Porsche and Bentley call several thousand cars into the workshops. A short circuit can occur in the coolant pump – and the vehicle can then catch fire.
The car manufacturers Porsche and Bentley have launched a global recall campaign. It is about the series Porsche Panamera (see photo show) and Bentley Continental (see video).
In Germany, a total of 3,134 Porsche Panamera built between July 21, 2015 and November 10, 2021 are affected. In the USA there are 24,467 vehicles that were produced between 09/23/2016 and 11/04/2021 (see list further down in the article). 101,478 Porsche Panamera vehicles are affected worldwide. For the Bentley Continental GT, GT Cabrio and Flying Spur, the number of vehicles affected worldwide is 5,461; they were manufactured between 06/15/2018 and 07/10/2020. In Europe there are 1,946 identified cars, in the USA there are 650.
New pump with an optimized sealing concept
According to Bentley, the cause lies in the technical concept of an additional pump for the climate control system, which can create a vacuum in its electrical system. As a result, liquid from the cooling system or moisture from the air can enter their housing. This can cause malfunctions and short circuits in the control unit and then lead to scorching damage and "in the rarest of cases and even when the vehicle is switched off" to a fire, adds Porsche. According to the manufacturers, the error was found during internal quality controls. The risk that he will occur is "very low".
For customers, according to Porsche, the problem manifests itself as a malfunction in the temperature control of the interior and when the engine residual heat function is activated. In order to rectify the error, the additional pump is replaced by a variant with an optimized sealing concept in Porsche workshops. As part of this, the cable connections are also checked and replaced if necessary. The workshop visit lasts about 1.5 hours and is free of charge. Bentley is still investigating how to fix the bug.
The following model series are affected by the NHTSA recall:
The KBA reference numbers are 012545 (Bentley) and 012496 (Porsche). Manufacturer codes are RE23/02 (Bentley) and APA1 (Porsche). NHTSA is conducting the recalls under case numbers 23V-033 (Porsche) and 23V-034 (Bentley).
Conclusion
Porsche and Bentley have to make improvements to several thousand Panamera and Continental models. In the vehicles, (atmospheric) moisture can enter a coolant pump and cause a short circuit, which increases the risk of a vehicle fire.
