We are famous: "Porsche Taycan heater fix confirmed for owners left in the cold"

[Tooney]

Thanks. Don’t need an exact date, was curious to see which model years are reporting the failures, whether Porsche has a permanent fix (so new cars should not be experiencing this) or just swapping them out for now expecting to probably do it again in the future.

Most recent heater failure I know of is 2023 Taycan built on Nov 7, 2022. https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/heating-failure.13668/page-8#post-215809

I see no Porsche statement in the article linked in the OP above indicating Porsche has a permanent fix. The email from PCNA I received two weeks ago responding to that question in my letter stated that Porsche is working to make sure the problem is analyzed and corrected.

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[WasserGKuehlt]

I am being cynical but wages have to be paid regardless and as more models become EV only then these folk still need paying along with all other overheads and so despite less actual hands on maintenance the revenues have to be maintained where reasonably you'd expect a reduction. To demonstrate labour times (11.25 hours for a full wheel alignment due to the work involved to strip and recalibrate the car, 2.5 hours for a 20K service to change brake fluid) then these are necessarily engineered into the design by design and not for any other reason.

That's just not how stuff works. Repairability is a concern, but a minor one and only from the perspective that it must be possible. No one designs a system more complex than it needs to be to make it _more difficult_ to repair. If that were a goal, it's much simpler to just make a monolithic component (i.e. not repairable) - and still protect dealership revenue.

Besides, why would the manufacturer care how the seller makes money?

Lastly, I wanted to counter an earlier point: you can definitely see the racing pedigree of various manufacturers in how repairable/accessible various systems are. As data points, compare the brake pad replacement procedure of a 911 (instant) with that of any BMW, or how easy it is (used to be?) to work on a BMW vs anything on a Mercedes. (FFS, you have to remove the strut brace on an MB to replace an air filter!) Repairability is, like anything else, a prioritized goal on the product brief, and it reflects the company's overall priorities.

edited for clarity

 

[BJCanadaMax]

GIven the extra delay for the 2023 Cross Turismo. I was hoping that more common issues are fixed. Sigh... Winter here sucks.

 

[Fish Fingers]

I see no Porsche statement in the article linked in the OP above indicating Porsche has a permanent fix. The email from PCNA I received two weeks ago responding to that question in my letter stated that Porsche is working to make sure the problem is analyzed and corrected.

In the link in the opening post it mentioned the following.
So hopefully it is a new part...

A Porsche spokesperson told Auto Express that affected owners should contact their dealer and that repairs would be carried out in the order that the faults are reported. Parts shortages have delayed fixes, but Porsche is said to be prioritising fixing existing cars with the updated part rather than fitting them to new cars on the production line.

 

[whitex]

In the link in the opening post it mentioned the following.
So hopefully it is a new part...

A Porsche spokesperson told Auto Express that affected owners should contact their dealer and that repairs would be carried out in the order that the faults are reported. Parts shortages have delayed fixes, but Porsche is said to be prioritising fixing existing cars with the updated part rather than fitting them to new cars on the production line.

You could interpret this as “updated parts go to repair cars, old version parts goes into production vehicles (will get updated parts when they break down)”.

 

[FlyingPoint]

Even with a working heater and ventilation in, my Taycan’s windows fog up so bad and take way too long to clear. Never experienced this before. Very glad I don’t live in a cold climate or the car would already be gone.

I have read many posts about windows fogging. I have only experienced this in the northeast a couple of times and then only when on the ECO setting. If I keep the AC on, it does not occur. I wonder why some fog up and others don't.

 

[W1NGE]

I have read many posts about windows fogging. I have only experienced this in the northeast a couple of times and then only when on the ECO setting. If I keep the AC on, it does not occur. I wonder why some fog up and others don't.

Fogging should only occur if AC is either off and in one of the ECO modes.

ECO Plus will inevitably lead to fogging as the AC compressor is barely in play and therefore not drying & heating the incoming air.

ECO the same can happen but the AC compressor is more in play.

Given all the various tweaks with the battery, Range Drive mode etc since 2020 I would suggest not bothering with Range Drive mode (where and ECO mode is the default) as it does not materially increase range these days.

 

[simcity]

You could interpret this as “updated parts go to repair cars, old version parts goes into production vehicles (will get updated parts when they break down)”.

We've still no real evidence they are fitting updated/new version part.

Given the serial failures some folks have had I'd venture not, and this is a bit of ''...creative editorial license' going on. I'd love to be proven wrong and wish they were fitting a better part in the wild as well as on the line.

 

[tchavei]

This is the MB injector apocalypse all over again.

They will install the faulty heater to keep the cars on the road. Later on, they'll start installing "improved" heaters whenever the replaced heater breaks again. In 2 or 3 years when they finally figured things out, they'll make a general recall to install the definitive version of the heater and/or give lifetime warranty on the part.

At least that's what my crystal ball says and what MB did 10yrs ago. I'd be pretty disappointed if Porsche doesn't make things right.

This coming from an MB car owner who got 4 complete sets of injectors in the first 3 years and one final set during a recall 3 years out of warranty.

 

[cometguy]

Regarding the defroster issue, I'm mystified as to why Porsche has had the nifty silver-coated heated windshield option in Cayennes and Macans since model year 2019 (brought over from other cars in the VW Group), but it has yet to offer it as an option in the Panamera or Taycan. I got it in my 2019 Macan, and it works great -- keeps windshield unfogged/de-iced without any neat for blowing air (and it de-ices much more quickly than a blown-air defroster). And no visible wires like you typically have in rear-window for defrosting/de-fogging. (It's called "heated windshield" in the options list.)

 

[Fish Fingers]

Did I read somewhere on here that it has been the software that has caused the heaters to fail and that it's now been updated?

I may be wrong though.

Although I am also intrigued that so many have happened this winter after uPdate compared to last winter (it's been a mild winter here and there are not multiples of more Taycans on the road compared to last year).
My dealer did barely any last year, but took 7 in on just the day I picked my car up, last month.

 

[W1NGE]

Did I read somewhere on here that it has been the software that has caused the heaters to fail and that it's now been updated?

I may be wrong though.

Although I am also intrigued that so many have happened this winter after uPdate compared to last winter (it's been a mild winter here and there are not multiples of more Taycans on the road compared to last year).
My dealer did barely any last year, but took 7 in on just the day I picked my car up, last month.

Not sure that it is software related.

I think it is more of a design issue and a common component across the VW EV brands. Q4 E-tron got hit and has led to delayed shipments and a redesign of the heater.

I was at my dealership earlier in the week to finalise my GTS ST pickup next week and joked about the heater. - the sales guy hadn't heard of the fault and he's been around Taycans for along time!

 

[Tooney]

Taycan heater story has made it into US press:

 

[Mad Pat 66]

I have a two year old Taycan and it’s been in the dealership 5 times in the last 12 months for the heater issue, for a total of over 3 months and since November 22 alone for 7 weeks.
It’s had two brand new heater matrixes and numerous fixes, but right up until mid January they still wouldn’t acknowledge that there was a fundamental flaw in the heater design. In late December, after having no heating for two weeks, they took it in and then said they couldn’t find a fault
When I spoke to Porsche Assist recently they said there are “thousands with the problem”.
I’ve been given a BMW 3 series, an Audi A2, a VW T Roc amongst a few others and currently in an Audi Q3.
The only time it blew hot air was in the Summer, when the AC failed .
The car was so cold on a journey to Ireland from the U.K. that the inside of all windows froze while I was driving, but I had no choice but to continue to my destination, all 350 miles of it.
The attached pics show how desperate the situation got.

Update: Just got my Taycan back after another 31 days in the garage

 

[Tooney]

Another article about Taycan heater failures. The article mentions the failure list on github compiled by @featherless .

Officially, the NHTSA bulletin says just the 2020 and 2021 cars are affected, however, affected owners seem to think otherwise. Several posts on Porsche Taycan forums are reporting the same part failing on their newer model year cars, up to 2023. Others are reporting that the mechanically-similar Audi E-Tron is suffering from the same failure, though no official NHTSA bulletin exists for that (yet).
...
Failure data is also plotted by one Taycan owner in a Github repository. Their data has tracked at least 136 failures, including some cars that have had the units replaced three or four times for repeat events. The Github encouraged owners to submit the failures to the NHTSA, which many appear to have done.

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