Porsche Cayenne to be recalled in Australia for diesel software fix

Porsche Cars Australia will undertake a voluntary recall of the 3.0-litre V6 diesel Cayenne SUV, following confirmation of similar action in Europe.

Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority, Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA), last week ordered a ban on registrations for the Cayenne Diesel, with Porsche agreeing to recall around 21,500 vehicles.

The recall centres on what the KBA describes as suspect emission manipulation software, designed to switch to a ‘warm-up strategy’ when a rolling-road emissions test is detected, delivering lower CO2 figures than would otherwise show.

In Australia, Porsche’s recall will affect around 2100 Cayenne Diesel vehicles built between August 22, 2014 and July 27, 2017. Porsche Cars Australia says a further 165 “or so” vehicles still to be delivered are also affected, and the software fix will be applied before delivery.

The recall is expected to begin first in Europe from around September, with the Australian recall to follow “as soon as possible” after, which could mean late 2017 or early in 2018.

“PCA [Porsche Cars Australia] will take a responsible approach towards its customers. It is of great importance to PCA that customer expectations regarding quality, integrity and service are met to the fullest extent,” the company said in a statement today.

“All affected vehicles remain safe to drive and may continue to be driven as normal. When the proposed technical software update is available, all owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by their official Porsche Centre to arrange the free software update, which should take around one hour.”

Versions of the 3.0-litre diesel engine feature in a number of Audi vehicles, along with the Volkswagen Touareg and, back in the Porsche stable, the Macan S Diesel. The smaller Porsche SUV has yet to be targeted by the KBA in this case, however, which could suggest its software does not include the same emissions testing regime defeat coding.

CarAdvice has contacted Porsche for clarification on that point, and will update this article as information comes to hand.

Local Volkswagen and Audi models powered by this 3.0-litre diesel engine family are understood to be unaffected by this action, but CarAdvice has contacted both companies for confirmation.

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