rpm's S2

We've had this one since bought CPO with 12k. Now at 93k with the warranty in the rear view mirror we looked at replacing. This is primarily my wife's daily driver and our 'family' car. Honestly, a new S is just too pricey. A CPO car similar to what we bought 5 years ago is $20k more. So we looked at CPO Q5s, Genesis GV70s, etc. Trade in offers were in the $17-19k range. I did have it tentatively sold locally for $25k. But after all these test drives my wife announced they all sucked compared to her Macan and could we just keep it? So I put new Michelins on, will do the brakes, and keep it indefinitely. Dealer noted a bit of damp around the timing bolts while it was still under warranty and assured me if it turns to drops they will repair at no cost (it's written up that way too).

And my wife is right, it is a great car. Maybe the best car I've ever owned. What could go wrong?

Marv

Well, you have the advantage of long-term ownership, so you know exactly how it has been used and cared for.

Petza914

The real high-dollar exposure is the PDK itself, which will cost almost as much as those offers you referred to if a replacement is needed.

Wilder

Good for you. I just drove 1k miles to my parents home. I love mine and can't fathom selling it.

Once you understand the PDK, both why it fails and how to repair it if it does, it will no longer be a concern. In brief, they fail mostly because they're misunderstood and not operated properly (Porsche's fault) and when they fail, so long as the repair is done at a specialist indie, costs are reasonable.

Marv

Is the PDK issue something for older models or is it still an ongoing issue?

Why does it fail?

VAGfan

How is one supposed to "operate" it properly?
The Macan PDK fails because of some poor design issues......
This DL501 transmission has been in-production since 2009, used in some Audi models, and has had many internal durability improvements.....they almost got it right by 2019 or so .

If a specialist understands this transmission, the repair costs are not astronomical. A Porsche dealer is not going to troubleshoot and replace some internal component, they will just replace the whole transmission for lots of $$.
You need to find an independent transmission specialist who knows this transmission.

Wilder

There are two inherent issues that culminate in failure as a result of excessive heat:
1. It's a dual clutch transmission that most of us drive like an automatic.
2. Its default programming is optimized for fuel consumption.

Overwhelmingly, most of us get in the car, put it in drive and go. We don't use the paddles. When combined with the default programming that shifts constantly and gets into 3rd gear by 20mph, the transmission generates excessive heat, especially when driven in stop and go traffic. Most owners think of it as an automatic SUV more so than a sports car and drive it as such. But the transmission is happiest when shifted manually. The box is extremely stout and reliable. It just needs to be used properly. Especially for those in stop-and-go traffic, that means use the paddles or at least drive in sport or sport+. Default is fine for highway. The other preventative measure is to make sure you don't miss transmission fluid intervals and perhaps even do changes prematurely if you drive in heavy traffic. And if they happen to fail, don't take it to the dealer who will want to replace the box for $20k. Go to an indie. Most repairs cost in the $1-2k, maybe 3k range and don't involve gears. Mostly solenoids and other bits that fail due to excessive heat.

Marv

Thanks. We have almost 5 years left on the warranty, so no worries yet, but if there are things we should be doing now to reduce the risks it is good to know. I can easily do the fluid changes. Fortunately, we don't have a lot of stop-and-go traffic to worry about.

Shandingo

Is there any consensus on when PDK fluid changes are appropriate (i.e., how often)? Seems like most manufacturers these days treat transmission fluid as a "lifetime" fluid, but we all know that is BS.

rasetsu

PDK fluid service on the Macan is to be performed every 40K miles. Some mistakenly don't service it until 60K miles because that's the schedule for other Porsche PDKs but the Macan unit is different. And of course some don't service it at all because they are used to automatic gear boxes that can go up to a hundred thousand miles and forget about it.

Wilder

I'd say you probably have little to worry about beyond basic maintenance.

My personal opinion would be to change as recommended at 40k and earlier if the car is often driven in stop and go traffic. I bought my car with 21k mi and changed it upon purchase. Looking at the level of dirt and contamination, I'm very glad I chose to do it early.

VAGfan

The issue with hot temperature PDK issues is not the frequent shifting in stop-and-go traffic, it is that in stop-and-go traffic, with warm air temperatures, the PDK fluid cooler, located in the engine coolant radiator, is not very effective at keeping the PDK fluid cool enough, as it is being heated by the extremely hot engine coolant.

Shandingo

Maybe this could be mitigated to some extent by running the auto start/stop system in heavy traffic? I don't like the auto start/stop for other reasons though (more engine wear and more strain on the battery). It's an interesting question which would be the lesser of the two evils - running auto start/stop or letting your PDK fluid cook in heavy traffic.

VAGfan

I doubt using start-stop would help much, unless the radiator fans continue to run during the stop mode.

I am working on an add-on controller which would start running the radiator fans earlier, when the PDK fluid temperature exceeds a maximum (lower than factory) limit. The complication is that the radiator fan is PWM controlled.

rpm's S2

Whenever I use the paddle shifters a bit aggressively, my wife yells, "what are you doing to my car?"