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Owner of a Cayman R w/ PDK here. Two weeks ago, dash display showed “Transmission emergency run” in white. Did a bit of spirited driving in the AM, then parked the car and had lunch. Afterwards, jumped back into the car and started it up. That’s when the warning was displayed. No reverse or any forward gear was selectable; car had no drive. Turned off engine and tried some minutes later, but the situation remained. Repeated the sequence again after a further wait with the same outcome.
Car has just over 19k miles. PDK shifted fine during the morning drive, even when in Sport Plus mode. An indy shop owner in the group suggested removing the cables from the battery and connecting them together to reset the system in case it was just a software glitch. But the problem persisted.
Had the car flat-bedded to a Porsche dealer. The diagnosis came back late last Friday via email with the following comment: “Fault code P1706 sensor 5v reference fault, as per Porsche diagnostic flow chart, recommend replacing PDK control unit.” It being the weekend I have not had the chance to call back and talk to the Service Advisor, but this sounded like the electronics box and not the valve body unit mounted at the bottom of the transmission. Reading through the thread on the Forum it seems the latter is usually the culprit. Has anybody had the PDK electronics box in their 997/987 fail (I have posted this on the parallel discussion on the 997 Forum also)? It would be great to hear from those of you with much more technical knowledge than me. Thanks!
We have had a low mileage car come from the dealer with the control unit replaced and it did not solve the problem. Turned out to be a wiring issue AND a bricked replacement control unit (covered under parts warranty since dealer installed). But every situation is different and having someone with experience fix it is the key to success. Sorry it’s not a definitive answer but it’s hard to diagnose via internet.
My apologies for the delay in posting this follow-up to the PDK problem in my Cayman R. The last few months have been super busy.
Turns out the PDK control unit was not the culprit. My local dealer put in a new one, but the car still had no gears being selectable. They were nice enough to just charge for the initial diagnostics. I then had the car flat-bedded to Beck’s European in Scottsdale, AZ. They determined that the distance sensor needed to be replaced. A new one was installed and the transmission re-calibrated. Since then, the car has been driven about 750 miles and it is shifting just fine. The repair is not inexpensive, but in the grand scheme of things it is about 25% of a new transmission from Porsche. For me, I’m glad that a few independent shops like Beck’s (and others like Atlanta Speedwerks) are offering such repairs. For 987 owners who are good at DIY, there’s a ton of info over on the “Guide to Repairing a PDK Transmission” thread on the 997 Forum to help you save some $$.
Long time member, but very few posts… Just had the Transmission Run Error pop in my ‘12 Cayman R last week while on a road trip. Car went into neutral, and wouldn’t shift gears. Of course it happened as far away from home as possible but fortunately it reset with a shut off/restart.
It happened a few more times while I was making my way home, sometimes locking into 4th or 5th gear, or neutral. Fortunately it reset every time with a restart, but now have the “get the car to the shop” message as well. Was able to pull all the codes with my Durometric tool when I got home, and the only one that really has me worried is the: 1731: Shift rod 1 displacement sensors
I already have a thread going over on planet 9, with all the codes, etc, as well as my current plan of action, so I won’t garbage up this thread repeating everything there:
What I’m seeking here is just more ideas and points of reference to consider. I also want to see if anyone knows of any Independent shops near me (San Antonio, TX area) that’ll take on a distance sensor replacement if it is indeed toast.
Would also appreciate anyone’s actual experience with any of the shops doing PDK repairs…would be good to know if it’s worth a road trip to take it to one of the well established shops on the coasts or in AZ.
I see there’s a Dodson PDK clutch dealer in Austin, and another in Grand Prairie, TX so I may start there.
1) Already cleaned MAF
2) New battery - on the way
3) Will Clear the codes with my Durometric after I get the new battery in and hope for the best.
4) If it ****s the bed again with any of the 17xx PDK codes, will get it read and data-logged by a PIWIS and go from there.
Thanks in advance for any ideas, input or suggestions!
I'm dealing with the same failure right now. It's well documented repairable with aftermarket sensors. Search PDK position sensor and you'll find the threads and options quickly.
What I’m seeking here is just more ideas and points of reference to consider. I also want to see if anyone knows of any Independent shops near me (San Antonio, TX area) that’ll take on a distance sensor replacement if it is indeed toast.
Please contact me via email vlad@t-design9.com and we will help you find the right PDK shop. We supply sensors/work with many shops in US.
Hi does somebody know where this repair can be made in Europe, more specifically in France or Belgium or Luxembourg ?
I had the blocked problem once after a extremely long stop and go trip (never happened again) but I’m convinced that was a software bug as it showed a yellow light alarm from the engine, possibly misfire, and the white box alarm in a rapid succession. Once the engine alarm went out, no more problems with the box. Any way…
12-16-2021, 11:16 AM
