Headliner failing

I was just telling someone the other day how much better cars are today and used the example of the headliner fabric being held up by thumb tacks because the glue came loose. Well I took the Cayman out for a drive today only to find the headliner fabric hanging down. Slapping me in the head like a bad joke.:crazy: I have a 2006 Cayman S that spends a lot of time in the garage as I drive my commuter during the week. It seems a little premature for a 6 year old car. Has anyone else had this happen? Any ideas on a fix?

it has happened to me and others. http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxster-problems-complaints/55956-headliner-droop.html

It seems to be very random and from what I've seen there is no specific set of conditions which cause it. I have had 2 friends of mine which had it happen and know of a few more the dealer has had. My guess is heat and humidity are two factors which could cause the glue to fail. I simply had mine redone with Alcantara , and it looks amazing.

Why on earth this doesn't happen to other cars but Porsche !!! It never happened to any of my cars, family cars or friends cars... and here I read that it happens!

It does happen on some other cars out there as well, but generally I think the difference is probably the fact many roofs are lined with a kind of hard felt type material, which forms the shell and liner, where as ours is a separate shell/roof liner and then covered with cloth. So maybe this and maybe the type of glue that needs to be used is the major problem here. With Alcantara a different glue or more glue can be used as it isn't absorbed through the fabric unlike cloth.

Mine failed too. It is a 2006 car, kept in a garage. It is relatively hot here even stored in a garage,( 90, 95 F dry bulb). We also have pretty high humidity. I have a 2004 Toyota Pick up that sleeps outside, a 2005 Toyota 4Runner, that sleeps outside most the time, and a 2005 Toyota Sienna, none of them have had a problem with the headliner. The Porsche head liner appears weaker than Toyota , and others.

The headliner in my father's 1953 Henry J Kaiser was holding up just fine until the mice got to it...

Should just not happen. I'm wondering, if they changed the headliner in any way in all the years? Because I don't think my headliner is covered with any additional clothing. Looks more like one piece of something?

My headliner on my 2006 cayman also has falling while my fingers are stuck to my radio knobs and i have to use tweezers to remove my CDs form my radio. My wife saw the tweezers and she ask me if I am tweezing my unibrow

Porsche offers the natural leather-covered tweezers as a $1200 option.

It may be that Porsche don't have much experience with fabric roof liners ... mine fell two years ago and its now replaced by a much nicer alcantara just like a 911 :hilarious:

I point it to the Florida heat. My 1998 Audi A4 headliner was perfect up north for 6. After a couple years of moving to S. FL, the headliner started drooping and flapping in the wind. Like everything else, heat is the enemy - headliner, batteries (avg useful life in S. FL is 24 months - wtf), rubber trims dries up 3x faster and disintegrates in the brutal sun. Anyways, TachMiami, member here, had the same thing happen on his '06 CS and got it replaced with alcantara - came out really nice. The most difficult task is probably finding the right installer. G'luck.

I've had two headliners sag; one in a cheap Toyota that was our beater - the Hawaii heat shrank the plastic headliner and it pulled away from its backing. The other was my Jaguar XJ6L; the original unit failed when the 1/8" foam sheet between the pressboard! headliner backing and the wool headliner disintegrated due to age. I replaced it with a sheet of cork to which I glued ultrasuede using 3M spray adhesive. It took a day to pull down everything, cut and glue ultrasuede to replace all the old wool.

Working for a GM dealer I can say that I see about 1 GM vehicle per month that has a sagging headliner. So it's not just the Caymans that are suffering from this problem.

Thanks Chris. I just put up a pic of the headliner work. http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxs...r-problems-complaints/66559-there-solution-interior-paint-chips.html#post610087

This problem could turn into the excuse of installing a roll bar.

I just called Suncoast Porsche and the service guy states he has not heard of a cayman headliner problem Mine is hanging and the car has been non stop problems with 20,000 miles on it. I will never buy another porsche again, ever.

Porsche dealers are very good at feigning ignorance when common problems -- the ones that will cost them money to fix -- are brought to their attention.

Hi I have a low milage cayman s with the headliner drooping at the back, the car has had little use and always been garaged, seems you are not the only one , does anybody else have this problem and what has the dealer done , if anything??

this problem happened to me too and my dealer in Houston was completely rude. I was there to service my TPMS for a couple of days and when i got it back, i noticed the headliner droop. They claimed it was not them. they parked my car in the hot sun. I always garage kepted my car. I filed a complaint against them and with Porsche .

The Porsche Cayman 's headliners are falling right on cue they seem to last about 5 years in warm climates, maybe a year more in temperate climates. They seem to have it down to a science.

Happened to me to about a year ago, I was smoldering. I took it to the only vehicle upholster people on island and they changed it out with the fabric of my choosing. Unfortunately, they really F’d up a piece of trim just over the engine on the driver side trying to get it off. Now I’m looking elsewhere to cover all the trim pieces south of the console. I had three years with no problems what so ever, then all of a sudden, she’s falling apart.

Hi tsammyc May i know where did you do up your headliner as mine has dropped down too. Also, could you advise me on the cost as well? I'm in Singapore too. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks! Tried pm-ing you but seems like you've disabled it.

I have an '07 and it did the exact same thing. I called a mobile headliner repair guy. Came to my house and had it fixed in an hour. Slightly different material, but it isn't noticeable at all.

My headliner on my 2006 Cayman S fell months ago but it is Ok . This way, I do not have to see my console peeling like the skin on a sunburned surfer, my CDs getting stuck in my CD player nor the radio knobs melting and best of all I can not see my wife laughing while stating 'I told you so". Now that I think about it if I was bald I would want my headliner to fall.

FYI, Suncoast currently has the Alcantara headliner on sale. John

I have mint black headliner that I can sell super cheap.. Heads up to all cayman guys

Working in automotive journalism, I have learned a few things over the years and what sticks out is that sometimes--not all the time, but sometimes--what customers perceive as cheapness is anything but. As Dunebasher said. Bob Lutz once visited our Autoweek office for lunch and to chat about all sorts of things auto- and GM-related. This was prior to the second-gen Cadillac CTS coming out. Everyone bashed the interior trim on the original CTS, and put it down to GM being cheap and cutting corners. Now, the trim on the current CTS is much nicer--but Lutz was adamant that in reality, the original's pieces were much more expensive to use. According to him, it was a supplier issue, and I can believe it. A close friend of mine used to work as a plant engineer at an automotive supplier, and the stories I would hear were comical. And then those parts go out to the manufacturer to install--at the mercy of what it has contracted for. I'm not excusing some of these dumb issues on our Porsches, but it's not usually as simple as blaming it on cheapness on the part of the final manufacturer.

My reponse to the headliner in my 2006 Cayman S . I live St Pete Fla and keep my car in a condo garage full time. The car has 18k on it and I got in a few days ago to take it for a spin and the headliner was completly down !!! BIG disappointment. I took the car to Bert Smith Porsche here in St Pete and was told that this happen's all the time to cars in Fla. I owned and 2002 BMW 525I which sat ouside side in my driveway in Key West for 7 years and never had a problem with the headliner. It sounds like there's a pattern here which Porsche needs to do something about other then to say "sorry we don't cover that". Look we all paid top dollar for these cars, that's not the kind of help we sould get from our dealer or Porsche . Anyone else agree ?

My 2006 Cayman S has all the same problem, what a joke, you think we own a old Datsun!!!

I agree that these problems would be very frustrating indeed and should not be happening. Regarding what you wrote above, as far as Porsche is concerned you bought a cheap, entry-level car...... (yes, I know that Boxsters are slightly cheaper) Just as a data point, my headliner never drooped (probably not relevant) and I do not personally know of anyone with a Cayman who's had the problem. Only read about them online.

Happened to mine fall last year, it was not long before a HPDE so I had tacks all over my roof holding it up. My 2006 Cayman S is garage kept 99% of the time with only 30,000 miles. Though I live in New Orleans, so when I do go places the car is often parked in the sun. I have a CPO warranty that is still good until Feb 2013, but headliners are ODDLY listed as a wear & tear interior (uncovered) item. Which I don't understand b/c its probably the one part on the car with zero "wear & tear" unless you're an NBA player and your head is rubbing the roof regularly. I guess Porsche should have a disclaimer that we can't park our cars in the sun or have them in hot environments! I called Suncoast about their Alcantara roof liner, but it showed as a zero stock item. Meaning it would probably take 12 weeks to be fabricated then shipped from Germany. In the meantime, I guess I'll live with the tacks until I can figure out if I want to try having my headliner redone in Alcantara or order a new one.

I have 2 OEM ones in mint condition. I will give you a smoking deal on either.

my '07 CS headliner just fell today. I cut short slits in it and sprayed adhesive in each. I'll research removal and installation for a fresh new look. Pretty piss poor in a Porsche . Never had it happen in any other cars I've owned.

My headliner on my 2006 fell months ago but I do not mind now I can not see my peeling radio knobs , my CD stuck in my radio and my wife laughing.

Hello, The headliner in our'07 Cayman just now collapsed at 43,213 miles. The company you used was it a national company with offices in the Los Angeles area? Please advise. Thank you, Carmona Red B C Velocity Exhaust