DIYDanCars

Yep, there seems to be a lot of that -- people claiming Porsche is just as reliable as a Lexus but that couldn't be further from the truth! My neighbor has been through two PDK transmissions in his 911 ($60k in warranty repair just in the transmissions) and his warranty is expiring soon. Do you think he will be keeping it? Nope!

Petza914

No one should own a PDK equipped Porsche without a warranty. The really old Porsches are super reliable, say anything up through the 993 version of the 911. Anything newer is full of plastic in the engine bay with flaws due to profit being at least as important as how the cars drive.

I DD a 40 year old 928 and the thing is a tank. The difference working on that vs all my newer ones, the quality difference is very apparent.

I don't have a single PDK equipped Porsche in the garage because of the issues with the transmissions and cost to repair or replace.

VAGfan

Do you enjoy changing the timing belt and waterpump every 30,000 miles on the 928 and 944?

BondJ

Damn sight cheaper than replacing a PDK every five years…

Petza914

Not a big deal once you've done it once. My 928s have Porken Tensioners so don't have to deal with timing belt adjustments. 944 was just purchased and has a Kevlar belt and is my son's car so wont need that done for probably 3-4 years, plus, how much is a belt, water pump and even a clutch compared to a PDK - loose change by comparison.

DIYDanCars

I can do a t-belt on a 944 or on a 928 in less than 4 hours from start to finish. I have done so many I can do it with my eyes closed. Like the other poster mentioned, a t-belt replacement is much easier and significantly cheaper than replacing a PDK transmission!!!

topkerel

Update

I was just told that they found good amount of metal in the fluid, and they recommended replacing transmission for ~$20k. Which is pretty much the resale value for the car now. And it doesn’t seem anywhere is able to rebuild rather than swap.

I think I made an expensive mistake by kept driving it after it started to show symptoms. The dash did say “driving permitted” so I tried to drive it back home, until it would not move forward on an upper slope road. If I stopped right away the transmission itself might can be saved.

chassis

Sorry to hear and thanks for updating the thread.

BMinSFL

Can you find another shop that can swap in a used one with a warranty? I am seeing these units used for only $3-4k on eBay and labor can't be more than $2k at an indy shop. I'm sure a good shop can source one from LKQ or a good source that has a warranty.

DIYDanCars

Sorry to hear! Porsches are now throw away cars once a failure like this happens! $20k for a transmission on a car that had an original base MSRP of $50k during introduction is beyond silly. Simply put, never buy a modern Porsche without a warranty!

BMinSFL

An 83k mile car does not need a brand new transmission. I checked car-part.com in addition to ebay and there are plenty of used examples that can bring this job in under $5-6k at the right shop.

greenmileshrek

Which fluid? PDK or gear oil? There are two fluids in that transmission from what I understand.

AlBinVA

https://go4trans.com/technical-trans...-transmission/

VAGfan

That above article is about the PDK in the 911, the Macan PDK is a different transmission, designed by Audi and Borg Warner, and built by Audi. The way they operate is identical.

DIYDanCars

Then quote the job to the OP and you can provide the guarantee and assume the risk. Unfortunately in the real world that's not how it works because no shop will take that kind of risk on a job that is so labor intensive. It would be a different story if the owner could do the work himself and assume all of the risk, which I'm guessing he can't, otherwise he wouldn't be trying to get quotes.