steve2017

Have recently purchased 2009 Carerra with 26k miles on it. PDK clutch oil change and drive belt maintenance not done yet. Selling dealer agreed to pay me for the work (car purchased in different state). Now I need to find dealer or independent shop to work. Drive belt should be easy but wondering if the magic PIWIS tool required or if other tools will suffice - the fact that PIWIS tool has a PDK fill screen scares me from using any shop without the sanctioned Porsche tool?
Have reached out to Sonnen for their experience and pricing but no result thus far. Any other suggestions - I am in Sonoma County/North Bay Area of CA.
Thanks!

ltcjmramos

Suggest you contact Wayne Smith above, a Marinite who can advise you. He, like me, took his car to Fremont Porsche. A bit of a drive, but worth it, IMO. PIWIS absolutely needed.

vg247

Another vote for Porsche of Fremont, just speak with Gunther or Gary with any questions.

It's a drive but you can get a loaner, but well worth the top notch service and peace of mind compared to other dealerships in the Bay Area.

Wayne Smith

2009 and early 2010 builds risk thread damage to the pan when the drain plug is removed. I verified Gunter had a spare pan before going in. The pan is $500.

There wasn't a lot of experience when I had mine done. Mistakes were made. The pan was removed before the drain plug was checked. Turned out the plug was fine. But once removed, the pan can't be reused. Make sure they try the plug first!!! You will want a new drain plug.

As I mentioned, not much experience. So nobody knew how to price the service. Nobody's fault. Just what it was. My local dealer never got me a written quote, even after I made a dozen attempts, in person and over the phone. I did get verbal estimates from $400 to $1600 from them. My confidence was not high.

Even with the pan error, I was happy with Gunter at Fremont and would highly recommend him. I know he now has experience!!!

steve2017

Thanks for your help. Customer service nonexistent at Sonnen - zero response from them.

docdrs

Absolutely be a piwis unless your prepared to jack the left side of your car and diy carefully. You have an 09 so the pan plug may strip and you may need a new pan which drives the cost up but you get more

ADias

Porsche of Fremont has a long PDK service experience. I was the first in this forum to service my unit there and mine was not the first they serviced, just not from members of this forum. After my service I recommended Porsche of Fremont to members of this forum. Yeah mistakes do happen, but Gunter is fair and corrections are made. i would not trust that service to anyone else in the area.

Wayne Smith

This. Absolutely this.

docdrs

I had mine done at Porsche of London and they were good enough to let me watch the mechanic do the procedure from start to finish. So I know the exact procedure and one of the few that has Actually seen it. Mine was an 2011 so just the new plug was needed , no pan removal, as above stated. Only 3.5 litres of the total will drain out of the 5.2 l dry fill capacity. It takes about 1.5 hrs to do the procedure, and I was charged for 4 litres of oil not the 6. When I was quoted a price by the SA he quoted 6 litres as that's the dry fill capacity and the SA is only a SA and really has no idea of what actually is done as he is not a mechanic, but rather a really nice guy. Do a search , I wrote the procedure up but Wayne and Adias know a lot as well. I also know another guy from Europe who did his himself but it is tricky without a PIWIS

steve2017

Why a fluid change should be such a pain is almost humorous. Anyway, if only 3.5 out of 5.2 liters come out of the car (less than 70%) does that suggest there may be some unwanted debris left in the system until the next change? Makes the replacement of the pan/filter more compelling. I'm glad I really like the PDK system.

ltcjmramos

Correct, you will have "contaminated" fluid left. Replacement of the pan/filter is irrelevant to the remaining fluid. That is trapped in the mechanism, and can only be released through the cycling controlled by the PIWIS. Lots of related info above.

docdrs

This is not really correct . The PIWIS is only used to allow an extra amount about .5 litres of pentosin to be added to the PDK. There is no cycling of it to get more out. Replacing the pan will get more out, maybe .5 litres, there will still be fluid left in the cooling system but as it is pumped thru here the contaminants will be minimal. As seen with early models, the filter in the pan appeared quite clean after 6 years.
There is also some misinformation in this thread by members who have not actually seen the process performed firsthand and are relying on what the SA says rather than the porsche mechanic.

snaphappy

I'm having this done at Memphis Motor Werks right now.

Questions:
1) After the service, is there any break-in period, or can I drive flat out right away?
2) There's debate over pan replacement, for a 2012, is it correct to say that pan replacement comes at 120,000 miles?
3) If the shop lists 5 liters or less they didn't replace the pan, but if it's around 7 liters they did replace the pan?

Thanks so much for the clarification!!

docdrs

1. Not that I know of others than bringing the car up to NOT
2. That would seem reasonable according to the info out there
3. It only takes 4 litres, 5 at most if the pan is replaced maybe. The pdk only holds 5.2 litres and there is a lot left in the clutch and cooling system that you can’t get out. When mine was done only about 3.5 litres drained out. I would maybe expect 1/4 of a litre at most to be left in the bottom of the pan so even that would not put you above 4 litres.

auburnmiz

I have a 2012 911 Turbo S with PDK that I bought certified in 2017. Last year, I noticed some rough shifting, particularly at slow speeds like pulling out of my driveway. Brought it to Monmouth Porsche under CPO and they said nothing was wrong but they reprogrammed it. They did NOT mention that I was overdue for PDK Clutch Fluid change. Still drove the same after the service.

After reading this thread last month, I called my indy (Bodymotion) that specializes in Porsches and has all the equipment the dealer has. They recommended the PDK clutch fluid change and my Front differential and AWD controller fluid changes and said the PDK pan and filter and the PDK gear oil were not due until 12 years and were optional. I expressed my concerns about the shifting and they said if I change all fluids and pan they would reprogram with the PIIWS and I should notice a difference. I went for the whole thing because I did not want to take chances, and I am glad I did. The transmission is so much smoother and more responsive.

The cost of the service with my PCA discount was $785 for PDK clutch fluid (5 liters) and pan/filter change with PDK adaption and recalibration of the gearbox control with labor and parts. The PDK gear oil for the rear differential was $137 parts and labor. The front differential oil and AWD controller change was $164 parts and labor (this service is only for AWD cars).

So basically for $1000 I had the full fluid change that you would get at 12 years during my 8 year service, and the PDK feels like new. I highly recommend this service for anyone worried about their PDK, and I recommend Bodymotion for anyone in NJ.

Also, I took the old pan/filter home and it looked clean like the photo above, and I was told that there were no metal particles in the fluid. Better safe than sorry.