romansroad

2013 3.4 just 7 months out of warranty with ~ 50k miles and took it to Park Place Dallas for routine oil change and state inspection. SA told me there was a PDK leak, but they couldn't tell from where. Quoted $780 just to find the leak. I have noted no spots on the garage floor, no warning lights and have been daily driving in auto mode for the most part. I had it in to PP just prior to the warranty expiration for a last check and nothing noted.

Ugh. I am not looking forward to this. I know that initially they were replacing PDK's for leaks, then later released a TSB for some local repairs. I will let y'all know the next info.

RYE

Ughh, terrible, sorry to hear. Keep us posted.

mdrums

My 2012 997 GTS had a PDK leak. They usually do this at the top of the case I know at the seal. Lucky for me this was still under warranty because Porsche doesn't sell gaskets to fix this and a entire new PDK transmission has to be put in.

Churchill

I would take it to a different shop. How can a SA price a job that by his own admission will take an unknown amount of time? (BTW, it'll take them five minutes to find the leak.)

romansroad

I thought the $$ was pretty outrageous as well. The SA said it was leaking from a remote location, hence the multiple hours to get at it. I think we only have 2 dealers here, and no indy can handle the PDK.

I and my family have bought/serviced multiple cars from Park Place, and the SA felt PCNA would goodwill this if it gets bad/worse. I can't believe they are putting this tranny in all their vehicles and the only solution is to replace the entire unit.

I drive my Porsches into the turf, usually. My 993 had 165K on it when I traded for the Cayman, and then the Cayman had 90+k when I traded it for the 991. I'm not great at math, but at a mere 50K, the product decay appears exponential.....

We'll see what they say tomorrow.

Thanks for the support and advice.

APristi

how much do the PDK transmissions go for ?

Churchill

Yeah, this is more BS. You put the car on the lift, remove an underbody tray, and the gearbox is sitting right there. A flashlight and a telescoping mirror and/or a boroscope and they'll have the leak pinpointed in a couple of minutes. $780 at the dealer is what, six or seven hours of labor? They could have the gearbox out of the car in that amount of time.

mdrums

In 2012 when mine was replaced I was told it would have cost me $20k with labor. Luckily I was under warranty with 24k miles and the car was 3.5 years old.

I know there have been reports over the years that a pdk from PCNA cost right around $17k.

snake eyes

Call PCNA ask for their help? They should pay the bill or ask service manager for goodwill

romansroad

Update: the PDK is shot. It is leaking gear oil into the PDK chamber area and can't be repaired. Park Place is working with PCNA as this is clearly a defective unit. Quoted price for rebuilt (not new) PDK is around $10K not including labor. Service manager tells me this is rare. I asked about reduced value on trade in and he stated it would not be a negative for PP, and in fact, said it would be a positive for valuation on trade. I'm ready to be done with this car, and would really want a manual (if I could find one). I remain stunned that this tranny is in virtually all their vehicles and other than 3 seals, it cannot be repaired. It's similar to a phone call saying, "hey, one of your valves is sticking, you need a new engine." Sheesh.

Noah Fect

If you get a manual, you will get a PDK with a couple of missing parts.

They probably treat these as "black box" components for a couple of reasons. One being that failures are extremely rare. The other being, do you think the average dealer tech is up to the job of overhauling a PDK? Some of these guys can't change a lugnut if it doesn't throw a code on PIWIS.

romansroad

I recall reading here that the MT is a PDK analog, but have heard from others it is quite a bit different. I saw long ago the various videos on the PDK, but don't recall one on the MT. My service manager said he has never had an issue with the MT. This may reflect a stratified sample error, as there are few MTs. I bet I could get an indy to work on the MT, though.....

tstafford

Sorry to hear that OP. I'd try to keep calm as I bet PCNA steps up. But that sucks.

romansroad

Thanks for the hopeful words. I haven't heard back yet, so am wondering how its going. The car has been in for 2 weeks, but it took several days to work out the best approach to the diagnosis.In light of our family having bought multiple cars from PP (Mercedes, Maserati and Porsche) over the last 25 years, I would think there should be a reasonable resolution. The service manager in particular has been outstanding, and has taken a lot of time explaining the technical aspects. He was a Gold Meister tech before assuming the managers job, and that has been helpful.

romansroad

Heard from the dealer. PCNA offered to cover 65% of the replacement with a used PDK. We were expecting 90% in light of only being 2K miles outside of warranty. I'm having the car appraised and am considering jettisoning it. I have read the PDK can fail again, particularly with a rebuilt tranny, and I'm not in the mood for round 2 of this scenario. Park Place has been outstanding, and they are trying to help. They are sending the figures tomorrow. Ugh.