Goodbye BMW ,hello Porsche

[npower]

Mechanic ran diagnostics, came up with low voltage in actuators which points to a fault within the mechatronic. Hoping i don't have to replace the whole transmission. Researching online is not very encouraging, service kits seem to be unavailable. Porsches policy is replace entire PDK instead of repairing.
My aftermarket warranty only covers R20k, so I'm potentially stuck in an unfortunate situation

 

[F21GP]

Mechanic ran diagnostics, came up with low voltage in actuators which points to a fault within the mechatronic. Hoping i don't have to replace the whole transmission. Researching online is not very encouraging, service kits seem to be unavailable. Porsches policy is replace entire PDK instead of repairing.
My aftermarket warranty only covers R20k, so I'm potentially stuck in an unfortunate situation

Guide to Repairing a PDK Transmission - Rennlist - Porsche Discussion Forums

997 Forum - Guide to Repairing a PDK Transmission - Introduction: This post documents what I've learned regarding PDK internals, parts prone to failure, access to those parts, where to get replacements, and generally how to fix a failed PDK yourself. After ten years in service Porsche still...

rennlist.com

Not sure if any info in the above can help you. I know the position you in, I had to replace a SMG 3 pump on a e60 M5 and the price of those things at the time for the whole unit was crazy. This must be much worse, if whole transmission must be replaced, my warranty also only covered R20k. Wishing you all the best man.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[npower]

Guide to Repairing a PDK Transmission - Rennlist - Porsche Discussion Forums

997 Forum - Guide to Repairing a PDK Transmission - Introduction: This post documents what I've learned regarding PDK internals, parts prone to failure, access to those parts, where to get replacements, and generally how to fix a failed PDK yourself. After ten years in service Porsche still...

rennlist.com

Not sure if any info in the above can help you. I know the position you in, I had to replace a SMG 3 pump on a e60 M5 and the price of those things at the time for the whole unit was crazy. This must be much worse, if whole transmission must be replaced, my warranty also only covered R20k. Wishing you all the best man.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks bud! Really informative article, just wish I had the spanner skills to attempt opening up a pdk box!
Still haven't exhausted all my options.
Reading overseas Porsche forums ,there have been cases of Porsche helping out on a goodwill basis towards the cost on out of factory warranty cars. Its a long shot, but I can always try!

 

[aksamg]

I would give these guys a call

Home - RS Autosport

30 years of experience thus making us Porsche specialists, We cover all aspects of your car maintenance, servicing, repair and restoration.

rsautosport.co.za

 

[MR_Y]

Sorry to hear about the PDK.
On my car, the dealership ended up replacing the entire gearbox - a reconditioned one cost them R107,633 (that is after 25.5% internal discount under Plan) for my car.

If you are servicing your car with Porsche, then you can try to ask for a goodwill discount and see if that is accepted. If not, there are many good independent Porsche workshops out there - mainly in GP though...

 

[npower]

I would give these guys a call

Home - RS Autosport

30 years of experience thus making us Porsche specialists, We cover all aspects of your car maintenance, servicing, repair and restoration.

rsautosport.co.za

Thanks, but unfortunately I'm based in Durban.

 

[MR_Y]

My mate in DBN says you should contact Jeeva Moodley. He owns High Octane Tuning in Tongaat. Has worked on many Porsche Club cars in KZN.

 

[TurboLlew]

So you parked the car and woke up to a code... they sent someone out, checked a low voltage code on the actuators (something known to throw transmission faults on DCT boxes) and didn't suspect the 9 year old battery should be checked before replacing the whole gearbox was the solution?

Yet on Mr_Y's car they wanted to recondition side shafts, drive it around and rebalance all the wheels a few times before acknowledging it really needed a new box?

Plan vs. no plan hey

 

[individj]

i agree with the above i would try popping in a new battery. If you dont feel like spending big money consider having someone check the mechatronic. VagCenter where im based will open the mechatronic they can replace parts etc. something to think about.

 

[Riaad]

I'm hoping thats the issue. Car has the original battery which is about 9 years old.Mechanic is coming later to run diagnostics.

I suggest you replace the battery, whether or not if fixes the problem, you likely need a new battery in any case.

As mentioned by @TurboLlew , newer cars dont behave when the battery is old, during lockdown, I had a transmission failure warning on the E84 X1 with ZF8, after parking the car off for 1 day, when started, the gearbox wouldnt disengage from Park (when on any slight incline), replaced with an OEM battery, issue was fixed and never saw that fault again.

edit, the car may start fine (no dragging to indicate and old battery), and sometimes wont even throw battery related codes but they are so sensitive...so you may think your battery is still fine, when its not ...and 9 years is definitely time to replace

 

[PsyCLown]

I agree, try replace the battery first. Even if we're looking at a lithium battery for a solar setup, 9 years is a really long time. The battery has without a doubt degraded significantly in that time - even if a battery sits on a shelf or in a smart charger for 9 years it will degrade significantly.

 

[npower]

So you parked the car and woke up to a code... they sent someone out, checked a low voltage code on the actuators (something known to throw transmission faults on DCT boxes) and didn't suspect the 9 year old battery should be checked before replacing the whole gearbox was the solution?

Yet on Mr_Y's car they wanted to recondition side shafts, drive it around and rebalance all the wheels a few times before acknowledging it really needed a new box?

Plan vs. no plan hey

Forgot to mention it was an independent mac, not one from the dealer.
I flatbedded it to Porsche this afternoon. Waiting for feedback from them. May take awhile as they appeared to have a backlog.

 

[jayaynikkal]

Eish, this is saddening to read.

 

[npower]

My mate in DBN says you should contact Jeeva Moodley. He owns High Octane Tuning in Tongaat. Has worked on many Porsche Club cars in KZN.View attachment 6107

Thanks , I contacted him

 

[kingr]

Hopefully you don’t get a big repair bill. I would also consider sending the car to GP if a specialist can repair your box/mechatronic unit over there, worth the effort you could potentially save alot of money.

 

[individj]

Hopefully you don’t get a big repair bill. I would also consider sending the car to GP if a specialist can repair your box/mechatronic unit over there, worth the effort you could potentially save alot of money.

I would just send the unit

 

[kingr]

I would just send the unit

OP said he can't remove it himself, maybe he can get a shop to remove it and send the unit.

 

[npower]

Latest update:
Service advisor says that they have run diagnostics and although there a few more things they can try ,its looking likely that the gearbox has to be replaced. He did confirm that they don't repair PDK gearboxes. As far as I know there's nowhere in South Africa which does repairs.

 

[individj]

do they say the gearbox needs to be replaced because the mechatronic is faulty and they dont replace mechatronics only the unit and box?

 

[npower]

do they say the gearbox needs to be replaced because the mechatronic is faulty and they dont replace mechatronics only the unit and box?

They weren't specific, as they haven't completely zeroed in on the actual fault.