— A Porsche coolant pipe lawsuit alleges faulty epoxy adhesive causes separations of the coolant pipes in 2010-2016 Panamera and 2011-2019 Cayenne vehicles equipped with V8 engines.
The plaintiffs claim the engine cooling systems use adhesive to bond the slip-fit coolant pipes, but vibrations and heat from typical driving cause the epoxy adhesive to degrade and loosen. The coolant pipes and connectors allegedly separate which causes immediate engine failure and complete loss of power without warning.
Coolant quickly leaks throughout the engine compartment once the pipes separate, sending coolant onto the tires and road which creates serious safety hazards.
California plaintiff Michael Xu purchased a new 2012 Porsche Cayenne S in 2011, but the vehicle suddenly overheated in April 2019 when it had about 54,000 miles. The dealer confirmed the slip-fit connection to the coolant distributor housing and the slip-fit coolant pipe on the thermostat assembly had separated due to failure of the epoxy adhesive.
Technicians replaced the failed components and the plaintiff says he was forced to pay $3,834.93 for replacement parts that are allegedly just as defective as the originals.
New York plaintiff Daniel Vaz-Pocas purchased a used 2012 Cayenne S with approximately 60,000 miles on the odometer in January 2017. Four months later the plaintiff and his wife were traveling when the Cayenne S suddenly overheated and began spewing smoke from the engine.
He says he was forced to put the vehicle into NEUTRAL and was able to coast down the hill of the bridge until he was able to pull over. He and his wife allegedly remained stranded there until a tow truck arrived.
A Porsche dealer determined the coolant pipe had separated from the thermostat housing after the epoxy adhesive failed.
The automaker allegedly estimated the repair at about $4,000, so the plaintiff took the vehicle to the original dealership which confirmed what the previous dealer said about the coolant pipe.
The plaintiff says he contested the cost and was left without a vehicle for several weeks until he agreed to pay $800 for repairs.
According to the plaintiffs, owners may be looking at thousands of dollars for repairs because mechanics must remove several engine components to replace the failed parts. Multiple engine components may need to be replaced because pressurized coolant sprays into the engine compartments when the coolant pipes separate.
Porsche owners also claim the automaker replaces faulty components with parts that are just as defective as the original components, causing a neverending cycle of repairs. However, Porsche allegedly refuses to take financial responsibility for the alleged coolant pipe problems and refuses to admit the vehicles are defective.
Porsche allegedly used the same adhesive epoxy on the engine cooling systems of 2001-2007 911 Turbo, GT3, GT3RS, GT2 and GT2RS vehicles. The vehicles allegedly suffered from sudden separations of the coolant pipes from the thermostat housings due to failures of the epoxy.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation in 2013 about coolant leaks in 2001-2007 Porsche 911 cars.
According to NHTSA, “[t]he complaints alleged that pipe ends joined by epoxy to certain coolant system components may fail suddenly and separate, resulting in large volumes of coolant leakage.”
The automaker responded to the government by saying, “Porsche identified a manufacturing quality issue with the supplier’s application of adhesive to coolant pipe fittings that resulted in elevated failure rates….”
Porsche also admitted it “did not conduct specific durability testing of the adhesive bonds used in the coolant pipe fittings.” But the plaintiffs say Porsche told NHTSA the supplier made changes to the device that applied the epoxy which fixed the problems.
According to the class action lawsuit, the problems weren't fixed and the Panamera and Cayenne vehicles are allegedly proof of it.
The Porsche coolant pipe lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia: Xu, et al., v. Porsche Cars North America, Inc.
The plaintiffs are represented by Evangelista Worley LLC, Blood Hurst & O'Reardon, LLP, and Boucher LLP.
CarComplaints.com has owner-reported complaints about the Porsche Cayenne and the Porsche Panamera.
