Steele

2012 PTT Buyer beware!!!
For anyone looking to buy a 2012 PTT white w/black wheels, cognac interior and red seat belts (VIN - WPOAC2A74CL090808), DON'T!

I am the original owner of this car. It has a defective PDK and no error codes show up when diagnosed. There is a lag of 1-3 seconds between first clutch disengaging and 2nd engaging around 2-4th gears on normal acceleration. When 2nd clutch engages it does so quite hard as though how it would feel side stepping a manual clutch. During this lag it is as though the car is in neutral with the engine off, engine doesn't rev at all, it just stalls. It also takes up to a couple seconds for it to "click" into reverse. If you don't wait for it to "click" into reverse and take your foot off the brake. it will roll if on an incline as though it's in neutral with the engine off even though you are pressing on the throttle. We had taken it in several times thinking at some pointing the problem would be found and could be remedied, but no error codes ever came up.

The last time I drove it, 3/15/2013 the lag occurred while I was in the process of changing lanes on a 4 lane curvy mountain rd. Came very close to causing a multi car pileup. Took it to dealership next morning and after weeks of tests ultimately being performed by field tech and appealing to PNA to take whatever measures necessary to fix the car at our expense, they refused saying they had to rely on what the diagnostic tests showed. In other words, it was safe.

The dealership we bought it from bought it back from us, since we knew it wasn't safe in turn selling it. Since no error codes ever arose, it was a safe car according to PNA. The car sold in august of 2013 and when the new owner asked what the reason all the service checks for the transmission were for, the salesman told him they were recall campaigns!!! The guy bought the car anyway....? This is a person who has more than a few porsches and was looking for a panamera. Wouldn't you question buying a car with a service record like this car has, but the service checks being passed off as recall campaigns? If there had been recall campaigns for transmission troubles, wouldn't that be common knowledge? Upon leaving the dealership and entering the freeway, the new owner experienced the problem, but thought it was something he'd done wrong.

The way I know all this is because as soon as we were told the car had sold I posted a thread asking the new owner contact me because the car wasn't safe. Within 24 hours he did and described the problem exactly as I had. Also telling us how the dealership had lied to him for what all the service checks were for. We offered to back him if he were interested in going back on the dealership for a fraudulent sale. He didn't take us up on our offer, instead continued to work with the service dept at his local dealership trying to find the problem. We asked that if he found the problem to please let us know, which he agreed to. I contacted him mid feburary of this yr to see if he'd ever found the problem and he informed me he'd sold the car to a broker because it was "too much power around town"!

With this knowledge that the car has been "passed off" yet again, we have contacted PNA again asking they take the car into their possession to keep an innocent person/people from being injured if not killed. We've yet to hear a reply and given the response we got after our initial contact last year, our expectations are low.

This is the only way to inform someone about this car. Perhaps if word gets out about this car's safety record, PNA will hopefully have to take responsibility and be accountable for a defective product. Nothing is fail proof, so they should take advantage of an opportunity such as this to make their diagnostic system less so.

We've owned 6 porsches,, numerous toyotas (we owned a dealership) 5 audis, 4 bmws, 2 mercedes and now a tesla with the only complaint being with this panamera that there was not the option of having a black dashboard regardless of interior color. When I did file a complaint, I was told wearing polarized sunglasses could help cut down on the glare of the cognac colored dash....really? I spend $155K and that's the best they can do? You can buy a ford escort and get a black dash regardless of interior color!

Ultimately, I hope anyone who reads this doesn't view this as just a rant, but rather a true concern for the next guy's safety since PNA doesn't seem to.

Randy V

Better to post this in the PTT (huh?) technical forum.

911SLOW

I'll move it to the PTT section.

Randy V

Right next to the PIITB forum?

Steele

Thx for the help 911slow. I'm slow at this forum stuff, just became member as a way to warn buyers abt this car, so I make mistakes! I want it in as many sections as possible. This car is seriously a death trap.

I just found out this morning the car has been sold to yet another broker, Apex Auto Wholesale in Hayward CA. We are going to contact them today, then Porsche again to see what it takes before they'll recall a car w/this history. Hopefully buyers will start to question why it's a 2012 w/less than 20K miles on it.

Anyway, please help me anyway you can. I've said before when I've been given some grief abt my vigilance in this matter, that you could be the next guy to buy this car and if I didn't care you wouldn't know til it might be too late to find out it's defected.

Thanks again

rjshar

Why didn't PCNA replace the PDK. I just bought a CPO 911 with a PDK replacement in its history and from what I've read on the forums, this is standard practice for any PDK issues since dealers are not allowed to service the transmission for warranty work.

Please keep us updated with future developments.

Bandit201

VERY odd PCNA would allow this to happen. They are usually very proactive and want the bad trans for a tear down. I have never heard of a PDK having those kinds of issues.

cairo94507

Who was the selling dealership that refused to step-up and solve this problem? This is exactly what forums like this are for - to protect the consumer and help the dealerships learn that a satisfied customer is their best friend.

Goonie

You should post the vin number

Tacet-Conundrum

There should be an Experience & Gripe forum that cover sales people, sales managers, dealership's and service writer's. This forum would also be for those institution's and employee's who go above and beyond the call of duty.

SteeleR

rjshar, I haven't looked at the this thread since I posted it in 2013???
Anyway, I go bk and look through the forums to see if there's any reports of others having same problem I had. As I hastened upon this thread I noticed I never replied to any of your questions. You's was

"Why didn't PCNA replace the PDK. I just bought a CPO 911 with a PDK replacement in its history and from what I've read on the forums, this is standard practice for any PDK issues since dealers are not allowed to service the transmission for warranty work.

Please keep us updated with future developments."

They wouldn't do anything since n error codes showed up when they plugged it in. I know by the answers the techs gave me when they'd return from driving it the several times I took it in, that it had replicated the problem. But no proof, no foul. I'm sure PCNA would love it if a couple techs called up and said they were going to replace the PDK in a ptt that had a bad pdk but that didn't bring up any error codes.

So they did nothing to attempt to fix the car just. Bought it bk resold it, then I found the new owner on here and he experienced the same problem right after picking it up and entering a busy hwy. but that's a whole other story that says a lot for this guy's common sense or lack of.

This is probably ridiculous, but to know its been recalled or the problem found out would give me closure. I have post trauma as a result of this incident. Sort of happens when you're looking death in the face. I did find out this summer it has some recall, can't remember what, but is somewhat significant.
If you know anyone who can locate cars by VIN I'd really like to know where it is

VIN WPOAC2A74CL090808


Thx, Steele