Owners have filed 31 complaints on the Porsche Cayman, covering 2007–2016. The system named most often is Power Train (9 reports). Worst years by volume: 2016, 2014, 2011; cleanest: 2012, 2009, 2007. 0 reports describe a crash, 1 a fire. On average the car was 6.0 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Porsche Cayman
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 31 Cayman complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 9 Read
The contact owns a 2015 Porsche Cayman. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer for the rear housing axle carriers repair under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V679000 (Power Train). However, upon picking up the vehicle, the rear suspension was unstable and drifted all over the road while driving. The…
The linkage for the manual transmission has a high failure rate. It has separated twice now, each time failing in about 5,000 to 7,000 miles requiring being towed into the dealership for service. Very dangerous if this happens in traffic and your linkage fails while shifting and you are now not in any gear. *bf *tr…
While shifting from 5th to 6th gear, I felt something (presumably the shift cable) snap. The car was locked in gear, and I was unable to shift to another gear. In looking online I found complaints by several other porsche owners that shift cables on their cars had broken
Engine 5 Read
The vacuum pump (Porsche part number 9A1-110-090-02) cover retaining screws vibrated out causing the cover to damage the fuel lines and causing an engine oil leak. The fuel and oil were ignited by the exhaust or stray spark cause by the vacuum covers rotation and hitting other metal objects. This vacuum pump provides…
The variable valve timing adjuster sprocket bolts have a tendency to shear under high load. This is a documented issue that was also common in several other porsche models of similar production year ranges. The valvetrain loses timing, resulting in a catastrophic engine failure which disables a vehicle. My vehicle…
The Cayman S model with V6, 3.4L motor, commonly referenced as a 9A1 motor had been self destructing with increasing amounts of metal slivers/chips found in the drained oil, oil filter and oil filter housing. The in-warranty Porsche dealer "installed oil" was first inspected by my shop at 27,031 mi - alarmingly metal…
Air Bags 5 Read
TRW Automotive Inc. Airbag Control Unit (Part No. 218737-124 RI; Serial No. 11050089RI; Produced: April 20, 2015) was equipped in 2016 Porsche Cayman VIN [XXX] by Porsche (Vehicle Production Date: June 29, 2015). In 2019, TRW recalled the aforementioned ACU in NHTSA 19E-043. In 2019, in response to the TRW recall,…
2016 porsche cayman has an error code 'c11005 ? Airbag triggering unit, faulty' and the airbag light is illuminated but this VIN was not included in porsche's recall (akb4) concerning this issue. Porsche has not correctly identified the recall population of 2016 porsche cayman cars affected by manufacturer recall…
Porsche dashboard leather has strunk and separated from the main dashboard. My understanding is that in the event of an accident, this could interfere with the airbag's ability to deploy correctly. A Porsche dealer has reviewed but was unable to repair it. The next step would be to replace. I've discovered this is a…
Electrical System 2 Read
Porsche has identified a previously unreported faulty airbag control unit serial number 11050089ri equipped in the 2016 porsche cayman in june 2015 by porsche ag mere days before the production date bracket start of july 8, 2015 for manufacturer recall akb4. The 2016 porsche cayman was ordered as a custom…
Ignition coil failure on cylinder #3 due to no heat shield between coil & catalyst which is situated just below the coil. This resulted in sudden loss of power and misfires of #3 cylinder. Mechanic states this problem will happen again until a proper heat shield is installed between the coil & the catalyst. I was in…
Fuel/propulsion System 2 Read
Code P1023 Fuel Pump pressure/ quantity too low at start. Rough Start when engine is cold, high pressure fuel pump appears to be leaking. Replacement part is out of stock, unavailable. Unsafe to drive, could start a fire
Fuel tank is rubbing against the body causing visible rub marks on the plastic tank itself. This is caused by foam pads either being misplaced or not installed at all from the factory. Porsche themselves have a TSB on it (SB-1403), but they will not handle the fix outside of warranty. This seems like a major safety…
Exterior Lighting 1 Read
Tail lamps are prone to hairline cracks difficult to see, when driven in rain or car wash tail lamp floods and causes electrical system to short circuit resulting in death or accident in inclement weather due to low visibility
Steering 1 Read
Engine stalls when stopped if not in sport mode. Electronic gauge display for oil level is confusing and shows low oil level in green, causing the user to add oil when it is full. Steering rubs and knocks when turning
Visibility/wiper 1 Read
Windshield washer hose has snapped at the hood hinge which is preventing clearing of the windsheild of debris and obscuring forward visibility. This part was replaced by the dealer in 2016 during the first annual service for reasons unknown to me and has now failed
Cayman years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2012 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2011 | Engine | — | 1 | |
| 2010 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 2009 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 2007 | Engine And Engine Cooling,power Train | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 25 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.2 |
| Worst single series | 4 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.0 years |
A model average of 1.2 hides a worst series at 4. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Cayman?
By complaint volume, 2016, 2014, 2011 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Cayman years are the cleanest?
2012, 2009, 2007 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Porsche Cayman have?
31 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2007–2016. Of those, 0 describe a crash and 1 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.