2018 Porsche Macan
Gas Compact SUV
The 2018 Porsche Macan is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact SUV with 5 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Macan, is EPA-rated at 22 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 6 recall campaigns for this model year, 1 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of F. Owners have filed 35 complaints, most often about air bags.
Specs & fuel economy (EPA)
| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macan | Gas | AWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 20 | 25 | 22 | $3,500 |
| Macan GTS | Gas | AWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo | 17 | 23 | 19 | $4,100 |
| Macan S | Gas | AWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo | 17 | 23 | 19 | $4,100 |
| Macan Turbo | Gas | AWD | 3.6L 6-cyl turbo | 17 | 23 | 19 | $4,100 |
| Macan Turbo Kit | Gas | AWD | 3.6L 6-cyl turbo | 17 | 23 | 19 | $4,100 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.
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Recalls (6)
Seat Belts
highProblem: 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 anchor to the seat frame on the outboard rear seats may not have been tightened properly.
Risk: An improperly tightened seat belt anchor can detach during a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace and tighten the lower rear outboard seat belt anchor screws, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed August 24, 2023. Owners may contact Porsche's customer service at 1-800-767-7243. Porsche's number for this recall is APA9.
Exterior Lighting
highProblem: Porsche Cars North America, Inc. (Porsche) is recalling certain 2003-2020 Porsche Macan, Cayenne, Panamera, and Cayman S, 2001-2004 Boxster, Boxster S, 2004 Boxster 50 JAHRE SPYDER 550 vehicles. Please see the recall report for a complete list of all affected models and model years. The caps that cover the low-beam headlight horizontal adjustment screws are missing, which can allow the headlights to be improperly adjusted. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk: Improperly adjusted headlights may not illuminate the road properly, or cause a glare to oncoming drivers, which can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the headlights for sealing caps and install missing caps as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 28, 2022. Owners may contact Porsche's customer service at 1-800-767-7243. Porsche's number for this recall is ANB4.
Air Bags
highProblem: 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.
Risk: The air bag will not deploy during a crash if a front passenger is undetected, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: Porsche will notify owners, and dealers will replace the sensor mat and seat cushion, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 25, 2021. Owners may contact Porsche customer service at 1-800-767-7243. Porsche's number for this recall is AMA2.
Fuel System, Gasoline
criticalProblem: 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.
Risk: Fuel leakage in the presence of an ignition source may increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Porsche will rework or replace and apply a protective film to the fuel pump flange. in addition, the fuel pump flange will be inspected and replaced if cracks are present. The recall began April 10, 2020. Owners may contact Porsche customer service at 1-800-767-7243. Porsche's number for this recall is ALA2.
Equipment
highProblem: 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 2018 Cayenne vehicles equipped with the optional ski bag. The ski bag fastening strap may have been sewn with incorrect thread, possibly resulting in the strap seams tearing and the ski bag being unsecured in the event of a crash.
Risk: If the ski bag detaches during a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.
Fix: Porsche will notify owners, and dealers will replace the ski bags, free of charge. The recall began January 10, 2019. Owners may contact Porsche customer service at 1-800-767-7243. Porsche's number for this recall is AJ12.
Electrical System
highProblem: 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.
Risk: Failure of the control unit may increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Porsche will notify owners, and dealers will replace the affected control unit, free of charge. The recall began July 27, 2018. Owners may contact Porsche customer service at 1-800-767-7243. Porsche's number for this recall is AJ05.
NHTSA investigations
Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator Module — Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture (open)
From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Opened Sep 17, 2021 · action EA21002
Owner complaints
35 complaints filed
0 involved a crash, 1 a fire, 0 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.
Filed by year — 2019: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2024: 9 · 2025: 2 · 2026: 8
Most-cited components
- Air Bags — 10
- Steering — 6
- Fuel/Propulsion System — 5
- Electrical System — 5
- Unknown Or Other — 3
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Crash ratings
NHTSA has not published 5-Star crash ratings for this model year.
Other Macan model years
2026 Macan
0 recalls · 0 complaints
B2025 Macan
3 recalls · 9 complaints
B2024 Macan
3 recalls · 11 complaints
A2023 Macan
0 recalls · 6 complaints
A2022 Macan
0 recalls · 5 complaints
B2021 Macan
1 recalls · 11 complaints
B2020 Macan
2 recalls · 26 complaints
A2019 Macan
1 recalls · 19 complaints
F2017 Macan
7 recalls · 69 complaints
F2016 Macan
6 recalls · 31 complaints
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 39269, 39370, 39369, 39734, 41308). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.