NHTSA Complaint #11551390 — 2017 PORSCHE MACAN

The specific concern pertains to the routing of sunroof water drains from the roof to the wheel well of several Porsche vehicles. In this case, the rear water drains are routed directly over fuses and other electronic components within the vehicle. One of the electronic components affected, a Park Assist Control Unit (part 95B 919 475 L), controls multiple vehicle safety functions including perimeter sensors and the backup camera. When this unit fails, the backup camera is blank and perimeter sensors that beep to notify the driver of potentially hidden objects (or people) close to the vehicle do not function. Such failure may jeopardize the overall safety of vehicle occupants and other road users and may affect safe operation of the vehicle. This Park Assist Control Unit has failed in my Porsche Macan on three separate occasions due to corrosion of the terminals. The Porsche Orland Park (Illinois) dealership where I took my vehicle for repair stated that the corrosion was due to leakage from the sunroof drain onto the unit. After the third failure of this unit due to corrosion, I contacted Porsche North America customer support. I was told that the corrosion of the terminals and subsequent failure of the Park Assist Control Unit was due to clogging of the sunroof water drain, causing “pooling and draining to places where it can cause damage.” Although other electronic components directly adjacent to this Unit have never had similar corrosion, there has never been evidence of water leakage inside the vehicle, and I regularly test the drains and have found no sign of blockages, I accepted Porsche North America’s explanation. They stated that “park[ing] a vehicle outside” or “driv[ing] where there are many trees” may exacerbate the issue. Unfortunately, subsequent concerns I raised regarding the tendency for these drains to clog at any time and Porsche’s decision to route a water drain in such close proximity to electronic vehicle safety systems were ignored.