Porsche Cars North America, Inc
A detached steering column can cause a loss of control, increasing the risk of a crash.
Free. Instant. No signup. Pulls recalls and complaints for your exact vehicle.
Couldn't find that VIN. Check the digits and try again.
Light NHTSA footprint — 17 owner complaints and 3 active recall campaigns. Either a clean record or thin data; we'll show what's there.
Solid reliability overall. Common issues are concentrated in a few systems.
Worth owning if you verify the specific issues below before you buy.
Our read of the federal NHTSA complaint and recall record for this exact year and model — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection. How we score.
Here's what this model is known to do — so you can inspect for it, price it in, or make the seller fix it before you sign.
Run the VIN from the listing — 3 active recalls on this model. Recall repairs are always free.
Verdict for buyers: 8.0/10 model. The priciest documented failure is airbags (~$1,100) — get the seller's service records for it or inspect closely. Otherwise an average-risk used buy at a fair price.
We tell you what this model is known for and what to inspect — a vehicle-history report tells you what this exact car has been through. Smart buyers get both.
See the full pre-purchase inspection checklist →when decelerating and car is in gear 2 it lurches the car forward while braking, basically fighting the attempt to slow the car down. I attribute this to aggressive downshifting, but is a safety issue because the operator then needs to compensate by pressing down on the brake…
The car is notifying me that the drivers airbag is not working. the message that appears is: “Airbag system error, please visit workshop”
Odometer Fraud. The contact purchased a 2021 Porsche Cayenne. It was discovered that there was a mileage discrepancy. The vehicle was a dealer sale. At the time of purchase on 5/29/25, the mileage was 21,000. The contact had taken the vehicle to another dealer for other repairs,…
I am reporting a safety defect with my 2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS. The leather dashboard is delaminating and lifting away from its underlying structure. This defect is concerning because: The delamination is occurring on the drivers side but will eventually expand in the area…
Drag to your current mileage. Numbers are derived from this vehicle's complaint history.
A detached steering column can cause a loss of control, increasing the risk of a crash.
A broken lock nut may misalign the rear axle, causing a loss of control and increasing the risk of a crash.
The front passenger air bag may fail to deploy, increasing the risk of injury.
Mostly yes. With a reliability score of 8.0 out of 10 based on 17 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 2021 Porsche Cayenne is generally a sound vehicle. The areas to watch are listed in the top problem section above — most are budget items, not deal-breakers.
The 2021 Porsche Cayenne is acceptable, with specific caveats. Worth owning if you verify the specific issues below before you buy. The record behind that call: Reliability score 8.0/10 — above the segment average; 3 recall campaigns on file. This is our read of the federal complaint and recall data — not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection.
Inspect the electrical first — it's the most-reported issue on this model, with 5 owner complaints filed. Typical failure occurs around 90,000 miles. Average repair cost runs about $850 at an independent shop. Also confirm any open recalls have been completed by running the VIN, and ask for service records covering the problem areas listed above.
It scores 8.0 out of 10 on our NHTSA-based read of 17 owner complaints. The main thing to watch is electrical. Typical failure occurs around 90,000 miles. Priced fairly and clean on inspection, it's a reasonable used buy. Our data covers what this model is known for — pair it with a vehicle-history report on the VIN to see what that specific car has been through.
Based on NHTSA records, the most-reported issue is electrical, with 5 complaints filed. Typical failure occurs around 90,000 miles. Average repair cost runs about $850 at an independent shop.
The electrical is one of the costlier repair items. Average repair cost runs about $850 at an independent shop. Typical failure occurs around 90,000 miles. Catching early warning signs can sometimes extend life by 20–30,000 miles.
Paste your VIN into the decoder at the top of this page. We pull live from NHTSA, so you'll see exactly which campaigns apply to your vehicle and whether the dealer has logged the fix. Recall repairs are always free regardless of mileage or warranty status.
Math is straightforward: a quality service contract runs $1,800–3,500 over 3 years. With 17 complaints on file and the costliest repair averaging $850, one major failure more than pays for it. The catch is reading the contract — many providers exclude wear items and require pre-authorization, so cheaper plans are not always better value.