
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 - 218
Shifting Gear, Traction Systems 219 - 258
Maintenance, Car Care 259 - 294
Practical Tips, Minor Repairs 295 - 376
Vehicle Identification, Technical Data 377 - 391
Index 392 - 401 

46
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
fS a f e t y  b e l t s  m u s t  b e  p o s i t i o n e d  o n  t h e  b o d y  a s  
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 glass-
es, 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 284.
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
47
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
– Side impacts (only belt tensioners of the front 
seats are triggered)
Maintenance note
The belt tensioner system can be triggered only 
once; the system must be replaced afterwards.
If there is a fault in the belt tensioner system, the 
airbag warning light lights up.
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 multi-purpose display will go off as soon 
as the driver has buckled up.
Safety Belt Warning System 

54
Controls, Safety, Instruments PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp 
does not light up
– The passenger's airbag is active and ready for 
operation. 
– If the passenger's seat is not occupied, the 
PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF indicator lamp will 
also not light up, even though the passenger's 
airbag is switched off. Danger!
Risk of serious or mortal injury due to the 
passenger airbag triggering unintentionally.
When the ignition is on and the up to one-
year old child is seated in the child restraint 
system on the passenger seat the indicator 
lamp „PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF“ must be on. 
If the “PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF” indicator 
lamp does not light up, it could indicate a 
fault in the system.
In this case:
fFasten the child restraint system on the rear 
bench immediately.
fHave the fault remedied at your nearest author-ized Porsche dealer.Faults are indicated by a warning light on the ta-
chometer and a message on the instrument 
panel’s multi-purpose display.
fPlease observe the chapter “WARNING LIGHTS 
AND WARNING MESSAGES” on Page 124.
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.
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 55.
Warning lights and warning 
messages 

Controls, Safety, Instruments
79
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.
A warning 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 124.
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 message 

102
Controls, Safety, Instruments
Tire PressurefPlease observe the chapter “TIRES/WHEELS” 
on Page 297.
The tire pressure monitoring monitors the pres-
sure in the four road wheels and warns the driver 
if the pressure is too low.
The display as well as the settings for tire pres-
sure monitoring are done on the multi-purpose dis-
play in the TIRE PRESSURE menu.
However the tire pressure must be set manually 
on the wheel.
The tire pressures to be monitored for tire type 
are permanently set in the tire pressure 
monitoring and cannot be changed.
The driver is solely responsible for filling the tires 
correctly and for selecting in the multi-purpose dis-
play.
 Danger!
Risk of serious personal injury or death. 
Driving the vehicle with low tire pressure in-
creases risk of a tire failure and resulting 
loss of control. Furthermore, low tire pres-
sure increases rate of wear of the affected 
tires. 
Despite the advantages offered by the tire 
pressure monitoring, it is not a substitute for 
proper tire maintenance, and it is the driver’s 
responsibility to maintain correct tire pres-
sure, even if under-inflation has not reached 
the level to trigger illumination of the tire 
pressure monitoring low tire pressure mes-
sage.
fWhen a flat tire has been displayed, immedi-
ately stop in a suitable place and check the 
tires for damage. If necessary remedy the 
damages with a tire sealant.
fDo not by any means continue to drive with 
leaking tires. 
fDefective tires must be immediately replaced 
by a specialist repair shop.
Tire repairs are not permissible under any 
circumstances.
fSealing the tire with the tire sealant is only an 
emergency repair, so you can drive to the next 
repair shop. The maximum permitted speed is 
50 mph (80 km/h).fDo not drive with tires whose tire pressure 
drops again in a short period of time. In cases 
of doubt, have tires checked by a specialist re-
pair shop.
fIf the tire pressure monitoring is defective 
(e.g., defective wheel transmitter), contact a 
specialist repair shop immediately and have 
the damages repaired.
The tire pressure will not be monitored by a 
defective tire pressure monitoring.
fTires lose air over time without a tire defect 
being present. A tire pressure warning will then 
appear in the multi-purpose display. Correct 
the tire pressure at the next opportunity.
fThe tire pressure monitoring gives a warning 
about tire damages due to insufficient tire 
pressure as well as about a gradual loss of 
pressure due to foreign objects.
The tire pressure monitoring cannot warn you 
about tire damages occurring suddenly (e.g., 
flat tire due to sudden external effects).
fBefore fitting tires approved by Porsche which 
are not stored in the on-board computer, the 
missing information should be supplemented 
in the on-board computer. 

128
Controls, Safety, Instruments
Please refuel
Topping up washer fluid
Oil level monitoring – Failure – Workshop Have the fault remedied at an authorized Porsche dealer.
Checking the oil level
Oil pressure too low Immediately stop in a suitable place and switch engine off. 
Do not continue driving.
Check engine oil level. Add oil if necessary. 
Do not continue driving if the warning light comes on even when 
the oil level is correct. Have the fault remedied at an authorized 
Porsche dealer.
Service in 1864 mls (3000 km)Service indicator
Bring the vehicle in for service no later than after the distance 
shown has been covered. However, it is the intervals in the 
„Maintenance” booklet that are decisive.
Service nowService indicator
Have your vehicle serviced at an authorized Porsche dealer.
Brake pads – Workshop Have the brake pads replaced at an authorized Porsche dealer 
without delay.
Warning – Brake circuit division Stop immediately in a suitable place. Do not continue driving. 
Have the fault remedied at an authorized Porsche dealer.
ABS failure – WorkshopDrive carefully. Have the fault remedied at an authorized 
Porsche dealer.
PSM failure – WorkshopDrive carefully. Have the fault remedied at an authorized 
Porsche dealer.
Warning – Brake fluid level Stop immediately in a suitable place. Do not continue driving. 
Have the fault remedied at an authorized Porsche dealer.
Instrument 
panelMulti-purpose 
displayText display Meaning/measures