Warning "Gearbox fault - Possible no R-gear. Drive on possible."

I have a 2017 Macan GTS with 36,000 miles, regularly serviced at local Porsche dealer and have had no issues with anything until last week. While driving to work last Wednesday, two warning messages appeared. First said "Transm. Fault, Poss no R gear, Drive on possible". Second message said "Engine control fault, Consult dealer, Driving permitted". Macan started shifting erratically and would only shift in 2nd, 4th and 6th gears. I drove to work at 50 mph and called dealer and they told me to drop it off on way home.


I dropped the Macan off after work and the dealer put me in a brand new 2019 Macan base loaner. The next day the dealer informed me that one of the solenoids on the transmission valve body (also called mechatronic unit) was stuck in the 5th gear position and it caused the erratic transmission behavior and the warning messages. The dealer was waiting for the mechanics diagnostic report and warranty approval. Porsche authorized a new PDK transmission valve body which has electrical and hydraulic components built into it. (photo attached, weighs 35 lbs. per my mechanic) My advisor told me the part alone is $900 plus 3-4 hours of labor.


The dealer called me Friday at noon and said that my Macan was ready! The dealer had these parts in stock, which may indicate this is more of a common issue. Repair also included new PDK fluid which normally gets replaced at 40,000 mile service.
Luckily I was under warranty and did not cost me anything. So far the Macan is riding fine. My mechanic said it will feel like a new transmission and the car will need to learn my driving habits all over again. Shifting is super smooth. Hope this is the end of this issue, scared the heck out of me.


BTW, I was very impressed with the Macan base loaner with 18" wheels. The new PCM screen is nice but noticed the font and touchscreen icons were small and wasn't so user-friendly. Not sure if these can be adjusted...

997TTurbo said:

Makes me think that I may want to buy an extended warranty before the 50K miles comes up....

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Very common thought.

But if you actually ran the #s , it probable would not be worth it to pay thousands for Extended warranty, in case a rare, expensive repair was needed out of warranty.

You will always hear of those who are so happy that they bought the 3k or 7k extended warranty, bc they had to fix the timing cover oil leak or replaced transfer case.

How do I know this, when you cannot accurately "run the #s " since Porsche does not divulge the number of timing cover oil leaks or transfer case replacements? Is it 1%, 5% or 20%? Could it be even higher, once the cars get to be 5, 7, 10 years old?

I do not know for certain. But, these warranty companies & Porsche are not about to lose $ selling these warranties. They are also not doing it to break even.

Most car owners are NOT on these forums. Happy owners with little to no problems are not as motivated to seek out troubleshooting forums or to vent online as are owners with problem cars.

I also will not buy lottery tickets even though there are people who win even a few hundred or thousand & say: "See?! I was RIGHT to buy a lottery ticket per week these past 3 years! I am ahead by a lot! You, who said it was a stupid waste of $, were WRONG!"

No different than any other type of insurance. Most people who own a house will purchase a homeowners policy in case the house burns down, among other perils.

Chances are almost certain the premiums you pay are going to be more than what you collect from claims against the policy.

Given that, I rarely buy any type of insurance except when there is a risk of a substantial financial loss, because usually you are better off "self insuring" if you can absorb the worst case scenario without significant financial stress.

I work for a Fortune 500 company, and that's why our health insurance is self insured. We merely hire a third party (in our case, Aetna) to administer the plans and claims. But we fund the payment of the claims ourself. Of course we are better off using an insurance company like Aetna versus trying to adminstrate ourselves because of the tremendous purchasing power a company like Aetna has in the provider marketplace.