[tcapoccia]

I have a 718 Cayman S with the PDK, and notice that often times when slowing down to a stop, I feel a slight shudder in the rear coupled with the metallic sound of the gear engaging, as it downshifts from 2nd to 1st gear. Sometimes it's louder than other. It doesn't matter if it's a quick stop or a slow one. It seems to do it more often when in Sport Mode.

This is my first PDK Porsche. My wife has a 2016 Macan S, which never makes a transmission sound. I have driven Porsche loaners (New Cayennes) that have quiet PDKs. I have taken the 718 back to the dealer, and they can't seem to isolate the cause of the downshift noise.

Anyone else experiencing this issue? The dealer says that Porsche stated that the PDK in the 718 was redesigned for the car, and are curious about any transmission issues being reported.

 

[Mike69]

First, I like to introduce myself as newbie. Picked up base 718 Cayman PDK two weeks ago.
I think my has the same issue when slowing down to a stop. I thought the noise came from the rear spoiler closing.

 

[tcapoccia]

First, I like to introduce myself as newbie. Picked up base 718 Cayman PDK two weeks ago.
I think my has the same issue when slowing down to a stop. I thought the noise came from the rear spoiler closing.

Hi Mike, After about 1200 miles the 718 had two very odd shifts, on its own it shifted to neutral then back to the gear selected, then quickly did the same thing again. The transmission gave two codes, both having to do with clutch sensors. Dealer found that the 718 came from the factory with less than the required amount of transmission fluid. Since then no more missed shifts, but still occasional noisy downshifts to first. Porsche said that it is a new redesigned transmission, and requested that the dealer remove the valve body so they could send it to Porsche so they could examine it.

 

[Mike69]

I only have 300 miles on the car right now. Have to wait and see what kind of problems will come.
I'm planning to get the Durametric cable to do some maintenance and diagnostic on the car myself.

 

[Lurker]

With a lack of transmission fluid from the factory, that definitely could have eventually damaged some components in there. Lack of lube=metal to metal. It'll be interesting to see what Porsche says about that valve body. Have they provided you with a loaner of some sort of did they replace the valve body with another so you can drive it around still?

 

[tcapoccia]

With a lack of transmission fluid from the factory, that definitely could have eventually damaged some components in there. Lack of lube=metal to metal. It'll be interesting to see what Porsche says about that valve body. Have they provided you with a loaner of some sort of did they replace the valve body with another so you can drive it around still?

Hi, when they told Porsche what they found (the low fluid), it was Porsche who said "That they redesigned the PDK for the 718, and were interested in any transmission issues." Porsche told them to remove the valve body so Porsche could inspect it. The dealer gave me a new Cayenne for a loaner. When I got the 718 back, it still had the shudder and metallic gear sound as I slowed to a stop, right before it shifted into 1st, which occurred some times in Normal Mode, and almost always in Sport Mode. I returned the car to the dealer this week, and they have discovered that they needed to recalibrate the torque, which is required after changing a valve body, because the instructions they used before were incomplete. They then drove the car and it still makes the same sound and shudder, so they pull a new 718 with PDK from stock and discovered that it did the same: Their conclusion, nothing is wrong with the PDK, for the 718 PDK is a much more aggressive PDK---they all do it.

I just sent Porsche a message on their website, under the category of "Customer Concerns," giving them the complete background, and asking them to verify what the dealer stated, that the shudder and gear noise in 2nd gear, is normal for the 718 PDKs.

 

[tcapoccia]

I only have 300 miles on the car right now. Have to wait and see what kind of problems will come.
I'm planning to get the Durametric cable to do some maintenance and diagnostic on the car myself.

Hi Mike, I have the Duramatic Pro cable and the software could not read the 718 data at this time.

 

[Mike69]

Tony,
My coworker just let me borrow his.....let me give it a try and let you know.
I read on other forums...people were using iCarSoft Port II .....do you think it will work with our 718?


About the transmission....do you think I should take it to the dealer to check the fluid level?

Thanks

 

[Mike69]

You're right....I installed ver. 6....it worked fine but did not see the 718

 

[Atebit]

So I'm coming from a 987.2 Boxster S that had around 40K on it when I traded it. The "clank" as I call it from 2-1 was there on that car, but much more pronounced.

I still hear it occasionally on the 718 but it's barely noticeable in comparison to the 987.

I was told the sound is "normal" for the older car so I can only assume it's the same for the 718.

 

[Filoup]

PDK issue: another test drive and discussion with Dealer

My Cayman S is deferred again because of this production line transfer to Osnabruck...June 23rd, here in Montreal...I went to dealership 2 days ago to discuss PDK issues and asked for another test drive. After driving and discussion, it seems that it is happening when in sport plus mode, when transmission shifts down from 2nd to first, you can hear a small "klung", and feel some engine compression. I am told it is normal, and it is like that with all PDK. I also drove a 2014 Cayman S with PDK, and felt exactly the same "klung" in sport mode. I felt absolutely nothing in normal mode, where the tranny will wait for a complete halt be before shifting itself to 1st. If you think about it, with a normal gearbox, personally I never shift from 2nd to 1st whil the car is moving, as I feel too much compression.

 

[charlotte]

I'm wondering if this is an electronics problem and if Porsche can roll out an update to fix it. That's what it sounds like if it doesn't happen in normal mode.

 

[ritchieg]

I had a 2014 Boxster 981 base and now a 718 Boxster base. I did not notice much of a clunk or unusual noise when the car was shifting on its own from second to first but if I paddled shifted at a little higher RPM than auto did, then I heard some unusual noises on both cars. I think the 981 made more noise than the 718 manually shifting to first. There is nothing unusual when shifting at the higher gears unless you shift too soon and then you get a very large RPM increase and a lot of engine noise. I try to do all downshifts below 2000 RPM unless I want to accelerate rapidly. As stated above, I try to not shift from second to first manually.

 

[Atebit]

As I posted elsewhere, my previous 2011 PDK 981.2 had the "clang" & was told it was normal. I still get the occasional clang on the 718, but IMHO it's much softer. Agree it's more noticeable in Sport vs Normal.

 

[MLJJ]

Sorry to be going back to such an old thread but this bothers me to no end but there are many new members since the original posting/respone. I've only heard that on one non-Porsche car when the tranny was done. Are we all still in agreement with the above?

 

[jimmuller]

Since the thread is already awake... Every so often I hear my PDK shift from 2nd to 1st when coming to a stop. It seems fairly normal, or at least not a sound that bothers me.

 

[don]

This is interesting news as its the first I've heard about any transmission niggles on the 718. I've never noticed it myself but I will have a listen out for it next time I drive. My cousin with the prior model Macan Turbo has mentioned something like this when shifting down to 1st gear.

But given it is now 2020 and the thread ended in early 2017 I'm wondering if this issue is more peculiar to early build cars?

 

[DriveInHouston]

I can hear a faint metallic noise when the car downshifts to first. Nothing like my previous Mustang GT which sounded positively agricultural... Like the gears in the differential lashing...

I had two different Macan loaners and I can attest that the Macans are a lot less aggressive in shifting. The second one especially (newer? MY2020?) was positively lazy/quiet.

One thing that seems strange, at times I can hear the PDK shifting (presumably to 1st) and the indicator remains on 2. Then, a little while later it downshifts again (to what? half?). Maybe it goes to neutral momentarily, changes its mind and stays on second? I don't know...

 

[Lelandjt]

At times I can hear the PDK shifting (presumably to 1st) and the indicator remains on 2.

I think you are hearing/feeling it clutching while in 2nd, effectively "going to neutral".

Then, a little while later it downshifts again.

Now it's engaging the clutch on 1st gear.

It sounds like in normal mode it waits until the car is nearly stopped to shift to 1st to make it smoother, doing the little coasting with the clutch in thing between 2nd and 1st. In sport and sport+ it directly goes from 2nd to 1st at a slightly higher speed.

 

[jimmuller]

The PDK has two clutches, of course. It pre-shifts the disengaged gear while the engaged gear is still active.