michaellitt

My pressure plate failed last Friday. It became difficult to shift into Neutral and a whistling sound developed from the transmission. I immediately pulled over and turned the machine off.

Called Porsche, had the vehicle towed to nearest dealer.

Was informed that the pressure plate had indeed failed and in the process took out the clutch and sent shrapnel through to the transmission. This is a well documented issue.

Warranty claim was submitted via the dealer into Porsche Canada and escalated to Germany. Warranty is valid until February 2015.

Porsche has denied the claim on the basis that the ECU has been modified.

1) I purchased the vehicle without knowledge of the modification. It is not a CPO car, I had a dealership find it for me. Their inspection assured that no modifications had been done to the vehicle. I'm the 3rd owner - assumption is that the 1st owner did the modification.

2) The engine has no over-revs (via the dealership that submitted the claim).

3) Cost of repair is >~$25,000.

I'm in a pickle here and am curious about potential courses of action. I assume it's too late to re-flash and re-submit the claim as the VIN will be flagged.

My dealer assures me that their diligence was complete. I have no records confirming software modification at any point.

Has anyone appealed a warranty claim like this under goodwill? I believe Porsche has acknowledged the issue given that they replace the broken pieces with a different/upgraded part # (parts from the 4.0).

I can't afford these repairs at the moment (wedding next week) and am at a complete loss.

Spyerx

What evidence and basis are they claiming the ECU has been modified? Does it have a modified map? Reve limiter? What?

surlynkid

First they said it was clean when you bought it from them and now they say it has a tune. Either they did not really check the car just like the clowns I used in Florida or they are full of **** now.

michaellitt

They said that the "Software Code" did not match the factory one when they ran the diagnostic. I was not informed of this until the claim was denied.

Yoops Racing

wow that bites. PCA can be PITA when it comes to ECU Flash. I wonder if you have it flashed back to stock if the dealer can help push it through now....you may want to inquire. I hope you and the dealer are on good terms...

Alan C.

This is where the whole idea of flashing and the vendor telling you it can't be detected begins to unravel. While the dealer may not pick it up on a casual DME scan Porsche may be able to pick up more information.

I'd keep after my dealer and write Porsche. Keep it professional with the facts. Let them know that you had it inspected at a dealer and that you expected the car to be clean. Did your dealer make any money on the car?

Really sorry to hear about your dilemma. Hope it works out for you.

Izzone

It's not a 25k repair

If the pressure plate exploded...it probably only took out the bell housing

Take it to an independent and get it fixed

997gt3north

If the engine has no over revs (stated above - i.e. no money shift exploding pressure plate), then while not impossible, if is not 'likely' that shrapnel got to the transmission - it is likely that the bell-housing got dinged - and a dinged bell-housing is still usable unless it is seriously damaged.

My guess is that you are screwed and they know it - and they know that you know it. And the dealer is not going to say they made a mistake and you can't prove you didn't install the software unless you can get one of the 2 previous owners to say they did it - which might be your best course of action.

You should with help from here and the dealer be able to track down who owned the car previously - and hopefully they can confirm if they installed the software - at which point the dealer is going to be on the hook (try and get his info before the dealer figures out what you are doing.

The other angle is to phone the likely software providers (not that many) and see if they sold software for that car to the previous owners.

If none of the above works, get the car out of there, get a second opinion and see if the real price to fix it is $6k and not $25k.

P.J.S.

So if the car has been "flagged" is your warranty voided?

I agree with others - $25k is suspect

Seek second opinion

Spyerx

This really blows. This is one to fight with Porsche using any angle possible.

That 25k is a replacement tranny.

Is it possible to fix the scored bell housing? If so, that's a lot less $ I'm sure... or replace just the case, not the whole gearbox.

kristob

Sad state of affairs. There are good independents in the Toronto area. Take it for a second opinion. That repair bill seems rich. You can try going up the line at pcna, but they have you based on the ecu flash.

surlynkid

You can pull the bell housing, get it repaired by welding and machining and put in new RS4.0 parts and be out the door for under $6K. $25K is BS even if the bell housing is toast. If it is, add another $2500 versus fixing it.

You don't need new trans just because straps on pp tore up bell housing. You only need bell housing.

Texas RS

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Suncoast can get you a remanufactured transmission for $14k, new is $18k. You still have clutch, pp and flywheel and probably a starter. With labor you will be pushing $20k.

If it is just the bell housing you can probably get it done for $5-6k as surlynkid indicated. There have been a few of these failures that I know of, only one was covered by Porsche warranty. One of the cars was a CPO car and was not covered.

996FLT6

So bogus in all fronts. I would be persistent about that car bought from dealership came in that way and they should honor the sale to u. It wasn't your fault but there's for not checking ecu in the 1st place. Anyway 3.8 pressure plate/clutch has been a known defect- it needed to be replaced anyway and Porsche should replace it. Mike

parkerfe

If the dealer "assured' you that no modifications had been done to the car and you purchased it based on that assurance, your best cause of action is against the dealer. I would send the owner of the dealership a certified letter, with a copy to Porsche Canada and Porsche Germany, explaining how you detrimentally relied on their assurance that the car was stock giving them 10 days to agree to get the repairs done under warranty. If they refuse, file a formal lawsuit.