As a luxury sports brand, Porsche is not well-known for the reliability of its vehicles. When you ask owners if their Porsche vehicles are reliable, the responses are a “mixed bag.” Porsche buyers, for the most part, are more interested in vehicle performance and appearance.
How reliable are Porsche vehicles?
The 2020 Porsche lineup included the 718 Boxster, 718 Cayman, 911, Panamera, Macan, Cayenne and Taycan. Out of that list, only the 2020 Porsche Macan earned the JD Power Award for Dependability.
Prior to the 2020 Macan, Porsche has only earned the Dependability Award twice in the previous 20 years:
- 2010: The entire Porsche brand earned the JD Power Dependability Award
- 2002: Porsche 911 Carrera
That is a lot of years between Dependability awards, which suggests that Porsche is not really striving for reliability as one of its main features.
Scotty Kilmer’s Take on Porsche Reliability
One of the most highly respected mechanics on YouTube is Scotty Kilmer. Here is #SavageScotty’s take on the reliability of Porsche vehicles:
All humor aside, Scotty raises some very good points. Porsche vehicles are expensive to purchase, expensive to maintain, and expensive to repair. The value of Porsche vehicles depreciates more quickly than many of its competitors — especially if the vehicle develops a major mechanical problem.
However, if you can afford a Porsche in the first place, that might not even be a consideration.
Porsche Crash Safety Ratings
There is almost no authoritative data on the crash test ratings of Porsche vehicles. Government agencies don’t even test the more modestly priced Porsche vehicles. The most recent official federal crash test of a Porsche that we could find happened in 2006.
The reason why the NHTSA and the IIHS don’t crash-test Porsche vehicles is obviously their high price. You don’t have to crash very many $135,000 sports cars into a brick wall before congressional overseers start asking questions.
Although there are some private entities that have crash-tested Porsche vehicles over the years, which you can find elsewhere online, we cannot attest to the accuracy of those tests.
Porsche Vehicle Warranty
Porsche offers a fairly good warranty package on all of its vehicles, which is another reliability factor to know about. Here is Porsche’s standard warranty:
- Basic Warranty (includes Powertrain): 4 years or 50,000 miles
- Parts, Exchange Parts & Accessories: 2 years, so long as they are authentic Porsche parts
Porsche also offers a unique 12-year warranty on all its vehicles against rust perforation in the vehicle’s bodyshell.
Porsche Safety Recalls
Porsche vehicles have been subject to very few safety recalls in recent years, which is another favorable reliability factor for the brand. One of the most recent recalls issued by the NHTSA was against 2019 Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman vehicles — and it was an odd one.
Normally the NHTSA issues a safety recall because a design flaw could lead to a safety hazard or crash. In this case, 718 Boxster and Cayman cars were recalled because a luggage crossbar was detaching during crashes and puncturing the fuel tank.
“Don’t crash your Porsche” seems like a viable remedy to this, but the NHTSA issued a recall anyway. Porsche corrected the issue, so owners could crash their expensive sports cars without causing a fuel leak.
Porsche Reliability Verdict
With all of the above factors taken into consideration, it’s difficult to say that Porsche is a highly reliable brand. Its vehicles are “Good” but not “Great” when it comes to reliability. That being said, the 2020 Porsche Macan is worth a look if reliability is a major factor in your purchase decision. Then again — that’s probably not why you are considering a Porsche in the first place.
It’s always wise to run a full Vehicle History check on a sports car here before making a purchase.
