Recalls are nothing new. From Hyundai to Toyota, it seems like nearly every major car brand ends up in the news for a recall. At times, the more recalls there are, the more a brand damages its reputation in the eyes of consumers, such as all the Tesla recalls recently.

One recent example of this is Porsche, which recently recalled nearly 5,000 Porsche models for faulty rear axles. What are the details about the recall, how you can take action, and what are other recent recalls on Porsche vehicles?

What’s wrong with the rear axles in the 4,934 Porsche Boxster and Cayman models?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a recent defect in the rear axles caused 4,934 Porsche Boxster and Cayman models to be recalled. The main reason for this is that some faulty rear axles were installed.

More specifically, the material used the wrong ratio of strontium, causing deterioration over time. This issue was resolved as of 2019, as this was when the company changed suppliers. The rear axles this supplier provides are all designed to be within the proper specifications and don’t have this same defect.

What does this defect cause? Based on the recall report, the effects could be hazardous. Once the rear axle starts breaking down and cracking, the driver may lose control and cause a car crash. Some drivers may hear a cracking noise beforehand, but others may not have any warning before this occurs.

More details on the recall

Only specific model years are affected by the recall, including model years from 2013 to 2015. Keep in mind that this issue may affect used cars as well, so if you’re looking to buy an older Boxster or Cayman, it’s best to contact either the company or the NHTSA. You can contact Porshe’s customer support at 1-800-767-7243 or the NHTSA’s vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236 if you’d like more details on the recall. If you’d rather not call, you can also email the NHTSA at nhtsa.webmaster@dot.gov or use Porsche’s contact form.

Thankfully, if you have one of these models or are planning to buy one, Porsche has offered to fix the issue for free. You’ll need to take your vehicle to a local dealership, and it will replace your brake axle with a new one. The recall is already in effect, and Porsche notified dealerships. Porsche will notify all known owners of the vehicles by November 1st of this year. If you don’t want to wait, however, you don’t need to. You can take your car to the dealership, and they’ll fix it as soon as possible.

Porsche’s other recent recalls

Unfortunately, this is not the only Porsche recall that’s happened recently. There were four different recalls in 2020. While recalls aren’t necessarily uncommon, it’s relatively rare for so many to happen to the same manufacturer in a row. Some drivers have begun to question the quality of Porsche vehicles in light of this, and an additional recall certainly isn’t helping this perception fade.

In addition, there was an even larger-scale recall this year related to seat belt retractors. In total, over 45,000 vehicles were recalled since they could have possibly endangered child safety otherwise. There were also two other recalls just this year, from loose suspension components to airbag malfunctions.

While it’s unclear what long-term effects this may have on Porsche’s public reception, it’s safe to say that some drivers may be hesitant to purchase a new vehicle from them until the recall frequency reduces.

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