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Now Kohanof says he has stopped driving his Cayenne because of the jerking, and alleges that oil has been leaking onto the tires. He also believes that Porsche did not adequately alert owners to the existence of its extended warranty, that action was inadequate, and that the company failed to address the underlying issues with the transfer case despite receiving complaints about it as early as 2011.
As a result, the plaintiff is demanding a jury trial and has accused Porsche of fraudulent concealment, violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, violating the California Unfair Competition Law, breaching its implied warranty, breaching its express warranty, violating the Magnuson-Moss Act, and violating the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act.
Kohanof is seeking class action status for all affected Cayenne and Macan owners nationwide, restitution of money Porsche obtained through misconduct, compensation, and damages for injuries suffered as a result of this alleged fault.
