PDK here. 33k miles. Double digit track days, no issues so far.....

My opinion is that PDK is as reliable as an automatic transmission with a torque converter, which means its robust enough to go 200k miles with minimal maintenance.

 

You are probably right BUT in the event you need to repair one then that might hurt. Depends on your tolerance to that fact IMO>

 

I have to admit, every time I see one of these threads pop up the conspiracy theorist in me thinks it's a plot by manual transmission owners to pump up their resale values.

 

I haven't heard of a single PDK failure and I spend a lot of time on the forums here in the UK and in Australia. I think they are proving to be very reliable given a MT would likely need a few clutches in the time you wear out a PDK gearbox. The ROI is solid.

 

There is no need to do that as manual transmissions are in much higher demand. Just look at the price of the new 911R (A GT3 with a manual trans) - they're going for 500,000 USD.

The Ferrari F430 6 speed now sells for about $200,000 - the F1 auto version sells for about $110,000.

The same price differences are apparent in just about every vehicle.

 

There's been quite a few and no matter how small the problem is it requires a complete unit replacement costing over $14,000.

Track people especially - interested to hear how it's holding up. So far only one here is tracking it regularly with no issues.

 

When you say 'quite a few' do you mean dozens or thousands? If it's one failure per 10,000 cars I think you could safely assume you would be ok. 1 failure per 100 cars would be a different level of concern.

 

That's a fair question with no way to find the answer. All anyone has is anecdotal info because PAG sure isn't sharing that information. I heard from my sales guy that early versions had some hiccups and the policy was to replace, no questions asked. Who knows the degree of truth though? In the end, you research, agonize, then ya' roll the dice and take yer' chances. Just like buying a toaster (albeit an expensive one) with thousands of moving parts - I guess

 

I recently sold my 997 4GTS PDK. I really missed MT. My head said PDK but my heart said MT. If you really want PDK, I suggest test driving a 991. The PDK is much better than in a 997, smoother and quicker. I test drove a gen 2 991 PDK and it was like a video game. Instantaneous shifts. The gen 1 991's will soon be at a better price point once the gen 2 991's start rolling in and the gen 1 991's start coming off lease.

That being said, for me, I still prefer the 997 over the 991. For one thing, when I popped the engine lid on the 991, I was like, where's the engine?? Very strange...

 

In defense of Para, I've seen him mention the possibility of adding a 997.2 PDK car for track purposes in other threads so I'm pretty sure this isn't a conspiracy theorist thing. Its a real question for people who want to hold a PDK long term, especially if they plan to track it.

However...

I can only recall seeing a handful (3-5) of PDK replacements needed on Rennlist in the past few years and I believe that they were all under warranty (original or CPO). So in my opinion its a very small problem and probably not worth worrying about. And as I said in my first post, since Porsche is selling PDKs in all their cars now, I anticipate the repair/replacement becoming cheaper as time goes on.

 

I'd like to hear from more people w PDK and whether they'd do it again or go back to a manual.

 

Someone's been collecting failure and other stories:

http://www.planet-9.com/automotive-o...data-here.html

.

 

Correct, i'm doing a slow and steady search - very patient with this and in no hurry.

The PDK by most accounts seems fairly rock solid - apart from the few who did post here as I remembered also. I have heard the PDK in the 991 is better but to me the 997 is the pinnacle of the 911 series - sort of a watercooled 993.

Is the PDK more entertaining than a manual on the track? On the street I prefer the 6 speed.

 

I have 54K on my 2009 w/ PDK. I have not tracked it (yet--2 events already paid for and on my calendar), but the previous owner did track the car. I just had the PDK fluid service recommended for 6 years performed, and am hoping I'm good to go for another 6 years. As many have pointed out, super long term or high mileage reliability had yet to be seen, but so far so good. It's a very interesting transmission, as it can be a bit quirky at low speeds, especially in sport or sport plus mode. It definitely performs more like a manual than an automatic, with a little hesitation from a dead stop and a bit of jerkiness when decelerating to a stop. Nothing bad--it just takes some getting used to. If you expect it to behave exactly like an automatic, it won't. On the flip side, when you drive it hard or at higher speeds, it fires those shifts off like nothing you could EVER do with a manual. It's amazing. It is meant to be driving hard and fast.

I've always been a "sports cars must be manual" type of guy, but my wife sort of "made" me get the PDK as a compromise so she could drive the car occasionally as well. I do not regret it. Yes, the thought that it has to be totally replaced if something were to go wrong definitely worries me from time to time, but I also believe that as long as you keep up with the maintenance, and don't actually try to break it, it should last 200K+ (which is forever on a car that I drive maybe 5K/year).

 

26k mi on my pdk car (avatar pic at left)... 30+ track days over 2+ years as i climbed learning curve, before retiring it from track duty, subsequently tracking gt3's etc etc

never a single problem with the tranny, or anything, for that matter (in time i added sharky bypass, techart paddles, evo sit tune, gt3 front arms for camber, better rotors/pads and hkk rs3's for grip)

yes shifting/heel-n-toeing is hella fun and it's a thrill to get it just right in a hot lap... but if i am chasing you with pdk you can have all the joy of shifting, i am throttle-on-floor in sport plus in your rear mirror while you lift n shift!!...

i did change the pdk fluid at 20k miles as preventative measure, all good... this baby has been truly bulletproof...yeah it's 'just' a carrera s but i do love this car...got a bunch of racier sleds now, but this girl stays my avatar...

these days my college age son tracks her occasionally and otherwise she just cruises around lookin' mighty fine!!!