Holy cow I am a week or so away from buying a Cayman S but this clutch stuff?

Seriously. I am in an RS4 now. Believe it or not Audi had problems with the RS4 clutch, only on some cars. The clutch also stuck to the bottom. A TSB was issued pronto and then all new models built after last August 06 had a new piece in it. What is Porsche saying about its customers? Should I hold off until new models come out or what?

I wouldn't worry about it that much.

If you have read through the existing threads thoroughly, then you've seen that while this is a problem in some cars, the vast majority of cars delivered do not have this problem... yes, when it happens it most certainly sucks, and there's been some bad instances, but not everyone is being stranded 60 miles from the factory during tourist delivery as one member did, or stranded in the Lincoln tunnel as happened to another... these are not good things to have happen, but you have to remember that cars are mechanical things designed and built by humans both of which who are known to be fallible. If you go to other auto enthusiast sites you'll read about plenty of other makes with problems, too. brad

The issue is not whether its normal for mechanical things to have problems. The issue is that there seems to be a systemic problem that can seriously put someone in danger. Audi put out a TSB fairly quickly, why is Porsche dragging its heels? I have never owned one and am about to buy one. But hearing responses like "don't worry about it" and that all cars have some problems, well that just doesn't inspire confidence in a $70k vehicle.

I've got an 06 I bought new in March and have about 2400 miles on it. No problems, knock on wood. But the horn went dead and had to have the left window track replaced

What should one expect the `average' life of the CS to be? For a non-track driven car?

If you don't feel comfortable buying the car , don't buy it. My car is the 140th car made, and have not had any problems with it . Currently it has over 22,000 miles on the odometer. Cheers.

I have read numerous posts about how the vast majority of people don't have any problems. If you are the one that has the problem then the "vast majority" rationale suddenly goes out the window. If I had read about these clutch issues, and Porsche's lack of response, I would not have purchased this car. I'll be trailering my car to the track for the first time in two weeks because I have no confidence in the vehicle. I didn't have to trailer my Honda S2000 to the track because I had full confidence I could drive it to and from the track without failure.

The Cayman is a machine, albeit a very good one. They break. That's why we have a warranty. If you have a clutch problem (in all likelihood you won't) your dealer will repair it and give you a loaner while your car is being repaired.

Wow, you and a few others aren't getting it. If I get stuck in some crappy neighborhood, or if my car loses shifting capability in a dangerous driving situation, I may not even make it back to the dealership. If there is any systemic issue it is a reason for a TSB, perhaps not a recall. That is what a TSB is for. Porsche should provide dealers with instructions and the parts to fix this issue for those who want it, BEFORE it happens, NOT AFTER. The number of people with RS4s and clutch hose problems were also incredibly small, but that didn't stop them from issuing a TSB. Does Audi have better service and quality than Porsche? Shudder to think. This is pushing me closer to a base Carrera 2, I hate to say. Thanks for the feedback.

I "get it." I am just an optimist about things like this. Anyway, good luck and let us know what you decide.

No problems here Took delivery of my "build" '07 CS at the end of April. 4500 miles to date,with no problems. Everything works slick as cow **** on a flat rock!

My last Porsche was 44 years old, 306k mi and ran like top when I sold it in June of this year...never tracked. But, there was no electronics getting in the way of a purely mechanical work of art.

I was sort of worried this might happen. The panic I mean. I have to agree with beez. Spot on response. And, I just happen to be the guy who broke down on tourist delivery. Would I buy the Cayman again? Definitey. So how many people have we registered with cluth failure? It was 18 the last time I looked. I would venture to say that there are probably 50 or so people in the club that have had a cluth problem. Out of 5,000+ members, thats very few. I wouldn't let this issue change your mind. I might not plan any long trips in the first 1,000 miles, but I wouldn't pick a different car.

Huh? You don't have the confidence that the car will get you there and back so you put it on a trailer to go to the track, but you have enough confidence in the car to get in it on the track in a high-speed/high-performance situation... wow... Yeah, go ahead and do that - they use the EXACT same part and clutch/braking hydraulic systems... you don't think Porsche shares parts across the model range? That a Carrera has 100% different parts from the Cayman S? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. brad

I had the clutch stuck on the floor problem.............on a Mercedes-Benz. This problem is a supplier problem that seems to affect most German Auto manufacturers, have not heard of the problem in BMW , and I suspect the problem keeps going on year after year because manual transmissions are a small percentage of the cars being manufactured. Granted the percentage of manual transmission cars in Porsche Sports Cars is much higher. I am happy to say I have never had this problem in the Cayman and I am highly attuned to the early symptoms. Having worked with Krokodil to install metal-braided brake lines I am familiar with the location of the hydraulic fluid reservoir for the clutch/brake system. So, if this ever crops up as a problem, I now would know what remedy I could use to get moving. I agree if the problem is going to occur on your car, that it will show up early in your ownership.

This is a somewhat depressing tread describing the declining risk taking adventurism in our society today. Not to diminish the issue, which still occurs and should be addressed in the manufacturing process instead of warranty ( but it is fixed without any cost to the owner other than a bit of his/her time) , but it seems some want "perfect" experiences with no problems and an absolute guarantee of a life with nothing but vanilla sundaes. From what I've read on this forum there are as many if not more failures due to owner introduced modifications as clutches. Life is about taking risks and dealing with them. No mechanical device is going to be trouble free and if one reads all the other car forums even the most vanilla of them all, the Honda, has routine and recurring issues and most true sports cars have way more than the Cayman. To not buy this car or use it because of fear is unimaginable to me. But then I grew up in a different time with a different sense of taking care of my self and I suspect a lot of Porsche owners have that same sense of confidence and independence.

Actually as far as problems go, it's not much worse than a flat tire. It strands you out of the blue, that could be inconvenient sometimes, so could a flat tire. The good thing is that from reading the descriptions, when it goes, it goes in a way that has nothing to do with wear & tear and you get a new clutch. Far worse would be a wear-prone, weak clutch. In fact, Edmunds, in their full review of the CayS, commented on how well the clutch "shrugged off" hard launch after hard launch .

The reality is that you should be MORE ENTHUSIASTIC about buying the car. You know exactly what you are getting unlike most people buying a new car. A Cayman + CaymanClub.net is an unbeatable combo. Buy the car. Don't worry about it. Use the knowledge here to your advantage. I had the problem. Eventually Porsche will figure it out and get the info to the field. It is not unusual for a site like this to put two and two together faster than the manufacturer. My dealer actually tore up my contract and took back the car because of the inconvenience factor. Now I will find a new car. Just bring up the issue to the dealer. Tell him that you know that there is a rare issue that is popping up that Porsche has not yet acknowledged and that you want their assurance that they will treat you like a VIP if it happens to you. If they argue with you about it, bet them 10 percent off the purchase price of your vehicle and send me a PM. Until Porsche can identify the offending parts by batch, there is no way to know if your car will have the problem until you drive it. Also...it appears that there are two completely separate issues. The pressure plate bolts...known and fixed according to my dealer...and the possible "slave cylinder issue" that is still a bit of a mystery. Don't let either keep you from buying a Cayman. That would be silly. This really is not a big deal IMHO. Here is a REAL problem that Mercedes had a few years ago...the harmonic balancer would fly apart and rip open your engine causing $4-$5k in damage to "430" engines. ML430, S430, CLK... Of course those smart enough to frequent an enthusiast site were able to walk in and have the problem fixed "pre-explosion" (part swap) for free A YEAR BEFORE it became a recall. We even figured out the offending serial numbers. Knowledge is power.

Well said. I am in the business of selling multi-million dollar gizmos. If only they were as reliable as a modern automobile. Of course I am not opposed to a bit of righteous indignation as a bargaining tool when working with the dealer.

Rod, I have to concur with Beez that your statement didn't make much sense. You said that you were trailering your car to the track because you had no confidence in it. If you have no confidence in it, why are you running it on the track? It would seem that a clutch failure on the street would be much less of a potential safety problem than say a clutch failure on the track. If you have no confidence that the car can even drive to the track, what gives you the confidence that it will even make one lap around the track? It would seem like a waste of time to take a car that you have no confidence in to the track. I don't think beez, or myself, are criticizing your concern over possible issues with the Cayman I think what beez was saying and certainly what I am saying is that the "logic" of your decision doesn't make a lot of sense to us. Speaking as someone who doesn't have this problem, I drive my Cayman 60+ miles to the track, flog it at the track and then drive it 60+ miles back. I usually look forward to the highway time as some "down" time with the car as opposed to the adrenaline rush of the track. I've never once thought about trailering my car because the clutch "might" fail, the same way I've never thought about trailering my car because anything else "might" fail or I "might" get a flat. I think the logic argument would make more sense if you both trailered the car to the track as well as traileredit around the track. I mean I have to ask, do you trailer the car to work? to the store? to the movies? you see where I'm going with this right? To reiterate I very much understand your concern that something could go wrong and that some other Caymans have had this as an issue, I just don't understand the logic of your decision. That doesn't make your decision "right" or "wrong", I'm not assigning a value judgement your decision, I'm simply saying that I don't understand it, it doesn't make sense to ME. I could be totally alone on this, it might make sense to everyone else. BTW if I had a trailer and a rig to tow it with I would do it because I could wait until getting ot the track to put my track wheels/ tires on as opposed to adding 120 miles of wear every time I go to the track, but that's a different reason altogether.

I can see both sides of Rod's statement. But I agree that I would rather have clutch failure on the road than on the track. I saw in my Challenge newsletter from PCA that there is a number of track events coming up in my area, at Limerock park. I was actually considering signing up. But honestly, I thought about it a little more and decided that I do not have the confidence in my Cayman to put it on the track yet. I think I'll pass until I've logged a few more miles and built that confidence. I am also considering driving to Crocktoberfest, what an adventure that would be. But again, the cloud of doubt pops into my mind and I get uncomfortable with the idea of being on a tow truck somewhere between here and Vegas. It's real easy for you guys who haven't had the failure to dismiss it. But when it has happened to you, it's hard to not worry about it happening again. Especially since Porsche has done such a poor job of addressing the issue. If you ask them, this never happens. That means that either A). They are ignorant about the issue, or B). They are lying about thier awareness of it. Either of those does little to assure us that it won't happen again. If they came out and said, "Yes, we have identified a problem and have worked with our supplier to correct it. All slave cylinders marked with Date Code 7K or newer are the corrected part", we would feel a lot better. But if you ask them about it they respond with, "what clutch problem....?"

OK Everyone, I am really not trying to be hard to get along with. I am going to trailer my car because I have an undiagnosed clutch problem and I have a truck and trailer available for my use. IF the clutch fails I will load the car on the trailer and drop it off at the dealership on my way home from the track. The track(VIR) is four hours from home and the dealership is two hours from home. If the dealer was local and the track was an hour from home this would all be a non-issue. I don't want to get stuck at the track and have to be towed to the nearest dealership and sit in a hotel or have to drive a loaner back home. For the record, I trailered my S2000 to the track for the last 5 or 6 track days I attended, because of the peice of mind it provided in case of a mechanical failure. My criticism of the car, Porsche, and my dealership are justified. I am looking forward to a better ownership experience once this problem is resolved. I would prefer that we now go back to complaining about clutches.

Gator Bite, I can assure you that your clutch will not fail between home and Croctoberfest. I've talked to the Porsche Gods in Germany and sacrificed the appropriate virgins and the Gods are now happy and your car will be fine. You'll just have to trust me on this one...

Rod - I meant no offense... like K-man S, It just left me scratching my head... On the topic of your taking the the car to VIR - I see by looking back at your posts that you have had the clutch pedal on the floor, but the dealer will not do anything about it until it actually fails... In my honest opinion, the last place I would put the car is on a race track. In fact, if you are signing your tech form as clean, then you are fudging. If I were on a track day tech crew and you told me you trailered your car to the track because you have a problem where the clutch may fail or the pedal may stick to the floor, then I would fail your car immediately, and not let it on the track. And, as an instructor, you couldn't possibly pay me enough money to ride in your car. Do what you like, obviously, but there will other track days, and you are putting a dangerous car on the track. And here's the thing - if it was a danger just to you, that's one thing, and you can assume the risk, but you're not on that track alone. If something happens, you would be a danger to the others around you, too, which is not a good thing. If I had read this thread before going to the track, I know I wouldn't want to be on the the track in your run group, that's for sure. Driving fast on the track is all about trust - in myself, my car and my abilities, and trust in the drivers and cars around me. From an instructor's point of view, since I am one - if, for whatever reason, you do put this car on the track and ask for an instructor, it's your moral and legal obligation to to tell him or her about your clutch problem, and let them decide if they will ride with you or not, since they are a passenger and have no control over the situation, should something arise. If they have half the sense God gave them, they would not. Something like this is an instructor's worst nightmare. I know your dealer is a long ways away, but I would beat these people like a rented mule (no offense to rented mules) and see if they will replace the part. Or talk to another dealer or call PCNA. If you have no confidence in the car on the street, then you should tell them so. brad

Since the clutch problem seems to almost always show up in the first 1,500 miles, if not the first 300, doesn't just driving ti for a week and being a little mindful seem the easiest way to handle any concern?

I agree. Call 1-800-PORSCHE, follow the prompts for 'Customer Commitment'. Tell your story, get a new slave cylinder.

Rod, if you do have an existing clutch issue you have a moral responsibilty (as well as legal) not to track the car. Don't do it.

Dave, thank you very much for this post. This is exactly what I was looking for. Not to be shouted down but to be reassured by an existing owner. In contrast to a lot of the other posts in this thread yours stands out as being the most constructive and pleasant. Rod I agree, this is a complaints forum, I certainly did not intend to do anything but register my complaint in that I was hoping to buy into a car that the manufacturer took serious enough to provide at least a TSB on. Knowing that Carreras have them too is illuminating and makes me feel better if only because it means Porsche may get to solving it sooner. Again thanks. I won't let this deter me from a purchase, but it will force me to do a lot of extra work up front with dealer and service department. Does anyone know if these parts are rare or if they are common at all dealers. I know the clutch hose problem on the RS4 required an order from Germany that could take a few days. You know, looking back at this thread it occurrs to me that maybe people when originally reading it really didn't believe I was here with real positive intent to get this car. If you read my other posts in the main forum I think you'll see I am. I have not been here long so maybe there are a lot of trolls visiting. If that is the case then I forgive you for being a bunch of pinheads :cheers:

Thanks everyone for your input regarding my clutch issue and the track. I would like to provide more info to those of you that seem to be sincerely concerned. My clutch stuck to the floor weeks ago. I have tried numerous times to re-create the problem and have not been able to get the clutch to stick again, no matter what I try. That is one reason the dealer doesn't want to work on the car. I was honest with them about the fact that it hasn't happened again. Based on researching every thread concerning clutch pedals sticking, I cannot find one that has failed while the car is in motion. Even the failures at the track have occured while idling in the paddock area. All the failures, similar to mine, have been during long perods of idling and/or stop and go traffic. My stuck pedal occured while stopped. I have had no issue while driving the car, even during spirited driving through the NC twisties. I have also spoken at length with my DE instructor about this issue and have been completely honest with him. My original post on this thread needs to be taken for what it was: Complaining and bitching.

Rod - All that is good to know. Thanks for shedding the additonal light. I'm glad you've talked with your insructor about it, and I hope the problem has worked itself out and dosn't come back. brad