Noise from the wheel arch of a Taycan

[Patrick Stapleton]

I guess many Taycan owners have experienced a tinkling noise from the front wheel arch of their Taycan's, this seem to be a major design fault on this model. The front of the wheel arch you will see an air intake for the battery cooling fans tis is positioned so all the muck & grit from the road goes into this area and and is deposited in the fan case. If this is left uncleaned then the fans will eventually seize up and need replacing with a bill of £2500 and in theory not a warranty issue. I had this happen after 4000 miles and eventually my Porsche Centre paid for the repair not Porsche!!
This is a problem known to Porsche and a recall modification will be required as the same issue will happen with the Cross Turismo model where off-roading is encouraged.
So if you are experiencing this problem please lobby your dealer to sort out with Porsche.

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[Kingske]

I guess many Taycan owners have experienced a tinkling noise from the front wheel arch of their Taycan's, this seem to be a major design fault on this model. The front of the wheel arch you will see an air intake for the battery cooling fans tis is positioned so all the muck & grit from the road goes into this area and and is deposited in the fan case. If this is left uncleaned then the fans will eventually seize up and need replacing with a bill of £2500 and in theory not a warranty issue. I had this happen after 4000 miles and eventually my Porsche Centre paid for the repair not Porsche!!
This is a problem known to Porsche and a recall modification will be required as the same issue will happen with the Cross Turismo model where off-roading is encouraged.
So if you are experiencing this problem please lobby your dealer to sort out with Porsche.

Thanks for drawing our attention to this. I did not realize that fan repair because of this issue would not be covered by warranty.

 

[Yan355]

Thanks for drawing our attention to this. I did not realize that fan repair because of this issue would not be covered by warranty.

 

[Yan355]

Interestingly our 10 day old MY22 CT 4S is going back into the dealer this Friday to
Investigate a funny noise they think is linked to debris in the fan. I drove through a 6-9 puddle of water which if the case rather makes a mockery of the Cross Turismo/off road capability

We will see !!!

 

[Mad Pat 66]

Thanks for drawing our attention to this. I did not realize that fan repair because of this issue would not be covered by warranty.

Both fans completely jammed on my 4S from road spray/grit and Porsche said a bulletin had been issued by Porsche GB stating this was not a warranty issue, but I was not prepared to accept this, as the only reason they had to issue the bulletin is because of the number of reported issues from what is a fundamental flaw in the design. They even asked me if I took the car off road - a Taycan off roadAnyway, I persevered, pointing out that the very same could happen to new fans a few weeks later and they have now agreed to replace the fans under warranty, saving me £2.5k.
If at first you don’t succeed . . .

 

[W1NGE]

Interestingly our 10 day old MY22 CT 4S is going back into the dealer this Friday to
Investigate a funny noise they think is linked to debris in the fan. I drove through a 6-9 puddle of water which if the case rather makes a mockery of the Cross Turismo/off road capability

We will see !!!

It is not sold or advertised as an 'off roader' and is a 'soft roader' at best.

Notwithstanding that does sound like a design flaw (one of several).

Warranty would cover it in UK for sure.

 

[BigBob]

This pic from the porsche website certainly implies it can handle a bit of gravel and stones flying around. It also has a button inside called "Gravel", so you'd hope they would prepare the car for these eventualities.

I think the electric charger flaps solve this problem too - As the air intake is blocked/closed because of those. Assuming this is the bit you're taking about?

 

[Mad Pat 66]

It is not sold or advertised as an 'off roader' and is a 'soft roader' at best.

Notwithstanding that does sound like a design flaw (one of several).

Warranty would cover it in UK for sure.

You need to fight to get the repair done under warranty as Porsche are trying absolve themselves of responsibility for what is a fundamental design flaw; as it stands, there is nothing to stop this problem arising time and time again. I'm astonished that they did not foresee this, or have the problem in initial testing.

 

[Mad Pat 66]

This pic from the porsche website certainly implies it can handle a bit of gravel and stones flying around. It also has a button inside called "Gravel", so you'd hope they would prepare the car for these eventualities.

I think the electric charger flaps solve this problem too - As the air intake is blocked/closed because of those. Assuming this is the bit you're taking about?

It's a different area where the problem arises, the vented area in the front wheel arch, where there is little to stop road debris entering and blocking/damaging the fans.

 

[Fish Fingers]

Any for a picture to show exactly where this is on the car?

 

[Mad Pat 66]

Any for a picture to show exactly where this is on the car?

This is the area in the front wheel arch, directly in front of the tyre and behind the cooling fans and air intake. As you will see, there is little to stop road debris/grit/spray entering this area and damaging the fans - it is being widely reported.

 

[W1NGE]

You need to fight to get the repair done under warranty as Porsche are trying absolve themselves of responsibility for what is a fundamental design flaw; as it stands, there is nothing to stop this problem arising time and time again. I'm astonished that they did not foresee this, or have the problem in initial testing.

I have a track record an so if I get this issue 'bring it on I say!

Thanks for highlighting th issue.

 

[ciaranob]

This is the area in the front wheel arch, directly in front of the tyre and behind the cooling fans and air intake. As you will see, there is little to stop road debris/grit/spray entering this area and damaging the fans - it is being widely reported.

Hmm ... thx for sharing - looks like a prime area for some wire mesh but of course you'd rather not restrict airflow in any way so prob a bit dicey to play with (w/o modeling the effect*) especially should any addl warranty issues arise - still mesh could mitigate the issue substantially.

(* i.e. I'm guessing Porsche would have thought of this and mesh not there already due to impact on airflow?).

 

[Mad Pat 66]

Hmm ... thx for sharing - looks like a prime area for some wire mesh but of course you'd rather not restrict airflow in any way so prob a bit dicey to play with (w/o modeling the effect*) especially should any addl warranty issues arise - still mesh could mitigate the issue substantially.

(* i.e. I'm guessing Porsche would have thought of this and mesh not there already due to impact on airflow?).
[/I thought the same in regards to some kind of mesh and I'll be very surprised if later models don't have some kind of mod.

 

[Porsche-Guru]

This is the area in the front wheel arch, directly in front of the tyre and behind the cooling fans and air intake. As you will see, there is little to stop road debris/grit/spray entering this area and damaging the fans - it is being widely reported.

This looks like a prime candidate for having some sort of a mesh wire to protect from debris.
Would it be possible to attach a mesh wire cutout (of the same polygonal shape) and hold in place with 5-6 screws.
What is the surrounding material, is it 'plastic' or a 'felt' like material?