How reliable (or unreliable) are these cars.... really ?!?

[Novaman]

I've been looking at the Taycan for several years now as a potential replacement for my 911 S but am concerned about the reliability. I see way too many reports of various issues and constant visits to the dealership for servicing. I realize that happy customers generally are less likely to be vocal about their experience, so can someone give me an honest answer about these cars? Thanks!

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[Jhenson29]

I’ve been to the dealer 3 times in 3 and a half years.

First was for a recall a few months after I got the car.

Second time was 2 years ago for 20k service and new tires.

Third time was just last week for 40k service and new tires. (We’re at 46k, so I was late).

 

[figure1a]

Well, you can't really come to a forum and ask that question or even peruse the threads in hopes of answering that question because most people that are on here are here to bitch about something going wrong. No one logs on and then posts about how their car performed flawlessly today.

 

[laua]

I’ve had mine for almost 19 months now; been in twice for recalls and one time for a malfunctioning alarm.

 

[Torv]

I love the recalls. Things are fixed for free -- upgrades essentially at no cost. Is it a hassle? Not much really. I've had my Taycan 4S for 3 years now and 33000 miles and it is arguably the best car I've ever owned. Is it perfect? Of course not. But it's damn close and a fantastic car. Don't sweat it.

My only piece of advice is don’t sell or trade in your 911S. That's one thing you'll truly regret.

 

[Novaman]

I love the recalls. Things are fixed for free -- upgrades essentially at no cost. Is it a hassle? Not much really. I've had my Taycan 4S for 3 years now and 33000 miles and it is arguably the best car I've ever owned. Is it perfect? Of course not. But it's damn close and a fantastic car. Don't sweat it.

My only piece of advice is don’t sell or trade in your 911S. That's one thing you'll truly regret.

Yeah mine is a 2013 991.1 911s Carrera Cabriolet manual transmission. It has held its value incredibly well. Will be really tough to let it go

 

[Fish Fingers]

You may be better looking at independent reliability surveys.

Not foolproof, but probably more reliable than browsing forums.

The most recent one available for UK.

https://www.whatcar.com/news/reliability-survey-most-reliable-electric-cars/n26158

 

[whitex]

I suspect the Taycan is as reliable as new 911’s today. The new tech is more complex, so more things which can malfunction, and Porsche along with other traditional automakers are still going through teething pains on new tech.

For what it’s worth, I’m still happy I bought it, even though I’ve been driving an ICE Macan for a little under a couple of weeks now while my car is waiting for a new onboard charger - holidays don’t help speed things up of course. While my Taycan has been to service more times that I’d like, all the other times were recalls and non-critical issues, this is the first time my car broke down so it had to go to service. Still love driving the Taycan, even though it’s not perfect on some of the tech.

In the end, every modern car has its own issues today, you just have to pick one that will make dealing with the issues worth it.

 

[f1eng]

My car had to have a water leak in the tailgate sealed early on and had the heater recall and I have been driving it just over 2 years.
For me the crucial question is "has it ever broken down on or just before a journey when needed?".
For me that is no.

OTOH it is far too wide to be a nice car to drive a lot of the time.
It is the one thing that made me think hard before ordering mine and I think if I had known then what I know now I would not have bought it.

 

[Scandinavian]

It is the one thing that made me think hard before ordering mine and I think if I had known then what I know now I would not have bought it.

What is the difference to the time you made the decision. Is it solely the width of the car?

It is a wide car for sure, but cars have grown over the last years. For different reasons. Look at the Mini Cooper the seventies to one now. I can not believe we travelled 4 in that at the time?

I also saw an older BMW 730d parked in our village and it was much smaller than todays BMW 5 series park close by!

 

[f1eng]

What is the difference to the time you made the decision. Is it solely the width of the car?

Yes, and I am aware that cars are getting bigger but roads and parking spaces are not.
I thought I could put up with it, and I have, but it is really crap.

There is no parking space in the town I live in comfortably wide enough to get in or out. The road into town is narrow enough to run my rims against the kerb if a bus is coming the other way.
The car is fantastic to drive on my favourite road but scary because if anything as wide, like the ubiquitous Range Rover, is coming the other way it is marginal and if a truck you are stopping and reversing or going off-road. Most of the time our old Toyota Prius is a (much) better choice.

I used to tease the BMW engineers I worked with in F1 "didn't you know mini means small in English?"

I wouldn't consider any of modern versions of the cars I used to own, they are stupidly huge.

Generally I am pretty unimpressed by any modern cars.

 

[whitex]

I can not believe we travelled 4 in that at the time?

Lol. When I was a kid we did long distance trips across Europe, 2 adults and 3 kids in a Fiat 126, sometimes while hauling a trailer which was bigger than the car. That setup had a max speed of 120km/h without the trailer going downhill with a tailwind (not an exaggeration). Absolute most people in it for a short drive (45min maybe) - 4 adults, 4 kids, 1 dog, plus a cooler and some beach equipment on a roof rack. We had to get out of the car and walk up every major hill, as the car just wouldn't go (the engine probably had enough power, but the engine mounts were not having it). Thinking back on this, I still cannot believe we actually fit in that thing. Here is the size of that car (stock photo from internet):

It was also the car I learned on how to drive (yes, it was a stick-shift).

 

[Tooney]

I thought @whitex 's 'when I was a kid we had to get out of the Fiat and walk up hills' post might be one of those 'I had to walk uphill in the snow for 20 miles to get to school' stories, but there seems to be possible evidence to support his post: Fiat 500 not powerful enough for hills says BBC’s Watchdog

 

[Grah_offline09]

I had similar concerns to in regard to reliability. but pulled the trigger on CPO Taycan Turbo S about a week ago. It's a stunning car, who knows if I'll have problems, but I ensured that all recalls had been done, latest software updates and I checked the battery tray on collection of the car.

As another poster was saying it is a wide car, but I've found it actually feels smaller when you're driving it and almost shrinks around you. I live in the UK and there are some narrow roads, the thing that is really worrying me though is UK multi-storey car parks, it's like someone designed them to only fit small hatchbacks. The on-ramps are narrow as well as the parking bays, so that will be a fun experience for me!!

 

[whitex]

I thought @whitex 's 'when I was a kid we had to get out of the Fiat and walk up hills' post might be one of those 'I had to walk uphill in the snow for 20 miles to get to school' stories, but there seems to be possible evidence to support his post: Fiat 500 not powerful enough for hills says BBC’s Watchdog

Out Fiat engine spec was 23hp when new, which is exactly 1/3 of the Fiat 500 spec power. My description was not an artistic hyperbole

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