“Transmission failure” on night of delivery for 991S

So after 5 months of waiting and a slight delay because my build was a Sunroof delete I finally took delivery of my Agate 991 S PDK Saturday night. 2 miles from the dealership on the drive home from delivery the car dies. Screen showed a Transmission Failure of some sort. Car shut down into safe mode and would not move. Did not hear any mechanical noises during this. Car would restart but not move. Stuck on side of road until the dealer could collect me in a loaner and the 991 on a flatbed. Needless to say I am beside myself. Find out today what the deal is.

I’ve done some searches on PDK failures and it seems the potential issues range from a simple software glitch to a mechanical failure requiring a transmission replacement. I want my car back soon and if I have to wait 3 weeks for a part from Germany I’m going to lose it. This is my first Porsche and a 5 month wait followed but this is less than ideal (most polite way I could phrase it).

So far my salesman and Dealer have been great. However, when dealing with an issue you get to see how good the customer service truly is. It is inexcusable for a car (especially one this expensive) to die after being driven home from delivery. Porsche might have been at the top of the JD power list but not this time. That being said I really like my salesman and he did everything he could do for me on Saturday night. It was obvious he was as upset as I that this happened. I have every faith the dealer will come through for me and resolve this issue ASAP.

If anybody has been through this before I would appreciate any insight on your issue and how it was resolved. As well as, how fast that resolution took. At what point do I involve Porsche North America? As long as the dealer is taking care of the issue I have no desire to have corporate breathing down their neck. However, I’m not sure if it’s in my best interest to document this with corporate incase the car has issues down the road? For anybody has been through this was the issue completely resolved or did the car continue to have persistent problems? I obviously don’t want to be stuck with a lemon of some sort.

I will post more info as I find out later today. That being said any guidance is appreciated.

 

Don't worry, I'm pretty sure it's software related. I haven't heard of any mechanical issues yet and I work at a dealer. PCNA will know if necessary. You won't have to document anything. It will be done for you.

 

Sorry to hear, I'm sure Porsche will resolve the situation for you quickly. With that aside, your 991 looks fantastic with the color combo and wheels!

 

Sorry to hear! Looks like you are at Champion so you are def in the bets of hands at least!

 

It looks hot as shit!

 

I had one of the VERY EARLY build PDK 997S and had the same problem. Since it was so new, Porsche didn't have much in terms of new software to work with. So, the dealer replaced the PDK Control Unit and one of the PDK Valve units (I can't remember exact what). It worked just fine. For 2 weeks. Then same thing. After 2-3 iterations and finally some software updates...I traded it for a Panamera S.

Now, trading away a C2S PDK for a Panamera S PDK based on PDK issues wasn't the most logical decision in the world, but I'll just tell you that it had more to do with losing the battle with my wife than the car. And we never had the first issue with the Panamera.

Now I know that over time the PDK has become incredibly reliable. I chalked this one up to being a very early build and the dealers/Porsche not having enough history with the product to be experienced enough to fix.

Maybe not what you wanted to hear, but think you might appreciate a first-hand experience. The good thing here is that while the 991 PDK is pretty much the same PDK as before but with improved software (I think there are some hardware changes), it should be easy to resolve. Porsche and it's dealers also have 3+ years of servicing PDKs at this point and should be much better prepared to resolve the issue than they were in early 2010.

I like that you already have a 991S plate!

Good luck.

 

Nice first post. Welcome to TS!

Hopefully your car gets sorted out asap.

 

Hopefully your car gets repaired as soon as possible. Gorgeous spec btw

 

Love the color!

Good luck.

 

Just spoke with my salesman. They determined that the transmission failed. It was not a software but an actual mechanical issue. I don't know anything beyond that. They are not going to repair the PDK, instead they are going to replace the entire unit. They are overnighting one from Atlanta and it should go in tomorrow. I don't feel great about having such a large mechanical repair on an new car. Such is life, I suppose.

That being said, my salesman came in on his day off help make sure this got taken care of. If anybody wants to do business on a Porsche in south Florida his name is Larry Reynolds and he is at Champion Porsche. I found him very helpful with the build options and guiding me through the process. He is the best car salesperson I have ever delt with. I'm sure there are many other great Porsche reps to work with but figured I would share my experience. Sometimes it can be difficult to find somebody good to deal with.