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2016 Porsche Cayenne

Plug-in hybridGasDiesel

Standard Sport Utility Vehicle 4WD
7 EPA-rated configurations
Data refreshed 2026-09-11

Safety Signal

84 / 100 from the NHTSA recall record

RecallsNHTSA campaigns2

Complaintsowner reports to NHTSA39

Crash ratingNHTSA overall—

Fuel economybest combined, EPA24 mpg

2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016

The 2016 Porsche Cayenne is sold in the U.S. as a plug-in hybrid, gas and diesel midsize or large SUV with 7 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Cayenne Diesel, is EPA-rated at 24 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 2 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of B. Owners have filed 39 complaints, most often about the air bags.

Specs & fuel economy

Source: EPA fueleconomy.gov

Configuration	Powertrain	Drive	Engine / motor	City	Hwy	Comb	Range	kWh/100mi	Charge (240V)	Annual fuel*
Cayenne S e-Hybrid	Plug-in hybrid	AWD	3.0L 6-cyl + 70 kW DC Brushless	21	24	22 (27 MPGe blended)	14 mi electric	69	3 h	$3,500
Cayenne	Gas	AWD	3.6L 6-cyl	17	24	20	—	—	—	$3,900
Cayenne S	Gas	AWD	3.6L 6-cyl turbo	16	24	19	—	—	—	$4,100
Cayenne GTS	Gas	AWD	3.6L 6-cyl turbo	16	23	18	—	—	—	$4,300
Cayenne Turbo	Gas	AWD	4.8L 8-cyl turbo	14	21	17	—	—	—	$4,550
Cayenne Turbo S	Gas	AWD	4.8L 8-cyl turbo	14	21	16	—	—	—	$4,850
Cayenne Diesel	Diesel	AWD	3.0L 6-cyl turbo	21	28	24	—	—	—	$3,750

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year at EPA reference fuel and electricity prices. fueleconomy.gov record ids: 36709, 36060, 36070, 36071, 36189, 36190, 36784.

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Recalls (2)

Source: NHTSA recall database

▲high

Exterior Lighting

ANB4

222,858 vehicles

ProblemPorsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche) is recalling certain 2003-2020 Porsche Macan, Cayenne, Panamera, and Cayman S, 2001-2004 Boxster, Boxster S, 2004 Boxster 50 JAHRE SPYDER 550 vehicles. Please see the recall report for a complete list of all affected models and model years. The caps that cover the low-beam headlight horizontal adjustment screws are missing, which can allow the headlights to be improperly adjusted. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."RiskImproperly adjusted headlights may not illuminate the road properly, or cause a glare to oncoming drivers, which can increase the risk of a crash.FixDealers will inspect the headlights for sealing caps and install missing caps as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 28, 2022. Owners may contact Porsche's customer service at 1-800-767-7243. Porsche's number for this recall is ANB4.

NHTSA campaign 22V656000reported Aug 30, 2022Porsche Cars North America, Inc.

▲high

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

AG02

88,300 vehicles

ProblemPorsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche) is recalling certain model year 2011-2016 Cayenne vehicles manufactured April 28, 2010, to January 11, 2016. The brake pedal pivot pin may be missing a circlip, allowing the pivot pin to move and the brake pedal to dislodge.RiskIf the brake pedal dislodges, the driver may not be able to apply the brakes, increasing the risk of a crash.FixPorsche will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the brake pedal assembly circlip, installing any missing circlips, free of charge. The recall began on July 8, 2016. Owners may contact Porsche customer service at 1-800-767-7243. Porsche's number for this recall is AG02.

NHTSA campaign 16V169000reported Mar 23, 2016Porsche Cars North America, Inc.

NHTSA defect investigations

Electrical System:Propulsion System — Pedestrian alert sounds closed

NHTSA received a petition on or about July 18, 2022, requesting that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 141 be applied to all electric and hybrid vehicles operating in the United States. The petition can be reviewed at NHTSA.gov under ODI Number 11486072. FMVSS 141 establishes performance requirements for pedestrian alert sounds for motor vehicles. The standard applies to hybrid and electric vehicles that have a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 KG or less or are defined as low-speed vehicles. The standard became fully applicable to all such vehicles manufactured on or after March 1, 2021.On January 27, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition (DP) 22-005 to evaluate the subject matt

Opened Jan 27, 2023 · closed Aug 7, 2023 · action DP22005

Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator Module — Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture open

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa

Opened Sep 17, 2021 · action EA21002

Owner complaints

Source: NHTSA complaint database

39complaints filed

0 involved a crash · 0 a fire · 2 injuries · 0 deaths reported

Filed per year: 2015: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2017: 1 · 2018: 4 · 2019: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2023: 7 · 2024: 8 · 2025: 3 · 2026: 4

Most-cited components

Unspecified15

Air Bags10

Power Train7

Exterior Lighting6

Fuel/Propulsion System5

Engine5

What owners describe

“passenger side leather covered dashboard delaminated making air bag deployment inpossible”Oct 25, 2025 · Air Bags · NHTSA owner report

“Porsche dashboard leather shrunk and staples pulled out. I was told that if the vehicle was in an accident the airbag might not deploy correctly. The Porsche dealer looked at it and recommended replacing it. This is a very common issue.”Jan 11, 2025 · Air Bags · NHTSA owner report

“Engine oil leak detected in 2021 @33,195 miles caused by broken aluminum bolts in upper part of timing cover. Repaired by dealer on a â€œgood willâ€� basis for what I was told would have cost me approximately $9-10,000. Oil leak reappeared in 2023 @44,657 miles (less than 12,000 since first leak) caused again by broken…”Nov 25, 2024 · Engine · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

Source: NHTSA NCAP

NHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.

Other Cayenne model years

2026 Porsche Cayenne

1 recalls · 3 complaints

2025 Porsche Cayenne

2 recalls · 6 complaints

2024 Porsche Cayenne

5 recalls · 5 complaints

2023 Porsche Cayenne

2 recalls · 5 complaints

2022 Porsche Cayenne

3 recalls · 3 complaints

2021 Porsche Cayenne

7 recalls · 21 complaints

2020 Porsche Cayenne

6 recalls · 24 complaints

2019 Porsche Cayenne

8 recalls · 42 complaints

2018 Porsche Cayenne

1 recalls · 14 complaints

2017 Porsche Cayenne

2 recalls · 17 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records. Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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