While driving my 2019 Porsche Cayenne S on the freeway, the check-engine light came on, followed by a message on the dashboard that read “Engine Control fault – Driving permitted – Visit workshop.” Moments later, the vehicle suddenly lost power and decelerated from about ~75 mph to around 55 mph, even though my foot was still on the accelerator. I am [XXX] pregnant and had our [XXX] child in the car at the time. The unexpected loss of speed in fast-moving traffic was frightening. I had to quickly change lanes to reach the slower lane and avoid being hit by other vehicles. After reaching safety, I drove the car to an authorized Porsche dealership, where technicians found an active water-pump leak with coolant entering the vacuum system, which may have caused turbocharger and engine-power failure. This is after I replaced the water pump last year at another porsche dealership. A photo taken during the incident shows the dashboard warning message as it appeared. This incident created a serious safety hazard, as the vehicle displayed “driving permitted” even though it was at risk of a sudden loss of propulsion at highway speeds. The car and the failed components are available for inspection. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA ODI 11698394