[SoCalS5]

....Any advice? Anyone have a new valve body fix this problem?....

There have been very few reports of owners needing a new transmission. It's been more common to need a new valve body.

If needed, there are shops which can rebuild these transmissions. Since it's a version of an Audi transmission, you would want to look for a shop that has experience with Audi's.

Even though the car is out of warranty, it is still worth contacting Porsche North America and opening a complaint ticket. If you're lucky, they may agree to cover some of the repairs as an act of good will. Your odds of this are probably better if your son is the original owner.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

 

[Wolverine]

There are a few owners here who have had similar symptoms, and replacing the valve body did solve the problem. But that’s not always the case. Difficult to put a number to it as so few have had transmission problems at all.

Was the transmission serviced pursuant to the factory maintenance schedule? From what I’ve seen it looks like the vast majority of people that have had transmission issues failed to do the required service, with many of them not being aware of the service requirement at all.

No matter what the case, it’s never going to make sense to spend that kind of money to have the dealer replace the transmission when it can be rebuilt by in independent transmission specialist for far less than that. Same thing for getting the valve body replaced. It’s going to cost you far less to have an independent transmission specialist do the job, and an independent transmission specialist is going to be far more familiar with the transmission versus a dealer, who other than the valve body, pretty much only knows how to replace it.

 

[Sydwyz840]

"Son owns a broken Porsche"...yet Mom is on forum trying to get help...maybe it was just how I was brought up but seriously????

Maybe my son is doing his own research on this and maybe he doesn’t even know I posted this and maybe I am just a loving caring mother who had the time to try to get advice to help her son??? Maybe your mother should have taught you if you have nothing nice to say then don’t say anything? Shouldn’t be so quick to judge. Just looking for advice on a car not looking for advice how to help my child.
Have a great day

 

[Macanakey]

Maybe my son is doing his own research on this and maybe he doesn’t even know I posted this and maybe I am just a loving caring mother who had the time to try to get advice to help her son??? Maybe your mother should have taught you if you have nothing nice to say then don’t say anything? Shouldn’t be so quick to judge. Just looking for advice on a car not looking for advice how to help my child.
Have a great day

You're right - the comment was uncalled for & isn't in keeping with the spirit of this forum. Do hang around, though. There are plenty of helpful people here & hopefully someone can help you towards finding a reasonable solution.

 

[Ttown]

Maybe my son is doing his own research on this and maybe he doesn’t even know I posted this and maybe I am just a loving caring mother who had the time to try to get advice to help her son??? Maybe your mother should have taught you if you have nothing nice to say then don’t say anything? Shouldn’t be so quick to judge. Just looking for advice on a car not looking for advice how to help my child.
Have a great day

My mother taught me that if I owned a Porsche, I don't need Mommy to help me fix it...

 

[Wolverine]

You're right - the comment was uncalled for & isn't in keeping with the spirit of this forum. Do hang around, though. There are plenty of helpful people here & hopefully someone can help you towards finding a reasonable solution.

Ignore Ttown as he was obviously deprived as a child 😀. And he obviously does not realize Mom drives a GT2RS

 

[mrleisure]

I’ve had a valve body replaced under warranty at about 39K miles. The only indication of anything wrong was a “Gearbox fault possible no R-gear possible to drive on" warning. When the car was restarted the indication cleared and car ran fine. Only came up twice before I got the car into the shop that week. Valve body replaced and I was advised if that didn’t fix it then new transmission would be next. Here we are 10K miles later and no further issues, thankfully.

Hoping it is the cheaper solution for your son.

 

[grim]

My mother taught me that if I owned a Porsche, I don't need Mommy to help me fix it...

Reminder rule 5, Respect your fellow automotive enthusiast. When he/she asks a question and you think you can help, please do so.

Please respect and try to help the members

 

[wnelms]

Must be the season! I just the valve body replaced by the dealer. My car is a 2015 S with 64k miles. See the notes for additional details.

 

[Mleibrock]

My mother taught me that if I owned a Porsche, I don't need Mommy to help me fix it...

Your an ass

 

[yrralis1]

My son has a 2016 Porsche Macan with 64,000 miles and no warranty 😢. He starting having jerking issues and gear changing issues , it would no go into gear and he would turn car off and back on and it would jerk into gear and drive horrible jerking and stalling etc. we took it to Porsche dealership who said he needs a new transmission at 19,000 dollars. We then took it to a eurotek mechanic who said it “could” be the valve body but there is no way to test this. He said he would start there and see if that repairs the problem. That cost 4500.00. But if it doesn’t work we are out 4500.00 and still need a transmission. Porsche dealership said when they had the car it threw codes saying clutch 1 and 2. They recoded and reprogrammed the pdk and it did not fix it. Any advice? Anyone have a new valve body fix this problem? I am just a mom that knows NOTHING about a transmission so be easy on me please.

There was a forum member named @Finerthings whose brand new Macan S gave the same symptoms . Since its was new she tried everything that the dealership suggested. She even at one point commented that her base loaner car drove fine which really upset her even more . In the end she could not take it anymore and left Porsche completely . Although rare when a car has these types of problems its not fun anymore . Whether its 19K or 4.5K (with some doubts) and who knows what else off warranty in the future .I think its time to let go without sinking even one penny . This is an SUV , Its supposed to be reliable . Even if it were a classic 911 I would still be hesitant but a daily driver no way .

Get a trade in number ... see the gap . 19K gets a new transmission . 25K gets a new base car . Thats where I'd head .

 

[VolcanoGTS]

Could also do the valve body himself. It’s not bad at all to do and I think the part itself is around $1500 plus new pdk oil and filter. If he searches for an Audi s4 mechatronics diy there is a ton of info and it’s a very similar/same transmission.
Here is a link with some basic steps.

Mechatronics repair kit is done, with a little DIY.........

Ok, first off as many of you know I had the failing Mechatronics (Gearbox Malfunction, You may continue to drive at a limited use) issue with my car. It just turned 35k miles, and because of the mods on my car it couldn't be fixed under warranty. I had a bunch of people reply to my other...

www.audizine.com

 

[Digby]

Chances are very good a new valve body will fix the problem. But wow, one need not pay dealer prices for this.

Yes, there is a risk that the car will not be fixed. But it is small. If it were me, I would definitely take the risk.

Lesson is not to own an out of warranty Porsche unless you are capable of dealing with worst case scenarios, no matter how remote the chances of that is. Unfortunately worst case scenarios do happen on occasion.

 

[yrralis1]

Chances are very good a new valve body will fix the problem. But wow, one need not pay dealer prices for this.

Yes, there is a risk that the car will not be fixed. But it is small. If it were me, I would definitely take the risk.

Lesson is not to own an out of warranty Porsche unless you are capable of dealing with worst case scenarios, no matter how remote the chances of that is. Unfortunately worst case scenarios do happen on occasion.

Lets say you are right . She fixes it and gets it done much cheaper than the 19K . Then what ? Its still a 5 year old car out of warranty with high miles and what happens the next time ? Or lets say there is no next time ? Will every day feel like it could be the day ? And that is if you are right . If you are wrong however the money is spend and the car is still broken with the same future horizon .

The question is .. where does one cut the loss ? That line can vary from person to person . You know after years of seeing me post I will cut the loss when its no longer meeting my needs ,. I am most thrilled when it exceeds my expectations . I may not be the norm .

What's your threshold if this were your car and you are in her shoes ?

PS. You just gave me an idea . She could get an estimate in writing for the cheapest repair and bring it to negotiation when asking for a trade in value . They might consider it.. they might not .. but it cant hurt.

 

[aemitchell16]

Lets say you are right . She fixes it and gets it done much cheaper than the 19K . Then what ? Its still a 5 year old car out of warranty with high miles and what happens the next time ? Or lets say there is no next time ? Will every day feel like it could be the day ? And that is if you are right . If you are wrong however the money is spend and the car is still broken with the same future horizon .

The question is .. where does one cut the loss ? That line can vary from person to person . You know after years of seeing me post I will cut the loss when its no longer meeting my needs ,. I am most thrilled when it exceeds my expectations . I may not be the norm .

What's your threshold if this were your car and you are in her shoes ?

PS. You just gave me an idea . She could get an estimate in writing for the cheapest repair and bring it to negotiation when asking for a trade in value . They might consider it.. they might not .. but it cant hurt.

I am the son, and was unaware of this post until I was informed by my mother that she had posted it to seek answers for help (as it's been nearly 4 months of researching and forum stalking for the best solutions). So thank you @T Town for the interesting uninformative comments. To every one else, thank you for the replies. It seems my only viable option without potentially destroying my credit on this vehicle, is to eat the cost of the valve body replacement and just hope that helps. The Porsche dealership advised us that they did not feel it was a valve body issue due to it throwing fault codes regarding clutch 1, clutch 2. (which is the only worry to just dropping money into the valve body)
Not sure why that would insinuate it isn't the valve body, but I also don't know much about the technicals.

In regards to "where does one cut the losses" - they will likely be cut after the repairs to this vehicle are finished. I'll be immediately seeking to trade in, or just private party sell. I can't fathom keeping a vehicle that is having transmission issues at 60k mileage with all service/records having been done at authorized Porsche dealerships, in pristine condition (well, until now 😅). This comes after already having transfer case issues. I loved the vehicle, and wanted this to work, but I feel as if it's time to walk away at the risk of further issues.
Porsche did comment in regards to the "goodwill" assistance - and offered a whopping $1,000 on a nearly $20,000 repair bill.

Will keep you all updated!
By all means, if anyone else has had similar issues and a different fix other than valve body(or if valve body fixed it), share.

 

[jzwu]

Get a 2nd diagnostic from a different dealer. Never heard of clutch 1/2 issues before on this forum.

 

[Opt1k]

I don't understand, so Porsche didn't offer you a valve body replacement to see if it helps? I thought that was common solution. Maybe you can try negotiating that with PCNA and have some goodwill on the $5k bill not on $20k one?

 

[Digby]

I am the son, and was unaware of this post until I was informed by my mother that she had posted it to seek answers for help (as it's been nearly 4 months of researching and forum stalking for the best solutions). So thank you @T Town for the interesting uninformative comments. To every one else, thank you for the replies. It seems my only viable option without potentially destroying my credit on this vehicle, is to eat the cost of the valve body replacement and just hope that helps. The Porsche dealership advised us that they did not feel it was a valve body issue due to it throwing fault codes regarding clutch 1, clutch 2. (which is the only worry to just dropping money into the valve body)
Not sure why that would insinuate it isn't the valve body, but I also don't know much about the technicals.

In regards to "where does one cut the losses" - they will likely be cut after the repairs to this vehicle are finished. I'll be immediately seeking to trade in, or just private party sell. I can't fathom keeping a vehicle that is having transmission issues at 60k mileage with all service/records having been done at authorized Porsche dealerships, in pristine condition (well, until now 😅). This comes after already having transfer case issues. I loved the vehicle, and wanted this to work, but I feel as if it's time to walk away at the risk of further issues.
Porsche did comment in regards to the "goodwill" assistance - and offered a whopping $1,000 on a nearly $20,000 repair bill.

Will keep you all updated!
By all means, if anyone else has had similar issues and a different fix other than valve body(or if valve body fixed it), by all means share.

Not trying to be a smart*ss, but given your experience with the car to date, seems it’s likely you will not face serious issues in the future. Think “law of averages”.

Not sure I understand your comment about service being done at Porsche dealerships. How does that play into this?

 

[Chris in Philly]

The answer is easy. The vast majority of the time it’s going to be less expensive to repair a car versus replacing it. I see some here are calling repair costs ”losses”. They are not losses. They are merely one of the costs of ownership.

No different than the wild depreciation expense you are going to encounter if you replace it.

With your experience, not difficult to understand why you are turned off to the car and want to jettison it. But that’s an emotional decision, not an analytical one. You are assuming your experience to date is going to be a predictor of your future experience with the car. Never seen much evidence to support such a conclusion.

Dealers just love it when owners make emotional decisions versus analytical decisions.

 

[aemitchell16]

Get a 2nd diagnostic from a different dealer. Never heard of clutch 1/2 issues before on this forum.

We had another independent mechanic, who is a retired Porsche mecahanic, and he also received Clutch 1 Faults (whatever that means), but didn't see clutch 2.
He stated that doesn't mean that Porsche didn't see a clutch 2 fault.

I don't understand, so Porsche didn't offer you a valve body replacement to see if it helps? I thought that was common solution. Maybe you can try negotiating that with PCNA and have some goodwill on the $5k bill not on $20k one?

They did not. I do not know why, but the only thing they recommended was an internal issue with the transmission, and a full transmission replacement. After going back and forth for the last 3 months, we discussed the valve body kit replacement after reading about these issues online. They advised that they would try a valve body replacement, but that they did not believe that was the issue (and would not back anything up whether it is or is not the valve body, which is normal, I know). I'm assuming that is why they did not offer a goodwill for the valve body, but we also have not asked specifically about a valve body goodwill. We asked that they would cover some of the expenses of the transmission (we weren't even requesting a full goodwill), and the offer they came back with was $1,000.

Not trying to be a smart*ss, but given your experience with the car to date, seems it’s likely you will not face serious issues in the future. Think “law of averages”.

Not sure I understand your comment about service being done at Porsche dealerships. How does that play into this?

Sure. We can go with the law of averages, but I'd rather just not take the chance given the repair costs.

My comment about the services being done at Porsche are in regards to the fact that, in order to "goodwill" anything, you must have had the vehicle fully serviced at Porsche.
And discussing anything with Porsche, that's what they look at first. I was just including some information for perspective as some others had commented with questions about if it had been serviced correctly.