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 - 196
Shifting Gear, Traction Systems 198 - 232
Maintenance, Car Care 234 - 266
Practical Tips, Minor Repairs 268 - 342
Vehicle Identification, Technical Data 344 - 357
Index 358 - 367
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
objects in or on your clothing, such as eye
glasses, pens, keys, etc. as these may cause
injury.
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 256.
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.When the ignition is switched on, a warning light
lights up in the instrument panel to remind you to
fasten your safety belt. In addition, a warning
message is displayed on the multi-purpose display
in the instrument panel until the tongue of the driv-
er’s safety belt has been inserted into the buckle.
Warning lights and warning
messages
50
Controls, Safety, Instruments fDo not add any additional coverings or stickers
to the steering wheel or in the area of the pas-
senger airbag and side airbags. Doing so may
adversely affect the functioning of the airbag
system or cause harm to the occupants if the
airbag system should deploy.
fDo not undertake any wiring for electrical ac-
cessory equipment in the vicinity of the airbag
wiring harnesses. Doing so may disable the air-
bag system or inadvertant inflation.
fIf the warning light comes on, the airbag sys-
tem should be repaired immediately by your
authorized Porsche dealer.
fAlways keep feet in the footwell while driving.
Do not put feet on the dashboard or the seat
area.
Note
Airbag components (e.g. steering wheel, door
trim) may be disassembled only by an authorized
Porsche dealer.
When disposing of a used airbag unit, our safety
instructions must be followed. These instructions
can be obtained at any authorized Porsche dealer.Faults are indicated by a warning light on the ta-
chometer and a message on the instrument
panel’s multi-purpose display.
fIn the following cases you should immedi-
ately consult an authorized Porsche
dealer in order to assure the airbag sys-
tem is functioning properly:
– If the warning light does not light up when the
ignition is switched on or
– If the warning light does not go out once the
engine is running or
– If the warning light appears while driving.
fPlease observe the chapter “WARNING LIGHTS
AND WARNING MESSAGES” on Page 106.
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.
Warning lights and warning
messages
66
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 106.
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
120
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
windscreen.
fAdjust switch A downwards –
low sensitivity.
2 – Front windscreen wiper – slow
fMove wiper stalk upwards to the second click.
3 – Front windscreen 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 automatically
activated if the windscreen 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 windscreen wiper – one-touch
operation
fMove wiper stalk downwards. The front wind-
screen wipers go through one wiping cycle.5 – Front windscreen wipers and washer
system
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
INSTRUCTIONS” on Page 256.
Thefront windscreen washer nozzles are heat-
ed when the ignition is on, as a precaution against
freezing.
Controls, Safety, Instruments
121
6 – Rear window wiper – intermittent
operation
fMove wiper stalk forwards to the first click.
The rear window wiper wipes at preset inter-
vals.
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
Push wiper stalk forwards as far as it will go.
The washer system sprays and wipes while the le-
ver is pulled away from the steering wheel. When
the wiper lever is released, a few drying wipes are
executed.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.