I would stick to OEM PDK fluid. What’s AT filter change?

 

Agreed, I would have as well. But the shop owner did not tell me beforehand, and I was not experienced to ask.
Next time I will order my stuff online, then bring it to the shop for labor only probably.
Do you think the Double Clutch fluid they gave me would cause problem though?

 

I have no idea. I ordered the PDK fluid change kit from Suncoast Porsche for about $200.

 

From my understanding, if future issues arise with the vehicle and non-OEM service was executed, it's possible you may be denied future warranty claims. If that's a concern at all.

 

The shop was claiming to be an authorized service center for Porsche, although I do not understand what that means. Hope it would not void my warranty. I suppose not, right? Let's say I changed the cabin air filter myself, why would that void my warranty with Porsche. But I might be wrong here.

 

You should be good with the liqui moly. I think it conforms to the right specs for the pdk. Generally pretty good stuff! At my 40k service I also did brake fluid flush but depends on how long you’ve had it in there. I think Porsche still recommends every two years. I also did spark plugs at 30k but mine is a turbo which I think is the correct interval. I have yet to do intake air filters. They still look really clean. I’m actually itching to do them but have held off. It sounds like you got a good deal on the service. The pdk fluid is not cheap.

 

Thanks Sapphire, that is reassuring! Yeah, the fluid ended up only costing $150 for me on the bill, which was unexpected cheap.
Yeah, the shop did not change the brake fluid, I asked and the owner said it is not yet due. It seems to me that he really did not want to get my money for anything that is not due at the moment, which is a good thing, but I guess I just tend to worry too much. I was actually thinking about doing the intake air filter myself, when the time comes, I saw some "high performance" air filters, maybe I will just save the labor cost and purchase those ones to put them on myself. As I heard, the procedure is rather simple.

 

You should look in your owner manuals & make your own list of what Porsche recommends @ 1,2,3,4,5 year & onward.
There are a lot of "checks" listed & I am not sure Porsche actually does all those & doubt most Indy shops do them.
Maybe many mechanics just eyeball the undercarriage for any car.

You can easily do the cabin filter yourself --see the MF threads on How to.
You can do the engine air filters yourself, fairly easily, see the MF threads on that.

Porsche recommends flush brake fluid every 2 years. I think it depends on the climate. I'm in the dry desert & think I can do it every ~ 5 years. I bought a brake fluid analyzer tool. I went ahead & had Porsche do it @ 2 years but did not @ 4 years since my tool showed <1% water.

IDK if part of the normal brake job is to also flush the brake fluid. I will be needing brakes in the next few thousand miles.

 

You should look in your owner manuals & make your own list of what Porsche recommends @ 1,2,3,4,5 year & onward.
There are a lot of "checks" listed & I am not sure Porsche actually does all those & doubt most Indy shops do them.
Maybe many mechanics just eyeball the undercarriage for any car.

You can easily do the cabin filter yourself --see the MF threads on How to.
You can do the engine air filters yourself, fairly easily, see the MF threads on that.

Porsche recommends flush brake fluid every 2 years. I think it depends on the climate. I'm in the dry desert & think I can do it every ~ 5 years. I bought a brake fluid analyzer tool. I went ahead & had Porsche do it @ 2 years but did not @ 4 years since my tool showed <1% water.

IDK if part of the normal brake job is to also flush the brake fluid. I will be needing brakes in the next few thousand miles.

Be careful with that, the fluid on the container is one thing and the fluid inside the caliper is another history, that's the one subject to constant temperature changes, and is the one that degrades quicker and looses it's factory specs.
Replacing the brake fluid is very easy and cheap, stick to the factory guidelines and your car will retain the same brake power over the years.
Regarding the brake job, the flush is not a part of the brake replacement, they will only check for correct level after test drive the car and top up if necessary.

 

...
While the dealership wanted to change: oil, pollen filter, engine air filter, spark plugs, PDK fluid, brake fluid.
Apparently, the indie shop checked and thought I did not need to change many of the things that the dealer asked to do. For example, he showed me a picture of my engine air filter and it still looked new, also spark plugs is not due at 60k according to him.
...

Well, according to the maintenance booklet that came with my '18 S, the spark plugs are supposed to be changed every 30,000 miles:

I have no idea whether this really matters for the longevity of the engine, or for potential warranty claims, and so forth -- just reporting what it says.

 

Not sure if all Porsche dealers are the same but mine has been extremely fair in terms of price. Yes, their initial quote is always ridiculous but every time I show them what the Indy Shop has quoted me they are able to bring their quote down pretty close to the Indy Shop. I had my 40k service, spark plugs and breaks all done at the dealer and paid a little bit more but nothing outrageous. The fact that I get a loaner and a fantastic service from my SA I prefer the peace of mind of using the dealer. BTW, the same happens to my wife’s Mercedes and the dealer also brings their price down al the time. It is all a matter of asking it.

 

Dealer wants $465 for an oil change versus $149 at one of the indies I use. Even if the price were the same I wold tend to use the indy for piece of mind. Learned my lesson the one time I used the dealer, received a “1 quart down” message on my way home. One never knows which new flunkie the dealer hired last week.

 

Anything not covered under warranty I have done myself. I follow the recommendations on the service guide that I have for the most part. I don’t know that the spark plugs were needed but it is an easy job in this car and relatively inexpensive diy. I try to stick to the 2yr brake fluid interval. Again, I don’t know that it’s necessary but prefer to not mess around with extending it. I have gone longer on some of my other Porsche’s that only get a few thousand miles a year. The Macan is my wife’s daily so try to keep it as safe as possible. Air filters are all easy diy so I’d say diy it when you’re ready. Brakes are pretty easy as well. The rear parking brake is a small detail time deal with but just follow the guide to adjust and have had no issues with calibration.

 

The other thing I learned when my SA looked at my Indy shop quote was that the brake pads they were quoting were not Porsche OEM. May not be a big deal but I don't like non OEM parts on my car.

 

Think Porsche OEM pads are significantly overpriced. You are paying dearly for the name on the box. There are equal and better pads available for less money as has been discussed here many times.

 

• Should be good to go on the PDK fluid - thats a Liqui Moly part number and is the equivalent to the OEM VW branded stuff (G-052-529-A2 fluid ). I think pentosin and motul also have to spec fluid.
• Engine air filters only if dirty
• Cabin filter super easy to do on your own.
• If you did not have plugs done at 30K, they are overdue - at least to be pulled and inspected. They can be reinstalled if not ready for a change, IMHO if paying labor to pull then just put in new ones.
• Brake fluid is every 2 years or 20K. This is also super easy to do and should not cost a lot at the Indy - unless you can do it yourself.

Seems like a fair deal!

 

If Porsche brand brake pads are expensive, try to get OE brake pads.

 

Porsche branded brake pads are severely overpriced. Oem for mine is Textar and you will pay twice as much for the Porsche branded pads. For your model I believe the oem is Ferodo and they are 3x more if you buy the Porsche stamp.

I have moved to all Akebono pads. They create way way way less brake dust. They feel a little softer than oem but the benefit of the cleaner wheels is a big plus for me.

 

The factory pads on all Macan models is Akebono, but they are not ceramic and produce tons of dust, exactly as the Textar pads.

 

What would you recommend for my Turbo? I tend to be rather easy on my brakes, want to minimize dust, and assume I don't need to go crazy cost-wise. Thanks in advance.

 

BTW FCP Euro has the LM product on sale for $10.95 per liter. Decent price in my experience. Here's a link: Porsche Macan Parts | FCP Euro

 

Suncoast has the PDK fluid change kit, which contains 7 qts of fluid and a filter, 2 plugs, at ~$200. So the OEM fluid is about $23 a qt. Not too bad IMO.

 

I don’t understand. Why would you pay more than double for something that does the same job?

 

Some people rather spending a bit more and knowing that they used the right part/fluid for their cars.
Honestly we are not talking about something that needs replacement on a daily basis, every 40K I believe that it won't break your bank account and it gives you a piece of mind.
A lot of times the factory upgrades their fluids since they found better results in the long term with the upgraded fluid, if you go for an aftermarket equivalent you probably continue using the original one which is not 100% perfect for the car.
Again we are not talking about thousands, just a couple hundreds.

 

When I get my brakes done I plan to replace the brake fluid, even if my tester still shows 0% water, as it did a few months ago.

I think the 911 has no recommendation to replace brake fluid & some cars do & some do not.

I have had an Indy mechanic tell me it is not needed in dry Phoenix for years. It just absorbs so very little water.

Strange that some manufacturers say nothing about this & some do.

 

Brake fluid is not that critical unless you are racing/tracking. Just check it from time to time and replace as appropriate. The fluid does circulate in the system slowly due to diffusion every time you press the brake pedal. It's not rocket science.