Worst 1 year review of the Macan 4 - EVER. 8 months at the dealership for issues.

[TomekGnomek]

Are the issues gone now or is it handled?

Most of these issues have not been fixed (the only one that have is the lightbar which was replaced), they "escalate", "investigate", "wait for it to appear again" (like BOSE not working for two weeks and coming back on the day before the appointment).

After 25k kms I also see there are many other aspects of this car that are simply bad design - navigation very often directs you to problematic charging stations (that are not there at all, have restrictions or 1/2 of advertised charging speed), parking on a dusty road produces SO MUCH DUST it's like landing a helicopter in the middle of a desert, mobile app has often issues connecting to the car (like reading data or sending settings), lowering the steering wheel covers the main screen, innodrive disengages without any warning sound (you never know if it's still i lane centering mode unless you keep an eye on the green icon), front doors very often do not close at first attempt because frameless windows do not go down like they should (compared to rear windows), the most stupid and irritating of all these issues is seatbelt clip that constantly bangs on the right door even after you adjust it to be near the top (after a couple of rides with a passenger it's back hanging too low), screens and piano black plastic are too fragile (I have never cleaned it with anything other than ultra soft cloth, I do it very rarely and it's got scratches all over)... I could probably go (lack of OTA updates) on but there is no point.

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[chaz]

That's outrageous! I get mad when my audio stops working, but this next level. To me this seems to be clearly a hardware issue that they don't want to pay for. If you have two computers and you flash the same software on them and one doesn't work, it's due to hardware. What software fix is coming that the rest of us don't have???

 

[krissrock]

, screens and piano black plastic are too fragile (I have never cleaned it with anything other than ultra soft cloth, I do it very rarely and it's got scratches all over)...

this is the only 1 I can relate too...

 

[TomekGnomek]

this is the only 1 I can relate too

How about external fans producing so much dust around the car - didn't you go off pavement even once or you don't have this issue with your car? There is a separate thread dedicated to this topic alone but perhaps this is not a design flaw but yet another issue with some cars.

 

[chaz]

How about fans producing so much dust - didn't you go off pavement even once or you don't have this issue with your car? There is a separate thread dedicated to this topic alone but perhaps this is not a design flaw but yet another issue with some cars.

That's the "Hovercraft" drive mode. A real thrill in a dusty garage!

 

[krissrock]

this only happened once i was in a dusty parking lot... i don't really see it as an issue honestly though.

 

[dgkhn]

I just have three comments and a follow up question about this situation and any similar:

1. It seems to me that long before a newly-bought car, let alone a Porsche, is out of service because of warranty items for 8 months, the car ought to be bought back, regardless of lemon laws. I believe that if Porsche is resisting that, such resistance is outrageous. The bottom line is that you paid them for a functional car with certain features, and that's not what you got.

2. Stories such as this are frightening to me as the owner of a Macan EV. It is not clear what percentage of owners are experiencing these recurrent problems, but regardless, it seems that people in this situation are frequently not getting satisfactory resolutions.

3. See my first sentence of #2. That said, I've had my Macan 4 since early October, I have about 7500 miles on it, and I've had no problems so far that tempt me to take the car in for service. I have had a couple of experiences with temporarily inoperative sensors, (two out of three times associated with driving in a heavy rainstorm which I assume blinded the sensors--but recovery to normal took a while) and I've had one spontaneous PCM reboot. Yet, I am nervous every time I get into the car, unfortunately, having read of various problems rendering the car essentially inoperative. Had I not read of other people's issues, I would have no reason to think I should expect any problems, and this is literally my favorite car of the ~50 I have owned during my driving lifetime so far.

So, based on my own experience, I have no reason to think someone should be nervous about buying a Macan EV. I will add that my car is a very early one, built in June 2024; my vin is a little over xxx001000. Which makes me wonder: the problems are often stated as "software problems." My car has had no software updates since delivery, and yet my experience is a good one so far. If the problem is "software," alone, how can that be? (My hypothesis is that the software is insufficiently fault tolerant, and the root is really hardware, exacerbated by the lack of software fault tolerance).

 

[FirstEV]

I just have three comments and a follow up question about this situation and any similar:

1. It seems to me that long before a newly-bought car, let alone a Porsche, is out of service because of warranty items for 8 months, the car ought to be bought back, regardless of lemon laws. I believe that if Porsche is resisting that, such resistance is outrageous. The bottom line is that you paid them for a functional car with certain features, and that's not what you got.

Thanks for your reply! Just to clarify regarding the 8 month period. The car has been in and out of service with long lead for different spare parts/analysis of the car time for each issue, making it a total of 8 months. I apologize for the misunderstanding! And yes, if it was bought as a “private” person and not buy my company it would have already been returned according to our laws, whic

2. Stories such as this are frightening to me as the owner of a Macan EV. It is not clear what percentage of owners are experiencing these recurrent problems, but regardless, it seems that people in this situation are frequently not getting satisfactory resolutions.

3. See my first sentence of #2. That said, I've had my Macan 4 since early October, I have about 7500 miles on it, and I've had no problems so far that tempt me to take the car in for service. I have had a couple of experiences with temporarily inoperative sensors, (two out of three times associated with driving in a heavy rainstorm which I assume blinded the sensors--but recovery to normal took a while) and I've had one spontaneous PCM reboot. Yet, I am nervous every time I get into the car, unfortunately, having read of various problems rendering the car essentially inoperative. Had I not read of other people's issues, I would have no reason to think I should expect any problems, and this is literally my favorite car of the ~50 I have owned during my driving lifetime so far.

So, based on my own experience, I have no reason to think someone should be nervous about buying a Macan EV. I will add that my car is a very early one, built in June 2024; my vin is a little over xxx001000. Which makes me wonder: the problems are often stated as "software problems." My car has had no software updates since delivery, and yet my experience is a good one so far. If the problem is "software," alone, how can that be? (My hypothesis is that the software is insufficiently fault tolerant, and the root is really hardware, exacerbated by the lack of software fault tolerance).

I actually feel the exact same thing. It seems that the dealer doesn’t really know where the issue stems from because they change parts because they ”couldn’t find where the issue is coming from”. It feels like they state it’s a software issue either way as a cover up, it doesn’t really matter if it’s the tire or PCM

 

[refazi]

Are these issues only on the MY24 Macan 4 trim or across the board? do Q6e has similar issues?

 

[dgkhn]

I actually feel the exact same thing. It seems that the dealer doesn’t really know where the issue stems from because they change parts because they ”couldn’t find where the issue is coming from”. It feels like they state it’s a software issue either way as a cover up, it doesn’t really matter if it’s the tire or PCM

I feel compelled to add, based on the stories we hear, I suspect a big part of the problem is lack of training and/or expertise on the part of dealer service departments. It would be interesting to know if some dealers are significantly (statistically) more successful at avoiding extended/frequent service visits than others. They simply don't know how to figure out what's wrong. Is that PAG's fault, the dealers' fault (or maybe a dearth of appropriately skilled pesonnel)?

 

[CHP]

Soo.. I am not sure where to begin. Lets just put it this way: I just got my 13th monthly payment of the car and it has been (in sum) at the dealership for at least 8 of those months. I took delivery of my Macan 4 in the beginning of October 2024, and It hasn't been a single week without issues popping up.

- I got my first red error message about 9 days after I got the car in the middle of a supermarket store (Chassi not working - emergency stop) which made it get towed and then stayed there for a while.. after that it was just downhill. This happened even after the car was at the dealership for weeks.

This has been so much so I really can't explain so i'll just post some of the issues i've had during this year.
Bare in mind that this is excluded from faulty back cameras that needed to be changed and other hardware faults. - NOTE: These faults have happened at least 4-5 times each up to 10 times. An example would be the E-sound literally stopping to work and even though we restart the car etc it still didn't work so we drove the car without the sound becoming a hazard for people with bad hearing or sight.

- Chassi fault x2 - Red symbol - Towed
- Red circle of death - Car shut down by itself when I was in the car without me doing anything (Red symbol)
- E-sounds (5120310 times) making me a hazard for blind people or bad hearing. (Yellow symbol)
- AC-charging limited (293182312 times) - Yellow symbol - Stuck at 5,4kW without any resolve for it - blaming anything but the car, my charger isn't the issue so they need to check it again due to me having a macan 4 loaner and charing for 3 months daily without it happening on the same charger.
- All assists top working (5213123 times) - Lange change, parking assist, turn assist, whatever you want - (Yellow Symbol) - Happened while driving as well.
- Right and left charge port not working - Happened a few times - Not an issue though since it might be software related, although not sure due to me not being always able to AC-charge.
- Assistfunctions limited (White) - I drove with this for weeks without it going away due to the dealer saying "its just a white symbol, nothing to worry about". After a few weeks they checked and saw that there were fault sensors/cameras in the back of the car. So I was driving for weeks with faulty hardware thanks to them.

Concluding above: They have changed the following because they can't find the issues:
2x control devices
Back cameras/sensors

UPDATE IN AUGUST 2025?
I've had a loaner for 3 months (Macan 4) due to the red circle of death. When they checked at the dealer the head of the service department saw many other issues without disclosing what stating that he can't let me leave with the car. After a few weeks Porsche AG (germany) said that its a software issue and it should be gone by the big update (week 36 - if it even comes by then) so i could drive the car. I said sure, I'll drive it. Can you guarantee that the car won't shut down by itself when I'm in the car or god forbid with my family? - No, they couldn't. So I asked the head of the service department if he would drive it himself and he said NO.

- So, here I am, waiting for an update on my car.

Can i lemon? Different laws in Sweden, especially if it is bought through a company. Need the exact same fault 4x times etc etc etc, but we'll see what happens now.

What do you guys think?

Very sad story. I had a few problem as well. Car was a few weeks in garage and I luckily got a loaner. I asked for detailed list of repairs as I didn't buy into just software updates. Among some minor issues, both automatic charging ports needed replacement. Fair enough, asked to test my car before handing over and clearly stated that I would hand car back if new issues arise. 10 minutes into driving, innodrive failed insisting I am not buckled up. Handed car back, no questions asked (little less than 3 months ownership, 1 month in my garage).

Some of the problems seem to be related to the 12v battery as mentioned by others. They currently have two platforms, 12 and 48v as some options require higher volt system (for example active suspension on Panamera and others). I can only assume mix and match of some of these modules don't behave as expected. With at least some of the software coming from external manufactures, things get rather complicated. A little like building your own windows PC years ago, always some compatibility issues with more exotic hardware. Just wonder if 12v board system can handle all tech under full load.

And as for your case, I would ask in writing if fault for shut down has been clearly identified and how this has been addressed. I did this for every fault. By the way, it's terrible for dealers as well, they get paid pennies on the dollar for the repair, have to provide loaner and lot's of stress for staff.

Good luck.

 

[dgkhn]

Are these issues only on the MY24 Macan 4 trim or across the board? do Q6e has similar issues?

My gut feel based on reports on this forum, that all model trims have been reported; if anything, the 4 maybe less so. I don't know about Audi's. I guess someone could do a new poll. The last generic poll, months ago now, did not got a lot of response, but I am still curious what percentage of cars are really experiencing serious and/or recurring issues.

I feel, however, that there are an inordinate number of disabling issues (i.e. not "just" a malfunctioning audio system or the frequent sensor issues). Among these, inability to charge (for several reasons), the mysterious self-opening window and/or door reports, refusal to start/go into gear, and similar types of problems.

 

[RGBArgee]

Sounds dreadful and not dissimilar to early Taycan issues (check that forum).

The car ought to have been replaced by now - lemon laws or not IMHO.

Agree - sounds like my x2 Taycan (4S CT) 22 and replacement 23 - terrible experience- current 4S from March 25 pretty much perfect-

 

[DenysLu]

I was seriously considering getting a Macan EV 4S but after reading this thread and another few on this forum, I don't think I am going to spend £92.8k on this car for now. I appreciate there will be some issues here and there, and I don't expect perfection even at that price, but the car shutting down randomly on a motorway? All sound suddenly not working? Rattling and random vibrations at high speeds? This sounds not only frustrating but downright dangerous. I don't know how you get back into the car after something like that happens.

It's a shame it has so many problems, because in terms of looks and feel (if you get a decent spec) it's far ahead of anything else I can think of below £100k. It does make you feel special when you sit in it, and it drives very well, too.

 

[dgkhn]

I was seriously considering getting a Macan EV 4S but after reading this thread and another few on this forum, I don't think I am going to spend £92.8k on this car for now. I appreciate there will be some issues here and there, and I don't expect perfection even at that price, but the car shutting down randomly on a motorway? All sound suddenly not working? Rattling and random vibrations at high speeds? This sounds not only frustrating but downright dangerous. I don't know how you get back into the car after something like that happens.

It's a shame it has so many problems, because in terms of looks and feel (if you get a decent spec) it's far ahead of anything else I can think of below £100k. It does make you feel special when you sit in it, and it drives very well, too.

Rather than start a new poll, I popped this poll back up. Note that as of this second 11.4% of 132 respondents regret their Macan EV purchase. Maybe we can get some updates. It's up to you how you feel about those odds, but that means 88.6% don't regret their purchase. Obviously, YMMV!

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