I was skiing today and parked in a snowy parking lot. When I tried to back out of my space, I received the following warning message:

AWD fault, only rear wheel drive.

With any car, I would rock it back and forth. Forward a little then back a little. The Macan would not move at all. Even the rear wheels didn’t turn.

I had my wife drive, put it in reverse, then give it a little gas, let off, give it a little gas, etc I pushed when she accelerated. Eventually with the rocking, the rear wheels turned and the car backed out with ease, after me having to push. Once I put it on drive again, the fault went away.

I have read that this and other faults come on in the cold weather. It’s frustrating that I have an SUV that supposedly has off-road capabilities. Instead I fear I have a pavement queen that can’t even back out of a snowy parking space.

Here is discussion on the Macan forum:

https://www.macanforum.com/threads/awd-fault-only-rear-wheel-drive-drive-with-caution.159801/

I had a different fault the week before, driving out from the garage. I think it said drive train issue, speed limited, OK to drive. I had an appointment 25 miles away, and needed to get there. The car wouldn’t drive over about 55 and had very limited acceleration. At the end of the trip I took it to the dealer. They said it was a defective oil cap. Seriously?

Before that, we had problems with the electric windows. Google Macan window issues. Many reported instances.

This is my fourth Porsche, the others were all 911s. I had no electrical problems. I did use to have a ‘67 Jaguar. Jaguars of that period were famous for electrical unreliability. I worry my Macan is falling into the same camp.