Mikek2s

Truck has 26,500 miles on it.

Recently the shifting is jerky/clunky particularly in the lower gears.

Today while coming to a slow stop it does the same thing downshifting.

Going to the P-Car dealer next Wednesday.

Is this a transfer case issue?

Thank all for your help.

Mike

CarGuyNVA

Yep, sounds like the infamous 958 series transfer case failure. My '11 CTT is at the dealer right now getting transfer case #2 at 61k miles (first one replaced at about 32k miles). And I'm very easy on my vehicle. My vehicle has also has all the driveline/transfer case work campaigns and everything else applied to it, but it still failed. Thank goodness for warranties! My dealer tells me they've been replacing them in droves, even in the newer 958.2 vehicles. But I'm also told there's now a re-engineered case they're receiving and installing. So we'll see how that goes over time.

North Shore 911

Sure sounds like it ... I just had mine replaced on my 2012 Cayenne S at 50k, although mine presented itself mostly in really clunky upshifts from 2nd-3rd-4th gears, almost as if it was slipping (although I never noticed downshifting problems). The P Dealer will need to experience the problem when you take it in, so make sure to insist that you take the SA on a ride to recreate the problem (I made sure to know EXACTLY what I needed to do to show him the problem!). Otherwise, you may get the dreaded "could not recreate the problem" from the technician!


Good luck, and keep us posted on the resolution. They first tried a "software fix" before they threw in the towel and replaced the Transfer Case and re-routed the vent line

caf

Just another data point.

2016 base Cayenne, 20K miles. Several months ago starting noticing a slight slip/hesitation during acceleration. Gradually got worse, especially when the vehicle was warm and in sport mode.

Service adviser did a quick drive last week and ordered a new transfer case, which they swapped out today. Problem now solved. Of course, one always wonders if they have REALLY fixed the problem, as Cayenne transfer case issues have been popping up for years.

My dealer service guy tells me they think the issue has been vanquished. In addition to the new transfer case, they apparently re-routed the vent line as North Shore mentions above. Anyone know the problem with the old vent line?

CarGuyNVA

I've not heard of that? Mine will be coming back from the dealer soon with a new t-case installed and they didn't say anything about a vent line. Interesting.

I'm still waiting on my new instrument cluster though (to fix a slightly pulsating tach needle). Apparently the instrument clusters are specific to the VIN and mine is coming from Germany (ugh).

So I'll report back on the effects of the new transfer case when I finally get it back.

North Shore 911

caf/CarGuy,

The way they described it to me was that the vent line for the transfer case was originally at the bottom of the transfer case itself. Apparently the issue was that the lower location would occasionally allow for moisture to actually enter the transfer case and cause problems. My problems were always worse when the engine/tranny was warm, which the SA confirmed was a sure sign of this problem. In the new cases they are installing, they told me that the vent line is rerouted to the top of the case where moisture can't penetrate the case via the vent line. I think I posted a pic of the work order for the P Dealer in the "Repair/Warranty" sticky thread that referred to the installation of an "Updated Vent Line" (post #315 on that sticky)

CarGuyNVA

Interesting, thanks for that additional info.

caf

So, I'm guessing there was a period of time when Porsche was replacing transfer cases without re-routing the vent line, and those transfer cases may well fail again in the future. Something to be aware of for the pre-owned buyer.

Mikek2s

Well the 2014 Cayenne GTS with 26,000 went in for service Wednesday.

You gentlemen were correct, SA called back and said it was the transfer case.

Ordered one and will have the car back on Monday.

By the way by salesmen told me that unfortunately this is a common issue.

Mike

J_D

I'm bringing in my 2013 GTS with 45K mi in for service in 2 weeks. I'm the second owner, and haven't had a single issue with it to date, with over 3K mi I've put on.

How common is the transfer case issue and what do they typically cost to replace?

North Shore 911

J_D,

With a '13, are you still under the original PCNA warranty (or even better, maybe under CPO)? Unfortunately it seems that these are going bad with enough frequency that the SA at my Dealer (Loeber Porsche on Lincolnwood, IL) said that there is alreay an initial "software fix" to try first as well as a need to replace these as a fairly well-known issue on the 958's. It's not (yet) a recall (as THAT would be expensive), but the SA knew EXACLTY what I was describing.

If you're still under warranty, you may want to try and create the circumstances where the failing TC's have displayed the kind of "Slipping"/"Clunky Shifting"/"Jerky gear Shifts" when the car is warm and see if you can create the problem just to get peace of mind that your TC is one of the good ones - or get it covered under warranty. Looking at others' receipts posted on the sticky thread, this looks like a ~$3,000 job (I posted mine but it was all zeros as it was covered under CPO). But hopefully you're all good and can keep driving the heck out of it with no worries !

J_D

No warranty that I know of.....but I knew that going in. Getting a general inspection done, so we'll see what they come up with on this one. I did purchase my 997.2 GTS there with CPO and they do a great job taking care of things and I'm pretty satisfied them. Been a customer there for over 15yrs.

caf

Other than this, my Cayenne has been rock solid (which is more than I can say for the 2012 Mercedes ML350 I had before). I'm trying to look at it philosophically: all vehicles have their issues and this is one which was probably hard to predict. In addition to re-routing the vent line on re-installation, the service adviser claims that this a completely different transfer case manufacturer, though he didn't say who.

By the way, I dropped my Cayenne off at closing time on Wednesday, and transfer case swap was done by 10 am the next day, so it doesn't take very long.