PORSCHE MACAN · model year

2018 PORSCHE MACAN

38 NHTSA complaints, and 5 active recalls for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 2018PORSCHEMACAN carries 38 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. For crash performance, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program gave this cohort an overall Not Rated/5 rating, with Not Rated/5 front crash, Not Rated/5 side crash, and Not Rated/5 rollover scores derived from standardized barrier and dynamic tests.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2018 MACAN is air bags with 9 filings, followed by steering (6) and unknown or other (3). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 5 active recall campaigns, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.

NHTSA currently has 5 investigation files overlapping the 2018 MACAN. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

38
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

38 filings

Crashes Reported

0 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

NHTSA NCAP overall: Not Rated/5 — Not rated · Front: Not Rated/5 · Side: Not Rated/5 · Rollover: Not Rated/5

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
AIR BAGS9
STEERING6
UNKNOWN OR OTHER3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM3
SERVICE BRAKES2
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM2
SEAT BELTS2
EXTERIOR LIGHTING1
SEATS1
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE1
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:WARNING LIGHT/DEVICES1
LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION1
BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING1
TIRES1
ENGINE1

Recalls (5)

18V84400028/11/2018

EQUIPMENT

Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche) is recalling certain 2017 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, Cayenne Turbo, Cayenne Plug-in Hybrid, Cayenne GTS, Cayenne Plug-in Hybrid Platinum Edition, Macan Turbo and Macan GTS vehicles, 2017-2018 Cayenne S, Macan, Cayenne Platinum Edition and Macan S vehicles and

23V44300026/06/2023

SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER:ANCHORAGE

Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche) is recalling certain 2016-2020 Macan S, 2017-2020 Macan, 2017 Panamera Turbo, 2018 and 2020 Macan Turbo and Panamera 4, 2018 Macan Sport Edition, Panamera 4 E-Hybrid, and 2019 Panamera 4 Sport Turismo vehicles. The screw that attaches the lower seat belt a

18V31800016/05/2018

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche) is recalling certain 2018 Porsche Macan S and Macan vehicles. These vehicles have a control unit that may fail and prevent safety-related functions such as driver display alerts and possibly impair drivability and post-crash functions.

20V07700012/02/2020

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP

Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche) is recalling certain 2015-2018 Macan vehicles. The fuel pump service cover may contact the flow nozzle on the filter flange of the fuel pump, potentially causing cracks and a fuel leak.

21V13100003/03/2021

AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER

Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Macan, Macan Turbo Kits, Macan GTS, 2015-2018 Macan S, and Macan Turbo vehicles. The front passenger seat occupancy sensor mat may degrade and fail to detect a passenger in the front seat.

Recent Complaints

20260216STRUCTURE:BODY

Engine failure

20260216FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

Engine failure

20251230POWER TRAIN

The Macan engine cooling system is defective and dangerous. It is made with a plastic cooling lines that are poorly placed (and concealed) where they are subject to high heat and pressure and therefore break suddenly. The danger is that it happens suddenly and you have to pull over right away even in dangerous road situations to avoid complete engine damage/failure. My husband and I drove the Macan to Mammoth Lakes for instance for the holidays and had to pull over in a dangerous side of a windy cliff, which posed great risk to our safety. Not to mention the difficulty and danger for a tow truck to access us. It was further pitch dark and snowing. We waited hours for the tow truck which thankfully came but we easily could have had to spend the night in a dangerous spot. Porsche should have let its customers know about this vulnerability so we could have changed these plastic lines even at our cost to avoid such a possible situation. They were sued for this same defect on the Cayenne.

20250828STEERING

Upon routine 80k service, discovered that steering wheel column loose due to faulty bushings. Individual bushings could be replaced but manufacturer insists that entire steering column needs replacement. Manufacturer should provide replacement bushings for technician to replace instead of entire column. This is simply an 8mm plastic piece!

20241102FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

My vehicle is experiencing the following fuel system issue listed below in the NHTSA campaign. Porsche will not recognize my vehicle as being part of this recall issue, and this is a significant safety issue for my family. Your help in rectifying this situation would be greatly appreciated. NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID: 20V077000 Report Date: FEB 11, 2020

20240818ENGINE

OIl leak from "Brocken aluminum bolts" that do not hold up and are failing to hold up from basic car use. A safety recall on this manufacturing parts issue should have been mandatory back in 2015. When this issue started and Macan 2015-2022 all have this issue and are now been replaced with steel bolts. It is costing consumers $2000-$8000 in repairs do the safety issues of bad manufacturing of bolts used . [XXX] Sounds similar to the fiasco with the 958.1 gen Cayenne V8s using aluminum bolts for the Variocam adjusters in the engine which eventually resulted in a NHTSA mandated recall due to the bolt heads sometimes shearing off and causing all sorts of nastiness (my Cayenne Turbo had this recall). Of course the Cayenne's instance of using inappropriate aluminum bolts/fasteners resulted in much more serious consequences \than a just slow oil leak/seepage as is the case as its not been totally documented with the Macan V6s yet , but not good in either case. <sigh> should have reca

20240725TIRES

265/45ZR20 104Y Tire shop has been unable to balance tire since there's a defect with the brand new tire itself. Vehicle vibrates excessively at highway speeds, feels unsafe to drive. I've reached out to vendor for tire replacement and hasn't made an effort to replace tire in a timely manner. I use my vehicle everyday. Tires were purchased from tireagent.com

20240628UNKNOWN OR OTHER

The leather on the dash board shrunk and the glue failed allowing the leather to buckel and block the passenger air bag top of the dash board. Porsche knows if this and refused to repair except at my costof $9,000. Also the flap of rhe dash block visibility forward

20240305ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Rear camera and vehicle proximity sensors are not working Due A Flaw with water moisture entering the rear cabin where modules are located. This us a common problem with this vehicle.

20240305LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION

Rear camera and vehicle proximity sensors are not working Due A Flaw with water moisture entering the rear cabin where modules are located. This us a common problem with this vehicle.

20240305BACK OVER PREVENTION: REARVIEW SYSTEM BRAKING

Rear camera and vehicle proximity sensors are not working Due A Flaw with water moisture entering the rear cabin where modules are located. This us a common problem with this vehicle.

20240224AIR BAGS

The airbag light came on in the vehicle. We took it into the dealership, they said we need a passenger airbag sensor mat and seat cushion for the passenger seat airbag system. This item was recalled in 2018 Porche Macon NHTSA Campain ID 21V131000/Recall AMA2. Porche said since our VIN was not included in the recall we have to pay to fix it. They said the only way to get our VIN added was to contact NHTSA. The quote to fix an item that has been recalled was over $1,800. It doesn't seem fair to have to pay for something that has been recalled for this car and is known to be defective. The vehicle is ready for inspection anytime. The passenger safety is at risk as defined by the recall. "The air bag will not deploy during a crash if a front passenger is undetected, increasing the risk or injury." The problem first appeared last year around May 2023 and it took a while to get an appointment at the dealership. I was not aware of this recall until today when I did a Kelly Blue Book value

20240205AIR BAGS

The passenger airbag light always indicates that no one is sitting in the passenger seat even when it is occupied. This is apparently the same issue other 2018 Porsche Macan's have had but for some reason my car is not included. This is the same as the AMA2 airbag/SRS Fault - DTC B102204. recall.

20240122SEAT BELTS:FRONT:WARNING LIGHT/DEVICES

The contact owns a 2018 Porsche Macan. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front passenger’s side seat belt alert was inoperable. The contact stated that while a passenger was seated in the front passenger’s side seat without the seat belt buckled, the seat belt alert failed to activate. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was informed that the feature was not installed in the vehicle when the vehicle was manufactured. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 27,000.

Mileage: 27,000

20240102FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE

The contact owns a 2018 Porsche Macan. The contact stated that there was an abnormally strong fuel odor coming from the vehicle while driving and while the vehicle was parked. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that fuel was leaking from the fuel pump. The dealer drained the fuel tank and replaced the fuel pump. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 94,000.

20231205AIR BAGS

I own a 2018 Macan GTS and the passenger airbag sensor was defective. My VIN was not covered by the NHTSA’s recall (21V131000) thought it is the same part that was defective and is the same make/model/year. I have submitted a request to Porsche for reimbursement for the repair, but they have denied my request without explanation.

20230520AIR BAGS

Forgot case number with Porsche it is 800053607 Porsche says car is unsafe to drive. My case number with NHTSA is 11522971

20230520ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Forgot case number with Porsche it is 800053607 Porsche says car is unsafe to drive. My case number with NHTSA is 11522971

20230520SEAT BELTS

Forgot case number with Porsche it is 800053607 Porsche says car is unsafe to drive. My case number with NHTSA is 11522971

20230519AIR BAGS

While in Dallas TX on Feb 23 2023 I took my car to dealer air bag light came on. Issue was seat belt sensor defective part number 95B 881 256 BA repair set seat occupancy sensor. Found out there are several Macan GTS 2018 same problem.

Compare 2018PORSCHEMACAN to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 2018 PORSCHE MACAN have?
The 2018 PORSCHE MACAN has 38 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What is the safety rating for the 2018 PORSCHE MACAN?
The 2018 PORSCHE MACAN received an overall NHTSA safety rating of Not Rated/5, front crash rating of Not Rated/5, side crash rating of Not Rated/5, and rollover rating of Not Rated/5.
Are there any recalls for the 2018 PORSCHE MACAN?
Yes, the 2018 PORSCHE MACAN has 5 recall(s). The most common affected component is EQUIPMENT. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2018 PORSCHE MACAN?
The most-complained component for the 2018 PORSCHE MACAN is AIR BAGS with 9 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include STEERING and UNKNOWN OR OTHER.
Is the 2018 PORSCHE MACAN safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. The 2018 PORSCHE MACAN has an NHTSA safety rating of Not Rated/5. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.