The 2012 Porsche Cayenne S has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 243,136 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 6 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the power train. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche) is recalling certain 2003-2020 Porsche Macan, Cayenne, Panamera, and Cayman S, 2001-2004 Boxster, Boxster S, 2004 Boxster 50 JAHRE SPYDER 550 vehicles. Please see the recall report for a complete list of all affected models and model years. The caps that cover the low-beam…
Consequence
Improperly adjusted headlights may not illuminate the road properly, or cause a glare to oncoming drivers, which can increase the risk of a crash.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect the headlights for sealing caps and install missing caps as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 28, 2022. Owners may contact Porsche's customer service at 1-800-767-7243. Porsche's number for this recall is ANB4.
PORSCHE IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2011-2012 CAYENNE, CAYENNE S, CAYENNE S HYBRID, AND CAYENNE TURBO VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM MARCH 8, 2010, THROUGH JANUARY 31, 2012 BECAUSE THE HEADLAMPS MAY COME LOOSE AND DETACH FROM THE FENDER.
Consequence
A DETACHED HEADLIGHT COULD LEAD TO LOSS OF VISIBILITY AND AN INCREASED RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy
PORSCHE WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE HEADLAMP LOCKING ASSEMBLIES, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 9, 2012. OWNERS MAY CONTACT PORSCHE AT 1-800-767-7243.
Complaints by component
POWER TRAIN
5
1crashes1fires
ENGINE
1
Total complaints6
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“When driving car, it feels rough and is hard to accelerate so I took it to the dealer and was told it was the transfer case. The transfer case seems to be a manufacture problem and is common among these cars. It's unsafe and almost impossible to drive on the highway .”
“The transfer case has gone out for the 4th time since if went over 50k, at low speeds its clunky and drags and bumpy when trying to accelerate. I found other individuals having the same problem mutli times as myself and this is not cheap to fix. The dealer knows this is a problem but will not help…”
“Transfer case failure. Care clunks/drags in low gears.”
“The porsche dealer informed me the bumping noise while accelerating is the transfer case. It is a common problem on all 2012 cayenne cars. The transfer case will make the bumping noise when accelerating. It will eventually slip to the dangerous point. This is when you accelerate into traffic and…”
“Faulty transfer case the car had a bumpy and violent shudder at slow speeds when attempting to accelerate. Feels like misfiring and then grinding and the car does not respond to the accelerator. It was dangerous when attempting to accelerate into traffic. I called to make an appointment and with a…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2012 porsche cayenne s. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 17v368000 (engine). The parts to do the repair were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was not…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2012 Porsche Cayenne S as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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