
2Dear Owner,We would like to thank you for your purchase of a 
Porsche Cayenne.
Judging by the car you have chosen, you are a mo-
torist of a special breed, and you are probably no 
novice when it comes to automobiles.
Remember however, as with any vehicle, you 
should take time to familiarize yourself with your 
Porsche and its performance characteristics. Al-
ways drive within your own unique capabilities as 
a driver and your level of experience with your 
Porsche. Ensure that anyone else driving your 
Porsche does the same. To prevent or minimize in-
jury, always use your safety belts. Never consume 
alcohol or drugs before or during the operation of 
your vehicle.
This Owner's Manual contains a host of useful in-
formation. Please take the time to read this manu-
al before you drive your new Porsche. Become fa-
miliar with the operation of your Porsche car for 
maximum safety and operating pleasure. The bet-
ter you know your Porsche, the more pleasure you 
will experience driving your new car.
Always keep your Owner's Manual in the car, and 
give it to the new owner if you ever sell your 
Porsche.A separate Maintenance Booklet explains how 
you can keep your Porsche in top driving condition 
by having it serviced regularly. 
A separate Warranty and Customer Informa-
tion Booklet contains detailed information about 
the warranties covering your Porsche.
For U.S. only:
If you believe that your vehicle has a fault which 
could cause a crash, injury or death, you should 
immediately inform the National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration (NHTSA) in addition to noti-
fying Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche 
Cars N.A.).
If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it may open 
an investigation, and if it finds that a safety prob-
lem exists in a group of vehicles, it may order a re-
call and remedy campaign. However, NHTSA can-
not become involved in individual problems be-
tween you and your dealer, or Porsche Cars N.A..
To contact NHTSA, you may either call the Auto 
Safety Hotline toll-free at 1-(800)-424-9393 
(or366-0123 in Washington, D.C. area) or write to: 
NHTSA, U.S. Department of Transportation, Wash-
ington, D.C. 20590. You can also obtain other in-
formation about motor vehicle safety from the Hot-
line.Your car has thousands of parts and components 
which have been designed and manufactured in 
accordance with Porsche's high standards of en-
gineering quality and safety.
Any alteration of the vehicle may negate or 
interfere with those safety features built into 
the vehicle. 
Your Porsche is intended to be used in a safe man-
ner obeying the local laws and in the light of driv-
ing conditions faced by you, and in accordance 
with the instructions provided in this Owner's Man-
ual.
Do not misuse your Porsche by ignoring 
those laws and driving conditions, or by 
ignoring the instructions in this manual. 
Any alteration or misuse of the vehicle can 
lead to accidents and severe or fatal person-
al injuries. 

9
Controls, Safety, Instruments 11 - 200
Shifting Gear, Traction Systems 201 - 240
Maintenance, Car Care 241 - 274
Practical Tips, Minor Repairs 275 - 352
Vehicle Identification, Technical Data 353 - 367
Index 368 - 377 

42
Controls, Safety, Instruments
Safety Belts
 Danger!
Always make sure your and your passengers' 
safety belts are properly fastened while the 
vehicle is in motion.
Failure to follow safety belt warnings may re-
sult in serious personal injury or death.
fFor your and your passengers' protection, use 
safety belts at all times while the vehicle is in 
motion.
fUse appropriate child restraint systems for all 
small children.
Proper wearing of safety belts
fSafety belts must be positioned on the body as 
to restrain the upper body and lap from sliding 
forward. Improperly positioned safety belts 
can cause serious personal injury in case of an 
accident.
fThe shoulder belt should always rest on your 
upper body. The shoulder belt should never be 
worn behind your back or under your arm.
fFor maximum effectiveness, the lap belt 
should be worn low across the hips.
fPregnant women should position the belt as 
low as possible across the pelvis. Make sure it 
is not pressing against the abdomen.
fBelts should not be worn twisted.fDo not wear belts over rigid or breakable ob-
jects in or on your clothing, such as eye glas-
ses, pens, keys, etc. as these may cause inju-
ry.
fSeveral layers of heavy clothing may interfere 
with proper positioning of belts.
fBelts must not rub against sharp objects or 
damage may occur to the belt.
fTwo occupants should never share the same 
belt at the same time.
Care and maintenance
fKeep belt buckles free of any obstruction that 
may prevent a secure locking.
fBelts that have been subjected to excessive 
stretch forces in an accident must be inspect-
ed or replaced to ensure their continued effec-
tiveness in restraining you.
The same applies to belt tensioner systems 
which have been triggered. In addition, the an-
chor points of the belts should be checked.
fIf safety belts do not work properly, see your 
authorized Porsche dealer immediately.
fI f  t h e  b e l t s  s h o w  d a m a g e  t o  w e b b i n g ,  b i n d i n g s ,  
buckles or retractors, they should be replaced 
to ensure safe operation.
fDo not modify or disassemble the safety belts 
in your vehicle.fThe belts must be kept clean or the retractors 
may not work properly.
Please observe the chapter “CAR CARE IN-
STRUCTIONS” on Page 265.
fNever bleach or dye safety belts.
fDo not allow safety belts to retract until they 
are completely dry after cleaning or this may 
cause damage to the belt. 

Controls, Safety, Instruments
43
Belt tensionerDepending on the force of a collision, fastened 
seat belts are automatically tightened in an acci-
dent.
The belt tensioners are triggered in:
– Front and rear impacts
The belt tensioners are not triggered in:
–Side impacts
– Vehicle overturning
Maintenance note
The belt tensioner system can be triggered only 
once; the system must be replaced afterwards. 
Work may be performed on the belt tensioner 
system only by an authorized Porsche dealer. 
Smoke is released when the belt tensioners are 
triggered.
This does not indicate a fire in the vehicle.An audio-visual warning system is interconnect-
ed with the driver’s safety belt. 
Every time the ignition is turned on, the gong will 
sound for about 6 seconds to remind driver and 
passenger to buckle up.
In addition, the gong will sound if vehicle speed 
exceeds 6 mph (10 km/h.)
The safety belt warning lights in the instrument 
panel and on-board computer will go off as soon 
as the driver has buckled up.
Safety Belt Warning System 

Controls, Safety, Instruments
51
Airbag maintenanceIn order to ensure long-term functioning, the air-
bag system must be inspected by an authorized 
Porsche dealer at the intervals recommended in 
your Maintenance Booklet.
Important information
If you sell your Porsche, notify the purchaser that 
the vehicle is equipped with airbags, and refer 
them to the chapter, “Airbag Systems“, in the 
owner's manual (safety and disposal rules).
Further information on the airbag system can be 
found on stickers attached to the sun visors, as 
well as on all airbag components.
For special recommendations on the use of child 
restraints:
fPlease observe the chapter “CHILD RES-
TRAINT SYSTEMS” on Page 47.
DisposalfNon-ignited gas alternators, or whole vehicles 
or subassemblies with airbag units, must not 
be disposed of as “normal” scrap or waste or 
put into any other form of end storage.
Your authorized Porsche dealer will be able to 
give you details about disposal. 

68
Controls, Safety, Instruments
Brake wearYour car has excellent brakes, but they are still 
subject to wear. The rate at which they wear de-
pends on how the brakes are used.
fHave the brake system inspected at the inter-
vals recommended in your Maintenance Book-
let.
The warning light in the instrument panel lights up.
A message will be displayed on the multi-purpose 
display of the instrument panel if the brake pads 
are worn, excessively.
fDo not continue to operate the vehicle.
Have your authorized Porsche dealer inspect 
or replace the brake pads.
fPlease observe the chapter “WARNING LIGHTS 
AND WARNING MESSAGES” on Page 108.
Brake pads and brake discsWear on the brake pads and brake discs depends 
to a great extent on the driving style and the con-
ditions of use and therefore cannot be expressed 
in actual miles on the road.
The high-performance brake system is designed 
for optimal braking effect at all speeds and tem-
peratures.
Certain speeds, braking forces and ambient con-
ditions (such as temperature and humidity) there-
fore might cause the brakes to squeal.New brake pads or linings
New brake pads have to be “broken in“, and there-
fore only attain optimal friction when the car has 
covered several hundred miles or km.
The slightly reduced braking ability must be com-
pensated for by pressing the brake pedal harder. 
This also applies whenever the brake pads and 
brake discs are replaced.
Brake wear warning light 
USA
Brake wear warning light 
Canada 

122
Controls, Safety, Instruments The rain sensor remains switched off if the wiper 
lever is already in position 1 when the ignition is 
switched on.
To switch the rain sensor on again:
fMove wiper stalk to position 0 and then to 
position1 – switching on is confirmed by one 
wipe of the windscreen – or
fOperate windscreen washer system 5–
switching on is confirmed by three wipes of the 
windscreen – or
fChange the sensitivity of the rain sensor with 
four-stage switch A.Changing the sensitivity of the rain sensor
Sensitivity can be set with switch A in 4 stages:
fAdjust switch A upwards – 
high sensitivity.
The setting is confirmed by one wipe of the 
windshield.
fAdjust switch A downwards – 
low sensitivity.
2  –  Front windshield wiper – slow
fMove wiper stalk upwards to the second click.
3  –  Front windshield wiper – fast
fMove wiper stalk upwards to the third click.
At speeds of less than approx. ca. 2.5 mph 
(4 km/h), rain sensor operation mode is automat-
ically activated if the windshield wiper is switched 
on.  If you exceed a speed of approx. 5 mph 
(8 km/h), the system switches to the pre-selected 
wiper level.
4    –  Front windshield wiper – one-touch oper-
ation
fMove wiper stalk downwards. The front wind-
shield wipers go through one wipe cycle.5  –  Front windshield wipers and washer sys-
tem
fPull wiper stalk towards the steering wheel. 
The washer system sprays and wipes while the 
lever is pulled towards the steering wheel. 
When the wiper lever is released, a few drying 
wipes are executed.
Headlight washer (on vehicles with Bi-Xe-
non headlights):
The washer sprays only while low beam or high 
beam is switched on.
To activate the headlight washer system, the 
wiper lever must be pulled for a longer period 
of time.
The spray duration is limited.
Maintenance note
fIf heavily soiled, repeat wash. 
fPersistent dirt (e.g. insect remains) should be 
regularly removed.
Please observe the chapter “CAR CARE IN-
STRUCTIONS” on Page 265.
Thefront windscreen washer nozzles are heat-
ed when the ignition is on, as a precaution against 
freezing. 

Controls, Safety, Instruments
123
6  –  Rear window wiper – intermittent 
operation
fMove wiper stalk forwards to the first click.
The rear window wiper wipes at preset 
intervals.
7  –  Rear window wiper – one-touch 
operation
fPush wiper stalk forward briefly. The washer 
system sprays and the rear window wiper goes 
through three wipe cycles.
8  –  Rear window wiper and washer system
fPush wiper stalk forwards as far as it will go.
The washer system sprays and wipes while the 
lever is pulled away from the steering wheel. 
When the wiper lever is released, a few drying 
wipes are executed.
Thefront windshield washer nozzles are heat-
ed when the ignition is on, as a precaution against 
freezing.Maintenance note
If the wiper blades rub or squeak, this can be as a 
result of the following:
– If the vehicle is washed in an automatic car 
wash, residues may adhere to the windshield. 
These residues can only be removed using a 
special cleaning solution. 
Please contact your authorized Porsche dealer 
for further information.
– The wiper blades may be damaged or worn.
fReplace the damaged wiper blades 
immediately.