Taycan: Buyer be aware or how to go from soul electrified to soul crushed

[cometguy]

Unless you want Porsche to drive your car for a few hundred miles before delivering it to you, there are things their QC won't pick up.

Maybe this isn't such a bad idea! Have Porsche test-drive their vehicles on their company track for a few hundred miles, do multiple chargings, and put the PCM through tests. I'd be fine with 300 miles on the odometer when getting my new Taycan, if those 300 miles were all done by Porsche techs on their track to look for problems before shipping...

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[Marcad80]

Maybe this isn't such a bad idea! Have Porsche test-drive their vehicles on their company track for a few hundred miles, do multiple chargings, and put the PCM through tests. I'd be fine with 300 miles on the odometer when getting my new Taycan, if those 300 miles were all done by Porsche techs on their track to look for problems before shipping...

This is actually something we do in the aerospace industry. All the electronics (I do Avionics) go through something called HASS (Highly Accelerated Stress Screening). Sometimes called ESS because we use environmental temperature to stress the electronics. It is extremely effective in finding all “infant mortality” issues and has made field reliability exponentially greater. It’s not without controversy though. You would never get a “new” car again. We essentially put 20k “auto miles” on the aircraft systems before they are ever delivered. The equipment is well used, reliable yes, but we’ll used. Using some well engineered equipment we can do this in about 24hrs, and this could be done in cars.

But no more new car smell…..

 

[whitex]

This is actually something we do in the aerospace industry. All the electronics (I do Avionics) go through something called HASS (Highly Accelerated Stress Screening). Sometimes called ESS because we use environmental temperature to stress the electronics. It is extremely effective in finding all “infant mortality” issues and has made field reliability exponentially greater. It’s not without controversy though. You would never get a “new” car again. We essentially put 20k “auto miles” on the aircraft systems before they are ever delivered. The equipment is well used, reliable yes, but we’ll used. Using some well engineered equipment we can do this in about 24hrs, and this could be done in cars.

But no more new car smell…..

It's just called a burn-in in electronics. Prpducts which go thought it are more expensive. Hmmm... I wonder how many people would pay a couple of grand extra and wait an extra couple of days for delivery. It it's a lot, dealers could start offering it as a pre-delivery service. I'm thinking some techs would love some paid track days in brand new Porsche. Win-win for everyone.

 

[snstevens]

This is a car forum, and all sorts of input is encouraged and appreciated. I've learned so much from all of you, and I am grateful for your help. I've been able to resolve issues on my Taycan that I didn't know I was going to have, and can say without reservation that the Taycan 4s is the best car I've ever owned.

To those who feel that the war in Ukraine is the real issue of the day, please know I feel this way too. The war is like an infection that doesn't drive me to bed, but is constantly affecting me mentally. First Covid-19 for 2 years, and now this!! I am sick of the senseless death and destruction, and there appears to be little I can truly do other than make donations and support those leaders trying to make a difference. I thought we were past the time for wars like this, but obviously I was wrong, and I wait for someone to put the world right again.

To those of you who feel OP needs to get a grip, please know that my initial response was the same. War, death and destruction, supply chain woes, new technology, first world problems - yep, I get it.

At the same time I can only imagine how disappointed I would feel if my car died on Day 1. My post would have been different, but the feeling of being truly "let down" would have been the same.

OP - I hope you'll give both the Taycan and this forum a second chance. I don't think we are all at our best all the time, and the current crises around the world don't help. I suggest you moderate your tone a bit to be more issue and information-oriented, but of course feel free to speak your mind. If you hang in there I think you'll find that the Taycan is a fabulous car, and in general this forum is a great group of people.

My two bits...

 

[PorscheCH]

02/26 - Dealership cannot communicate with Germany to troubleshoot, servers are down.
02/28 - Dealership cannot troubleshoot until necessary tool is appropriated to remove parts
03/01 - Dealership will order servor motor as that will be the first component to trouble shoot, ETA of part 03/04.
03/07 - Part arrives and troubleshooting begins.
03/08 - Dealership informs me that the part replaced (servo motor) was defective but that additionally the transmission has to be replaced as the issue was not resolved. Expected arrival of transmission from Germany 2 weeks.

The dealer is the weak link here. We know that Taycan has unstable software, prone to serious errors as well.

The negative impacts are greatly amplified by a dealer not up to scratch. 4 days just to get a minimum of awareness. Doesn't suggest anything good. I would have already changed dealer and towed the car somewhere else.

It's like knee surgery. You want highly specialised surgeons. Who only do that specific knee ligament for years and years in large numbers. They will know how to diagnose it and the best course of action. How many Taycans does your dealers have on site on average (1-10-100)? How many certified specialists? In this case it sounds like the dealer is proceeding by trial and error. Around here, big dealers don't operate that way.

 

[atebit]

I wish this thread was crushed.

Here, I’ll oblige you.

 

[Archimedes]

I feel your pain. You have a legitimate complaint. For all those blasting you with “first world problems” comparisons of the misery in Ukraine, etc, they’ve partaken the Kool aid. Please see my post on “Taycan a lemon?” The numbers are very clear.

Except they’re not. They’re meaningless.

Your axe grinding posts are comical, as are all the drama queens making mountains out of molehills.

“Arrrgghh, my CarPlay loaded slowly today!!! The horror…the horror…”

My Taycan SCL (Soul Crushing Lemon) continues to impress every time I drive it.

 

[DerekS]

“Arrrgghh, my CarPlay loaded slowly today!!! The horror…the horror…”

The PCM problems really are a big usability issue, and because fiddling with them requires the touch screen, could be construed a safety issue. It's the worst PCM I've had, ever.

Common problem:

- Leave the car in Sirius or Apple Music
- Come back to it later and it plays what you left off (great!)
- But then carplay attaches, and the music stops.
- You go back to music and it either plays with no volume in Apple Music, or won't play a Sirius favorite (or even allow clicking one) for a lengthy period.

It's such a pervasive shitshow that it's now a running joke with my wife as to whether or not today will be a "play music day."

All this is software and I hope they fix it. I don't need new features, just fix these problems.

 

[Jhenson29]

The PCM problems really are a big usability issue, and because fiddling with them requires the touch screen, could be construed a safety issue.

Safety issue seems a bit extreme. If it’s not safe to modify audio with the touch screen for these problems, then I don’t think general use would be considered safe either.

 

[gnop1950]

The PCM problems really are a big usability issue, and because fiddling with them requires the touch screen, could be construed a safety issue. It's the worst PCM I've had, ever.

Common problem:

- Leave the car in Sirius or Apple Music
- Come back to it later and it plays what you left off (great!)
- But then carplay attaches, and the music stops.
- You go back to music and it either plays with no volume in Apple Music, or won't play a Sirius favorite (or even allow clicking one) for a lengthy period.

It's such a pervasive shitshow that it's now a running joke with my wife as to whether or not today will be a "play music day."

All this is software and I hope they fix it. I don't need new features, just fix these problems.

I don't have my Taycan yet, but I have CarPlay that I use in several vehicles, including one where I installed a new receiver, it was an older car. I've found that CarPlay can be a bit glitchy from time to time. The most reliable method of eliminating issues, for me, is simply to turn off music each time I stop the car and turn it on when I start it back up. Since I use voice control for all of the commands it isn't an issue.

I don't use Sirus radio. Never have except for a short trial a while back. I'm usually listening to my music or NPR on regular FM.

I'll definitely check it out if/when/ever I get my car

 

[Jhenson29]

I'm usually listening to my music or NPR on regular FM.

+1
I don’t mess with CarPlay, Apple Music, satellite radio, etc.

I listen to my music/podcasts on my phone or NPR (BBC on my way to work because it’s early).

I’m sure that colors my experience as I don’t use a lot of the things people seem to have issue with, but I freely admit as much.

 

[Windpower]

It's such a pervasive shitshow that it's now a running joke with my wife as to whether or not today will be a "play music day."

The most reliable method of eliminating issues, for me, is simply to turn off music each time I stop the car and turn it on when I start it back up.

It's funny but when CarPlay doesn't work, sometimes I can 'kick start' it by going to FM radio and then back to CarPlay. This does the trick maybe 25% of the time. The other times CarPlay doesn't work I just listen to FM radio. While its too early to tell, after picking up my car for the WNA5 update, CarPlay worked two days in a row. Progress? Or am I fooling myself? I'll keep you informed.

 

[John89]

Maybe this isn't such a bad idea! Have Porsche test-drive their vehicles on their company track for a few hundred miles, do multiple chargings, and put the PCM through tests. I'd be fine with 300 miles on the odometer when getting my new Taycan, if those 300 miles were all done by Porsche techs on their track to look for problems before shipping...

Not me

 

[John89]

The PCM problems really are a big usability issue, and because fiddling with them requires the touch screen, could be construed a safety issue. It's the worst PCM I've had, ever.

Common problem:

- Leave the car in Sirius or Apple Music
- Come back to it later and it plays what you left off (great!)
- But then carplay attaches, and the music stops.
- You go back to music and it either plays with no volume in Apple Music, or won't play a Sirius favorite (or even allow clicking one) for a lengthy period.

It's such a pervasive shitshow that it's now a running joke with my wife as to whether or not today will be a "play music day."

All this is software and I hope they fix it. I don't need new features, just fix these problems.

I just had my car back in for the DME software update (supposed to be 1.5 hours - their scanner broke and it took a whole day....). Told them about the glitches with the PCM and basically carplay. They of course couldn't "recreate" while it was there. They are well aware of all these problems and there is no "fix" for them. Everyone is experiencing this.

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