Hi. New to Rennlist and to P ownership. '09 4S (PDK) with 50K. I'been reading as a guest for years, but when my boss' boss called to say he was leaving the US and I had first right of refusal on his C4S I has to say yes. Luck had it wife had "ok" the purchase of a new 718 Cayman for year end. The C4S seems like a better all around car and has that "classic" element to it .... for a lot less.

To my question. Car was running great but since it had 8 years on the PDK clutch oil I decided to have it serviced at a dealership. After the service the gears feel like they are dropping more than sliding. Is it bad? No. But car was driving better before and I want to make sure I did a good thing by servicing and not a bad thing by bringing it to a heartless dealer.

The theory from a P certified (non-dealer) mechanic is that they did the fill right after I dropped the car (after driving 35 miles in 90 degree weather). They gave it back within two hours. He states the clutch oil expands and hence the very specific procedure to verify level between 85F and 105F. If they serviced right after dropping it the new oil would be cool, but the case would be hot and the oil would expand right away and show higher than actual, causing an underfill. Service order states only 5 units were used. Not sure if quarts or liters.

Do I trust the dealer to bring it back? Not really. When i asked they were already selling me a PDK software upgrade ....

Thoughts? If it is underfilled a new check and top-off should help. If not, any ideas?

Many thanks.

 

Welcome! Not sure what you mean dropping instead of sliding?
My PDK is instant when I shift, no hesitation, no wondering between gears, just I'm in 2nd and now instantly in 3rd etc.

Can you expand on dropping?

 

Hi. I've had dual clutch gearboxes for years and know how they feel. From one to the next seamlessly. Drove this car for three weeks before the service and experienced the same. After the service there is a bit of a jerk. Exactly the same one would experience if releasing the clutch in a manual car to quick.

Instead of seamless gear changes I'm feeling the gear change as it is being released. Not a "clunck", but rough release.

 

In Normal mode, should be smooth. In Sport and Sport +, you will get a real jerk and bang.

 

To the OP. I will be taking my 997.2 C4S into my indy shop on weds for this very service and can ask them. For what its worth, when I made the appointment they said they had to keep it overnight.

I do know that the service requires use of PIWIS and is more involved than simply drain and fill.

FYI the replacement is a 6 year 60K maintenance item and would also involve replacing the all wheel drive oil and serpentine belt.

 

Odd. I had the exact opposite happen when the PDK on my -09 C4S was replaced. The replacement unit had the "upgraded" software which produced the seamless shifts you seem to prefer, even in sport and sport plus mode. To each their own I guess but I hated it. Felt like an old automatic slush box. My current GTS must have the old programming. Snaps through the gears in sport plus manual rather than the lazy, seamless upgrade action. I tell my dealer to leave it alone every time I drop it off for service.

 

You can read my recent experience. ..

 

I got software upgraded too when I had my car last service, they did it for free - the way it should be upgraded everything to latest spec... I miss the snaps..now its just seemless
feels like a 991.1 PDK (because it is now..)
but you know what its better I bet somehow.. the old jerky shifts were artificial and Chris harris didn't like them.

 

What do you mean Chris Harris loves everything and every car?

 

There are indeed lots of posts about PDK Software "upgrade" leading to softer shift feeling, particularly making the Sport Plus shifting feel much less aggressive.

If like me, you do not like the change after the software upgrade, I can highly recommend the Function First Transmission Mount Inserts. It definitely helps get back the crisp feel of the shifts.

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

 

According to the indy, it sounds like a calibration step was skipped. He said the service takes about 2 hours of labor but it is temperature sensitive. When he does it they let the PDK drain for a long time and then like to have it sit overnight to finalize the fill level. He also said many mechanics are intimidated by the complexity of the PDK so they avoid steps like the calibration if they can. I live in Las Vegas with high temps right now so the overnight approach may be overkill in cooler climates (my thought, I did not ask the indy about this).

As I mentioned about other service, the OP should go through the specified maintenance schedules and see what else may have been skipped. Spark plugs are every 4 years, etc. Don't ignore the time intervals just because the mileage is still low. Some of these items are due to corrosion or deterioration issues.

The dealer can pull maintenance records for anything previous owners did at dealerships. I think (not sure) that sometimes carfax will show service events too.

No insight about going back to original dealer; you paid $$$ for the service and they should make it right. If it were me I would get an estimate for doing the calibration step / top off somewhere else and let that guide the next step. Obviously if you have lots of other deferred maintenance you should dangle that out there when negotiating.

 

Jerky over seamless all day and night.

 

I guess I watch too much F1, in car cameras show the smoothest paddle shifting that it doesn't even affect the on screen G-Meter.

 

Jerky = Firm = Correct. In sport and sport+.

 

Yea but jerky why, computer controlled solenoids should be millisecond orchestrated... No ?