PDK woes and CPO
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I am extremely disappointed and frustrated with the CPO warranty process. Appreciate any thoughts or recommendations from the group.
On June 8th I purchased a CPO 2013 Carrera 4S. On the drive home from the dealer (450 mile drive), I got the dreaded "Transm. fault Poss. no R gear Drive on poss." plus a couple other related fault message (no start/stop, engine control fault). PDK would not move out of gear and I immediately pulled off the road. I was able to shut the car off+restart it and the PDK began functioning again enough for me to nurse it the remaining 60 miles home. I took it to my local servicing Porsche dealer and they diagnosed a failed COV for the PDK cooler. This is a common issue for the early 991.1 cars (which I already knew thanks to Rennlist), so I still felt confident in the car upon receiving it back that this relatively common issue is now sorted. Fast forward to a week and a half ago, and I took the car on my annual road trip to visit my family (2,000 mi round trip). On the way back, in the middle of nowhere, West Virginia, the same PDK fault message showed up while going down the interstate. Only this time, I could not get the PDK to function properly after shutting it off and restarting it numerous times. First it was stuck in 5th, then stuck in 1st, etc.. I finally got it to work well enough to limp the car three miles to the nearest exist. At this point it was 8pm on a Saturday night, so I decided it was not safe for my wife and I to try and get the car the remaining 250 miles home. I called Porsche roadside assistance and the only option was to have the car flat bedded to the nearest Porsche dealer (Porsche Pittsburgh). It took 5 hours for the flat bed to show up (2am), and my wife and I rode in the cab of the truck to Pittsburgh and caught a flight back to my home in the DC area, ultimately arriving home 12 hours later than planned and not having slept for over 27 hours. **** happens, so no big deal, because I figured now the car will get sorted and probably it is a PDK failure.
Porsche Pittsburgh has reported that the same underlying fault codes that showed up a few weeks ago were what showed up again. But apparently Porsche will NOT approve a PDK replacement because the fault codes are not currently showing (despite them showing in the vehicle history). Porsche Pittsburgh has recalibrated the PDK and done several test drives in numerous conditions and the faults have not appeared, and apparently, Porsche will not approve a PDK replacement because they can't get the fault codes to reappear. There is seemingly no resolution. The dealer is going to try to get approval one more time tomorrow but they do not think the answer will change. I called PCNA to open a case but the impression I got from the person on the other line is that PCNA will not overturn the warranty approval decision just based on customer dissatisfaction.
I have no idea what to do now. The car has been at the dealer for 1.5 weeks and I am going to go back to get it and hope it doesn't fail again? I am just utterly shocked that there is no resolution to this. It is hard for me to have confidence in the car. This is my 6th Porsche since 2017 (all either new or CPO bought from a Porsche dealer) and my 4th 991. I love the 991 platform and think it is robust and had a lot of confidence in the CPO framework but that is seriously being eroded now. It is precisely these sort of fundamental drivability/extremely costly items that I would think the CPO should be covering. The idea that I am to keep driving the car and wait for it to fail again, and leave my wife and I stranded again, seems beyond ridiculous.
On June 8th I purchased a CPO 2013 Carrera 4S. On the drive home from the dealer (450 mile drive), I got the dreaded "Transm. fault Poss. no R gear Drive on poss." plus a couple other related fault message (no start/stop, engine control fault). PDK would not move out of gear and I immediately pulled off the road. I was able to shut the car off+restart it and the PDK began functioning again enough for me to nurse it the remaining 60 miles home. I took it to my local servicing Porsche dealer and they diagnosed a failed COV for the PDK cooler. This is a common issue for the early 991.1 cars (which I already knew thanks to Rennlist), so I still felt confident in the car upon receiving it back that this relatively common issue is now sorted. Fast forward to a week and a half ago, and I took the car on my annual road trip to visit my family (2,000 mi round trip). On the way back, in the middle of nowhere, West Virginia, the same PDK fault message showed up while going down the interstate. Only this time, I could not get the PDK to function properly after shutting it off and restarting it numerous times. First it was stuck in 5th, then stuck in 1st, etc.. I finally got it to work well enough to limp the car three miles to the nearest exist. At this point it was 8pm on a Saturday night, so I decided it was not safe for my wife and I to try and get the car the remaining 250 miles home. I called Porsche roadside assistance and the only option was to have the car flat bedded to the nearest Porsche dealer (Porsche Pittsburgh). It took 5 hours for the flat bed to show up (2am), and my wife and I rode in the cab of the truck to Pittsburgh and caught a flight back to my home in the DC area, ultimately arriving home 12 hours later than planned and not having slept for over 27 hours. **** happens, so no big deal, because I figured now the car will get sorted and probably it is a PDK failure.
Porsche Pittsburgh has reported that the same underlying fault codes that showed up a few weeks ago were what showed up again. But apparently Porsche will NOT approve a PDK replacement because the fault codes are not currently showing (despite them showing in the vehicle history). Porsche Pittsburgh has recalibrated the PDK and done several test drives in numerous conditions and the faults have not appeared, and apparently, Porsche will not approve a PDK replacement because they can't get the fault codes to reappear. There is seemingly no resolution. The dealer is going to try to get approval one more time tomorrow but they do not think the answer will change. I called PCNA to open a case but the impression I got from the person on the other line is that PCNA will not overturn the warranty approval decision just based on customer dissatisfaction.
I have no idea what to do now. The car has been at the dealer for 1.5 weeks and I am going to go back to get it and hope it doesn't fail again? I am just utterly shocked that there is no resolution to this. It is hard for me to have confidence in the car. This is my 6th Porsche since 2017 (all either new or CPO bought from a Porsche dealer) and my 4th 991. I love the 991 platform and think it is robust and had a lot of confidence in the CPO framework but that is seriously being eroded now. It is precisely these sort of fundamental drivability/extremely costly items that I would think the CPO should be covering. The idea that I am to keep driving the car and wait for it to fail again, and leave my wife and I stranded again, seems beyond ridiculous.
Last edited by sunspot2013; 07-17-2024 at 08:45 PM.
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Nashvegas (07-17-2024)
#2
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No idea what the cause would be, but I would let the dealership work through their protocol. It may be a bad sensor, loose wiring, or something else. If they cannot get it properly fixed, then you can pursue recourse, as outlined in the CPO paperwork.
#3
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Sounds like standard dealer service rebuttal, "We can't duplicate the problem so there is no problem". I get that they do not want to repair and replace things every time a customer claims there was a problem, but your vehicle has the record, and you sound like a long-term customer they should assist.
#4
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Sounds like standard dealer service rebuttal, "We can't duplicate the problem so there is no problem". I get that they do not want to repair and replace things every time a customer claims there was a problem, but your vehicle has the record, and you sound like a long-term customer they should assist.
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justabout (07-18-2024)
#6
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Based on my own research, that seems to be the most likely explanation. If the car wasn't under CPO warranty, I agree my only option would be to seek out the independent shops that have the skills to replace the sensor. What is frustrating is it seems Porsche has raised the bar and moved the goal posts on what sort of symptoms will be enough to approve a PDK replacement under CPO warranty. Evidently they think it is fine to have these fault codes appear and strand the driver on the side of the road, as long as they go away after the car sits for a few hours. It seems the will only approve PDK replacement if the fault message is on while the car is at the dealer.
#7
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Only goes to show Porsche does not care about their customers. But I hear that other high-end car manufacturers are no different - they build a car so expensive to fix that even they do not want to fix it.
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ducktails (07-18-2024)
Trending Topics
#8
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And then if no luck sell the car. The market is still pretty strong. Buy a manual.
#9
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I am extremely disappointed and frustrated with the CPO warranty process. Appreciate any thoughts or recommendations from the group.
On June 8th I purchased a CPO 2013 Carrera 4S. On the drive home from the dealer (450 mile drive), I got the dreaded "Transm. fault Poss. no R gear Drive on poss." plus a couple other related fault message (no start/stop, engine control fault). PDK would not move out of gear and I immediately pulled off the road. I was able to shut the car off+restart it and the PDK began functioning again enough for me to nurse it the remaining 60 miles home. I took it to my local servicing Porsche dealer and they diagnosed a failed COV for the PDK cooler. This is a common issue for the early 991.1 cars (which I already knew thanks to Rennlist), so I still felt confident in the car upon receiving it back that this relatively common issue is now sorted. Fast forward to a week and a half ago, and I took the car on my annual road trip to visit my family (2,000 mi round trip). On the way back, in the middle of nowhere, West Virginia, the same PDK fault message showed up while going down the interstate. Only this time, I could not get the PDK to function properly after shutting it off and restarting it numerous times. First it was stuck in 5th, then stuck in 1st, etc.. I finally got it to work well enough to limp the car three miles to the nearest exist. At this point it was 8pm on a Saturday night, so I decided it was not safe for my wife and I to try and get the car the remaining 250 miles home. I called Porsche roadside assistance and the only option was to have the car flat bedded to the nearest Porsche dealer (Porsche Pittsburgh). It took 5 hours for the flat bed to show up (2am), and my wife and I rode in the cab of the truck to Pittsburgh and caught a flight back to my home in the DC area, ultimately arriving home 12 hours later than planned and not having slept for over 27 hours. **** happens, so no big deal, because I figured now the car will get sorted and probably it is a PDK failure.
Porsche Pittsburgh has reported that the same underlying fault codes that showed up a few weeks ago were what showed up again. But apparently Porsche will NOT approve a PDK replacement because the fault codes are not currently showing (despite them showing in the vehicle history). Porsche Pittsburgh has recalibrated the PDK and done several test drives in numerous conditions and the faults have not appeared, and apparently, Porsche will not approve a PDK replacement because they can't get the fault codes to reappear. There is seemingly no resolution. The dealer is going to try to get approval one more time tomorrow but they do not think the answer will change. I called PCNA to open a case but the impression I got from the person on the other line is that PCNA will not overturn the warranty approval decision just based on customer dissatisfaction.
I have no idea what to do now. The car has been at the dealer for 1.5 weeks and I am going to go back to get it and hope it doesn't fail again? I am just utterly shocked that there is no resolution to this. It is hard for me to have confidence in the car. This is my 6th Porsche since 2017 (all either new or CPO bought from a Porsche dealer) and my 4th 991. I love the 991 platform and think it is robust and had a lot of confidence in the CPO framework but that is seriously being eroded now. It is precisely these sort of fundamental drivability/extremely costly items that I would think the CPO should be covering. The idea that I am to keep driving the car and wait for it to fail again, and leave my wife and I stranded again, seems beyond ridiculous.
On June 8th I purchased a CPO 2013 Carrera 4S. On the drive home from the dealer (450 mile drive), I got the dreaded "Transm. fault Poss. no R gear Drive on poss." plus a couple other related fault message (no start/stop, engine control fault). PDK would not move out of gear and I immediately pulled off the road. I was able to shut the car off+restart it and the PDK began functioning again enough for me to nurse it the remaining 60 miles home. I took it to my local servicing Porsche dealer and they diagnosed a failed COV for the PDK cooler. This is a common issue for the early 991.1 cars (which I already knew thanks to Rennlist), so I still felt confident in the car upon receiving it back that this relatively common issue is now sorted. Fast forward to a week and a half ago, and I took the car on my annual road trip to visit my family (2,000 mi round trip). On the way back, in the middle of nowhere, West Virginia, the same PDK fault message showed up while going down the interstate. Only this time, I could not get the PDK to function properly after shutting it off and restarting it numerous times. First it was stuck in 5th, then stuck in 1st, etc.. I finally got it to work well enough to limp the car three miles to the nearest exist. At this point it was 8pm on a Saturday night, so I decided it was not safe for my wife and I to try and get the car the remaining 250 miles home. I called Porsche roadside assistance and the only option was to have the car flat bedded to the nearest Porsche dealer (Porsche Pittsburgh). It took 5 hours for the flat bed to show up (2am), and my wife and I rode in the cab of the truck to Pittsburgh and caught a flight back to my home in the DC area, ultimately arriving home 12 hours later than planned and not having slept for over 27 hours. **** happens, so no big deal, because I figured now the car will get sorted and probably it is a PDK failure.
Porsche Pittsburgh has reported that the same underlying fault codes that showed up a few weeks ago were what showed up again. But apparently Porsche will NOT approve a PDK replacement because the fault codes are not currently showing (despite them showing in the vehicle history). Porsche Pittsburgh has recalibrated the PDK and done several test drives in numerous conditions and the faults have not appeared, and apparently, Porsche will not approve a PDK replacement because they can't get the fault codes to reappear. There is seemingly no resolution. The dealer is going to try to get approval one more time tomorrow but they do not think the answer will change. I called PCNA to open a case but the impression I got from the person on the other line is that PCNA will not overturn the warranty approval decision just based on customer dissatisfaction.
I have no idea what to do now. The car has been at the dealer for 1.5 weeks and I am going to go back to get it and hope it doesn't fail again? I am just utterly shocked that there is no resolution to this. It is hard for me to have confidence in the car. This is my 6th Porsche since 2017 (all either new or CPO bought from a Porsche dealer) and my 4th 991. I love the 991 platform and think it is robust and had a lot of confidence in the CPO framework but that is seriously being eroded now. It is precisely these sort of fundamental drivability/extremely costly items that I would think the CPO should be covering. The idea that I am to keep driving the car and wait for it to fail again, and leave my wife and I stranded again, seems beyond ridiculous.
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Larson E. Rapp (07-18-2024)
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One option would be to pick up the car and have someone follow with a rental (use secondary highways, not the turnpike). If it malfunctions on the way home, have it transported to the nearest facility and then lean on Porsche corporate to do the right thing and also request reimbursement for your out of pocket expenses. Hard for them to argue against real world data. That is what I would do.
(In the past PA turnpike would not allow private tow companies on the turnpike which would complicate any pickup. If police are called because you are blocking traffic on a state highway you have to use their towing service otherwise they threaten you with a ticket while awaiting your service. Old information but probably not much different today.)
(In the past PA turnpike would not allow private tow companies on the turnpike which would complicate any pickup. If police are called because you are blocking traffic on a state highway you have to use their towing service otherwise they threaten you with a ticket while awaiting your service. Old information but probably not much different today.)
Last edited by justabout; 07-18-2024 at 10:41 AM.
#11
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That is really frustrating to say the least. Isn’t CPO a Porsche warranty? If so, I’d think that any Porsche dealer would have to honor it. There must be Porsche dealers near your home in DC. Maybe the solution is to only drive it locally near your home for a while, and if it reoccurs at least you’d only need to have it towed a few miles.
#12
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There are probably instances where software gets corrupted (have personal experience with this on a different brand) and the service procedure will fix it. I get it. If it fails again I would be surprised if they didn’t replace the PDK. It’s frustrating but you have to play the game.
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Highline-Autos.com (07-18-2024)
#13
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#14
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That is really frustrating to say the least. Isn’t CPO a Porsche warranty? If so, I’d think that any Porsche dealer would have to honor it. There must be Porsche dealers near your home in DC. Maybe the solution is to only drive it locally near your home for a while, and if it reoccurs at least you’d only need to have it towed a few miles.
#15
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There are probably instances where software gets corrupted (have personal experience with this on a different brand) and the service procedure will fix it. I get it. If it fails again I would be surprised if they didn’t replace the PDK. It’s frustrating but you have to play the game.
I could sell it and wash my hands of it, if I am willing to take the expected bath any person that tries to immediately flip a car they just bought would.