Car Model Guide/ Porsche/ Cayenne/ 955/957/ 3.0 TDI

3.0 TDI CASA

The Audi V6 diesel fitted from 2009, and the only Cayenne engine that makes economic sense used. It's quick, quiet and shared with the Touareg and the Q7, which keeps the parts and the knowledge easy to find.

Overview

The 3.0 TDI is the CASA diesel version of the Porsche Cayenne SUV (955/957), sold 2009–2010 with 240 PS and auto_6_tiptronic. Demands diligence at level 3. A sound engine in a car where the suspension, brakes and tyres are all priced as Porsche parts. 4 failure modes are recorded against its engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components. Prices on this page are illustrative placeholders rather than a sourced market sample. See the methodology for how the bands are derived.

Porsche Cayenne SUV (955/957) · photo Porsche Cayenne (955) Washington DC Metro Area, USA by OWS Photography · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Power240 PS

Torque550 Nm

Years2009–2010

Fueldiesel

Drive4x4

EnginesCASA

Biggest risks

Ranked by probability × repair cost. 4 recorded in total.

63Demands diligence

Air suspension strut and compressor failure€700–€3,500checkable
Propshaft centre bearing and coupling wear€600–€1,600checkable
DPF clogging and forced regeneration€250–€1,800partly checkable

Risk level −22 · Likely spend vs price −15 · all issues →

System by system9 systems reviewed · 6 with no recurring fault reported

Engine✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Fuel system✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Intake & air✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Cooling✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Emissions⚠ attentionDPF clogging and forced regeneration, €250–€1,800.+1 more in this system

Transmission⚠ attentionPropshaft centre bearing and coupling wear, €600–€1,600.

Electrics✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Suspension & brakes⚠ attentionAir suspension strut and compressor failure, €700–€3,500.

Body & interior✓ clearNo recurring fault reported for this system on this engine.

Known issues, ranked by expected cost

Faults recorded against this engine, its components and its chassis, ranked by likelihood × repair cost. Costs are indicative ranges with a stated labour basis.

Air suspension strut and compressor failure955/957 body€700–€3,500

The car sitting low overnight, a suspension warning on start-up, a compressor that runs for a long time, or one corner that won't lift. The air struts perish with age and leak, which makes the compressor work harder until it fails as well. Cars that have stood are worse, because the bags crack where they've been folded.

Check: Look at the car before it's been started, since one that's sunk overnight has told you already. Then cycle through every ride height and confirm all four corners respond at the same rate.

SuspensioncommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented90–180k km

Propshaft centre bearing and coupling wear955/957 body€600–€1,600

A vibration through the floor from about 80 km/h, a clunk when taking up drive, and a droning noise that grows with speed. The centre bearing and its rubber coupling carry a lot of weight and torque, and both perish. The shaft is usually supplied as a complete assembly, which is what makes an otherwise ordinary part expensive.

Check: Drive at motorway speed on a smooth road and feel for vibration through the floor rather than the wheel. A clunk as you move off from rest points the same way.

DrivetraincommonDetectable at viewingevidence: documented100–190k km

DPF clogging and forced regenerationDPF€250–€1,800

Warning light, limp mode, oil level rising above the maximum mark from fuel dilution. The filter needs sustained hot running to regenerate. A car used for short urban trips never completes a regeneration cycle.

Check: Read the DPF soot load and the distance since the last regeneration on a scan tool, and check the engine oil level and smell it for diesel. Ask what the car was used for. A short-trip city diesel is the wrong car regardless of mileage.

EmissionscommonPartly detectableevidence: documented120–250k km

EGR cooler leakEGR cooler€400–€1,000

Coolant loss with no visible external leak, white smoke, sweet smell. The EGR cooler cracks internally and leaks coolant into the intake. BMW recalled affected diesels over a fire risk from glycol deposits igniting.

Check: Check coolant level and look for unexplained top-ups in the service history. Verify the recall was carried out. It's free and searchable by VIN.

EmissionsoccasionalPartly detectableevidence: manufacturer120–250k km

Ranked by probability × repair cost, not by how loudly a failure is discussed. Inherited from the engine, gearbox, chassis and shared components, each written once.

Pre-purchase inspection

The same issue records, reordered into the sequence you can actually check them in: cold start, static, drive, paperwork.

4 checks · saved in this browser ·

1Static checksEngine off, ideally on a lift.

Air suspension strut and compressor failureLook at the car before it's been started, since one that's sunk overnight has told you already. Then cycle through every ride height and confirm all four corners respond at the same rate.

2On the driveInclude low-speed manoeuvring, not just an open road.

Propshaft centre bearing and coupling wearDrive at motorway speed on a smooth road and feel for vibration through the floor rather than the wheel. A clunk as you move off from rest points the same way.

3PaperworkOn these cars the folder is most of the value.

EGR cooler leakCheck coolant level and look for unexplained top-ups in the service history. Verify the recall was carried out. It's free and searchable by VIN.

4OBD scanMandatory. A seller who refuses a scan has answered the question.

DPF clogging and forced regenerationRead the DPF soot load and the distance since the last regeneration on a scan tool, and check the engine oil level and smell it for diesel. Ask what the car was used for. A short-trip city diesel is the wrong car regardless of mileage.

Mileage and servicing

What the odometer does and doesn't tell you here, plus the service items whose neglect causes the expensive failures above.

The Audi V6 diesel is shared with the Touareg and the Q7 and runs to high mileage without drama. What ages is everything bolted around it, so the maintenance record still outranks the number.

Service item	Interval	Cost
Engine oil and filter Turbo and chain life depend on it.	15,000 km or annually	€180–280
Brake fluid and discs check Brakes on a car this heavy wear fast and cost what the badge suggests.	every 2 years	€120–200 to inspect

What to pay

What this engine sells for, against the median of every engine in the chassis. All figures are illustrative placeholders. See the basis chips.

median €18k

€12k€15k€26.1k

Cheapfind the reasonGood buyif it checks outFairnormal moneyOverpricedneeds justifying

Asking price (€)Mileage (km)

Enter an asking price to get a verdict against this variant's band: cheap, fair, good buy or overpriced.

United States vs Europe

1 EUR = 1.08 USD · 2026-07

🇪🇺 Europe · EUR€15,000band €12,000–€26,150

🇺🇸 United StatesNot sold3.0 TDI CASA was never a US-market car

What that meansNo US band exists to compare. Any car you find there's a private import, parts and specialist knowledge are thinner, and the price says more about import cost than about the market.

US figures are the EU band converted at a stated rate. No US market differential is modelled: we hold no sourced US asking prices, and inventing one would be worse than saying so. What the comparison does show for real is availability. Most of this range was never sold in the US.

ModelPorsche Cayenne 3.0 TDI
Chassis955/957
EngineCASA
Years2009–2010
MarketCentral EU
Windowrolling 12 months to 2026-07

Good buy at or under the marker · Median asking price · bar spans the 10th to 90th percentile · dashed line is the 955/957 median, all 2 engines

Good buy isn't the same as cheapest. The good-buy figure assumes the known failure items are either done with receipts or verifiably not yet due. Full breakdown by facelift phase →

Buyer notes

Our judgement, kept separate from the records it's built on.

Our read, not a record

Fitted from 2009, this engine turns the Cayenne from an indulgence into something you could actually use daily. It's quick, quiet and well understood by independents, which keeps the engine side of ownership reasonable. The rest of the car is unchanged, so the air suspension, the brakes and the tyres are where your money goes. So budget for consumables at the price the badge implies, and buy the car with the thickest folder you can find.

Everything above this line comes from the issue and specification records. This paragraph is our judgement on top of them. See how we reach it.

Full specification

Manufacturer figures for this engine and body, as recorded in the variant and engine data.

Engine code	CASA 3.0 V6 TDI
Configuration	V6, turbocharged · 2967 cc
Fuel / injection	diesel · common rail
Model years	2009–2010
Facelift phase	Facelift (LCI) only, from 2007
Power / torque	240 PS · 550 Nm
Transmissions	6-speed tiptronic
Gearbox families	Aisin TR-60SN six-speed tiptronic
Drivetrain	4x4
Economy (real-world)	8.5–10.5 l/100 km mixed
Markets	EU