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I recently purchased a 2004 Cayenne V6 Tiptronic, which I love. Unfortunately, on the drive home it was clear there were a few issues, the main one being the transmission was not changing up gears. It will change down but not up, so as I was accelerating I was using the Tiptronic to change up. Not a problem but I’d ideally like the gearbox to do the work for me! Using the Tiptronic, gear changes are smooth but it will not change up without assistance.
After trawling previous threads here, which has been immensely helpful it appears to be a fault with the valve body, which was (hopefully) confirmed with a code reader that read “Shift Solenoid Valve (S2)”.
My is question is, could a hobbyist mechanic (me) attempt this myself and is there a step-by-step guide on how to this? Should I buy a new valve body or just the solenoid and would the VB have to be coded to the gearbox?
Very keen to get your insights if possible and thank-you in advance.
I’d also be keen to either film or take photos for future reference if anyone would find that helpful.
The valve body problems are quite common on this generation Cayenne. I'd suggest replacing the whole valve body as the labor is significant and you don't want to have to go back in later.
My friend and I replaced the A/T valve body in my 2009 base Cayenne at 190K miles. He has a lift in an enclosed garage which makes it much easier than laying on your back. We aren't professional mechanics but have done a lot of car work over the years and have a good set of tools. There is no real magic to the job, just remember which bolts go where and be careful removing the electrical connectors. Some of the pan bolts are a little difficult to access and we used a torque wrench when possible and calibrated "elbow" where we couldn't.
It is a fairly messy job as there is a constant drip of fluid. You want to be in an enclosed area as any dust blowing grime into the open transmission could cause future problems.
Filling the A/T must be done per the instructions. There is a short window when the fluid is the proper temperature while pumping it in for the fill. Reading fluid temp via OBD scanner is the proper way. We also used an IR temp gun to verify.
Once the valve body and fluid is filled, a Porsche specific OBD tool is needed to reset the transmission computer to recalibrate shift points with the new valve body.
Put the selector in Drive and look at the dash display. Does it show D?
Now move the selector to the left to put it in Manual. Does it now show M?
If it's showing M in both locations, the issue most likely in the shifter selector.
The error reported could be a random fluke that showed up ages ago, so check the easy stuff before tearing apart the trans.
I'm with 19psi on this one. If it works using the Steering wheel buttons then the Transmission sounds like it's shifting fine. Sounds like a TCU issue or more likely in the Shifter assembly. I think most likely the S2 Solenoid is faulting due to an issue with the Shifter assembly. Open circuit could mean it's failed completely, a wiring issue, or an issue in the shifter assembly isn't letting it communicate. The S2 Solenoid is easy to swap out if it comes to that.
Overview of wiring harness-1- - Shift solenoid valve (S1)
-2- - Plug connection for output shaft speed inductive pickup
-2a- - Cable routing for output shaft speed inductive pickup
-3- - Oil pressure switch 2 for transmission (omit in MY 2006)
-4- - Oil pressure switch 1 for transmission (omit in MY 2006)
-5- - Shift solenoid valve UK (modulation pressure)
19PSI This is all really helpful.
I moved it over to M today while out driving and it still said D on the display. Does that point more towards a transmission issue or still the shifter?
hahnmgh63 Thanks for this. Pulling away from a green light, when I put my foot down it won't change up till about 4500 rpm if at all. It's worth noting that there's no violent clunks or bangs when it changes and still changes smooth but just won't change. I could also be driving at 40 mph and all of a sudden it will just change down and increase the revs
It should have displayed M, but I would have expected the opposite from the symptoms you have (showing M all the time). Either way, something seems wrong in the shifter area and I'd investigate that before digging into the transmission.
You also mention not changing gears until 4500 rpm. Do you mean it does eventually change gears on its own? If so, that's normal for Manual mode as the Cayenne will eventually take over to prevent damage. Only exception would be if you turned off PSM, then it will stay in gear and you'll hit the rev limiter...I don't recommend trying that!
19psi thanks for this. So just to confirm with mine, that when I put the A/T transmission in D, it displays D on the display. However, when I move the shifter over to M, it still displayed D on the dash. However, when the shifter is in D, I have to use to the steering wheel buttons to change up gears but occasionally when I'm cruising at a constant speed it will randomly change down and will accelerate me forward.
When in D and pulling away from a green light in 1st gear (if I haven't used the steering wheel shifters already) it will change down at 4500 rpm.
Could another possible cause of all this be that my front left wheel speed sensor is dead (replacing it this weekend) and as a result my PSM automatically turns off when starting the car?
Just wanted to update. After replacing the front left ABS sensor this morning, gear changes are now happening without the aid of the buttons on the steering wheel. It now changes up no problem at the right speeds and revs. I had no idea that an wheel speed sensor could have this sort of impact on the transmission but I guess it makes perfect sense when thinking about it.
I've scanned the car again and I'm still getting the shift solenoid valve fault (0260) but it's changing gear so I might leave it for another day.
However, quite bizarrely, after going for a test drive, "four wheel drive system faulty" appeared on the dash and then threw the code 0532 (System voltage - below lower limit exceeded) when I parked up and re-scanned. Weirdly, when I started it up again it cranked slowly but still started (it's never done that before). I'm certain that the ABS sensor could not be causing any type of drain and maybe the battery is on it's last legs but would welcome any insight or theories
Simply sounds like a dying battery but you should check to see if it's charging properly before just replacing the battery and then later finding out it might have been OK if the alternator was doing it's job.
I would assume the V6 does not have the 2nd battery in the spare tire area but it's worth checking anyway, as well as checking the spare tire, tools, etc. https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-...d-battery.html
Having a cheap electrical meter in the car is good, but the dash gauge might show enough to determine if it needs a battery, alternator (maybe just a voltage regulator) or both.
Simply sounds like a dying battery but you should check to see if it's charging properly before just replacing the battery and then later finding out it might have been OK if the alternator was doing it's job.
I would assume the V6 does not have the 2nd battery in the spare tire area but it's worth checking anyway, as well as checking the spare tire, tools, etc. https://rennlist.com/forums/cayenne-...d-battery.html
Having a cheap electrical meter in the car is good, but the dash gauge might show enough to determine if it needs a battery, alternator (maybe just a voltage regulator) or both.
Thanks, I'm going to stick a multimeter on it today. Do you know if you can measure from the jump points under the bonnet or do I have to remove the passenger seat to get access to the battery. I haven't used it since the weekend so will see if it starts in the first place. The voltage on the dashboard has always given me 14 volts (with the engine running) so I'm confident the alternator is working and when I've had the code reader on - it showed 13.7 volts (with engine running).
It just seems odd to me that the minute I replaced the ABS sensor the battery then starts acting up straight away - I theorised that with the ABS now active (with the new sensor), the extra power consumption is just too much for the battery
Charging sounds OK. The jump post is a decent place to get a battery reading with the key off.
You might check it right away with the car "awake" but key off, door shut, etc. Then give it a few minutes to settle down and see what the battery voltage recovers to.
This voltage might look a little low, due the load on the battery and the distance of the jump points.
My GTS has a good battery and I saw 12.21v just after waking up and 12.5v after 5 minutes or so. It might go higher, I do not know how long it takes to go into deep sleep/
On the bench I would expect this battery to read 12.8v fully charged (but without the surface charge).
Charging sounds OK. The jump post is a decent place to get a battery reading with the key off.
You might check it right away with the car "awake" but key off, door shut, etc. Then give it a few minutes to settle down and see what the battery voltage recovers to.
This voltage might look a little low, due the load on the battery and the distance of the jump points.
My GTS has a good battery and I saw 12.21v just after waking up and 12.5v after 5 minutes or so. It might go higher, I do not know how long it takes to go into deep sleep/
On the bench I would expect this battery to read 12.8v fully charged (but without the surface charge).
So i put my multimeter on the jump points and I got a reading of 12.5v-12.6v. I then started the car and the same symptoms happened - four wheel drive system faulty and turns over slowly for 2 seconds and then fires into life. From research and the slow crank, I would have assumed the battery was dying but my reading has thrown me. I think I'm going to take the gamble and buy a new battery at the weekend and see if that fixes it.
I was thinking if I attach a jump pack to the jump points, if that would double up my batteries power and see if the same problems persist when turning the engine on (just to see if it is my battery or not). Has anyone done this previously/would this even work?
The jump pack idea is decent but we don't know if it'd crutch a bad starter that's causing a big drain or something.
Load testing the battery might be the next step, I have had some that charge up nice but faceplant under load. A shop might have a load tester they can put on it quickly. If you have the power liftgate that can be used as a load test.
However your "buy a battery" idea is likely reasonable. Unfortunately they are big batteries and expensive. I appreciate the voltage data.
06-27-2024, 02:26 PM
2004 Cayenne V6 transmission issues
