BucketList

I read somewhere in another post that the manuals go longer than the PDK's. Since I own a PDK car I wanted to get a gut check on how long that transmission might go before a failure. I couldn't find this in another thread. I am after the PDK life so if your PDK was replaced please indicate when and how many miles are on it now.

Many thanks!

I'll start: 2009 PDK 83K miles.

ltcjmramos

2012 GTS, 80k miles

groovzilla

Where's the Poll at top of page?

ogun228

What is the idea, the purpose? You'll do what either way?

scadams

Mine was replaced under warranty at 86k but it wasn’t for reliability reasons. It had a seal that had a minor weep. Since they’re not allowed to work on them, it was just replaced. I never had a single issue with it otherwise.
I’ve got 33k on the new one and have been running it with the COBB Aggressive PDK map for over a year now without issue.

Wayne Smith

2010 C4S, 134K miles, two oil changes, no problems.

Balr14

Porsche stated the PDK was intended to last the life of the car. You will find very few actual transmission problems. All issues have been little things (electronics, switches, sensors, gaskets, etc.) that would be minor if fixes were allowed. There is even a service bulletin about replacing the PDK because of an external wire that was not crimped properly. My 2009 C2s was at 60k miles when I sold it.

linderpat

Plus this thread is as close to an enzo as you can get. See this thread, which is a sticky at the top of the page, for all things pdk: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...nsmission.html

sandwedge

2009 C4S. PDK failed around 43,000 miles and was replaced. Electronics related based on the codes the dealer was able to pull.
2011 GTS. Currently just over 65,000 miles and the PDK has been and continues to operate without issues.

Based on the failure of the 2009 PDK, the Transmission Emergency Run warning CAN - strong emphasis on CAN - be a sign of future problems. I had it once or could have been twice without any other symptoms. Shut the car down and the light reset and the PDK continued to operate normally. The third time the warning light came on it was over though. Shut the car down 4 or 5 times but the light stayed on and the car wouldn't move.

Going by stories or rather the lack of PDK failure stories on this forum, failures are rare though. How long will they last? I don't think anybody can give a good answer to that question since they've only been on the market for a little over 10 years.

alexb76

It could happen at ANYTIME, most issues are not mechanical transmission parts, but the electronics controlling it, and there's NO way to repair it but replacement. So, chances are still low, BUT failure is MASSIVE COST! Manual can easily be repaired and has many more years of history.

David993S

Like with any other transmission, isn't this somewhat dependent on how it's used/abused, serviced and maintained? Not sure you're going to get any relevant information, other than they are good transmissions and will last a long time.

Petza914

This sun's it up the best. It's a great transmission until it's not, then it's really expansive. A manual trans will also need attention at some point, the difference is that with a MT it's likely a clutch for a couple grand and with a PDK, it's the complete transmission for $10-$14k.

Who knows how long it will last as thee have not been a lot of failures so its tough to get any real trending data, unlike 997. 1 water pumps where we essentially know the window in which they'll fail (50k miles +/- 20%).

Balr14

This is not true any more. Since the PDK and manual are basically the same transmission now, they share most of the same strengths and shortcomings. For example, a number of PDK owners have reported a failure of the backup switch, which is located inside the transmission. It is thought this flaw would also affect the manual, but nobody can confirm or deny it.

This does not apply to the 997 models, only to the 7 speed manual.

Iceter

Well, they share cases and some mechanical parts but does the common architecture allow more access to the electronic components that are unique to the PDK version? This is what annoys me about the 997 PDK--the idea that the failure of a $25 electronic part could create a situation where the only option is replacement.

I am curious about what the average clutch replacement interval is for these manuals, as well as the average life span of a PDK (neither of which is a number we can really ever know--this is just hypothetical). If the average PDK ultimately lasts 150k or 200k miles, and the average clutch life for a manual transmission is far less than that, then the PDK starts to make a better economic case for itself. Since most owners will never have to replace a PDK but most manual owners will have to replace a clutch or two, then which is the cheaper transmission to own for the first or second owner?

Yes, if you have one of the few that fails, you're screwed, but if you're one of the majority who never has to touch it (other than fluid changes, which aren't required very often), then the PDK costs less to own. There is also no risk of synchro failure or other more uncommon issues with manual transmissions when you own a PDK.

Petza914

My wife's 997 C2S has 107k miles on it with the original clutch. I have a new spare clutch pack in the parts cabinet that will fit either her car or mine, whichever needs one first, and I paid $600 for it from someone in the Marketplace that sold his car. I will do the replacement myself on the lift, so no way in my case the cost of running a manual comes anywhere near the potential cost of running a PDK. Just the normal scheduled PDK services (fluid exchange and software updates) over 100-120k miles likely exceed the cost of me doing a clutch replacement. a MobilLube PTX fluid exchange every 60k miles or so is also pretty inexpensive on a manual.