IzzyCab

About a few days ago my 2015 Macan S dash warning came on saying "Gearbox fault no R possible to drive" then the "Fault of the engine control system"
So I took it to the dealer and turns out I need a new PDK! Dealer is quoting $18,000 for replacement!! The car only has 60k miles on it and is four years old.
We called and spoke to Porsche North America and they say sorry nothing we can do! Is this how Porsche operates? A major component on these cars just fails and they say nothing we can do?
Also for those that say this is not common, my friends 991's PDK just went out three weeks ago too!! Seems like PDK's are failing just a matter of time.
Any advice on how to handle it? Anyone have a contact at Porsche North America? This does not seem right

aftCG

Transfer case failures seem to be common (knocking on wood as I've avoided it so far), but the dual clutch failing is a new one on me. FYI I've read the Macan PDK is an Audi unit and not at all the same one found in the 991. There would be a lot of labor to get it changed but $18k seems steep even if it included a night on the town (and breakfast).

Biggus Blockus

Sorry to hear about this. Was the PDK transmission serviced at the proper interval (40k)

IzzyCab

No 40k service was not done, but my friends car had 30k miles way before the service interval & I've been researching that other Macans have had the pdk go out with less miles befor service interval. Also if I had over 100k miles maybe I could understand but even at 60k and the tranny breaks? Seems Porsche doesn't stand by their products?

smohr33

You exceeded the factory recommended service interval by 20k miles and your car is out of warranty. I fail to see how this is Porsche’s problem.

Petza914

As much as I'd like to have one, the PDK being the only transmission offered in the Macan is the reason I don't own one. I've never come out ahead with an extended warranty, do all my own work, and aren't willing to take a $14,000-$18,000 hit on a transmission issue where repair isn't possible and it has to be replaced.

I've seen threads on a number of PDK failures in the Macan (at least 5 or 6) which percentage wise probably isn't terrible considering the number of Macan's sold, unless it happens to you, and then in this case, the repair bill is half the value of the car or worse. The PDK in the Macan is different than the one in the 911s though. The 997 version seems to hold up well - the 991 version not so much.

Stinks you're dealing with this. I would for sure call PCNA to see if they're willing to help or if you have moat of your service work done at a particular dealership, the Service Manager may be able to advocate for you with the Porsche rep to get at least some financial assistance with the repair.

Good luck.

BIG smoke

I'm about to service my pdk, just because it says to in the manual and I'm terrified of it. What a great feeling to have. Service fear.
These transmission are too new, and complicated to any independent shop to be able to repair it.
O/P - once you have exhausted PNA inquiries. Consider finding a used one out of a part vehicle. Make sure it is compatible.
I would try my best not to line PNA's pockets for the poor repair support.

Todd B

It's an Audi DSG and has been around for over 15 years. The issue with independent shops repairing is that VW does not make individual parts available, only whole units.

A replacement is $9k from sunset, so an $18k price to replace is really high. Can't believe there's $9k worth of labor involved.

But like BIG smoke says, find a use transmission, several on eBay for $2500 or less.

Class5Kayaker

Probably can find a low-mile one at a wrecking yard that a good indie can install for you. It's not rocket science since it's replacement of the entire transmission and they're not working on the internals.

That's the route I'd go with if I were in your predicament.

You can get them ranging from $2K-$5K based on my quick search

https://www.pacificmotors.com/auto-p...xoCAYsQAvD_BwE

OliverK68

Manual transmissions don’t fare much better. Some fellow Rennlisters in the 991 forum have an issue with their passenger mirrors and reverse lamps not doing their thing when transmission is in reverse. Turns out it’s a faulty switch in the transmission. Non-serviceable. New transmission required for $13k.

IzzyCab

Dont see how its Porsche fault that a PDK transmission fails because no service? So what about my buddys 991? 30K miles not close to the service date and fails?
Seems to be common on the PDK only issue is its not a $3K-$4K tranny! Heck ive seen BMW, Audi, mercedes newer transmissions last much longer with no service.
Seems like a known issue with these VW transmissions!

Biggus Blockus

IzzyCab,

Have you owned this vehicle since it was new?

manifold danger

First of all, saying it sucks that you have to deal with this is an understatement. I'd be devastated if it happened to me; I just traded in a 2015 with similar mileage so I can relate personally.

That said, I followed the maintenance schedule meticulously and- *gasp*- had my service done at a dealer.

I have a pretty solid feeling that if this had happened to me, Porsche would have taken care of it. I can't say for certain obviously and there are still plenty of details that are not disclosed at this point... but this actually doesn't seem like a "common" issue- and I'm sure if you talk to enough people, you'll come across someone who's had to deal with a rare circumstance. Such as a transmission breaking out of warranty. The odds don't favor there never being a fault for a complicated mechanical device, so that means it has to happen to somebody. Again, sucks that it happened to be you but I don't think that your circumstance accurately reflects the brand as a whole. If it were more common I'm pretty sure Porsche would do something to address it... but it will be interesting to see if this starts popping up more frequently, as the first model years of these cars are just now reaching the end of their original factory warranty.

Also, everyone knows that the PDK is a "nonstandard" transmission, so comparing it to other brands isn't apples to apples. Well, aside from Audi, as that's where the transmission actually comes from. Along that same line, missing a service interval for the transmission may be a bigger deal for these cars than all the others you mentioned with their slushboxes. Even though the Audi DSG has been around for a while, the technology is still nascent compared to a standard automatic transmission that's been around for well over a half century.

I've always been under the impression that if you want "good faith" from the manufacturer, you have to be a willing participant of the dealer network. That's why I've always had my cars serviced at the dealer, and will continue to do so despite the visceral reactions of a large contingent of this very forum who favor their "indies".

cairo94507

Good question about wondering if the OP is the original owner or not. Also, given the crazy price quoted by Porsche, I would definitely source a used one from a totaled Macan and have it swapped into your Macan. There has got to be a ton of them out there since the Macan is so popular. I did a quick eBay search and saw 3 from $1,500 to $2,500 the later being from a GTS. I can't imagine it costing more than $1,500 for the swap itself. Less than $4K is a way better than $18K. Good luck. I believe if you are the original owner and had followed the recommended service on the PDK you would be in a much stronger position to argue for Porsche goodwill on the replacement. Good luck.

1 PGH 1

Had the pdk replaced in my ‘15 Macan Turbo a couple of months ago after about 48k miles, by my local dealer. Cdn dollars mind you, but tax-in the installed cost was $25k after the core exchange back to Porsche (about $6k if I remember correctly).

Always serviced per schedule including pdk.

Happily cost was covered by my after market warranty.

Don’t think it’s particularly easy to find a used pdk in Cda.

While pdk failure is not common, it happens more often than realized - check other forums.

Interestingly the car new is about $100k up this way and Porsche charges 25% of that cost to replace the pdk ... I think they could be a little more gentle on their customers than that.