Originally Posted by mujeriega

Recommendation I received from my indy for PDK service was to drop it off the night before and they would have it done the next day as they need the fluid to be cool before working on it. Also paid the same price in N. Scottsdale.

Originally Posted by chris.lorine

In 2015 I bought a used 997.2 with very low miles (12,400) that had been kept in a garage in Florida and only driven a few months a year. See

Ceramic Coat March 2019

Ceramic Coat March 2019
picture inset I live in Scottsdale, AZ and had just totaled my 2009 997.2 manual with only 30K miles on it. Totaled the car and missed the coyote. If ever faced with the choice again, the coyote is toast. But I digress.

The 2011 997.2 I purchased was in perfect condition. I mean showroom condition with only 12,400. I changed all the normal fluids and filters and got new tires and have been enjoying the car ever since. I had a PCA recommended Indy mechanic go over the car and have tracked it four times at PCA events here in Arizona. I love this car and take good care of it. I ceramic coated it back in the spring and am thrilled with the results. I will write about that another time. All this time, my mind kept wondering when I should change the PDK fluids. I have 28,700 miles on the car now (I just don't drive many miles), it is my daily driver. As mentioned earlier, I have tracked it four times which included 4-5, 20 minute runs each day on a 16 turn track going as fast as my ***** would let me.

I change my oil every six months which is way before the mileage requires because I just don't drive that much. I replace the air filters and do other simple maintenance myself because I'm cheap. I have been reading about the PDK fluid change process and how difficult or expensive it could be and just kept putting it off. Well, I finally decided to bite the bullet. I called the local Porsche dealer and the Indy mechanic that I trust who is an awesome Porsche guy, and I got a price. I scheduled the work and dropped it off.

I am happy to say that all is well and the car shifts as smooth and as fast as I could ever wish. Important Note - Both the dealer and the Indy Mechanic told me that there are two different fluids that get changed in a PDK system. The PDK fluid should be changed ever 6 years or 60K miles. I have exceeded the time but came nowhere near the mileage. The other fluid is the GEAR fluid which should be changed at 120K miles and is more difficult to get at therefore the cost for that change will be more because it requires the PDK and the Gear fluids plus labor. Again, this was just the PDK fluid change that was done on my car.

Here are the details of the costs and the issues that the Indy mechanic had while changing my oil:
Porsche Dealer cost estimate $550-650 plus taxes (all prices USD)
Indy Mechanic (I will happily name his shop if you IM me) $545 plus tax
My car is a 2011 997.2 Carrera S with 28700 miles

I dropped the car off at 8 AM and received a call at 4 PM that they would have to keep it overnight. Apparently the process to change the oil is very involved. They had to take measurements at 10 degrees C and at 30 degrees C several times during the process. Living in Scottsdale has an issue in that in November it really doesn't get that cold (10 C = 50 F) so the fluids don't cool down that fast and not to the desired temps. Porsche has very specific instructions as to how this fluid change should occur. There must be some equipment that the dealers have to enable them to do this temperature change and measurement process. Anyway, The Indy provided me with a picture of the PDK fluids before and the new fluid that went in. I thought you would like to see it and hear about it since I could not find anything like this on the boards. You will see from the pictures that even though I had half the miles than the mileage requirement, the fluid looked pretty crappy compared to the new fluid. I attribute this (and I am just guessing) to temperature and friction from track days as well as degradation from time. I am at over 8 years from manufacture.

I will tell you that the car shifted very nicely before and is even smoother now. Don't put it off, the clock is ticking and it isn't that bad a cost.

CORRECTION: I spoke to my Indy shop owner after all the questions were raised about the massive color change. I provided you with INCORRECT info. This picture is Diff fluid NOT PDK. I was initially misinformed and wanted to correct this ASAP. Thank you for your understanding, mistakes happen and owning up to them quickly and completely is critical to good information flow.


New PDK trans fluid on left, Old Yuck sludge on the right.

Originally Posted by Jose Placenta

This is a picture of my PDK transmission fluid on a 997.2 Carrera S with 58K miles just complete yesterday. Mine looks clean even after 10 years and this was the first time it has been serviced. That picture you posted was probably not from your car your, but someone else's.

Originally Posted by Qwksnke

I'm assuming at that price your pan/filter was not replaced since the service kit that includes the filter and fluid is $500.
Like others, my pdk service was done this year at 60k miles with no change in performance and very little color difference.
If the filter wasn't changed as I suspect, I would make damn sure it was the next time you service the pdk based off the color of your fluid

Originally Posted by lexhair

This is worth quoting. The filter is integral to the pan. The 12 year/120k mile service recommendation is to replace the filter which generally means replacing the entire pan assembly. Some posters have mentioned that their mechanic was able to replace the filter and reinstall the existing pan. For me, I will be replacing the pan with the service next year.

Originally Posted by Ironman88

My experience with researching this topic revealed a significant amount of misinformation and bad information that is prevalent on the web, in forums and with my local independent shop. I did come across the following thread which helped me. (Specifically Post # 26, items #1 and #2 - by forum member Wayne Smith.)

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...-change-2.html

Concise summary of my PDK maintenance experience ('09 C2S - 28k miles):

• PDK Clutch Fluid Change - Past due based on time not on miles (had not previously been done): Local independent shop indicated they would have to replace the pan and fluid. Estimate was for $891.17 (Parts $653.93 / Labor $198 / Tax $39.24). I had read online that early '09's had drain pan plugs that were (for whatever reason) easily stripped when reinstalled - so replacement of the entire pan was necessary for them. (Hence the price from the local independent.) I had read online in numerous instances that the filter (which is integral with the pan) was as-new; no debris visible and could easily be reused.) Once the pan is removed however, I read that it cannot be reused. Spoke with the local Porsche dealership (shop foreman with 20+ years / Meister Guild Gold Level Technician). Information he conveyed was that the pan would likely not need to be replaced. My decision then was to go with the Porsche dealership for the service for two reasons - 1) If my PDK ended up going bad at some future point, I would rather work with the Porsche dealership and not have any questions about proper maintenance having been done, and 2) They had more confidence about the procedure. (Not to mention, their price was significantly less - $574.63 total.) They performed the work. Pan was not replaced. No problems / no issues. Car runs perfectly.

The 12 year / 120k mile PDK maintenance would normally consist of two services - another PDK clutch fluid replacement, and PDK gear oil replacement. At that time, it may make good sense to replace the pan.

In my situation however, the 12 year / 120k service will consist only of a PDK gear oil replacement (since I just did the PDK clutch fluid replacement.) Replacing the gear oil (which is in a separate part of the transmission - isolated from the clutches and has no filter) will not require the replacement of any pan (there's not one for that portion of the transmission.)

Originally Posted by 997.2GTS

Lexhair, would you mind stating what the cost was? I face the same situation with my 997.2, thanks.

Originally Posted by lexhair

I just had my 12 year service with all the fluids known to Dr. Ing. F.A. Porsche replaced as well as the PDK pan. My mechanic was telling me there's some thought about changing the PDK clutch oil replacement frequency to 30k miles / 3 years. He said in his experience all the other oils usually come out fairly pristine but the PDK clutch fluid can be really funky looking if you wait until 60k miles.