Thanks @VAGfan order placed! Do you recommend looking into any other areas? I am out of ideas on what to do here besides valve body separator gasket.
I also ordered a used throttle body and will replace it as well, along with crank position sensor and fluid change of transfer case and front transaxle.

 

So I reached out to Maktrans for their opinion on my erratic RPM issues - they said that the clutch is bad.

Also spoke with an Audi Transmission Tech - he said the issue is in the Mech Unit (which corresponds with a bad separator plate gasket). He asked to perform an adaptation drive procedure before tackling the mech gasket replacement.

Does anyone have the adaptation drive procedure for Macan? I found one for another Porsche model but not for macan.

 

So I reached out to Maktrans for their opinion on my erratic RPM issues - they said that the clutch is bad.

Also spoke with an Audi Transmission Tech - he said the issue is in the Mech Unit (which corresponds with a bad separator plate gasket). He asked to perform an adaptation drive procedure before tackling the mech gasket replacement.

Does anyone have the adaptation drive procedure for Macan? I found one for another Porsche model but not for macan.

Maybe the clutch adaptation/calibration?

 

Never heard of that…..

 

This one is different - it's performed while driving. Here are a few for different porsches I found online - there should be one for Macan.

 

There is no such "driving calibration" procedure for the DL501 "PDK" transmission used in the Macan. Those procedures are for the Panamera, which uses a different transmission.

 

Thanks @VAGfan. I am throwing in the towel for now.. I will drive in sports mode exclusively and wait for a fault code to appear. Might get the separator plate replaced if the car goes to the mechanic for any other work.

 

So i finally got the fault codes today while driving in sports mode. The symptoms were loss of reverse and only odd gears.
P17D5
P187F
@VAGfan I read your old comments in other posts at rennlist when people had P17D5 that the culprit might be the separator gasket. I.e the issue is in the mechatronic valve body?
I got the separator plate delivered yesterday so that’s great timing.

Do you recommend changing the separator plate (I changed all bottom solenoids and electric boards one year back with original Audi parts)?
Or should I change the mech unit with a new one and call it a day.
I live in an apartment building so I will need to take this to a mechanic.

 

Tapsie99: Please summarize what are your current malfunction symptoms.

 

@VAGfan A month ago the problem started in the trans, with erratic RPM in ODD gears under NO LOAD while driving. The problem goes away when driving in SPORTS mode. There was one code P17D4 along with a cylinder 2 misfire. Once I cleared them, they have not come back since.

Knowing there was a problem, I reloaded the ECU, PDK & ALL WHEEL DRIVE software from PIWIS3, performed calibrations and PDK reset - that did not help. I then started to drive exclusively in sports mode as the car did not have erratic RPM symptoms in sports mode.

Yesterday, while driving in the sports mode, in 4th gear, the car started to shake violently with big RPM fluctuations. The yellow light came - NO REVERSE, Trans malfunction; I switched to NORMAL mode, and realized the car lost ALL EVEN gears and there was NO reverse. I cleared the code twice. The codes did not come back but the car still DOES NOT have reverse and even gears.
The codes were D17D5 and P187F.

• I am trying to understand the problem and figure out my options: Is it just the separator plate as it's a common problem with 100K+ mileage cars or other issues in the valve body e.g. seals, mechanical pressure valve that require boring etc. All bottom solenoids and electric boards were replaced 1 year back.
• Or any other issues in the transmission. Is it better to replace the entire trans given this mileage with a used one?

I have Autel and PIWIS3 so if we need more info to diagnose, I can dig deeper and get clutch/solenoids values etc.

Options as I see them now:

1. replace separator plate (few $100s)
2. buy a new Mech unit from porsche and get it replaced by my mechanic ($3-4K)
3. Give it to porsche for diagnosis (they likely will push for trans replacement) - 6K for Mech
4. Give the car to European Indy for a used trans replacement ($6K ish with 2 year warranty)
5. take the loss, trade in and get another CPO

I love this car and want to keep this car. I would like the repair to give me another 4-5 years / 30-40K miles. Highly appreciate your inputs on the diagnosis and helping me choose the correct course of action!

 

I drove the car today to move to another location and the warning sign came back immediately. It was fault code P17D5. Same symptoms of no reverse and skipping even gears. Leads me to further believe the culprit might just be the separator plate.

@FRUNKenstein @AoxoMoxoA @nycmacanguy and others: I know some of you are in nyc and have done this mech unit repair multiple times. While I wait to hear from @VAGfan, would you be willing to help a fellow Macan owner? I can come to your location at a time convenient to you and we can tackle this together. I will make it worth your time monetarily.

 

Tough to say. P17D4 (clutch 1) and P17D5 (clutch 2) are "clutch valve faults" (probably really clutch fluid pressure faults). I would find it hard to believe that both clutch solenoid valves have both failed.
The P187F is a "Gear actuator position deviation", which means that the gear shift fork did not move to its expected position.

I bet the root cause is insufficient hydraulic system pressure, which would cause too low of clutch pressures, and it could prevent a gear shift fork servo from being able to push (or pull) a shift fork to its correct position.

So, low system pressure is caused by one of these:
Worn out pump
Worn main pressure regulator solenoid valve (but you replaced that)
Worn main pressure mechanical regulator piston/bore. (what the rebore kit fixes)
Leaking separator plate gasket (which commonly occurs at the main pressure mechanical regulator piston)

If you want to risk it, the separator plate gasket is pretty easy to change, with the car on a lift, remove the crossmember, the pan, and unbolt the lower half of the lower valve body of the Mechatronic unit. But, that is 80% of the work to change the whole Mechatronic.....not sure what you should do. If it were me, I would just try the plate gasket, but I have a lift and do all my own work, so labor costs are "free".

 

@VAGfan this is hugely helpful and reconfirms my own hypothesis that I should try the lowest cost option of separator plate first, assuming the risk of paying double labor if this doesn’t work out.

I will order the brand new mech unit to have it ready. Open the existing valve body to see the separator plate and if I see wear on that - I will install the separator plate. Else the brand new unit. I have my old solenoids so I will check do the ohm/click test to make sure all are working and if not, will use the old ones.

Only thing I need to do after changing the separator plate is perform calibrations, correct?

if I do go with a new mech unit, which option under PIWIS should I choose from - installation of new PDK and follow the instructions? Or reload the entire software on PDK? Or just perform calibrations with option 2 from the 4 calibration options? I would prefer to install the new TCU it would come with and keep the existing as spare.

My local mechanic is not comfortable with opening the valve body so I need some convincing to do there!

thanks again so much!!!!

 

I am planning to order this part which has AX at the end. This I assume is the remanufactured unit. Is there any downside to choosing a Porsche reman unit vs a new one?

9A7-325-025-AX - Valve Body Delaware Porsche Parts

Order Your Porsche OEM Valve Body (9a7325025ax) For Your

www.delawareporscheparts.com

I have seen at forums from invoices that dealers are installing reman units so I’m guessing these would be as good as new.

 

This TSB for Macan with both my codes (P17D4 and P17D5) listed and the problem being malfunctioning control valves gives me further affirmation that the problem is indeed the failed separator plate.

Regarding installing a new TCM - I think I know the answer that I can't do it with the PIWIS3 Clone version. So I will proceed with swapping out the TCM software unit.

 

I never saw the above TSB, kinda cryptic, but perhaps a clogged external filter or fluid cooler can cause these DTCs. When did you last change the external filter?

 

External was changed at 80K miles and then last year at 95K miles. Internal was changed at 95K miles. They both looked in good shape and the fluid at 95K miles was also in good shape. I do not think its the contamination issue.

I also spoke with a porsche parts sales person regarding a reman vs New. He was trying to convince me for a new valve body. Then I saw an invoice from dealer online that they used the reman unit that convinced me to go for reman!

 

Yes, a reman should be fine.
The "AX" suffix indicates reman.

 

To close the loop on this, I got my trans fixed. I spoke to a Porsche dealership and they gave me an unbelievable price for mech replacement which was a complete no brainer. I have been driving it for a few days and it’s been flawless.

I did get an opportunity to do a high level postmortom on the old unit (see some pics) - the issue was 2 solenoids which have coils in the center got busted and seals separated. Given these were installed 1 year back - I suspect internal damage caused them to be in this condition. @VAGfan your diagnosis was bang on and the suggestion of installing the new unit with old TCM would have worked, if I had access to a space to do this repair without any time constraints.

good news is that I have warranty on the unit with labor should anything go wrong again. Also have the 1 year old parts with all solenoids and electric boards, mactran separator gasket and the TCM coded to my car for the future (may part with them to a member from this forum).

having gone through this trans repair process a couple of times, I can repair and swap the valve body in my sleep and the trans problem doesn’t scare me at all!

in the end I’m super happy that the car is running great without breaking the bank (fingers crossed) and that I won’t have to deal with the mech unit problem for many years. Will be keeping this car for as long as it’s running! Thanks everyone for your help and especially @VAGfan

 

Over the last few weeks, I’ve intermittently been getting the Yellow Transmission fault message, accompanied by the following TCU code:

P2837 - 2nd Gear Actuator - Implausible signal

Most often, it seems to happen at low speeds moving around parking lots, or moving off slowing from stop lights.

Usually, the fault goes away once I shut off the ignition. Some other times, it triggers a CEL for the general transmission fault warning, and won’t clear until I clear ALL codes. While driving, the transmission skips odd gears, but I’m still able to maintain usage of the Reverse gear

All driveline fluid and filters have been replaced within the last 4K miles. I recently discovered my PDK fluid was now, so I added about 1L (bad original fill), and recalibrated the PDK via PIWIS.

I can’t seem to find too many instances of this code affecting others, so I don’t want to throw parts at it without a plan.

For reference, my clutch skip values are:
Clutch Slip 1 - 7.247
Clutch Slip 2 - 7.236
Clutch 1 Lower Adaption - 2.778
Clutch 2 Lower Adaption - 2.403

My suspicion is either a failing second gear clutch fork sensor, or possibly magnetic sludge buildup on that clutch fork.

Any thoughts?

 

Does the problem go away if you drive in Sport Mode?

 

I’ll have to give that a try. I forgot to take that step.

What would that indicate? I haven’t found approach in my research quite yet

 

Sport Mode has a higher idle speed, which can compensate for loss of hydraulic system pressure due to a leaking valve-body gasket separator plate.

 

Makes sense. Thanks!

I just drove around in Sport Mode for about 20 mins, then Comfort for about 10. I took it through a normal driving routine in both modes. No warnings. The issue is hard to replicate, as it seems to pop up quite randomly.

I didn’t clear the TCU code since it popped up again yesterday, so P2837 is still there after this latest drive.

Aside from the warning, it drives relatively smoothly in all modes, until the warning pops up out of nowhere. No clunks, slipping, major jerkiness, etc. I’m a bit stumped

 

So I was out running errands on my way to the gym today, and another Cluster message popped up for the transmission after I parked and returned to the car.

This time, a second code has surfaced, in addition to P2837:

P173B - Distance Sensor 2 - for gear actuator - Implausible Signal

I’ve calibrated distance sensors since refilling the PDK fluid

I was able to restart ignition, and drove another 10 mins without faults and use of all gears.

Am I missing anything in my diagnostic steps? Any thoughts on how to proceed?

 

I would guess:
1) Magnetic sludge on the shift fork magnets....you will need to drop the Mechatronic unit to be able to clean the forks.
2) One of the hydraulic gear servos or its control solenoid valves (N433, N434, N437, N438) has an issue. There is a filter screen under each solenoid that might be clogged.
3) One of the Distance Sensors has an issue.

 

Thanks! Thats what I suspected as well. I’ll try option 1 tomorrow and report back.
I also purchased a Maktrans gasket to have on standby, if I end up needing to rebuild things. Hunting for a Borg Warner rebuild kit as well