Cayenne 958 3.0tdi
Discussion
A week ago I wasn't looking for a new car!
This one came about after needing to borrow a horse trailer last weekend as my wife hadn't renewed the insurance on the lorry (a '95 iveco 7.5t so a bit of an old sl*g) and I bet her she'd wish she had a trailer again.. I won the bet! But as there's now three jockeys in the household we "need" a huge trailer! Our faithful old gen3 CRV wouldn't be up to this and it was beginning to look and feel a bit tired even though rightly or wrongly I love the old bus!
I started looking at pickup trucks but they're ultimately really compromised for most jobs other than 'work'.. so what else has 3500kg towing capacity, isn't ~£700 year to tax, isn't a LR product and would generally appeal to me.. A 958 Cayenne!
Seeing as I'd already doubled my budget I was only realistically going to go for the 3.0tdi even though a 4.2 would have been nice and from the research I'd done I think they're a relatively safe bet..
I found 'my' car on eBay from a trader in High Wycombe, 2 owner car, full Porsche history, kept within extended warranty throughout it's life too. I wanted something straightforward and I think I've got it as it appears to be a very vanilla spec 958 which I love!
Non metallic paint
18's
No sunroof
No air suspension
Black leather
Rubber mats and boot liner
Factory removable towbar (but never used!)
No Bluetooth
Id like to find a VIN decoder to get the full build spec confirmed but might see if the local dealership can help with that, whilst I've got the print out of the history I'd like a bit more detail on some of the services.
First fill up.
Back home with the old Honda
Plans are to see whether it's had transmission/transfer box/diff oil changed, sort out the Bluetooth-seen the Mr 12v kit so might fit that as seems to be well regarded/complete and just get to know it for the time being.
The trip back from High Wycombe to mid Norfolk was lovely, I'm really pleased with the buy, it's got such a sense of solidness and heft to it and appears to be pretty decent on Diesel. The CRV was mid/high thirties, doesn't feel like I'll be any worse off in the Porsche.
With a new Caterham arriving in March, I feel 2026's garage is strong!
This one came about after needing to borrow a horse trailer last weekend as my wife hadn't renewed the insurance on the lorry (a '95 iveco 7.5t so a bit of an old sl*g) and I bet her she'd wish she had a trailer again.. I won the bet! But as there's now three jockeys in the household we "need" a huge trailer! Our faithful old gen3 CRV wouldn't be up to this and it was beginning to look and feel a bit tired even though rightly or wrongly I love the old bus!
I started looking at pickup trucks but they're ultimately really compromised for most jobs other than 'work'.. so what else has 3500kg towing capacity, isn't ~£700 year to tax, isn't a LR product and would generally appeal to me.. A 958 Cayenne!
Seeing as I'd already doubled my budget I was only realistically going to go for the 3.0tdi even though a 4.2 would have been nice and from the research I'd done I think they're a relatively safe bet..
I found 'my' car on eBay from a trader in High Wycombe, 2 owner car, full Porsche history, kept within extended warranty throughout it's life too. I wanted something straightforward and I think I've got it as it appears to be a very vanilla spec 958 which I love!
Non metallic paint
18's
No sunroof
No air suspension
Black leather
Rubber mats and boot liner
Factory removable towbar (but never used!)
No Bluetooth
Id like to find a VIN decoder to get the full build spec confirmed but might see if the local dealership can help with that, whilst I've got the print out of the history I'd like a bit more detail on some of the services.
First fill up.
Back home with the old Honda
Plans are to see whether it's had transmission/transfer box/diff oil changed, sort out the Bluetooth-seen the Mr 12v kit so might fit that as seems to be well regarded/complete and just get to know it for the time being.
The trip back from High Wycombe to mid Norfolk was lovely, I'm really pleased with the buy, it's got such a sense of solidness and heft to it and appears to be pretty decent on Diesel. The CRV was mid/high thirties, doesn't feel like I'll be any worse off in the Porsche.
With a new Caterham arriving in March, I feel 2026's garage is strong!
I have one too, similar era. Now had it 4 yrs and gone from 100k to 215k miles currently. No major disasters to report.
The engines are well established workhorses to be found in many VW and Audi. But the Porsche interior is much better finished, IMO.
I DIY 5k oil changes, changed the front and rear diff oils once, changed the gearbox oil/filter twice. Trransfer case oil changed every 20k.
Also DIY'd Injector seals also changed after smelling strong fumes in the engine bay.
Door lock actuator changed, alarm siren changed after they failed. These are well documented weak points and swapped over easily on a sunday afternoon.
DPF/EGR issues have been solved by getting it coded it out.
If you get a coolant leak, there is a very well known weakpoint with a plastic flange on the oil cooler. Not had it on this car, but had it on a 3.0D Macan. DIYable too, but means removing the manifold and cooler to get to it deep in the V of the engine.
There is a good forum over on Rennlist which has documented most of the common issues.
Any VW/Audi specialist can easily do work on these, you might just have to twist their arm as mine was a bit frightened first. They did alternator and started motor for me, which is identical procedure to Touareg.
The engines are well established workhorses to be found in many VW and Audi. But the Porsche interior is much better finished, IMO.
I DIY 5k oil changes, changed the front and rear diff oils once, changed the gearbox oil/filter twice. Trransfer case oil changed every 20k.
Also DIY'd Injector seals also changed after smelling strong fumes in the engine bay.
Door lock actuator changed, alarm siren changed after they failed. These are well documented weak points and swapped over easily on a sunday afternoon.
DPF/EGR issues have been solved by getting it coded it out.
If you get a coolant leak, there is a very well known weakpoint with a plastic flange on the oil cooler. Not had it on this car, but had it on a 3.0D Macan. DIYable too, but means removing the manifold and cooler to get to it deep in the V of the engine.
There is a good forum over on Rennlist which has documented most of the common issues.
Any VW/Audi specialist can easily do work on these, you might just have to twist their arm as mine was a bit frightened first. They did alternator and started motor for me, which is identical procedure to Touareg.
Similar year / spec to MrsRNP's (I also have a 955). I DIY service both of ours - have a search for £500 Cayenne in my posting history/readers cars.
Change the front diff oil ASAP, it has a small amount of oil and the Porsche schedule to change is far too long, as a result the diff pinion bearing wears/becomes noisy.
Remove and discard the rubber duckbills inside the front wheel arch (you only need to remove 3 or 4 fasteners to be able to reach up and remove them). Leaf's block them resulting in water soaking the footwell carpets which take ages to dry and can damage the wiring loom underneath.
Jet wash/hoover behind the front shocks/struts - there's a box shaped recess on top of the chassis leg with a drain hole to the rear. This clogs with stones/dirt and causes the chassis leg to rust.
IMPORTANT! Change the fuel filter every 10k (or better). The HPFP is susceptible to foreign objects/wear. If it breaks down the swarf contaminates the whole fuel system including injectors & fuel tank. Suck the filter bowl empty with a turkey baster - note any silver swarf.
Good cars, plenty of info out there as they fall outside of main dealer servicing, plenty of OEM parts available from Autodoc.
Change the front diff oil ASAP, it has a small amount of oil and the Porsche schedule to change is far too long, as a result the diff pinion bearing wears/becomes noisy.
Remove and discard the rubber duckbills inside the front wheel arch (you only need to remove 3 or 4 fasteners to be able to reach up and remove them). Leaf's block them resulting in water soaking the footwell carpets which take ages to dry and can damage the wiring loom underneath.
Jet wash/hoover behind the front shocks/struts - there's a box shaped recess on top of the chassis leg with a drain hole to the rear. This clogs with stones/dirt and causes the chassis leg to rust.
IMPORTANT! Change the fuel filter every 10k (or better). The HPFP is susceptible to foreign objects/wear. If it breaks down the swarf contaminates the whole fuel system including injectors & fuel tank. Suck the filter bowl empty with a turkey baster - note any silver swarf.
Good cars, plenty of info out there as they fall outside of main dealer servicing, plenty of OEM parts available from Autodoc.
Willber said:
Like this a lot! Ive been looking at them on autotrader and especially like the non-bling spec.
Just remember this model 958.1 (2010-2014) is not ULEZ compliant.There is a facelift model circa 2015 which made these ULEZ compliant and the VED came down a little to 173g/km.
RustyNissanPrairie said:
Similar year / spec to MrsRNP's (I also have a 955). I DIY service both of ours - have a search for £500 Cayenne in my posting history/readers cars.
Change the front diff oil ASAP, it has a small amount of oil and the Porsche schedule to change is far too long, as a result the diff pinion bearing wears/becomes noisy.
Remove and discard the rubber duckbills inside the front wheel arch (you only need to remove 3 or 4 fasteners to be able to reach up and remove them). Leaf's block them resulting in water soaking the footwell carpets which take ages to dry and can damage the wiring loom underneath.
Jet wash/hoover behind the front shocks/struts - there's a box shaped recess on top of the chassis leg with a drain hole to the rear. This clogs with stones/dirt and causes the chassis leg to rust.
IMPORTANT! Change the fuel filter every 10k (or better). The HPFP is susceptible to foreign objects/wear. If it breaks down the swarf contaminates the whole fuel system including injectors & fuel tank. Suck the filter bowl empty with a turkey baster - note any silver swarf.
Good cars, plenty of info out there as they fall outside of main dealer servicing, plenty of OEM parts available from Autodoc.
Great, thanks for the info- will take a look at those few pointers. I have read your thread also!Change the front diff oil ASAP, it has a small amount of oil and the Porsche schedule to change is far too long, as a result the diff pinion bearing wears/becomes noisy.
Remove and discard the rubber duckbills inside the front wheel arch (you only need to remove 3 or 4 fasteners to be able to reach up and remove them). Leaf's block them resulting in water soaking the footwell carpets which take ages to dry and can damage the wiring loom underneath.
Jet wash/hoover behind the front shocks/struts - there's a box shaped recess on top of the chassis leg with a drain hole to the rear. This clogs with stones/dirt and causes the chassis leg to rust.
IMPORTANT! Change the fuel filter every 10k (or better). The HPFP is susceptible to foreign objects/wear. If it breaks down the swarf contaminates the whole fuel system including injectors & fuel tank. Suck the filter bowl empty with a turkey baster - note any silver swarf.
Good cars, plenty of info out there as they fall outside of main dealer servicing, plenty of OEM parts available from Autodoc.
Mark-r0xn8 said:
Just remember this model 958.1 (2010-2014) is not ULEZ compliant.
There is a facelift model circa 2015 which made these ULEZ compliant and the VED came down a little to 173g/km.
Yes, aware of ULEZ factor. Luckily I live in the middle of Norfolk, have not had to pay ULEZ once yet - long may this continue!There is a facelift model circa 2015 which made these ULEZ compliant and the VED came down a little to 173g/km.
Dirknights said:
Interested to know where you got this done. Was it hardware plus software?
Thanks
Oli
I meant EGR sorry. I had a check enginge light come on, and changed the EGR valve, but the CEL kept coming back so I had it coded out by a local guy who does remapping. Thanks
Oli
There is an EGR delete kit which I hear fits perfectly, but not something I have done.
https://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/products/eg...
Mark-r0xn8 said:
I meant EGR sorry. I had a check enginge light come on, and changed the EGR valve, but the CEL kept coming back so I had it coded out by a local guy who does remapping.
There is an EGR delete kit which I hear fits perfectly, but not something I have done.
https://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/products/eg...
So you've not physically removed any of the hardware? Have seen the darkside kits, if I come into any EGR or DPF related trouble I think that's the route i'll go down.There is an EGR delete kit which I hear fits perfectly, but not something I have done.
https://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/products/eg...
https://tunezilla.com/blog/151/aisin-1000-pre-fix-... Give this a read through, if you fancy it doing I can help you out! Welcome to 958 ownership, absolutely excellent vehicles!
Mij91 said:
https://tunezilla.com/blog/151/aisin-1000-pre-fix-... Give this a read through, if you fancy it doing I can help you out! Welcome to 958 ownership, absolutely excellent vehicles!
Keen to have a look, thanks! What does it involve?Dirknights said:
A week ago I wasn't looking for a new car!
This one came about after needing to borrow a horse trailer last weekend as my wife hadn't renewed the insurance on the lorry (a '95 iveco 7.5t so a bit of an old sl*g) and I bet her she'd wish she had a trailer again.. I won the bet! But as there's now three jockeys in the household we "need" a huge trailer! Our faithful old gen3 CRV wouldn't be up to this and it was beginning to look and feel a bit tired even though rightly or wrongly I love the old bus!
I started looking at pickup trucks but they're ultimately really compromised for most jobs other than 'work'.. so what else has 3500kg towing capacity, isn't ~£700 year to tax, isn't a LR product and would generally appeal to me.. A 958 Cayenne!
Seeing as I'd already doubled my budget I was only realistically going to go for the 3.0tdi even though a 4.2 would have been nice and from the research I'd done I think they're a relatively safe bet..
I found 'my' car on eBay from a trader in High Wycombe, 2 owner car, full Porsche history, kept within extended warranty throughout it's life too. I wanted something straightforward and I think I've got it as it appears to be a very vanilla spec 958 which I love!
Non metallic paint
18's
No sunroof
No air suspension
Black leather
Rubber mats and boot liner
Factory removable towbar (but never used!)
No Bluetooth
Id like to find a VIN decoder to get the full build spec confirmed but might see if the local dealership can help with that, whilst I've got the print out of the history I'd like a bit more detail on some of the services.
First fill up.
Back home with the old Honda
Plans are to see whether it's had transmission/transfer box/diff oil changed, sort out the Bluetooth-seen the Mr 12v kit so might fit that as seems to be well regarded/complete and just get to know it for the time being.
The trip back from High Wycombe to mid Norfolk was lovely, I'm really pleased with the buy, it's got such a sense of solidness and heft to it and appears to be pretty decent on Diesel. The CRV was mid/high thirties, doesn't feel like I'll be any worse off in the Porsche.
With a new Caterham arriving in March, I feel 2026's garage is strong!
Enjoying your post purchase comments This one came about after needing to borrow a horse trailer last weekend as my wife hadn't renewed the insurance on the lorry (a '95 iveco 7.5t so a bit of an old sl*g) and I bet her she'd wish she had a trailer again.. I won the bet! But as there's now three jockeys in the household we "need" a huge trailer! Our faithful old gen3 CRV wouldn't be up to this and it was beginning to look and feel a bit tired even though rightly or wrongly I love the old bus!
I started looking at pickup trucks but they're ultimately really compromised for most jobs other than 'work'.. so what else has 3500kg towing capacity, isn't ~£700 year to tax, isn't a LR product and would generally appeal to me.. A 958 Cayenne!
Seeing as I'd already doubled my budget I was only realistically going to go for the 3.0tdi even though a 4.2 would have been nice and from the research I'd done I think they're a relatively safe bet..
I found 'my' car on eBay from a trader in High Wycombe, 2 owner car, full Porsche history, kept within extended warranty throughout it's life too. I wanted something straightforward and I think I've got it as it appears to be a very vanilla spec 958 which I love!
Non metallic paint
18's
No sunroof
No air suspension
Black leather
Rubber mats and boot liner
Factory removable towbar (but never used!)
No Bluetooth
Id like to find a VIN decoder to get the full build spec confirmed but might see if the local dealership can help with that, whilst I've got the print out of the history I'd like a bit more detail on some of the services.
First fill up.
Back home with the old Honda
Plans are to see whether it's had transmission/transfer box/diff oil changed, sort out the Bluetooth-seen the Mr 12v kit so might fit that as seems to be well regarded/complete and just get to know it for the time being.
The trip back from High Wycombe to mid Norfolk was lovely, I'm really pleased with the buy, it's got such a sense of solidness and heft to it and appears to be pretty decent on Diesel. The CRV was mid/high thirties, doesn't feel like I'll be any worse off in the Porsche.
With a new Caterham arriving in March, I feel 2026's garage is strong!
We sold my wife's car recently and I am off to collect the replacement (2012 3.0 TD V6 Cayenne) tomorrow.
After a couple of thousand miles I thought I'd update this thread.
For 2/3rds of my use the Cayenne is great-really is everything I'd hoped for.
Full days on the road/longer motorway trips it's comfy, relatively economical (high thirties) and makes journeys disappear.
Towing the horse trailer was the main reason for ending up in a giant SUV and it does this brilliantly, we found a 3/4 horse trailer not long after getting the car and it's been out three times now tows brilliantly. It's quite a rig! But probably does double the MPG when compared to the old 7.5t lorry it to replaces for this job and is far nicer to travel in for us all.
I've also done tip runs, scrap metal drop offs and various other jobs that you find yourself doing with a trailer hitched up. Found a farmer who was selling a pair of trailers that we did a deal on, ended up with both an 8x4 and a 12x7 trailer which I've convinced myself will be super useful things to have around!
Where it's not a great fit is doing the local running around. We're fairly rural so most trips out to clubs/town are an awkward 6-10 miles each way. Running the cayenne like this isn't what it's designed for so for commuting etc which is 10miles or so each way I'm currently on my motorbike which suits just fine.
It's not all been plain sailing. I've already had a bill on the car which is a shame but these things happen! A couple of weeks into ownership, a fumy smell was around the bay and coming inside, suspected injector seal/seat which after a few days showed itself with the chuffing to be expected. I found a local-ish specialist Reason Porsche to take a look at the car, whilst it was with them I had them go over it to give me a bit of peace of mind generally as well. They removed injectors from the n/s bank. Discovered they'd been previously touched and not had then correct washers used to reseat so these got done but one injector was right at the top end of its adaptions so a new one was needed. Andy from Reason rang to say it'll need an injector but as this is fairly common, they'd done one for a customer who insisted on all 6 being changed as as a result they had a tested, reconditioned injector of the right type on the shelf which saved me a couple hundred pounds. So that got done and had been fine since, conscious the other bank may need doing at some point soon though.
The other thing I wanted them to look into was how the car was warming up. It'll get to 90deg within a couple of miles as expected but it'll then drop to 81/83 before floating around between 81/83 and 90 and not until it'd had some proper load on it or an extended drive (sometimes up to 45mins) would it.srtle at 90 for the remainder of the trip..I went into a bit of a deep dive on how the thermal management system works on these engines, fair to say long gone are the days of a waxstat and a fan!! There weren't any codes or faults present or logged and it wasn't at any point over heating or not getting to temp, heaters were warm and consistent too. Reason couldn't find an issue, I'd preemptively bought a new thermostat (map controlled and part of the oil filter housing) so whilst it was with them thought I'd save myself the hassle and get them to fit it. This hadn't completely eradicated the behaviors but it does seem to get to hold.at 90 a bit sooner so perhaps the element in the thermostat had started to stick. I did several logs which my Foxwell diag tool alog the way..I'm now confident it is probably just the way it is! Colder ambients,.short journeys and no chance to get load into the engine on the small roads round here are all likely contributing factors. If anyone (has read this) or has experience of this it would be good to hear. I tested the two vacuum operated solenoids for internal resistance, they both measured up fine too.
One of the outcomes is I've found a great garage and one that I'd highly recommend for those in Suffolk/Norfolk and probably north Essex to consider if you've got a Porsche. Reason Porsche are based in mid Suffolk, the team are all ex Porsche main dealer so have seen all of the contemporary cars and aren't a Porsche specialist who just look after flat sixes!
New wiper blades fitted last week and have a set of filters and transmission oil to change too..
All in all, pleased with the old bus... 123,456 coming up soon too!
For 2/3rds of my use the Cayenne is great-really is everything I'd hoped for.
Full days on the road/longer motorway trips it's comfy, relatively economical (high thirties) and makes journeys disappear.
Towing the horse trailer was the main reason for ending up in a giant SUV and it does this brilliantly, we found a 3/4 horse trailer not long after getting the car and it's been out three times now tows brilliantly. It's quite a rig! But probably does double the MPG when compared to the old 7.5t lorry it to replaces for this job and is far nicer to travel in for us all.
I've also done tip runs, scrap metal drop offs and various other jobs that you find yourself doing with a trailer hitched up. Found a farmer who was selling a pair of trailers that we did a deal on, ended up with both an 8x4 and a 12x7 trailer which I've convinced myself will be super useful things to have around!
Where it's not a great fit is doing the local running around. We're fairly rural so most trips out to clubs/town are an awkward 6-10 miles each way. Running the cayenne like this isn't what it's designed for so for commuting etc which is 10miles or so each way I'm currently on my motorbike which suits just fine.
It's not all been plain sailing. I've already had a bill on the car which is a shame but these things happen! A couple of weeks into ownership, a fumy smell was around the bay and coming inside, suspected injector seal/seat which after a few days showed itself with the chuffing to be expected. I found a local-ish specialist Reason Porsche to take a look at the car, whilst it was with them I had them go over it to give me a bit of peace of mind generally as well. They removed injectors from the n/s bank. Discovered they'd been previously touched and not had then correct washers used to reseat so these got done but one injector was right at the top end of its adaptions so a new one was needed. Andy from Reason rang to say it'll need an injector but as this is fairly common, they'd done one for a customer who insisted on all 6 being changed as as a result they had a tested, reconditioned injector of the right type on the shelf which saved me a couple hundred pounds. So that got done and had been fine since, conscious the other bank may need doing at some point soon though.
The other thing I wanted them to look into was how the car was warming up. It'll get to 90deg within a couple of miles as expected but it'll then drop to 81/83 before floating around between 81/83 and 90 and not until it'd had some proper load on it or an extended drive (sometimes up to 45mins) would it.srtle at 90 for the remainder of the trip..I went into a bit of a deep dive on how the thermal management system works on these engines, fair to say long gone are the days of a waxstat and a fan!! There weren't any codes or faults present or logged and it wasn't at any point over heating or not getting to temp, heaters were warm and consistent too. Reason couldn't find an issue, I'd preemptively bought a new thermostat (map controlled and part of the oil filter housing) so whilst it was with them thought I'd save myself the hassle and get them to fit it. This hadn't completely eradicated the behaviors but it does seem to get to hold.at 90 a bit sooner so perhaps the element in the thermostat had started to stick. I did several logs which my Foxwell diag tool alog the way..I'm now confident it is probably just the way it is! Colder ambients,.short journeys and no chance to get load into the engine on the small roads round here are all likely contributing factors. If anyone (has read this) or has experience of this it would be good to hear. I tested the two vacuum operated solenoids for internal resistance, they both measured up fine too.
One of the outcomes is I've found a great garage and one that I'd highly recommend for those in Suffolk/Norfolk and probably north Essex to consider if you've got a Porsche. Reason Porsche are based in mid Suffolk, the team are all ex Porsche main dealer so have seen all of the contemporary cars and aren't a Porsche specialist who just look after flat sixes!
New wiper blades fitted last week and have a set of filters and transmission oil to change too..
All in all, pleased with the old bus... 123,456 coming up soon too!
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