Common problems

Porsche Cayman common problems

What MOT testers find on the Porsche Cayman: the parts that fail or get advisories most often at each age, against all cars of the same age. From 59,394 DVSA MOT tests taken 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated 28 September 2026

At 16 years, the most tested age

Lights and electrics fails per 100 MOTs (n=4,566)7.9

All cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625)20.4

Brakes advisories and minor defects per 100 MOTs (n=4,566)24.3

All cars, same age (n=4,858,625)29.5

What stands out

No part area of the Porsche Cayman fails more than 1 point per 100 MOTs above all cars at 16 years old (n=4,566; all cars n=4,858,625).
Suspension fails are less common: 4.3 per 100 MOTs against 17.1 for all cars at the same age.
The fail item testers record most often at 16 years: side/position light not working, on 4.0 per 100 MOTs (all cars 5.9).
The most common advisory or minor defect: rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material, on 13.3 per 100 MOTs.

Problems by part at 16 years

How many of every 100 MOTs found a fail, or an advisory or minor defect, in each area. A test with faults in two areas counts in both.

Porsche Cayman at 16 years (n=4,566) against all cars at 16 years (n=4,858,625). Per 100 MOTs.
Area	Fails	All cars	Advisories	All cars
Lights and electrics	7.9	20.4	3.9	15.3
Brakes	4.6	11.6	24.3	29.5
Suspension	4.3	17.1	9.2	33.7
Exhaust, emissions and leaks	3.8	6.2	5.0	12.0
Tyres	3.0	7.5	16.0	28.4
Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.9	6.8	3.1	5.7
Body and structure	1.3	7.6	3.5	12.6
Steering	1.3	3.4	2.6	4.6
Number plates and VIN	0.6	0.6	0.9	4.8
Seat belts and airbags	0.2	2.1	under 0.1	1.1
Road wheels	0.2	0.6	0.1	1.5

What testers fail most on the Cayman at 16 years

Fail items on the Porsche Cayman at 16 years (n=4,566), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,858,625).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	Typical repair (estimate)
Side/position light not working	Lights and electrics	4.0	5.9	£10 to £47 per lamp
Catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	2.3	1.2
Coil spring broken	Suspension	2.0	3.9	£64 to £236 per spring (rough guide)
Rigid brake pipes: excessively corroded	Brakes	1.8	1.6	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Wipers not clearing screen	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	1.4	2.6	£15 to £30 per blade
Headlight aimed too high	Lights and electrics	1.4	1.2	£16 to £39 per car (rough guide)
Handbrake too weak	Brakes	1.0	2.5
Tyre tread below 1.6 mm	Tyres	1.0	3.1	£88 to £145 per tyre
Brake light not working	Lights and electrics	0.9	4.0	£10 to £47 per lamp
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	0.9	1.9	diagnosis from £39 (rough guide)

Early warnings: advisories and minor defects at 16 years

Advisories and minor defects are recorded, but the car still passes. Across all cars, a part with an advisory or minor defect failed at the next MOT 5.5 times in 100 (n=88,666,940 pairs of consecutive MOTs), against 0.3 times in 100 when the same part had none (n=12,936,860,350).

Advisories and minor defects on the Porsche Cayman at 16 years (n=4,566), per 100 MOTs, with all cars at the same age (n=4,858,625).
Item	Area	Per 100 MOTs	All cars	If it needs replacing (estimate)
Rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material	Brakes	13.3	8.8	£137 to £392 per car (rough guide)
Brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened	Brakes	12.4	11.2	£148 to £376 per axle (rough guide)
Tread depth: worn close to legal limit/worn on edge	Tyres	8.8	18.2	£88 to £145 per tyre
Tyre condition: slightly damaged/cracking or perishing	Tyres	6.4	9.5	£88 to £145 per tyre
Play in steering rack inner joint(s)	Other	5.8	3.0
Engine oil leaks: leak, but not excessive	Exhaust, emissions and leaks	4.4	10.7
Suspension arm ball joint: ball joint has slight play	Suspension	3.2	2.3	£75 to £237 per side (rough guide)
Windscreen: damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view	Windscreen, wipers and mirrors	2.4	3.4
Nail in tyre	Other	2.0	1.6
Exhaust system: has a minor leak of exhaust gases	Body and structure	1.9	4.6	£182 to £263 per section

Repair estimates are a guide for an independent garage: labour at the national median local garage rate (median £78 an hour from 65 garages, ONS price quotes) times estimated labour hours, plus a parts band. Labour hours and most parts bands are estimates, not quotes, and prices vary by model, engine and region. A warning light fault shows the cost of the diagnosis only.

How problems change with age

Fails per 100 MOTs in the three most common areas at 16 years. Ages with fewer than 1,000 tests are not shown.
Age	Tests (n)	Lights and electrics	Brakes	Suspension
3 years	3,462	0.7	0.2	0.1
4 years	3,925	0.7	0.2	0.1
5 years	4,028	0.9	0.3	0.2
6 years	4,231	0.9	0.4	0.1
7 years	4,211	0.9	0.7	0.3
8 years	4,257	1.1	0.8	0.7
9 years	4,356	1.7	0.8	1.3
10 years	3,701	1.6	1.4	1.1
11 years	3,156	1.8	1.6	1.8
12 years	2,493	2.6	2.4	1.8
13 years	2,133	2.8	3.0	2.3
14 years	2,650	4.3	3.2	2.9
15 years	3,578	7.5	4.6	3.4
16 years	4,566	7.9	4.6	4.3
17 years	3,980	9.8	5.0	4.6
18 years	3,053	9.3	4.7	4.8
19 years	1,614	8.6	5.6	4.5

Mileage

At 16 years, Porsche Cayman cars showing 30,000 to 60,000 miles failed 14.6% of MOTs (n=1,253); the band that failed most, 60,000 to 90,000 miles, failed 20.1% (n=1,870). For pass and fail rates by age, see MOT fail rates by model.

What to check on a viewing

On the Porsche Cayman, testers most often record side/position light not working; catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits; coil spring broken. Look at these first, then the areas below.

Lights and electrics

With someone outside, try every light: dipped and main beam, indicators, brake lights, fog lights and number plate lamps.
Check that the warning lights come on with the ignition and go out once the engine runs.
Look for misted, cracked or yellowed headlamp lenses.

Brakes

On the test drive the car should stop in a straight line without pulling, juddering or grinding.
Look at the discs through the wheels for a deep lip, heavy rust or scoring.
Check that the handbrake or electronic parking brake holds the car on a slope.
Ask when the pads, discs and brake fluid were last changed, and for the receipts.

Suspension

Listen for knocks or clonks over speed bumps and rough roads on the test drive.
Push down hard on each corner: the car should settle at once rather than keep bouncing.
Look behind the wheels for broken or heavily rusted coil springs and split rubber bushes.
Check that the car sits level and that no tyre is worn on one edge only.

Ask for the car's MOT history and service record: advisories that repeat from one year to the next show what has been left. GOV.UK MOT history.

Questions

What are the most common problems on the Porsche Cayman?

At 16 years, the age with the most MOT tests (4,566), the fail items testers record most often on the Porsche Cayman are side/position light not working (4.0 per 100 MOTs), catalyst emissions: Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (2.3 per 100 MOTs), coil spring broken (2.0 per 100 MOTs). The most common advisories or minor defects are rigid brake pipes: corroded, covered in grease or other material (13.3) and brake discs: worn, pitted or scored, but not seriously weakened (12.4).

Which parts of the Porsche Cayman fail more often than on other cars?

None by more than 1 point per 100 MOTs at 16 years, compared with 4,858,625 MOTs of all cars the same age.

Porsche Cayman problems by area

Other Porsche models

All Porsche models · Common problems by make

Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

The all cars figures cover all class 4 vehicles (cars and light vans) tested at the same age.

Looking at a Porsche Cayman?

These figures describe the model, not the car in front of you. Found one you might buy? See what the VetTheCar Buying Report covers, or use the tools that work without a registration.

See a sample report Car tools · MOT fail rates by model · Compare models by MOT record

Repair estimates: ONS consumer price quotes for local garage labour (09/2025 to 08/2026), the MOT inspection manual for defect wording, and estimated labour hours and parts bands. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ONS.

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 28 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources