hlee1169

Update: I took the car in this morning, and the shop foreman test drove it to see what is going on. The car started up normally, and in the first few miles show no symptoms. I had sinking feeling that my trip to the dealer was wasted (50 mile round-trip). Then he started to accelerate hard, and the engine start stumbling. Eventually he can get it to happen around 3000rpm, and I was starting to wonder if we can get back to the dealer at all since it was pretty bad.

So, he will hook it up to the computer to read fault codes, if any. Fingers crossed.

p.s. A funny side show: when we were doing acceleration test, a VW Golf thought we were racing with him. Since my engine stumbled, we could not go very fast, and he honked us and gestured that our car is not so fast. We had a good laugh.

Minok

So what is the official gesture for "your car is not so fast"?

hlee1169

His hand gesture is, "meh~~", palm down, shake a little.

hlee1169

Just called the dealer for an update, and the surprising answer is that I have PDK fault codes! I did not get the detail yet, but they need to call Porsche for authorization to continue. Now I am really confused.

I said that my engine starting problem is not PDK related, and they acknowledged that, but stated PDK is the first issue, and after it's resolved they will look into that. So I take it there are two possible separate issues with my car?

vexed

Are they telling you the stumble at 3K rpm is a PDK issue? I felt my car had a stumble at around 2700 rpm under light throttle, it's gone now. I hope they identify the issue(s) and fix it right, the problem is for some things you will be the first one and they will be working their way through it.

hlee1169

Well currently there's not much information, so I can't say. I can tell you that the stumble we encountered was bad. It was like "putt...putt...putt..." in quick succession, unless you ease off the gas. Power felt interrupted. I would venture that it feels like limp mode, except we get power if you are light on the gas pedal.

hlee1169

Ok...just called the dealer up and they said the PDK fault codes are actually caused by the HPFP. Porsche authorized the replacement, and they are waiting for the part. I probably won't get it back until late Monday. Chalk me up as another member of the weak HPFP club.

ADias

When symptoms first occur the dealer should take care of the HPFP. It is a known problem on early DFI engines.

vexed

Sorry to hear but glad they figured it out. Once they have the parts it is a 2-3 hour job. Hope you get it back Monday.

And let's hope the dealers and PCNA get more proactive about this.

hlee1169

I am curious if the new fuel pump will have a different part number, or a revision with same part number? I wonder if it's a design flaw, or just a manufacturing defect that was not ironed out for the early models? It seems that my build (Dec 2008) is one of the latter builds with HPFP issue.

hlee1169

Sigh...the car is still at the dealer. Got a call from the technician, and he told me that they have installed a software update for the PDK. He said the fault codes from PDK indicates it was in emergency run mode, and per instruction from Porsche NA, they installed an update. I asked if the PDK fault codes were caused by the fuel pump, and he said no. I am not sure if this is the same software update that others on this forum has received.

They received the fuel pump yesterday, and has not got around to install it. At this pace, I would be surprised to see the car by the end of the week since I sent it in last Thursday.

Driving the Hyundai loaner just does not cut it, you know. Since mine is a lease, it's like paying Porsche price to drive a Hyundai.

vexed

I'm sorry to hear they are not giving this more of a priority. I don't have PDK but it sounds like the bad HPFP is the root of it. The dealer needs to fix it now and let you enjoy your car.

mstams

The PDK faults are typically related to low voltage or fuel issues. In my case, the DME control module was found to be losing communication with the DFI. It was replaced, and no problems since. However, mine is an early build (Oct 2008) so I am watching out for HPFP signs.

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...gency-run.html

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

Mine also had the PDK software updated (at my request) about a week before the faults were generated, so I don't think the update solves anything -- just needs to be done.

BTW - My loaner was a Cayenne for about a week.

hlee1169

Interesting...I specifically asked if there's any hardware replacement, and he said no.

This is strange, I have asked two dealers in the bay area about it, and no one knows about this update.

Sigh...

mstams

Not surprising. My dealer first responded there was no software update as well. However, after checking with Porsche NA in Atlanta, one was discovered and applied. The DME control module diagnosis took nearly 200 miles with tech's laptop in car to trap the communication issue. Obviously, these issues are so new that there's just not a lot of experience out there. Best of luck.