Front (air) suspension cracking sound over speed bumps

[de0xyrib0se]

Well I have a number of serious safety issues - like doors opening on their own on highway, blind spot sensors not allowing to change lane on highway...

Now that you mentioned it, I did see one of the (rear) doors open once, but it was at low speed, and we attributed it to not being closed well to begin with.

Btw, have had this happen maybe 2-3 times with my EQS. With time, as the doors became easier to close (rubber lines ease in) it went away.

Will keep an eye on the Macan.

As for the blind spot sensors, have not had them act up, but I find the lane assist very risky; it won't let me change lanes without a blinker even if I am the only car on the highway (ok fine if that's what the software says) and constantly pulls me back in the original lane, rather aggressively. At high speed (130+), aggressive left/right maneuvers carry significant risk, especially if not in sport/plus with stiff suspension.

Sponsored

 

[Bennie]

No, glad to find out there are some issues that I don't have - this is a new one

I just picked my car from a service center after two weeks of them trying to figure out several issues and they told me so far nothing from Porsche on this issue. "It's expected behaviour". I'm starting to very much regret this purchase, should have bought two other cars without any issues for this price.

That's disappointing. So what the mechanic commented at the time about a new bulletin from Porsche was not correct. Your dealer's answer "It’s expected behavior” is very similar to my "It's within tolerances" with my Taycan at the time. There was no solution there either. Now I hear that there are many more reports, but I don't think this will work out again.

The rear noise is probably caused by the tailgate. Thanks to a thread here, I figured it out. The garage recognized this problem and had solved it several times with lubrication. An appointment follows.

The Macan is beautiful to see. That's been my problem. Reminds me of a wise saying: “never go only for looks”. This also applies to cars...

 

[TomekGnomek]

Just got a small update - the HQ knows what's causing this but fix will be only applicable to cars manufactured AFTER a certain date so I doubt it will be available for earlier Macans. Porsche is a gift that keeps on giving...

 

[Bennie]

Strange and unacceptable. What is the reason that the problem will not be solved for all cars? Too expensive? Too much effort? Is there any further explanation about the cause?

I will not accept selective repairs. My dealer doesn't know anything yet, your dealer has more information. Can you find out more so I can put my dealer at work Tomek?

After all the Taycan problems I have had, selective repairs would be a reason to never choose Porsche again. This is no way to deal with early adopters who are in fact guinea pigs.

 

[Mavshyn]

have been following this thread for sometime, that thumping, crackling sound is there like many mentioned here. Will also report this issue to my dealer as well. Will schedule it with them

 

[Mavshyn]

I check with my dealer, they told me all their Macan EV are having this thumping sound which according to them is characteristic of the Macan. There are no long term safety or reliability issue according to them.

 

[de0xyrib0se]

I check with my dealer, they told me all their Macan EV are having this thumping sound which according to them is characteristic of the Macan. There are no long term safety or reliability issue according to them.

Now that I've driven the car for 2 months, I can replicate the behavior without going over speed bumps. All it takes is the right sequence of hard braking and then acceleration at low speeds.

Maybe they are right on the safety and reliability, and maybe they are not. Given Porsche (supposedly) was not even aware of this until a few weeks ago, I would not believe the "characteristic" statement.

 

[Bennie]

Now that I've driven the car for 2 months, I can replicate the behavior without going over speed bumps. All it takes is the right sequence of hard braking and then acceleration at low speeds.

Maybe they are right on the safety and reliability, and maybe they are not. Given Porsche (supposedly) was not even aware of this until a few weeks ago, I would not believe the "characteristic" statement.

Very strange that the garage of CE in Malaysia says that it is part of the "characteristic" of the Macan, while Tomek's garage has a different message: Stuttgart knows the cause but does not solve it for all cars.

That can only mean one thing. Porsche again chooses to let us early adopters detect the problem, but does not solve it. There is only a solution for recent, i.e. new, cars.

What a weak attitude towards the fans from the very beginning... This is how you alienate your customers. At least me.

 

[TomekGnomek]

I check with my dealer, they told me all their Macan EV are having this thumping sound which according to them is characteristic of the Macan. There are no long term safety or reliability issue according to them.

It's conflicted messaging - on one hand they also told me "it like that with all Macans, it's normal" and on the other "it PASM, we know, there is/will be a fix but only for cars after certain date".

I don't think you can expect a 100k EUR car to make such noises when driving over speed bumps or road imperfections, there is no way you can just say it's the characteristic of this model.

 

[de0xyrib0se]

It's conflicted messaging - on one hand they also told me "it like that with all Macans, it's normal" and on the other "it PASM, we know, there is/will be a fix but only for cars after certain date".

I don't think you can expect a 100k EUR car to make such noises when driving over speed bumps or road imperfections, there is no way you can just say it's the characteristic of this model.

I took my Macan in for a camera re-alignment today at a dealership in Lausanne, had my windshield broken and replaced last month. Since it takes more than a few hours they gave me a substitute car, Macan 4 again. As you might have guessed it the first thing I did was look for speed bumps! Behold, the thump/bump/cracking sound is there.

I'll ask them if they are aware of it when I pick mine up.

In Porsche's defense, they do move fast in certain situations. When my windshield was broken I was stuck in France, in August, with windshield deliveries expected in October/November. Nobody was in any rush of course (France in August), so I was losing all hope. Called Stuttgart directly and spoke to the mothership. In two days a windshield was delivered to Frejus.

As a last resort, one of us might actually drive to Stuttgart to talk to the engineers directly to get our sound issues resolved

 

[JacenChin]

Very strange that the garage of CE in Malaysia says that it is part of the "characteristic" of the Macan, while Tomek's garage has a different message: Stuttgart knows the cause but does not solve it for all cars.

That can only mean one thing. Porsche again chooses to let us early adopters detect the problem, but does not solve it. There is only a solution for recent, i.e. new, cars.

What a weak attitude towards the fans from the very beginning... This is how you alienate your customers. At least me.

I am one of those who is complaining profusely to Porsche Malasyia about the sound coming form the front suspension area when going over speed bumps. Have to resort to sending few official emails rather than speaking verbally to them.

They have been telling me that this is the characteristics of the anti-dive systems , and explain that if I don't brake when going over bumps there won't be noice. Only when I brake before the bump, it will have this noice. For me their answer is nonsense, I asked if they have it on other models which also have the anti-dive systems, they say no... Why ? They say other models have different chassis. I asked them since this is the characteristics of the car why don't they inform their customers before they buy it. It totally contradicts Porsche's claim of drive refinement. A brand like Porsche, known for its engineering precision and attention to driving experience, should not dismiss such symptoms as "normal characteristics".

Then end of July'25, they issue a reply to me below saying it's the PASM characteristics instead (as per attached). I'm still challenging them on various technical angles, including if the old models vs the latest models have the same issue... * bec I knew somehow that the latest batch seem to have resolved almost 80% of this issue.... this means that they were trying to resolve this fault which they don't admit.

 

[Bennie]

I am one of those who is complaining profusely to Porsche Malasyia about the sound coming form the front suspension area when going over speed bumps. Have to resort to sending few official emails rather than speaking verbally to them.

They have been telling me that this is the characteristics of the anti-dive systems , and explain that if I don't brake when going over bumps there won't be noice. Only when I brake before the bump, it will have this noice. For me their answer is nonsense, I asked if they have it on other models which also have the anti-dive systems, they say no... Why ? They say other models have different chassis. I asked them since this is the characteristics of the car why don't they inform their customers before they buy it. It totally contradicts Porsche's claim of drive refinement. A brand like Porsche, known for its engineering precision and attention to driving experience, should not dismiss such symptoms as "normal characteristics".

Then end of July'25, they issue a reply to me below saying it's the PASM characteristics instead (as per attached). I'm still challenging them on various technical angles, including if the old models vs the latest models have the same issue... * bec I knew somehow that the latest batch seem to have resolved almost 80% of this issue.... this means that they were trying to resolve this fault which they don't admit.

That is a very comprehensive and well thought out response Jacen. I understand that you have a lot of relevant knowledge.
I'm curious whether your persistence will lead to an adequate answer from Stuttgart. Thanks and keep me informed.

 

[CHP]

I am one of those who is complaining profusely to Porsche Malasyia about the sound coming form the front suspension area when going over speed bumps. Have to resort to sending few official emails rather than speaking verbally to them.

They have been telling me that this is the characteristics of the anti-dive systems , and explain that if I don't brake when going over bumps there won't be noice. Only when I brake before the bump, it will have this noice. For me their answer is nonsense, I asked if they have it on other models which also have the anti-dive systems, they say no... Why ? They say other models have different chassis. I asked them since this is the characteristics of the car why don't they inform their customers before they buy it. It totally contradicts Porsche's claim of drive refinement. A brand like Porsche, known for its engineering precision and attention to driving experience, should not dismiss such symptoms as "normal characteristics".

Then end of July'25, they issue a reply to me below saying it's the PASM characteristics instead (as per attached). I'm still challenging them on various technical angles, including if the old models vs the latest models have the same issue... * bec I knew somehow that the latest batch seem to have resolved almost 80% of this issue.... this means that they were trying to resolve this fault which they don't admit.

Just took delivery of new Macan build in August this year. 2nd attempt - first was a lemon and handed back. Just noticed sound from front suspension (rear is fine) while driving over speed bumps (I obviously break in front of speed bumps). I escalated this to my dealer and meet him tomorrow. Can't hear it with open windows so possibly transmitted internally. Will test to drive over speed bumps without braking later.

 

[TomekGnomek]

Telling customers not to brake before speed bumps so as not to hear the suspension cracking is not the experience people buying a Porsche (or any car for that matter) expect. And claiming this is part of a Porsche driving experience" is laughable.

There is also other important aspect - they claim it's an "acoustic feedback" which is not my experience - in some cases I feel a distinct impact on the steering wheel and chassis like something had hit the car from the bottom. It's not only sound but you can FEEL it. Also it happens not only before speed bumps but other road imperfections.

What is also interesting is - after driving a long time of highway with high speed, fast charging the car (which rises the temperature of battery pack and lower parts of the car) it's gone, meaning you don't hear it. I have this scenario often because I have 5 big speed bumps leading to my driveway and it's a non issue after I come back from long trips.

My take is they finally know what's wrong but it's expensive to fix, would require replacing major parts and they are simply not willing to do it. Instead they will for sure fix it for future models.

 

[CHP]

Telling customers not to brake before speed bumps so as not to hear the suspension cracking is not the experience people buying a Porsche (or any car for that matter) expect. And claiming this is part of a Porsche driving experience" is laughable.

There is also other important aspect - they claim it's an "acoustic feedback" which is not my experience - in some cases I feel a distinct impact on the steering wheel and chassis like something had hit the car from the bottom. It's not only sound but you can FEEL it. Also it happens not only before speed bumps but other road imperfections.

What is also interesting is - after driving a long time of highway with high speed, fast charging the car (which rises the temperature of battery pack and lower parts of the car) it's gone, meaning you don't hear it. I have this scenario often because I have 5 big speed bumps leading to my driveway and it's a non issue after I come back from long trips.

My take is they finally know what's wrong but it's expensive to fix, would require replacing major parts and they are simply not willing to do it. Instead they will for sure fix it for future models.

I have plenty of speed bumps on my street as well. Pretty sure didn't notice in previous Macan EV but may have focused on all the other faults. I drive the car since Monday (not noticed since today) and it got a little colder here in UK. The sound is quite subtle but reason to buy new car was that my GLE developed quite some noice going over speed bumps. So I am worried that it eventually get's worse on Macan as well.

Sponsored