I was driving home from work and it was raining pretty hard. 200 mtrs from home I had to use an underpass to get of the highway. the underpass has some water collected and I see a landrover discovery, a pickup truck and some other cars pass through the water. Water level was not alarmingly high. I had the air suspension on the highest setting (spec terrain setting) as I am going through the car slows down and just stops!! I try to restart doesnt work. thankfully a few guys came to my help and towed the car to safety. Tried starting the car this morning still doesnt start. The water level was underthe door sill thankfully so the interior is intact.. but I m like WTF i didnt pay so much money to be stuck in water and other cars are driving through like it was no big deal..
dealer says u got the air box wet so it wont start or got water in the exhaust. I hope this isnt going to cost me mega $$ to bring the car back to its orignal glory. battery and electronics working fine. I could still play around with the air suspension etc.. any ideas on what went wrong ??

 

I doubt i'd be the airboax because the cayennes, atleast the s, has snorkels for the the filters that go all the way to the top of the bumper, don't know about the exhast though

 

I went to the dealership this morning and was asked to stick my hand into the intake manifold, needless to say it was full of water!!! the dealership showed me atleast 5 turbos that got effected the same way as mine.. They are prposing a full engine swap!!+ change anything that might have gotten affected i.e. air suspension, brakes, other electronics etc. under insurance and thankfully my car being less than a year old, I dont get hit with depriciation. Now the Question is:

Will the car be the same or its going to give me problems as long as I own it??
Should I push to get the car totalled?? does it seem possible??

any experience sharing on this will be really helpful.

This is real sucky situation.. I really liked the CTT. Cut down in its prime..what a shame.

 

Thus must be an issue related to the Turbos and not the S or v6 peppers. I have an S equipped w/ the PASM and it has seen some pretty deep water (just below the tailpipes in Special Terrain Level) last winter. Some cars and misc. SUV's had gotten stuck in the water but the Cayenne went through with out any trouble. I kept on the gas pedal the entire time (hopefully to prevent any water from entering the exhaust) but also kept the speeds slow enough to keep from creating a wave of water that would overtake the hood.

This is very unfortunate, especially since the Cayenne is built to be as equally capable offroad as it is onroad. Sounds like you do have a good dealer and that will make all the difference. The water "mishap" shouldnt really affect anything more the engine and if a NEW engine is promised than I dont forsee it causing you any grief further down the road. Things like the brake line and steering system should be flushed and refilled but the brake calipers and rotors and everything else should be just fine.

 

if ins is involved, wouldn't ur car have a flooded title? i'd try to get things cleaned up in the engine under warranty since it is an SUV instead of a full replacement of everything. ur ins will RISE like a MF after a 30k+ claim! Even if it's not your fault.

 

I've seen videos on the porsche site showing the cayenne going through some real deep water, definately deeper than what you described. I think Porsche should fix it under warrenty and not through insurance.

 

Did you 'hit' the water at speed? or did you wade it slowly? I've personally had the same experience and made it out fine..Water was up above the front fog lights.

 

Happened to me in a CLK430, LESSON IS if car is in water and does not start dont try to start it you sucked water right into the engine and now its shot! Sorry to here..mine wound up being a total loss thank goodness..