Cold Shift
 

I have a 2001 Boxster S and it has always been tough to shift when it is cold. It is always really bad in the winter. It takes about a half an hour to warm up. Is anyone else having this problem? Is there a thinner transmission fluid that I can put in?

My 02 base got harder to shift to the point when it was cold I'd skip shift it from 1st to 3rd until the transmission got some heat in and would let me shift normally without the disturbing difficulty.

Had transmission fluid changed and shifting got much better.

You don't want thinner fluid, you want to replace what is in the transmission with fresh fluid after the old fluid has been drained.

My advice would be to take the car to a Porsche dealership and have the fluid replaced. Be sure to ask if dealership uses Porsche fluid or has some other brand it uses. Some do I think cause they can buy the other fluid at a discount and yet still charge as much or nearly as much as they would for real Porsche fluid.

If dealer doesn't use Porsche transmissioni fluid seek out another dealer or find another shop (indy) that does or will use it if you supply it.

Oh, my 02's 5-speed transmission has over 226K miles on Porsche transmission fluid and I'd use nothing else.

Sincerely,

Macster.

My 2000 S is also tough to shift when cold, just like my '88 911 was. I thought all these p-cars were tough to shift when cold. But maybe I should change the trans oil since I don't know when the last time it was done.

I have already changed to transmission fluid to Royal Purple that some people have suggested but this did not help things at all. I have read somewhere that people have used a redline mixture that has helped but can no longer find the treads. Most of my trips are short since this is a toy car. So the car is not enjoyable to drive in the winter. It usually take 30 minutes before it is shifting perfectly.

Changed to Royal Purple in my 06 GTO cause all the GTO owners raved about how much better shifting was with RP. I noticed no difference.

Based on my experience with my 02 Boxster, I'm solidly in the camp that feels the Porsche transmission fluid is the best for these cars. Shifting smoothness and transmission longevity appear to be the quite good and I see no reason to experiement with other fluids.

Would I recommend you switch fluids to the Porsche fluid? Expensive to have this fluid change done and I can't recommend you change the fluid. Your call.

You can continue to drive it like you have, or try what I did and when the transmission cold shift from 1st to 3rd skipping the hard to shift into 2nd gear until engine and drivetrain especially warmed up enough to support a smooth shift into 2nd from 1st.

Then when time to due a fluid change switch back to the Porsche fluid.

Or you can, if the symptom intolerable, opt to have the fluid changed again now and use the Porsche fluid.

There are no guarantees -- I certainly won't make any -- that every transmission problem will be solved with a change to fresh Porsche fluid, but if as I said above the symptom is intolerable to you the fluid change might be worth a shot.

One other thing you can try if you haven't already had this done recently and thiat is to treat the car to a quality brake fluid flush and bleed including the clutch slave cylinder. If the fluid past its replacement date fresh fluid can improve the clutch's action and performance and this can improve shifting.

I've done a few of these myself and a couple I've had done at a Porsche dealership service department. The tech will hook up a diagnostics computer and cycle the ABS to cycle old fluid out and new fluid in to the ABS hydraulic lines that are not normally flushed/bled if the ABS not cycled.

And I as I mentioned the clutch slave cylinder is also flushed then bled.

Once when I had this done not only did clutch action improve shifting also improved. The clutch was not always releasing fully and this was making shifts more difficult.

Sincerely,

Macster.

My 01S is a bitch to shift into 3rd an 4th on cold mornings. I have 67K with excellent mechanical upkeep and even had the trans fluid swapped out 2K miles ago.

I pretty much roll in 2nd on the 25mph around my house until I get to the main roads. Usually by that point she is warm enough to let me double clutch into 3rd or 4th.

I double clutch and match revs also. I also skip shift. I agree that changing from one good fluid to another good fluid might not help.

I don't think Porsches have the best shifting transmissions, and I just accept that these are not the easiest cars in the world to drive. It's a heck of a lot better than the days of the 915 transmission though...

Not sure about Boxsters, but this oil solved the problem in my Carrera.
http://www.paragon-products.com/prod...swepco-201.htm

One thing I have done that did help is changing to billet shift link from Evo. It is still stiff from 1st to 2nd when temp. is below -10c but not bad at all. The Evo shift link is awesome and it helps a lot for me.