dan71cat

Some updates. Clutch part of PDK was serviced at Porsche (pan replaced as well). They confirmed fluid in there was correct (and gave me the sample as per my request). Fluid was thin, amber and didn't leave traces on the bottle. The dealer from the West coast where I bought the car paid for the service and another thing as well. Very satisfied after the stress I had earlier. Was so happy that bought rubber mats and umbrella to please her

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Wayne Smith

Glad to hear the good news. Now go out and drive!!!

summerdriver

My Porsche-specialist indy recommends against changing PDK clutch and transmission oils in street cars. They claim they've seen multiple cars with no prior PDK problems exhibiting unsmooth gear changes immediately after PDK oil change.

We're talking about street cars as there are no tracks around here.

Can anyone confirm this observation or recommendation?

Assuming the recommendation is wrong and the real reason for the problems is incorrect oil change procedures, can anyone comment on what may be the mistake(s) causing unsmooth gear changes?

I need to decide whether to change PDK oils in a lightly-driven Boxster S 2011 with 100,000 km.

Many thanks.

summerdriver

My Porsche-specialist indy recommends against changing PDK clutch and transmission oils in street cars. They claim they've seen multiple cars with no prior problems exhibiting unsmooth gear changes immediately after PDK oil change.

We're talking about street cars as there are no tracks around here.

Can anyone confirm this observation or recommendation?

Assuming the recommendation is wrong and the real reason for the problems is incorrect oil change procedures, can anyone comment on what may be the mistake(s) that may be causing unsmooth gear changes?

I need to decide whether to change PDK oils in a lightly-driven Boxster S 2011 with 100,000 km.

Many thanks.

whacko77uk

My 2010 car is currently in for its 12 year service (43k miles). I chose to send it to the Porsche owned OPC here in the UK (Hatfield) as I called a number of specialists and had varying info.

OPC were clear on what needed doing, sent me a detailed quote which covered transmission and clutch fluid amongst other things. Not cheap at £2200 but worth the peace of mind as it included all the 12 year recommendations.

Ironman88

I had the service done (Porsche dealership) on my '09 C2S - which had 28k miles on it at the time. The transmission shifted perfectly fine prior to and also after the service was done. No issues.

My car was under an extended warranty then (Fidelity Platinum) - so if I had elected to not service the transmission and it later experienced a failure - there was an easy out (I would imagine) to not honor the warranty due to omission of factory recommended service.

Prior to getting the service done, I attempted to research (online) what the service involved - and through that process identified lots of inconsistencies and what turned out to be misinformation on the topic. My local independent shop quoted me a price for the work that was significantly higher than the local Porsche dealer. Plus they seemed to have some confusion about the fluids involved and quantities.

Opinion alert - I think that any shop that discourages the work from being done, stating that it causes problems with performance of the transmission going forward, is a shop that you would want to avoid. Clearly their approach in this regard is an effort to side-step any accountability or liability in the event a problem does occur (and probably because of their own ineptitude.)

tapcon

My understanding of that logic applies to a very high mileage tranny. As the clutch packs wears it loses grip, and the old transmission fluid carries that worn material which may be a 'helper' grit to produce enough friction for the clutches to engage as well as keep your transmission from slipping. Not sure I buy into the wisdom of that unless by holding off on the fluid replacement you gain time to prep for a major repair that's already in process.

wjk_glynn

Same experience here, zero difference before/after.

Hey Wayne, was that your recent experience with Bay Area dealers, or some years back?

The reason I ask is that back in 2015 (when the very first PDK cars were coming up for their first 6-year service), I could imagine there'd be a learning curve.

But that's some years back and certainly my experience with Stevens Creek Porsche is that they knew exactly what to do (and not do) when they serviced mine.

So if you're still getting wobbly responses from them... that'd be concerning.

Thanks.

Karl.

Wayne Smith

My first change goes back to 2015 at 60K miles in the San Francisco Bay Area. At that time there was a lot of confusion about the service including pan (plug) replacement, fluid types, fill method, calibration, and cost. As a cost example, the same dealer quoted me $400, then $800, and then $1600 on three different face to face discussions. They would not commit to a service date, saying they would get back to me. They didn't. After three times, I gave up on them and after several other discussions with other dealers I opted to drive 60 miles to another dealer based on their good reputation. But I think I was their test case for this procedure.

I suspect (am sure that) things are better now. But I still suggest caution in selecting your service location. I went to a local indie for my 120K service and they did a beyond excellent job.

The comment regarding resistance to doing the PDK oil change was not from personal experience but from "knowledge" gained from this Forum and elsewhere. Some of that is recent. So it seems that some dealers are still in the pre-experience phase.

jayzbird

I had mine done at Stevens Creek a few months back, and it was a bit bumpy requiring two trips but they made good on the initial miscue. Anyone looking to get it done there, pm me and I can provide the name of the SA who is now fully aware of the procedure.

orange260z

Beautiful car, dan71cat! I remember seeing that one for sale last year, congrats. When I had my FFL3 changed in 2016 I felt like a guinea pig, fortunately my local dealer did a great job on mine. I was their first, so they were very cautious and followed Porsche's instructions to the "T". My fluid looked similar to yours, and I noticed no real change in how the car drove. My car is a very early 2009 (2008 build) so I was worried about having to replace the pan, but in the end the drain plug/pan threads survived and no issues. I will likely get the 12yr service (which I guess will involve both fluids) done this year or next, and will likely budget for a pan/filter replacement as part of that.

myturbo2

Question…why do some recommend replacing the pan and some not? Isn’t that where the filter is located? Wouldn’t you also be able to drain more of the old oil?

Wayne Smith

2009 cars might (that's might but not definitely) have a thread problem that dictates that the pan must be sacrificed. But pull the plug first to see since once you pull the pan, you will absolutely need a new pan since they can't be reused.

Beyond that, the filter (and thus pan) should be changed every other oil change. The schedule is every 6 years or every 60K miles. So, all potentially questionable 2009 plugs should be out of service by now. For unknown reasons, Porsche doubled the time / mileage for service on the 991 models.

Any oil change is really just a dilution. Getting a bit more out isn't critical, IMHO.

If you opt to change the pan buy the PDK service kit, which bundles the cost and saves you a lot of money. The dealer will want to bill you for individual parts, which will cost you a lot more. Better yet, find a good Indie.

When I changed my PDK (well, not me ... I got ripped off by a dealer with an excellent reputation the first time and treated wonderfully by an Indie the second time. The oil looked brand new each time.

Ironman88

It's been conveyed that the threads for the drain bolt on this pan are often stripped out - hence the recommendation from some to just plan on replacing the pan as part of the service. Also, the filter is integrated into the pan itself and can't be replaced as a separate component.

It's also been conveyed however (with photo documentation) that these filters usually look brand new (completely clean) when the pans are removed. The pan assembly is not inexpensive - so replacing it just to get a new filter may not provide any actual value.

In my case, the local Porsche dealership service personnel were confident that they could easily remove the drain bolt without creating a problem - so a new pan would not be required. (That ended up being the situation.)

There was no mention about any issue with not being able to completely drain the transmission with the pan in place. I would doubt that there would be any meaningful amount of fluid that would remain if the pan was not removed.