Heater broken. My turn.

[Car_fan]

I picked up my 4S ST 2 days ago after waiting for 10 months. It was a great experience and my SA was top dude explaining all the features of the car.
Everything seemed fine, however when leaving the dealership and driving home I realised that the heater wasn’t working. So I waited a day or so to see if it would magically work but only cold air is coming out of the vents.
A bit devastated really and now contacting Porsche Hatfield to either drop it back to the dealership or get it picked up. Here’s a few pics of my 4S Sport Turismo:

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[W1NGE]

I picked up my 4S ST 2 days ago after waiting for 10 months. It was a great experience and my SA was top dude explaining all the features of the car.
Everything seemed fine, however when leaving the dealership and driving home I realised that the heater wasn’t working. So I waited a day or so to see if it would magically work but only cold air is coming out of the vents.
A bit devastated really and now contacting Porsche Hatfield to either drop it back to the dealership or get it picked up. Here’s a few pics of my 4S Sport Turismo:

I'd question the quality / thoroughness of the PDI prior to handover - this must have been a fault prior to your pickup.

 

[Car_fan]

I'd question the quality / thoroughness of the PDI prior to handover - this must have been a fault prior to your pickup.

Exactly this should have been picked up before handover. Now I got no idea when this will be fixed but expecting weeks considering it’s the holiday season.

Makes me think there has to be a serious flaw in the heater if so many are breaking down so often, even when brand new.

 

[W1NGE]

Exactly this should have been picked up before handover. Now I got no idea when this will be fixed but expecting weeks considering it’s the holiday season.

Makes me think there has to be a serious flaw in the heater if so many are breaking down so often, even when brand new.

There have been different issues with the heater as far as I'm aware but the total failure / hardware replacement is a fairly recent one. The original one was due to pressure sensors I think.

Feels like the supply chain nightmares have forced sub-standard components into the OEM manufacturing process which have not been properly tested in the field.

Hopefully you get a quick turnaround but not what you were expecting from Porsche I'm sure.

 

[McgR]

Three reports of broken HV heaters after the update on the Belgian Taycan forum.

coincidence with the weather getting colder the last weeks?

 

[TaycanCook]

Wasn't this a problem last year and they had a tsb fix for this? I was going to keep my car in slumber for the winter but I want to tease out all the problems so I'm going to drive it periodically this winter.

 

[Tooney]

Broken heater eliminates windshield defrosting and defogging. It is a serious safety defect.

It should be reported to your country's auto safety regulators. In US that is NHTSA . Here is link for UK: https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-recalls-and-faults/report-a-serious-safety-defect

There are over 70 owners who have posted in online forums about Taycan heater failures in the last several years. At least 2 have had a second failure a year after the first heater was replaced.

This recurring Taycan safety problem needs more public and regulatory attention, not just acceptance.

 

[Tooney]

In April, 2022, Porsche issued a TSB for replacing the heater , limited to 57 Taycans, and described as affecting 2020 and 2021 models only.

No mention in the TSB that defrosting and defogging are impaired when heater fails.

Porsche is well aware that heater failures have occurred in many more than 57 Taycans in all model years, not just 2020 and 2021.

Government safety regulators need to be informed of this.

 

[McgR]

Just heard the dealer. They have finished installing my HV heater and I can pick it up tomorrow. They had some others coming in with the same problem. He also kind of confirmed they saw more after the update. And he said I was lucky because one of the last they had in Belgium was installed in my car. The others standing at the dealer have to wait until new ones are getting delivered from Germany. How knows when that will be.

reacting to posts above : without heater the car is unsafe to drive. No defrosting of the windows.

 

[whitex]

Exactly this should have been picked up before handover. Now I got no idea when this will be fixed but expecting weeks considering it’s the holiday season.

Makes me think there has to be a serious flaw in the heater if so many are breaking down so often, even when brand new.

Maybe ask for a loaner during fix (unless they still have your tradein) and at your money back for PDI, since it wasn't done properly.

 

[whitex]

Feels like the supply chain nightmares have forced sub-standard components into the OEM manufacturing process which have not been properly tested in the field.

So Porsche copied this out of the Tesla playbook (test new parts on customers), but forgot to copy the part about stocking the dealers with replacement parts and redesigning failing parts within couple of months?

 

[Tooney]

@whitex make a note for yourself: Before setting off on that long first road trip in your new Taycan, test the heater and preheat functions well, or wait till spring/summer.

 

[whitex]

@whitex make a note for yourself: Before setting off on that long first road trip in your new Taycan, test the heater and preheat functions well, or wait till spring/summer.

Absolutely. Of course if it doesn't work, I still end up stranded for few days at the dealer 3,000 miles from home. Maybe planning a trip in a brand new Taycan is just a bad idea to start with. Maybe I should just ship it home first, do my own thorough PDI (though I guess the P here stands for Post as opposed to Pre), fix any issues found, before driving anywhere beyond 100 miles away.

 

[Tooney]

I believe there is a trip report in the forum from an owner who picked his Taycan up from dealer in CO? - or maybe further east - and drove it to PNW year or more ago. Wrote it was a great trip.
Edited to add: Chicago -Seattle 2400 miles 4 days

 

[whitex]

I believe there is a trip report in the forum from an owner who picked his Taycan up from dealer in CO? - or maybe further east - and drove it to PNW year or more ago. Wrote it was a great trip.
Edited to add: Chicago -Seattle 2400 miles 4 days

Summer drive, greater range, no need for a heater nor risk of freezing to death if car dies or heater goes along the way (I don't think warranty covers setting the Taycan on fire to keep warm ).

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