lstoker

Well, my '09 C4S decided to get stupid yesterday. We had it out running errands around town and had made several stops throughout the morning with no issues all. 1st unexplainable issue was a loud pop going down the highway with no explainable cause at all. Wife thought something had fallen against the center console or something...

Later after making two more stops I start having trouble shifting. It is much harder to get into gear, No grinding or anything, but it feels like a gated shifter that isn't aligned. Clutch feels good, I don't notice any slipping. Seems like all or most gears are experiencing it, and a bit random when it does it. By the time I got it home, it was like I had to shove the shifter into a gear about 5X harder than usual, it's actually taking force rather than flicking it.

I got home and on my flat driveway was able to put it into 1st and walk the car across the driveway with just the clutch and no gas. Felt no slipping and engagement feels fine.

Could this be a shifter cable issue? I'm at a loss because all the cable failures I know of will leave you stuck in a gear or out of a gear. I can still hit all the gears it just became increasingly difficult. Closest dealer is an hour away, I'm going to call them tomorrow and trailer it there. Not willing to drive that far in the case of a complete failure. It's still CPO'd, but I seriously doubt this is going to be covered.

Any ideas?

gota911

I think you are probably "spot on" with the shifter cable assessment.

The only other potential cause could be that one of the cable ends came off the shifter. You could check that out option by removing the center console, which will take about 30 to 45 minutes if it is you first time doing it.

I don't think the cable are (or should be) classified as a "wear" item, so this should be covered under CPO.

Also, call 1-800-Porsche and have them contact a tow truck for you. Free towing is part of the CPO warranty.

lstoker

Thanks gota911, I'll talk to my SA in the morning and see what he has to say. He's a nice guy and has always hooked me up with transportation or couriers so I'm sure he'll help.

I would have thought that if a an end came off I wouldn't be able to move through the gears or there would be no resistance in one of the axis, but who knows. Maybe one of the bearings have failed.

Marine Blue

Perhaps it's one of the connections in the shift linkage under the center console. Lot's of plastic in that linkage likely to keep weight and cost down.

Hella-Buggin'

seeking it out in first won't give you a sense of the clutch life. In order to do that you need to get in a high gear at low rpm's and floor it and see if it slips under heavy load.

That being said, I would look at where the cables connect to the shifter. Like others have mentioned, it's mostly plastic and something could have cracked. If thats the case, I would upgrade to the Numeric shifter.

PTParks

Considering the amount of interior trim you have to remove to get to and/or replace a shifter cable, it might be a good time to consider an upgrade to the shifter itself (B&M or Porsche SSK).

halo777

And on that note, my 08 C4s has the Porsche SSK, and I love it.

jimwood

I've been having the same issue. In addition to locking me out of first gear what is more troubling is when first gear seems to have no resistance and just sloppy. I'm used to having to shift into second and then to first when first is locked, but not being able to get it into any gear freaks me out.

I do not believe it is the clutch since I just replaced it. I ordered the Numeric shifter and cup cables. I'm hoping that solves the issue.

Petza914

The first thing to check is the simple one, which is the shift cable holders under the car back near the transmission. They sometimes pop out of this plastic holder and then don't align quite right and cause shifting issues. If one or both has popped out and you can snap them back in, you can add a couple wire tires to hold them more securely in the holder and prevent it from happening in the future.

lstoker

Well, not the update I expected to provide... The car was at the dealer yesterday and exhibited no issues. The tech and I took it out on a 20 mile round trip and nothing! He drove half way and I drove the other half and the shifting was just fine. He examined everything with the cables and linkage and can't find anything. Also checked the brake fluid as it's obviously related to the hydraulic clutch and it was topped off and is nice and clean.

I hate intermittent problems!

workhurts

Took me literally 5-7 seconds to get into 1st the other day at a light. Luckily no one was behind me. Kinda annoying. I have no sense of when it will happen.

Aside from cables at the transmission, anything else to check? Don't feel like going to dealer yet.

Hella-Buggin'

Here's how I avoid the "won't go into first" thing...

As I'm approaching a stop I'll slip it into first while still coasting with the clutch in. Then slide it out and it's good to go when I need to put it in gear to take off.

jimwood

Just had the numeric shifter and cup car shifter cables installed. Day and night difference. The slop is totally gone and each gear has its own place.

Honestly, it should come from the factory this way. Anyway, I'd recommend it and I think you'll be happy.

SpeedyD

I've had this issue in my BMW every so often... Did you try clutch in, go to neutral, clutch out, and then clutch in again into first?

Whenever I have an issue getting into first (usually on a very slight uphill grade) I do that and it then works perfectly...

chuck bernstein

I had this issue on my 2012 997.2 C4S. I had it happen many times at the dreaded stoplight and at 8000 miles it happens less frequent but I still sweat at stoplights. Brought to the dealer and nothing showed. It is a freak thing and I deal with it. Maybe it had to be broken in?