Will Porsche address software issues

[captainlk]

I’m close to ordering a new 4s, but due to wait times it’ll be a year until I actually get it.

I see a lot of complaints about software issues which seem fixable.

I’m wondering if Porsche has a good track record on other cars for fixing software issues? In which case by the time I get the car it could be a much smoother experience.

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[thecoloradokid]

@Frank is spot on his assessment.

The car drives like nobody's business, but just expect your radio favorites to be deleted on a weekly basis, or the PCM to fritz out every once and a while, or your profile to simply disappear/log out. Occasionally the car will lose connectivity, so the voice control will be useless, or the PCM will just freeze up and be stuck until you stop the car, and allow it to reset itself.

As long as you can can live with the weird acting interface, the car will drive almost anything off the road. If electronics and smooth interface are super important to you, then you may want to skip this iteration of the Taycan.

I am in the middle of a 2,000 mile road trip, and after one charging session in eastern Arizona the car decided to delete/log out of my profile, delete my radio station favorites, and the PCM froze up. I drove 165 miles to the next Electrify America station in PHX area and everything reappeared on the PCM after that charging session. Except for my radio favorites, I had to re-enter those again for the 100th time.

You have to decide what is important to you. Driving a performance car with unique software and interface challenges, or driving a car with slick electronics and interface like an iPad, but with bland driving characteristics.

Cheers

 

[PDACPA]

There are software quirks. Some days the handles do not present themselves when you walk out. The car unlocks, but no handles, you have to press the fob. The interior alarm goes off for me on an incline, so I just disable it. Car play works, but If I am listening to Spotify and switch on Waze on my PCM, the volume up control wants to zoom the map on Waze and will not release that unless you turn off waze on your phone.

But the driving experience, the look and fit and finish of the car are Porsche. They will figure out the software quirks over time. We are early adopters so it comes with some little inconveniences,

 

[daveo4EV]

• Great Car - Mediocre Software = Taycan
• Great Software - Mediocre Car = Tesla

Fastest Charging EV = Taycan
Most Reliable Fast Charging Network = Tesla

Tesla does agressive and transformative OTA Software Updates
Porsche updates it’s PCM software but I can never tell the the difference
Porsche’s OTA updates are done at the dealer - you receive your notice an update is available via OTA eMail on your cell phone

Porsche will ultimately “fix” their software bugs - it remains to be seen how much of this progress will be ‘back-ported’ to earlier models as they move forward
Tesla does the best it can to keep the entire fleet ‘consistent’ but ultimately newer cars get better software due to new hardware features only present on newer models

Best EV on the Market = Model 3
Best Vehicle on the Market that happens to be an EV = Taycan

Tesla is run by a mad man with no morals
Porsche is run by VW executives with no morals

Tesla is all in on this whole EV thing
Porsche is still generating press releases about $75/gallon synthetic gasoline so they can “keep the 911 alive” - using energy and hydrogen - with no analysis about how it would just be better to use the energy to power EV’s in the first place

Tesla build quality is mostly nearly ok
Porsche build quality is excellent - but you pay for it

The only thing wrong with a Tesla is that it’s a Tesla
The only thing wrong with the Taycan is the price (and the software and the charging network)

as to which one to get - it all depends on what you value

I do however have very very dubious feelings about relying on Porsche to retrofit future software bug fixes back to previous model years -there will be some “back porting” - but culturally that thinking doesn’t fit their model - I would look for improvements in future year models but limited improvements in vehicles already shipped…

I’ve owned and loved several Tesla’s - no more
I own several porsche’s love them all - but they frustrate me sometimes in the non mechanical area’s…(don‘t get me started on check engine lights on ‘21 Cayennes in the first 700 miles of ownership)

 

[chrisk]

• Great Car - Mediocre Software = Taycan
• Great Software - Mediocre Car = Tesla

Fastest Charging EV = Taycan
Most Reliable Fast Charging Network = Tesla

Tesla does agressive and transformative OTA Software Updates
Porsche updates it’s PCM software but I can never tell the the difference
Porsche’s OTA updates are done at the dealer - you receive your notice an update is available via OTA eMail on your cell phone

Porsche will ultimately “fix” their software bugs - it remains to be seen how much of this progress will be ‘back-ported’ to earlier models as they move forward
Tesla does the best it can to keep the entire fleet ‘consistent’ but ultimately newer cars get better software due to new hardware features only present on newer models

Best EV on the Market = Model 3
Best Vehicle on the Market that happens to be an EV = Taycan

Tesla is run by a mad man with no morals
Porsche is run by VW executives with no morals

Tesla is all in on this whole EV thing
Porsche is still generating press releases about $75/gallon synthetic gasoline so they can “keep the 911 alive” - using energy and hydrogen - with no analysis about how it would just be better to use the energy to power EV’s in the first place

Tesla build quality is mostly nearly ok
Porsche build quality is excellent - but you pay for it

The only thing wrong with a Tesla is that it’s a Tesla
The only thing wrong with the Taycan is the price (and the software and the charging network)

as to which one to get - it all depends on what you value

I do however have very very dubious feelings about relying on Porsche to retrofit future software bug fixes back to previous model years -there will be some “back porting” - but culturally that thinking doesn’t fit their model - I would look for improvements in future year models but limited improvements in vehicles already shipped…

I’ve owned and loved several Tesla’s - no more
I own several porsche’s love them all - but they frustrate me sometimes in the non mechanical area’s…(don‘t get me started on check engine lights on ‘21 Cayennes in the first 700 miles of ownership)

There is actually an EV in between.
It is the Ford Mach-e GT with Performance Package. It drives much better than a Tesla, but not as good as a Taycan.
Its software is better than Taycan's and has rare meaningful OTAs but it is not as good as Tesla's.
As far as charging network it is the same as the Porsche.

 

[thecoloradokid]

I do however have very very dubious feelings about relying on Porsche to retrofit future software bug fixes back to previous model years -there will be some “back porting” - but culturally that thinking doesn’t fit their model - I would look for improvements in future year models but limited improvements in vehicles already shipped…


@daveo4EV curious to get more of your perspective on this. I would think that if Porsche does decide to introduce some enhancements to previous model year vehicles they would charge a fee for the feature. Kind of how you get some of the premium PCM connectivity features free for the first year of your vehicle and then you have to pay a fee to keep the service going. Like on my '19 Cayenne e-Hybrid, I did not renew some of the connectivity features because I can get them for free using other apps.

Then again, they could just say screw the older Taycans. If you want improvements and enhancements then buy a new car, sucker!

 

[daveo4EV]

I do however have very very dubious feelings about relying on Porsche to retrofit future software bug fixes back to previous model years -there will be some “back porting” - but culturally that thinking doesn’t fit their model - I would look for improvements in future year models but limited improvements in vehicles already shipped…


@daveo4EV curious to get more of your perspective on this. I would think that if Porsche does decide to introduce some enhancements to previous model year vehicles they would charge a fee for the feature. Kind of how you get some of the premium PCM connectivity features free for the first year of your vehicle and then you have to pay a fee to keep the service going. Like on my '19 Cayenne e-Hybrid, I did not renew some of the connectivity features because I can get them for free using other apps.

Then again, they could just say screw the older Taycans. If you want improvements and enhancements then buy a new car, sucker!

reasonable questions - i have one answer - Quality Assurance - once a product is released it’s best and cheapest to just leave it alone - Porsche has to QA the new stuff on the new cars and if they start backporting it they at least 2 addtional costs:

1. the cost to make sure it works on every previous version of the vehicle they choose to support
2. the mechanism to deliver it to the previous vehicles they choose to support

Porsche has already demonstrated they have no effective “update” mechanism and the previous software updates were a demonstration of just how far behind they are in this space…I expect this to get better over time - but they simply are not there yet - IMHO.

 

[Deleted member 1697]

I’m wondering if Porsche has a good track record

 

[W1NGE]

I’m close to ordering a new 4s, but due to wait times it’ll be a year until I actually get it.

I see a lot of complaints about software issues which seem fixable.

I’m wondering if Porsche has a good track record on other cars for fixing software issues? In which case by the time I get the car it could be a much smoother experience.

I wouldn't fret - by the time you get yours the software should be stable (its almost there just now as it is) - it's a class act from every other aspect.

 

[f1eng]

I am very out of date, I wrote my first software which earned me money in 1971 but stopped writing software myself in 1986, though still specified plenty.

Anyway it seems to me that Porsche has a potentially bigger problem with software and updates than most others because of the multiple options buyers can choose.

Most cars have far fewer options and therefore far fewer different ways in which the various controllers interact. If there is one or two versions of the car then an update is straightforward and also easy to de-bug.

Before the Porsche can be updated the options combination will need to be known and a custom appropriate update sent to the car. I am sure this is automated but is probably why updates need to be done at a dealer, some sort of diagnostic software will have to run first to find out which bits of update are appropriate for the actual car to be updated. This also probably makes de-bugging the software slow and difficult because some combinations of options may not have been properly de-bugged since there are hundreds of different possible combinations.

I have stuck with things like torque vectoring, rear wheel steering and active ARBs which are Porsche staples, and steered clear of innodrive, remote park assist and other aids on that basis

 

[RBGtaycan]

• Great Car - Mediocre Software = Taycan
• Great Software - Mediocre Car = Tesla

Fastest Charging EV = Taycan
Most Reliable Fast Charging Network = Tesla

Tesla does agressive and transformative OTA Software Updates
Porsche updates it’s PCM software but I can never tell the the difference
Porsche’s OTA updates are done at the dealer - you receive your notice an update is available via OTA eMail on your cell phone

Porsche will ultimately “fix” their software bugs - it remains to be seen how much of this progress will be ‘back-ported’ to earlier models as they move forward
Tesla does the best it can to keep the entire fleet ‘consistent’ but ultimately newer cars get better software due to new hardware features only present on newer models

Best EV on the Market = Model 3
Best Vehicle on the Market that happens to be an EV = Taycan

Tesla is run by a mad man with no morals
Porsche is run by VW executives with no morals

Tesla is all in on this whole EV thing
Porsche is still generating press releases about $75/gallon synthetic gasoline so they can “keep the 911 alive” - using energy and hydrogen - with no analysis about how it would just be better to use the energy to power EV’s in the first place

Tesla build quality is mostly nearly ok
Porsche build quality is excellent - but you pay for it

The only thing wrong with a Tesla is that it’s a Tesla
The only thing wrong with the Taycan is the price (and the software and the charging network)

as to which one to get - it all depends on what you value

I do however have very very dubious feelings about relying on Porsche to retrofit future software bug fixes back to previous model years -there will be some “back porting” - but culturally that thinking doesn’t fit their model - I would look for improvements in future year models but limited improvements in vehicles already shipped…

I’ve owned and loved several Tesla’s - no more
I own several porsche’s love them all - but they frustrate me sometimes in the non mechanical area’s…(don‘t get me started on check engine lights on ‘21 Cayennes in the first 700 miles of ownership)

this is a GREAT summary of the Taycan experience!

 

[RinOC]

I noticed this morning that there’sa recall for my car regarding something about the flashers activating during a collision alert or something. It wasn’t clear to me what the issue is. I’m not worried about it at all but it did cross my mind if there was ever something that seemed fixable by OTA update this seems like the perfect case for it. Maybe not. Maybe a recall is different or they have to put a sticker physically on the car to allow the recall has been done. IDK. Just mentioning it.

 

[Snappy77]

I am very out of date, I wrote my first software which earned me money in 1971 but stopped writing software myself in 1986, though still specified plenty.
....
I have stuck with things like torque vectoring, rear wheel steering and active ARBs which are Porsche staples, and steered clear of innodrive, remote park assist and other aids on that basis

Old and wise, f1eng, old and wise.

 

[B61]

Speaking about bugs: is there any list of known bugs?

Also what bothers you the most?
I feel stupid that pedal recuperation has to be set on every time again and again.
at least, if it could be able to use diamond button for that….but no…press on car, select recuperarion, set it on….three clicks every time when i start driving….
also the same steps after you change drive mode…

 

[RBGtaycan]

Speaking about bugs: is there any list of known bugs?

Also what bothers you the most?
I feel stupid that pedal recuperation has to be set on every time again and again.
at least, if it could be able to use diamond button for that….but no…press on car, select recuperarion, set it on….three clicks every time when i start driving….
also the same steps after you change drive mode…

Amen, brother...one of my pet peeves (love the car tho)

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