Our Macan is now sitting in the driveway, useless. As we have been reporting to the dealer for the last 8,000 miles, there's been a clunking sound that sounded like either something with the rear end or transmission. Over the last month, it has become more pronounced.

The sound first appeared right after the 10,000 mile service/oil change. We took it back immediately, but the service tech said he couldn't hear it. Two months after that, we took it back again. Same result. In December, 2015, we took it in for another minor issue (tire replacement) and finally, the service advisor (different guy) heard the sound and agreed it sounded like the transmission. But, they were busy and wanted to clear out the work they had, so we were told to bring it back in January. Further, they were to start a P-Tech request with Porsche for investigation.

January rolled on by and still no appointment with the dealer. Last week, we called to insist on an appointment and were given one for Monday, 2/1/16.

On Saturday evening, we were going home from dinner across town and received the error message, "Gear box failure, No R gear, possible to drive on." Uh oh. As we got closer to home, the shifting was more strained, skipping from first to third to fifth and never getting to seventh. It would rev really high and then skip to the next gear. We were in our neighborhood when it started to shudder and struggle to shift. We inched into the driveway and stopped. We put the Macan into Park and turned off the ignition. After waiting approximately five minutes, we restarted the car. No gears of any kind; no reverse and no forward gears, either.

Porsche Roadside Assistance will be towing the car in the morning to the dealer. It seems clear we will need a new transmission at the tender age of 18,000 miles. Here's the big question: do we pursue a claim through Porsche, their designated arbitration/mediation company CAPS and our state lemon law? If the transmission is replaced, that history will always be with this car, potentially damaging the resale value. We are VERY disappointed in this development. I appreciate any input. (Note: after searching the forum, I have found one other instance of this issue for a 2015 Macan, but it was at 28k miles.)

https://youtu.be/pkw09nNNBWg

 

Here's the big question: do we pursue a claim through Porsche, their designated arbitration/mediation company CAPS and our state lemon law? If the transmission is replaced, that history will always be with this car, potentially damaging the resale value. We are VERY disappointed in this development. I appreciate any input. (Note: after searching the forum, I have found one other instance of this issue for a 2015 Macan, but it was at 28k miles.)

https://youtu.be/pkw09nNNBWg

Sorry to hear this, bad luck.
Not sure where you're located - hint fill in your location - but irrespective the car will still be under warranty, so no need to lodge any claim. Porsche will replace the gearbox and the car will be good as new.

 

I got that same message in my car when I still had my Macan. I took it to the dealer who basically dismissed it and was unable to reproduce it or tell me why it happened. It was a very disheartening event. I had less than 10k miles when I got the message.

 

Did the transmission function at all after you had the error message? Or, did it disappear after you turned off the vehicle, everything worked and no one found it before you traded or sold it?

 

It functioned fine as best I could tell for a few months before I traded the car. I did hear a clunk from the rear in the parking lot that I was driving in. I then parked the car and when I came back to it had that message. It went away on its own the next time I turned the car on.

Mine was a Macan Turbo.

 

Were these Macan S or Turbos?

 

Mine is a 2015 Macan S.

 

Our Macan is now sitting in the driveway, useless. As we have been reporting to the dealer for the last 8,000 miles, there's been a clunking sound that sounded like either something with the rear end or transmission. Over the last month, it has become more pronounced.

The sound first appeared right after the 10,000 mile service/oil change. We took it back immediately, but the service tech said he couldn't hear it. Two months after that, we took it back again. Same result. In December, 2015, we took it in for another minor issue (tire replacement) and finally, the service advisor (different guy) heard the sound and agreed it sounded like the transmission. But, they were busy and wanted to clear out the work they had, so we were told to bring it back in January. Further, they were to start a P-Tech request with Porsche for investigation.

January rolled on by and still no appointment with the dealer. Last week, we called to insist on an appointment and were given one for Monday, 2/1/16.

On Saturday evening, we were going home from dinner across town and received the error message, "Gear box failure, No R gear, possible to drive on." Uh oh. As we got closer to home, the shifting was more strained, skipping from first to third to fifth and never getting to seventh. It would rev really high and then skip to the next gear. We were in our neighborhood when it started to shudder and struggle to shift. We inched into the driveway and stopped. We put the Macan into Park and turned off the ignition. After waiting approximately five minutes, we restarted the car. No gears of any kind; no reverse and no forward gears, either.

Porsche Roadside Assistance will be towing the car in the morning to the dealer. It seems clear we will need a new transmission at the tender age of 18,000 miles. Here's the big question: do we pursue a claim through Porsche, their designated arbitration/mediation company CAPS and our state lemon law? If the transmission is replaced, that history will always be with this car, potentially damaging the resale value. We are VERY disappointed in this development. I appreciate any input. (Note: after searching the forum, I have found one other instance of this issue for a 2015 Macan, but it was at 28k miles.)

https://youtu.be/pkw09nNNBWg

This description sounds like a slipping clutch burning out with PDK technology trying to spare the unit . A full replacement might not turn out as bad as imagined . I did have a complete differential replacement on one of my M3 cars after only 1K miles and it ran perfectly afterwards and did not blemish resale at all .

PDK replacement is simply a big repair . It's not a carfax accident or a salvage title . Granted if this happened out of warranty the expense would be huge but even then Porsche might come up with a goodwill repair . Nonetheless they did offer to fix it .. I'd give them a chance and see how it goes first .

 

Porsche Roadside Assistance will be towing the car in the morning....https://youtu.be/pkw09nNNBWg

Bummer that your dealsership was not more proactive on this issue. There have been a few reports of transfer case failures. Here is a link to that thread. Hope they give you a nice loaner car in the interim. Best of luck getting the issue resolved to your satisfaction.

http://www.macanforum.com/forum/complaints/87514-tranfer-case.html

 

That stinks...I would give them a chance to fix it first. The good news is that you will have a brand new transmission with 0 miles on it. Could be a good thing in the end. I would ask them if they would renew the warranty on the new transmission for another 3 years because you are concerned it could happen again. Worth a try, worst they can say is no and you haven't lost anything.

 

I'm not sure where you're located but it's questionable whether you have a lemon law claim. There are mileage limits (18,000 is used in some states) and I question whether there have been multiple attempts to fix an issue in accordance with lemon law standards. Complaining about a sound may not qualify. As others have said, it will be covered under warranty.

 

I would not worry the PDK will be replace under warranty. I would however be concerned with the customer service you received from the dealer. Your Macan S should have been looked at the first time more thoroughly . I personally do not stand for the our tech could not reproduce it BS. I recently had an issue with the PCM in my 2011 Cayenne and video reCorded the problem and showed them, myPCM was replaced. I blew the first PDK on the east coast back in 2010 on a 2010 Base Cayman with only 1650 on the car. I completely babied the car through the break in process which I did not get to complete. Porsche gave me a guarantee that if thee was another problem even out of warranty I would be taken care of. PDK tranny cost approx $12000-$15000 new.

 

Your transmission fault is listed on this page:

Porsche iManual | 2014-2016

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing

 

your transmission fault is listed on this page:

Porsche iManual | 2014-2016

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing

I have got this warning message this morning but disappeared when restarting the car after it’s been parked for a while. I took it to the dealership they are going to run some diagnostics and let me know the issue tomorrow. Fortunately, I’m under the warranty. 2016 CPO Macan S. 29400 miles on the car.

 

Had the same message couple months back. Dealer said needed software update. All is well. Transmission never malfuntioned between message and dealer.

 

It was some mechanical problem with gearbox in my Turbo. Finally I get new gearbox, changed for free although warranty was finished a few months ago ).
Now everthing is geat !!! I love my car ;-))

 

It was some mechanical problem with gearbox in my Turbo. Finally I get new gearbox, changed for free although warranty was finished a few months ago ).
Now everthing is geat !!! I love my car ;-))

I am having the same problem in my 2015 Macan S with the similar message. It tells me that I may not have R but it does go into R. When I park the car in my garage I get a smell that is similar to an overheated engine. Could this be an issue? It is currently in the shop for the second time as I have just over 38K miles on the car.

 

That's great to hear that Porsche did right by you.

 

I took delivery of my brand new Macan GTS on 1/9/2017. On 18/10/2017 with 1300 miles on the clock, it all went wrong. Travelling at approx 50mph with a friend on board, the dashboard lit up with warnings and flashed “Possible R gear fault driving permitted” then “Engine control fault consult dealer driving permitted” except driving was impossible. The car coasted to a halt having gone into neutral and would not engage gear. Restarting had the car moving forward at about 10mph with the revs shooting up and down and making some pretty alarming noises. I limped home (1.5 miles) at crawling speed with hazard flashers on. On arrival at home there is a slight incline. Having stopped to open the gate, the car refused to move out of neutral and had to be pushed home the last 20 yards (next door neighbor plus two passing motorists). I contacted Porsche the next morning and the car was recovered to Porsche mid-sussex on a flat bed recovery vehicle (efficiently).
I now have a BMW 3 series diesel loan which as you can imagine is not great.
Speaking to the dealer, they say that one of the oil seals on the PDK was not fitted correctly at the factory but that there was still some oil left in the gearbox. Given the mechanical sounds emanating from the gearbox, I am not sure it is still fit for purpose but have been told that a new oil seal is being sent from Europe and it will then be fitted, oil refilled and tested.
This is my first Porsche and has been a pretty disappointing experience thus far. Has any other owner experienced this situation and if so, what was the outcome/what should I expect from Porsche given I now don’t trust the gearbox completely?
Thanks, Chris

 

I took delivery of my brand new Macan GTS on 1/9/2017. On 18/10/2017 with 1300 miles on the clock, it all went wrong. Travelling at approx 50mph with a friend on board, the dashboard lit up with warnings and flashed “Possible R gear fault driving permitted” then “Engine control fault consult dealer driving permitted” except driving was impossible. The car coasted to a halt having gone into neutral and would not engage gear. Restarting had the car moving forward at about 10mph with the revs shooting up and down and making some pretty alarming noises. I limped home (1.5 miles) at crawling speed with hazard flashers on. On arrival at home there is a slight incline. Having stopped to open the gate, the car refused to move out of neutral and had to be pushed home the last 20 yards (next door neighbor plus two passing motorists). I contacted Porsche the next morning and the car was recovered to Porsche mid-sussex on a flat bed recovery vehicle (efficiently).
I now have a BMW 3 series diesel loan which as you can imagine is not great.
Speaking to the dealer, they say that one of the oil seals on the PDK was not fitted correctly at the factory but that there was still some oil left in the gearbox. Given the mechanical sounds emanating from the gearbox, I am not sure it is still fit for purpose but have been told that a new oil seal is being sent from Europe and it will then be fitted, oil refilled and tested.
This is my first Porsche and has been a pretty disappointing experience thus far. Has any other owner experienced this situation and if so, what was the outcome/what should I expect from Porsche given I now don’t trust the gearbox completely?
Thanks, Chris
I own a Macan that GTS model 2017, at 3500 km the PDK gearbox was damaged which was changed by warranty and at 25,000 km it failed again, it is my first Porsche and I am very disappointed, I lost all reliability in my vehicle

 

Ouch, certainly not good.

If I recall correctly there has been only a couple of forum members with PDK issues, but I don't recall anything quite like this.

Obviously you are going to want the dealer to verify that the PDK had not been damaged from running low on fluid.

 

Sorry to hear that, must be frustrating on such a low mileage car I would push for a new PDK if you were hearing alarming mechanical sounds, as the gears might have experienced unnecessary wear. If you are getting pushback from the dealer try calling Porsche directly and tell them what you heard. I also did not think the PDK was serviceable. When my PDK had a transmission leak, they had to replace it with a new unit. Happened around 20k miles. Hang in there and keep us posted.

 

Yes, would definitely like to here the cause and outcome, keep us posted.

 

If that happened to me and Porsche didn't replace the transmission I would sell the car before the warranty period ended.

No way would I want that albatross around my neck.

 

I’d ‘drive it’ until it needed replacement.

 

Well in short, the gearbox still had oil in it and "on inspection, there were no metal parts in it. There was no gearbox damage found upon inspection. After replacing the seal and topping up with PDK fluid, we recorded no further faults and was running as it should".
I have had the car back now about three weeks and have had no further issues. To be frank, my trust has been eroded and will take a while to rebuild. I would rather they had replaced the gearbox, but was told that wasn't required as there was no damage. I have had to take it on trust. That said, I am really enjoying the car but will be very conscious of any issues and the ending of the warranty period. Many thanks for the replies and suggestions.

 

I would be pretty upset.

Just because there are no electronic "faults" today does not prove there was no damage. I'd like to hear the details of their so called inspection. How could they possibly perform a complete inspection without a teardown? The damage could be mechanical and not show up until tens of thousands of miles later.

If they are so certain there is no damage they should put their pocketbook where their mouth is and extend PDK warranty to 100k miles? If there is no problem that should not cost them a cent.

 

I hope it's truly PDK, that is, "Pretty Darn Kwik" to fix!

 

I’d push for a warranty extension on the PDK

 

As would I. If the dealer won’t do this for you contact Porsche directly. They are very responsive and protective with their brand reputation.