Model Reports 4 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Porsche Cayenne 2012: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 83 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2012 Porsche Cayenne were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Coil spring (front).

Summary

The 2012 Porsche Cayenne follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 1,832 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
83 in every 100
Did not pass first time
17 in every 100303 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
13 yearsabout 105,859 miles
First tests counted
1,832

What failed most often

  1. Coil spring (front)19 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2012 Porsche Cayenne vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Tyres

One wear pattern: tyre tread depth (rear), 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 302 of 303 failed first attempts (99.7%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Tyre tread depth (rear)

Failed on 30 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Only primary grooves count when tread depth is assessed: those holding the wear indicators, or cut as deep as those when new. Shallower secondary grooves are ignored. Tread depth below the minimum for the vehicle is Dangerous, and so is a pattern not visible over the whole tread, but that second row applies only to vehicles that need the lower minimum.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Suspension

Two faults. The strongest is the coil spring (front): 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.

Coil spring (front)

Failed on 57 first tests2.7 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

Coil spring (rear)

Failed on 33 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a coil spring. When the vehicle is jacked and lowered, a spring that does not correctly locate as the suspension returns to its normal running position is rejected as insecurely attached. A missing spring is Major, and graded Dangerous where directional control is affected.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail.

Brake pads (rear)

Noted on 36 first tests2.5 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

Engine oil leaks

Noted on 67 first tests2.4 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Brake pads (front)

Noted on 38 first tests2.2 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
83in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
3in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
14in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 83.5% of 1,832 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 86.1%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 3 fixed and the 14 not fixed make the 17 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsPassed first time, as tested
Diesel1,45283
Petrol32186

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

4060801002005201220152020Older carsNewer cars
40608010020122020Older carsNewer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 82 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
200374 in every 100420
200473 in every 100902
200572 in every 1001,121
200673 in every 100778
200773 in every 100627
200876 in every 100529
200972 in every 100749
201083 in every 100821
201180 in every 1001,142
2012 This car83 in every 1001,832
201383 in every 1002,051
201484 in every 1001,779
201585 in every 1002,231
201685 in every 1002,654
201787 in every 1001,688
201889 in every 1001,735
201991 in every 1003,080
202091 in every 1002,254
202194 in every 1001,518
202294 in every 1002,350

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2012 Porsche Cayenne follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Coil spring (front), about 19 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 83.5% of 1,832 first MOTs on the 2012 Porsche Cayenne passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 86.1%. Among 303 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Coil spring (front) appears more often than on similar cars (18.9% of those tests; 57 observed failures; about 2.7× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2012 Porsche Cayenne at the first attempt were Coil spring (front) (18.9%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Coil spring (front) (18.9% of those tests; 57 observed failures; about 2.7× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Coil spring (front) shows up more often than on similar cars (18.9% of those tests; 57 observed failures; about 2.7× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2012 Porsche Cayenne include Coil spring (front). These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2012 Porsche Cayenne (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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