NHTSA Owner Complaint Log
This page lists owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2025 Porsche Cayenne. Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA and do not by themselves prove a defect or defect rate.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026
The attached photos show several instances where the car’s safety systems failed. These cases have been erratic, and begin and end frequently. The car is under warranty, but my dealer cannot discern what causes the problems.
My 2025 Porsche Cayenne S was involved in a low-speed crash and experienced multiple safety failures related to the Driver Assistance Control Unit, including phantom braking and camera failure. This crash, I believe, is a direct result of the safety defect identified in Recall ASB2 (NHTSA 25V896), which causes the Driver Assistance Control Unit to fail to process image and sensor data correctly. My vehicle has exhibited a dangerous pattern of electronic and sensor instability that aligns perfectly with the technical failures described in the recall: The Collision: While reversing in a parking garage on November 25, 2025, I struck a wall because the rearview camera and parking sensors failed to provide any notification or visual feed. I now understand this was caused by the "transient signal noise" cited in the recall, which prevents the system from detecting obstacles in specific lighting environments. Phantom Braking: On two separate occasions, the vehicle abruptly "slammed" on the brakes for no apparent reason, nearly causing high-speed rear-end collisions. When reported to The Collection Porsche Service on January 23, 2026, the Service Manager admitted the system is hypersensitive to shadows. This confirms the control unit is failing to correctly interpret image data—the exact root cause of the current recall. Total Electrical Failure: On December 2, 2025, the vehicle suffered a defective alternator, causing a total shutdown in a live intersection. This resulted in a seven-week repair (completed Jan 23, 2026). Unstable voltage from a failing alternator is a primary source of the "signal noise" that causes the driver assistance systems to malfunction. I initially believed the bumper contact was a personal error. However, given the documented failure of the alternator and the subsequent recall regarding camera/sensor data processing, it is clear that the vehicle’s safety systems were compromised at the time of the incident. Porsche NA has been notified.
Multiple dash messages indicating failure of driver assistance systems.
The car was driven from Cheshire, CT to Old Tappan, NJ about 90 miles, just under two hours drive time. Combination of highway and back roads. The car was in drive in comfort mode proceeding slowly (approx 20 mph) down a street within a condo complex. As I approached the driveway I lightly braked, turned into the driveway then lightly pressed the accelerator to bring the car up the driveway apron onto the single car length driveway. At that point the car accelerated to what felt like max power. The car accelerated uncontrollably causing the car to advance in a right turn through the closed garage door striking a garaged vehicle in the right rear quarter and the right wall of the garage. Fortunately no one was hurt but this could have resulted on severe injury or death. No pre warning lights just a slight burning smell just before. This unrequested acceleration occurred twice before the crash incident leaving a traffic light from stop. Porsche has analyzed the car and find no fault. The insurance company has sent an adjuster. Damage estimated at $73,000.00.
At approximately 57 miles after delivery of a new 2025 Porsche Cayenne, the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and related driver-assistance safety systems failed while the vehicle was traveling at approximately 67 mph. There had been no collision, impact, or abnormal event prior to the failure. Porsche’s diagnostic logs (PIWIS) confirmed the system failure occurred while the vehicle was traveling at approximately 67 mph. A physical inspection of the vehicle showed no evidence of collision, abnormal G-force event, or exterior damage that would explain the system failure. The malfunction disabled a key driver-assistance safety feature on a nearly new vehicle. The vehicle was returned to the selling dealer for repair and the manufacturer, Porsche Cars North America, was notified. Both the dealer and manufacturer indicated that the issue was not considered a defect and declined to provide further explanation as to how such a failure could occur at extremely low mileage without any external factors. Given the extremely low mileage at which this safety system failure occurred, this may indicate a defect affecting the vehicle’s driver-assistance or ADAS systems. A failure of Adaptive Cruise Control and related driver-assistance systems at highway speed raises potential safety concerns for vehicle occupants and surrounding traffic. The failure occurred at extremely low mileage with no apparent triggering event, raising concern about a potential premature failure of a safety-related driver-assistance system.