Innodrive / Drive Assist causing pull and high consumption

[TomekGnomek]

Hi, perhaps this will help others.

I've been struggling with my car pulling to the left/right during acceleration for about a year. It was hard to pinpoint in the beginning as it's not always there during city driving, you have to go out to the highway and then you feel it all the time. Also I've had the impression even when not accelerating that driving precision was not on the level you should expect from Porsche (like driving in windy conditions) but it was subjective.

Dealer confirmed the problem, I've had 6 alignments, height sensors calibration, new tires, comprehensive suspension checks including instructions from Porsche HQ to use other screws and torque specs. Nothing helped and I was done with this car - waiting for Lugano Blue GTS which should arrive before September.

This week I've done something for the first time by accident - I've turned off Active Lane Keeping (turned off all assistance systems in fact) and wow oh boy what a difference. Car suddenly drives like a Porsche again and also energy consumption dropped visibly.

For context - Innodrive / Drive Assists with Active Lane Keeping can be turned on or off in settings or by pressing the button on your left. You have different options to choose from like drive assist, speed limiter or hill descent control etc. There is a difference between having in on/off and activated/deactivated. In my case only having this system on and not active seems to cause all sorts of problems.

I've replicated this many times, you can instantly feel the difference. I'm 100% sure ALK even when NOT active (but enabled and ready to use which it is by default) is responsible for these problems. I plan to get back to the dealer with this next week. Perhaps this observation may help others.

PS I was exploring options to replace my car with including iX3, GLC EQ, Xpeng and others and quite frankly there is nothing else on the market that comes close to the fun of driving the Macan or Taycan. So you can bitch all you want (and I've done my share of it) but everything else is a big step down in terms of build quality, handling and overall excitement. Only Taycan is better and I was almost set to replace the Macan with Taycan CT but after driving the Macan GTS I find it to be best of both worlds.

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[Omegaman]

This week I've done something for the first time by accident - I've turned off Active Lane Keeping (turned off all assistance systems in fact) and wow oh boy what a difference. Car suddenly drives like a Porsche again and also energy consumption dropped visibly.

This is very helpful information! Thanks for sharing. Your diagnosis and repeatability of the problem should allow the dealer to solve the problem.

 

[beez]

What year is your car? My MY06 Macan 4 has DriveAssist. I’m not sure it has functional changes from the MY24/25 Innodrive or is simply renamed, but I read multiple reports on this forum about inn consumption issues and have been checking my own. I can sometimes get slightly better highway range figures driving manually by strategically coasting with regen off, but not that significant. My last 200 mile highway trip got 3.5 m/kwh using DriveAssist with a mix of 70 mph cruising and congested sections.

I have only had a couple situations where unclear road lines confused the system, but no regular pulling issues. Maybe the roads are better marked where I live or they tweaked MY06. I also find it works surprisingly well on surface streets. I regularly drive a several mile long 30 mph hill with many stop signs. With drive assist on, it sticks to exactly 30 mph going down with the meter showing regen the entire way. It recognizes and automatically stops for stop signs which is cool, but unfortunately doesn’t recognize the stop lights.

 

[SergeyIndy]

This is a very interesting find. I will try this out on the Taycan and see how it goes.
Getting the GTS in about a month and will test it out on it as well.
I agree, you can go for the alternatives, but if you care about driving, then Porsche is the only way to go.

 

[joeev]

I was just thinking that I didn't have this problem, but then I remembered that I turned off ALK the first day I had the car because I hated it. Felt too sensitive and it made corrections too aggressively. Good to know it was a good choice

after driving the Macan GTS I find it to be best of both worlds.

Ooh, can you go into a little more detail about the differences in feel between a 2025 model and a GTS? I haven't been able to test drive one yet and the reviews have been vague except to say "it's better"

 

[TomekGnomek]

What year is your car? My MY06 Macan 4 has DriveAssist. I’m not sure it has functional changes from the MY24/25 Innodrive or is simply renamed, but I read multiple reports on this forum about inn consumption issues and have been checking my own. I can sometimes get slightly better highway range figures driving manually by strategically coasting with regen off, but not that significant. My last 200 mile highway trip got 3.5 m/kwh using DriveAssist with a mix of 70 mph cruising and congested sections.

MY2024, one of the first from production line.
Keep in mind LKA is not active when my car pulls to the side.
The system in on and ready but not active.
As for the consumption I think it's related to steering issues - car has to compensate, this goes to increased tire wear and consumption.

I was just thinking that I didn't have this problem, but then I remembered that I turned off ALK the first day I had the car because I hated it. Felt too sensitive and it made corrections too aggressively. Good to know it was a good choice

I actually use it often and it works well. It was like that (too aggressive) before the latest software updates but it's much better after.

Ooh, can you go into a little more detail about the differences in feel between a 2025 model and a GTS? I haven't been able to test drive one yet and the reviews have been vague except to say "it's better"

Well, the car "wobbles" less, doesn't toss you around the cabin as 4/4S/Turbo, is better at keeping straight line even on tilted surface or bumps, feels more planted and better at following directions. It doesn't affect comfort. I generally agree with his opinion:

 

[TS23]

I use DriveAssist a lot, can’t say that I felt/observed any of the experiences you have but my consumption seems wildly off compared to others so perhaps there’s the link.

 

[chaz]

Disabling ALK was huge for me as well.

 

[TomekGnomek]

Disabling ALK was huge for me as well.

What dobyoi mean by huge?

 

[krissrock]

sooo you had on the lane keeping and you thought the car just had a bad alignment cuz it was pulling to the center?
doesn't the car give a vibration/audio warning?

 

[TomekGnomek]

sooo you had on the lane keeping and you thought the car just had a bad alignment cuz it was pulling to the center?
doesn't the car give a vibration/audio warning?

No, the very fact assistance systems are ON but NOT active causes problems in my case.
Meaning LKA and ALK are OFF and I'm manually driving the car.
How? You press the button on the left lever controlling drive assist.
It's ON but not ACTIVE until you pull the lever towards you.
So having this system ON and ready to use causes problems.
I suspect most people don't turn it off because why would you.
I turned it off for the first time trying to activate hill descent control.

 

[SuperH]

Hi, perhaps this will help others.

I've been struggling with my car pulling to the left/right during acceleration for about a year. It was hard to pinpoint in the beginning as it's not always there during city driving, you have to go out to the highway and then you feel it all the time. Also I've had the impression even when not accelerating that driving precision was not on the level you should expect from Porsche (like driving in windy conditions) but it was subjective.

Dealer confirmed the problem, I've had 6 alignments, height sensors calibration, new tires, comprehensive suspension checks including instructions from Porsche HQ to use other screws and torque specs. Nothing helped and I was done with this car - waiting for Lugano Blue GTS which should arrive before September.

This week I've done something for the first time by accident - I've turned off Active Lane Keeping (turned off all assistance systems in fact) and wow oh boy what a difference. Car suddenly drives like a Porsche again and also energy consumption dropped visibly.

For context - Innodrive / Drive Assists with Active Lane Keeping can be turned on or off in settings or by pressing the button on your left. You have different options to choose from like drive assist, speed limiter or hill descent control etc. There is a difference between having in on/off and activated/deactivated. In my case only having this system on and not active seems to cause all sorts of problems.

I've replicated this many times, you can instantly feel the difference. I'm 100% sure ALK even when NOT active (but enabled and ready to use which it is by default) is responsible for these problems. I plan to get back to the dealer with this next week. Perhaps this observation may help others.

PS I was exploring options to replace my car with including iX3, GLC EQ, Xpeng and others and quite frankly there is nothing else on the market that comes close to the fun of driving the Macan or Taycan. So you can bitch all you want (and I've done my share of it) but everything else is a big step down in terms of build quality, handling and overall excitement. Only Taycan is better and I was almost set to replace the Macan with Taycan CT but after driving the Macan GTS I find it to be best of both worlds.

May or may not be related, but AI had loads of issues with the Innodrive on my 24 Turbo, which were only eventually fixed, some 15 months later, when the dealer changed the camera/sensor array at the top of the windscreen.

Alas, I’d had enough of the hazards of driving it so in February (2 months before it was finally fixed) I put a refundable deposit down in the top of the range GLC electric with all the extras, which I take delivery of at the end of this month. I’d rather forgo the speed of the Macan for a car I feel I can actually trust. Such a shame, as my husbands Taycan is lovely to drive, but the whole experience has ruined Porsche for me.

 

[chaz]

What dobyoi mean by huge?

The constant jerk of the wheel and alert noise from getting too close to road lines (not touching and not the middle double lines) and construction sites. There's a stretch of road on the way to my parents where they left a 2 foot paint mark about a foot in from the line... the car turned into the center line every time I drove over it.

 

[Awaz]

@SuperH
Macan GTS is not tempting you either?
Most are raving about its driving dynamics and how sporty it is. And don't recall anyone complaining about the usual issues that earlier Macans had. Mine is 2025 (bought in Nov 2024), almost flawless except it's unable to recognise speed limits, so I turn it off.
If your husband's Tycan is flawless, so could be the latest GTS.
Test drive one, and compare the driving dynamic. Mercedes are not known for this aspect. Just a thought.

 

[SuperH]

@SuperH
Macan GTS is not tempting you either?
Most are raving about its driving dynamics and how sporty it is. And don't recall anyone complaining about the usual issues that earlier Macans had. Mine is 2025 (bought in Nov 2024), almost flawless except it's unable to recognise speed limits, so I turn it off.
If your husband's Tycan is flawless, so could be the latest GTS.
Test drive one, and compare the driving dynamic. Mercedes are not known for this aspect. Just a thought.

Nope! You have been around long enough to know all of the issues I’ve had with it - it’s completely put me off the brand, not only due to the tech, but due to the poor after sales experience all round and the fact it took 15 months and a minor crash for them to properly investigate it. Had the systems been working properly at the time I would likely not have clipped the car that I did, as the collision warning didn’t kick in, and neither did emergency stop or the evasive swerve, and I was only doing just over 20 mph (confirmed on dash cam) so it wasn’t even a high speed accident. The same systems that were randomly doing emergency stops for no reason, and warning me about collisions 5 times every journey. The latter two points stopped when they changed the camera array.

Merc may not be any better, but they can’t be much worse!

The new GLC is getting great reviews regarding the air suspension and ride quality, which I’ve upgraded to, and I can cope with losing 1.2 seconds off the 0-60 in exchange for a car with every known gadget and comfort I could think of, for £30k less than the Macan cost me, and that hopefully doesn’t try to kill me by pulling me into the middle of the road/oncoming traffic when it suspects that thin air is suddenly the side of the road/white line

I’d like to thank you personally @Awaz for the number of times you’ve read me moaning about the car and responded enthusiastically/supportively, and anyone else who has been on here for a while. You’ll be glad to know the Macan should be going on Friday, then you won’t hear from me again

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