2017 GTS, 25,0005 miles. Transfer case being replaced as I type this...(along with front timing cover bolts/gasket due to oil leak)

 

Hi I been telling my service dealer that I have an issue with my car and they seem to not understand what I’m talking about when I telling them my car has been puttering months after I brought my 2016 Porsche Macan. Now that I’m out of warranty the puttering is very noticeable and the service guy said they don’t notice the stand and go hesitation when accelerating. I told them to keep checking. Then the service clerk said it may be the transfer case which will cost me $5600 to replace.. my eyes popped. I have been complaining about this issue for some time and now I just don’t know what to do.
Porsche should recall and replace the transfer case on all Porsche Macan as I read and now heard that this is a common issue.
What does one do in this case? Any suggestions?

 

Yes... go to another dealer. If you have ANY proof of said conversations with your original (service) dealer about the issue, document those right now (text exchanges, phone call screen shots, emails, or just the fact you visited the dealership to complain... those visits should be on record at the dealer). You want to create a timeline of your complaints that show the issue began before warranty was up. If you do not have access to another Porsche dealer, my suggestion would then be to call PNA and open a file with them to get involved. Good luck.

 

Thank you so much! I do have records of my complain and now I will move forward with writing or calling PNA To complain. This is crazy how they are avoiding my issue.

 

I tried registering a complaint with PNA yesterday and some how I ended up writing on a blog, still trying to find out where to register my complaint with the official PNA.

 

You at least got the revised transfer case with the A at the end, a new one it looks like from the sticker on the part.

For those in the market for an S, model years 2015 through 2018 March 4, 2018 production date will possibly have a transfer case go bad. And the first gen through 2018 S model year also at risk of a leaky timing cover leaking due to failed mounting bolts holding the cover onto the engine allowing oil to seep past. The 2019 S was redesigned with a different V6 all together, so hopefully no transfer case or oil leaks from 2019 models years on. The base model same year run would have just the transfer case to watch out for from its introduction in 2017 model year until the revised part in March 2018. If buying make sure you're fine with those risks, and plan accordingly regarding warranty and high cost of those repairs if out of warranty.

 

I’m awaiting the PNA decision on how they will handle my complaint. Yes I will replace on their dime😉

 

Not sure if this is helpful. I took my 2015 Macan S in for the recall. To make a long story short, the dealer found the oil leaks. Since it is a known problem, all work was done for $400. I am out of warranty so very grateful! If you have this problem, and not far from the DC area I recommend using this dealer.

Good luck

 

What did they do for the oil leak for $400? Any service writeup?

 

I've known my SM on and off for more than 25 years. He told me that if he were to take me to the back of their floor, he would show me a pile of TC's. He says there is a special 'table' needed that costs ~$10K. He only has 3 of them. Also it ties up a mechanic for several days. Customers have to make appointments just to get the TC swapped out. He did say they can be disassembled and rebuilt. Part of the rebuild is just roughing up the clutch plates....

 

Received my GTS back today. The dealer told me they were going to replace the transfer case...

Told me today that they just did a software update to it and that is where they need to start...paperwork states 'no problem found at this time/could not duplicate concern'.

Could swear I had the same issue on the drive home...going to put a few more miles on it and then if my suspicions are correct, take it back in for the same said concern.

Will keep all updated!

 

After reading this thread I checked my Macan's tc serial number. With a car build date of 3/2018 stamped on the door sill it would have sucked to get the last of the bad ones manufactured at the very beginning of that month. Luckily from the factory the updated revised part was installed, #95B341010A. Have never been so happy to see a part serial number before!

 

I think I have the last bad TC. Also , I haven't done well at lotto. So one day past the end of my warranty I will be presented with an oil wet garage from the timing chain cover leak as I back out and a jumping jerking transfer case as I make the sharp turn up my driveway. I am looking so forward towards this as this must be the Porsche experience .

 

Time to hit up on an extended warranty. lOL

 

Turns out the "part" that was changed out was the vent line. The old one was letting moisture in causing problems. This was to address that issue. This is per Porsche.

 

So Porsche has been changing out these transfer cases for years now without correcting a little problem as a vent line? How would you explain this? There must be other problems don't you think?

 

There probably several things we are not aware of. And in the back of my mind, I wonder out loud would it scare the crap out of me if I knew about them.

On a side note, I also own a 2020 C63S coupe. One of the mod shops has these cool-looking leather airbag covers you can buy. Someone asked if there might be a concern about the airbag not being able to go off correctly which woud jeopardize someone's face in the event of an accident.

 

Just completed a drain and fill on my Turbo (76k miles) and the jolting, shuddering, jerking is GONE...the 2k rpm stumble is greatly reduced. On a 1-10 before it was an 8.. now the 2k stumble is a 1 or 2.

If you're out of warranty (like me) and dont want to cough up that TC replacement cash, the fluid change DOES WORK!

 

Dropped of the Turbo with Porsche of Marin. Service advisor commented that he could feel the roughness in the transfer case as he moved the car a few feet through the service bay. Waiting on a timing estimate.

2016 with just under 21,000 miles.

 

I purchased a 2015 Macan S with 49k miles. The car was delivered from out of state site unseen. It was exactly how it was pictures and truly was in every sense of the word MINT. Until I drove it for the first time.

I noticed when reversing and turning the wheel left, the car would skip. At the time, I had known about the transfer case issues but there were no other signs. It was also February and the car had summer tires on it. 6 months later I started to feel a skip when going from 1st to second gear-- but only sometimes. Later I notice the skipping in 1st gear to 2nd only happened when the transmission reached temp (190+). As time progressed, another symptom stated occurring. When under acceleration the car would have this hesitation type feeling. By this time, I'm around 65k miles.

Low and behold, I bring it to Legend Porsche in Amityville Long Island and they diagnose it with a faulty transfer case. I called Porsche North America and filed a case with an amazing representative named Rebecca. Rebecca was extremely helpful and understanding during the entire process. Equally so, Giovanni Reyes, the service manager at Legend Porsche was also amazing, helpful, and reassuring. The diagnosis occurred on a Tuesday. By the following Monday, Porsche North America had agreed to cover 85% of the transfer case cost and labor. Legend Porsche also gave me an extremely fair quote for the repair, so my total out of pocket was very much acceptable.

One week later, the car was ready. When I picked up the car, Giovanni brought me back to introduce me to the mechanic who spoke with me in detail. Legend Porsche also informed me recall work needed, and performed all the work perfectly.

I have to say what an amazing experience it with both Porsche North America & Legend Porsche. They turned a potentially terrible situation into a very easy and pleasant experience.

 

I purchased a 2015 Macan S with 49k miles. The car was delivered from out of state site unseen. It was exactly how it was pictures and truly was in every sense of the word MINT. Until I drove it for the first time.

I noticed when reversing and turning the wheel left, the car would skip. At the time, I had known about the transfer case issues but there were no other signs. It was also February and the car had summer tires on it. 6 months later I started to feel a skip when going from 1st to second gear-- but only sometimes. Later I notice the skipping in 1st gear to 2nd only happened when the transmission reached temp (190+). As time progressed, another symptom stated occurring. When under acceleration the car would have this hesitation type feeling. By this time, I'm around 65k miles.

Low and behold, I bring it to Legend Porsche in Amityville Long Island and they diagnose it with a faulty transfer case. I called Porsche North America and filed a case with an amazing representative named Rebecca. Rebecca was extremely helpful and understanding during the entire process. Equally so, Giovanni Reyes, the service manager at Legend Porsche was also amazing, helpful, and reassuring. The diagnosis occurred on a Tuesday. By the following Monday, Porsche North America had agreed to cover 85% of the transfer case cost and labor. Legend Porsche also gave me an extremely fair quote for the repair, so my total out of pocket was very much acceptable.

One week later, the car was ready. When I picked up the car, Giovanni brought me back to introduce me to the mechanic who spoke with me in detail. Legend Porsche also informed me recall work needed, and performed all the work perfectly.

I have to say what an amazing experience it with both Porsche North America & Legend Porsche. They turned a potentially terrible situation into a very easy and pleasant experience.
View attachment 231787

This should have been fixed for free. Porsche has to admit to their design failure.

 

Just had the transfer case replaced on a 2015 Macan S @ 65k miles and porsche north america covered 85%. It was an easy process and Porsche North America was great to deal with. As was the dealership!

 

What was your out of pocket costs for this well know failure that should have cost you nothing.

 

And that's what your TC looks like

Just had mine replaced 2015 Turbo, 30K miles, done with the oil leak repair, under warranty

 

So it does appear they pull the engine and transmission out to replace the transfer case? Wow....

 

Don't you just love it when you go look at the picture you took and see all those extra bolts/screws lying around?

 

And I had a 1,000 mile drive to do right after the repair to return home! Thankfully, no problems. Hats off to the mechanics for doing a professional correct job.

 

I picked up a CPO 2016 Macan S back in January, it mostly has been great, but I quickly noticed how inconsistent the experience is, which led me to research the car here, and after reading about transfer case issues, it clicked that this is extremely likely the source of my issues. Problem is when i took it in for service, I was told they did not experience any significant issues with the TC yet, and sent on my way to come back when its worse. Here are my symptoms I notice sporadically.

Pretty much all the time - I hear an odd shushing/scraping noise from under the car when and after it shifts, most notable when going uphill.
Pretty much all the time - Lumpy Deceleration, like I have warped brakes (i don't), as the car downshifts.
Often - Inconsistent/lurchy pulling into the garage, and into/out of parking places with idle.
Sometimes - The car has an extra clunk after shifting into second, where the rev's will rise before the car reacts much with a thump and go.
Sporadic - Lack of response most notable when taking off after a stop and turning, where the car will start to go with a good throttle prod, but will not take off until halfway through the turn and I've got to back way off the throttle.
I've noticed that putting the car in "off road" mode turns it into an entirely different car off the line, i suspect because the TC ratio is set, rather than it thinking clumsily for itself.

All of these symptoms admittedly are usually pretty subtle, and I get why they don't want to tear the car apart for it, but I only have 9 months of warranty left, and I intend to keep this for a long time. I believe these match up with the later in life (63K miles) slipping type of failures, rather than the more obvious overly grabby failure, which I experienced for the first time last week when we had a 100 degree burst of heat, the TC seemed to fail the way the dealer wants to experience, where I felt a vibration through my pedal, low speed turning was difficult like when driving an old 4wd with the diffs locked, a fraction of the usual power, and the extra clunk was an obvious slip/slam. Next day and since its back to the subtle symptoms only.

Any suspicions of this being anything else than the TC? Or does anyone have advice for demonstrating this to the SA? I don't want to keep driving this until its super obvious and the rest of my drive-train has all been stressed unnecessarily as it heads out of warranty.

 

I had the same problem when backing up. Macan seems to have problems with transfer case. Porsche end up getting the repairs done.

 

One more to add to the list, 2017 S, out of warranty, dealer replaced no charge.

 

100% covered under good will?

How far out of warranty?

You are so lucky.

I am having issue with timing chain cover leak. Waiting for dealer to get back to be about good will repair. He already told me there will be some costs.

 

I can say that my dealer has a test for the xfer case problem. They negate anything else by switching things involved with the transfer case off and on. Took them 30 min to confirm. Ask your dealer how they the test for it. I never heard a scraping sound. My problem was a bump(s) I could feel, just noticable at speeds under 30 mph while accelerating from a stop, slow, or fast.

 

I just took my car in for the oil leak repair and 30,000 mile service. I also told the SA I felt a slight "shudder" when backing up, that I thought it might be the TC. Was replaced under warranty no questions asked (the tech did test the car and confirmed TC needed replacement in his report).

My advise is go to a different Dealer. My TC was changed without question. No reason why they should be giving you a hard time.