Panamera Issues and Malfunctions

The 971 Panamera Turbo has already surpassed 25,000 km. Recently, it marked two years since delivery, so I decided to summarize the issues and malfunctions related to the Panamera. That said, there were no real breakdowns and no serious malfunctions at all… lol

1. PSM Malfunction, Requires Service

Right after delivery, I drove to and from Fuji Speedway for the break-in period, and on the way back, it was pouring rain. While driving on the highway in that heavy rain, suddenly an error message appeared: “PSM Malfunction, Service Required, Please Drive Carefully.”

At that time, I was driving with Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), but it automatically disengaged, and no matter what I tried, I couldn’t operate the cruise control anymore.

I then pulled over at a nearby parking area, turned off the engine, and restarted it. The error message disappeared, and from then on, the car ran normally as if nothing had happened, allowing me to safely return home. When I later had the dealer check it, they said it “might have been a malfunction caused by the heavy rain.”

By the way, that error message has never appeared again since then.

2. Fuel Filler Cap Opening Difficulty

After delivery, the first time I went to a gas station to refuel, I was very surprised by “how hard it was to open the fuel filler cap.” The 971 Panamera uses a push-to-open fuel filler cap, but it felt stiff, as if the spring wasn’t working properly… I can’t quite describe it, but it was just very hard to open.

In my case, I had to press the edge of the fuel filler cap firmly with the back of my hand, applying weight like performing CPR to open it. Even some gas station attendants asked me, “How do you open this?”

Regarding this difficulty, at some inspection, the service staff told me they “fixed the fuel filler cap malfunction,” and after that, it opened without any problems.

3. Sports Chrono Clock Time Issue

One day, when I glanced at the Sports Chrono clock in the Panamera, the time displayed was very strange.

“23:52”… What the heck? (-_-)

I thought, “No way, it’s definitely daytime,” and proceeded to fix the time. This was easily corrected by going to the system’s “Date and Time” settings and pressing the automatic time sync button.

That said, I don’t really know why this incorrect display happened, but since then, this issue has not reoccurred.

4. Tire Punctures

This isn’t a malfunction of the Panamera itself, but I’ve had two punctures so far. The first was one year after delivery, on the right rear tire, and the second was in May this year, on the right front tire.

Both times, nails had pierced the tires, but the damage wasn’t severe, so the dealer’s repair was sufficient. So far, it seems I’m getting a puncture about once a year lol.

Symptoms When Starting the Engine

This was something my husband noticed; it never happened when I started the engine. Apparently, there were 2 or 3 occasions where the engine stalled right after starting. It felt similar to when a motorcycle engine fails to start properly, and the following error messages appeared:

However, if you turn off the main switch and start the engine again, it starts normally and the error disappears. My husband says, “It tends to happen if you start the engine while the door is open and the seat is moving,” but it hasn’t happened again since.

At the two-year inspection, they checked this issue but said, “Normally, error history would remain in the computer, but because there have been many successful starts, the old error history has been erased,” so the cause couldn’t be identified.

Porsche Panamera

Over these two years, there have been minor issues, but no major breakdowns, and our Panamera has been running smoothly. During this time, we’ve driven back and forth to Fuji Speedway multiple times, tackled winding roads, braved heavy rain on the highway, driven on circuits, and even participated in the Porsche Track Experience to experience full acceleration and full braking. Despite these quite harsh conditions, the Panamera has had no breakdowns and seems to be running even better than before.

Ah, the Panamera really is a great car.