Last Sunday I was driving my 2011 911 4S on cruise control at 57 MPH. I got a red warning light that said "Transmission Emergency". I pulled into the nearest parking lot and called Porsche towing service. They towed the car to my dealer where it has been since Monday. The car is under factory warranty until Sept. and has been driven only 16,700 miles. The dealer confirmed the transmission code but they cannot find any problem with the transmission. Has anyone else had this happen? If the transmission goes out in a year when the warrenty has expired, will Porsche take into consideration that I had this problem now?

 

If they read the code they should know where to start.

It is best to purchase extended warranty through your dealer before your original warranty expires. For 11 with 20k miles should be around $3k for 5 year 50kmiles.

 

I had that light come up after draining the battery down while parked and listening to the radio. These cars are very sensitive to low voltage situations. Best case scenario is it is it is a weak battery, could be alternator cable or alternator related as well.

 

The Porsche dealer when I purchased the car installed a new battery in Oct. 2013. I keep a battery tender plugged in when the car is in my garage. If it is an alternator problem, would it not show up as a code?

 

The dealer just called and says the problem is that I need four new tires. Sounds strange.

 

Sounds like a ripoff to me. How could that be related? Maybe if it was completely wrong tires and different circumference but otherwise I don't see the connection at all

Next thing they say you need new wind screen wipers or a new exhaust.

 

I'd ask for a detailed explanation of what the problem is w/current set, and how they are certain of the causal link...

 

Sounds totally fishy to me, especially if you purchased the car from a Porsche dealer. Tires should all match up. Only reason to change the tires is if they are worn which could be possible if you are tracking the car regularly.

 

haha, literally this sounds like a punchline to me. tho sadly, this isn't a joke and yes i can actually believe this crap came from a stealership. i cannot WAIT to hear the explanation...

 

First,how can one suggest it's the battery when the car is at the dealer and they've initially called to say they don't know what the problem is even though there's a fault code present? I understand a low voltage situation can trip codes,but if the car was in the owner's possession,in his garage,one might suggest that,but the car is in the dealer's possession,don't you think a low voltage battery would be the first thing they'd check? Otherwise it tells me that people answer these threads without actually reading anything posted above them.

Secondly,I find absolutely ridiculous and LAME for a dealer to suggest new tires just so they can make a buck,seeing that the warranty work didn't pan out and couldn't charge Porsche for the diagnostic!

 

I was literally going to say the same thing... It just isn't funny and is incredibly frustrating...

 

Not an uncommon thing to happen. Most of the time all that needs to be done is to turn the car off and restart it. Maybe you need new tires after 17K miles but I'd be curious to hear how the dealer makes the connection between worn tires and a transmission warning light.

 

It is possible Porsche might come to your aid if the PDK develops a problem out of warranty because you brought the car in with an indication there was a problem before the warranty expired.

However, I would not want to bet too much money on Porsche doing this.

To help yourself be sure you get an official invoice that lists your car's VIN, mileage, date/time, your complaint, the error codes, and what was done, and what was the "diagnosis", which appears to be "We don't know."

Better for you if you push to get this resolved now with the car under warranty.

Do not accept the car back. I would not accept the it needs new tires either unless the tires are severely worn (and with just 16K miles there is probably a bad alignment to blame) or the wrong tires or mismatched tires, etc.

There are too many PDK equipped cars running around with worn tires (and even *gasp* non N-rated tires) for tires I think to be at the root cause of this problem.

The dealer can contact its factory rep and enlist the factory's assistance. Many dealers do not like to do this as getting a hold of a factory rep is I've been told hard. The last word I had on this subject was they appear to not use voice mail and email is pardon the expression foreign to them. When I had my 996 Turbo in for a leaking 6-speed transmission seal it took a week or more before the tech managed to get ahold of the factory rep and confirm the factory would supply a new transmission (under CPO warranty) and to work out some apparent mixup someplace regarding which transmission the 996 Turbo required.

So, my advice would be to say that the dealer's response to your car and its error code is not acceptable and what does the factory have to say?

Also, state because of the error and the having to pull over and stop and arrange for a tow you have lost all enjoyment from having the car because of this problem hanging over your car.

If the dealer gives you any pushback remind it one major reason you bought the car was because you are assured the dealer had the service department to properly and promptly service or repair the car and if the dealer just throws up its hands at the first problem you feel you have been misled.

If the dealer is unable or unwilling to deal with this problem to your satisfaction you will be forced to contact the department of consumer fraud in your area, and write a letter to PCNA and the Porsche factory asking then if this dealer can't or worn't resolve this problem with the car under warranty where should you take the car?

Play a little hard ball, although of course always polite and calm.

 

Seriously doubt the tires are the issue.

Have your service manager enter your VIN and look up in their PIWIS II system the document titled: PDK Transmission Diagnosis: Symptoms and Repair Procedure (35/09). The version I have is dated Aug 31, 2012 and is 18 pages so there may be a newer version on the system now depending on your VIN. It has very detailed procedures of how to proceed given any PDK related fault code or potential leak in the system. Assuming you have a PDK fault code this is the only way PAG will allow repair to proceed on the PDK unit and since you are under warranty still, you are in a good position should the recommended procedure result in a replacement of the PDK unit (which unfortunately is a very common end point in the diagnosis process as outlined in the document).

On a side note, there are times when you get the "Transmission Emergency Run" notice without a PDK fault code being logged (I've seen this with both white and red font messages). In these cases, you can cycle the ignition off / on / off. Then restart and engage the PDK into D and move off a bit to see if you get the warning again. Typically if there was truly a PDK fault, the warning will present itself almost immediately, certainly within a few minutes of driving. In this latter case, a PDK fault code will be stored in the PDK module and readable by PIWIS II or Durametric. Lastly if you get the warning, try to take a picture of the message with your phone to document the warning for your service manager and yourself. If you don't get the warning again, consider it a software glitch and you're good to go.

Good luck.

 

I had this issue a while back. It would appear every other week. I bought a new battery at Walmart and problem solved!!! I changed the battery over a year ago and the problem has never come back. Finger crossed!!

Also, service writers make large commissions from out of pocket repairs. Tires are NOT the problem. Good luck and keep us posted!