Broken shifter cable

I'm now a "broken shifter cable" victim like so many others that have posted on planet-9. I've broken this post up into five sections: car, the event, the repair, my thoughts, additional resources. car 2006 Cayman S with 34,150 miles on it. I don't race it (on or off the track). 90% of my commute is highway driving at 70 mph, with the occasional acceleration (no downshifting) to 80-90 mph. I bought the car as Certified Pre-owned with 5,000 miles on it. I put ~29,000 miles on the car over an ~8 month period of time the event I was driving into work. About 1000 yards from my house, I was casually (read: not aggressive, not racing, etc) shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear, when the shifter suddenly went limp. I could put the shifter into the slots for 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th gear, but the gears weren't actually shifting. The car was stuck in 2nd! Luckily the car was stuck in a low gear, and I was able to get the car back home. The symptoms: car is stuck in a gear; gear shift is limp - moves freely, not able to engage The repair I had the car towed to the Porsche dealership. They informed me that the gear shift cable had snapped. I've attached 3 photos showing the broken part. Some initial comments: No, i'm not on someone's hit list, and nobody intentionally cut the cable ; I've found other posts with similar photos (links below). I had to pay ~$1000 to get the shifter cable replaced. It took about a day to get the car back. My thoughts This is absolutely ridiculous. A Porsche...a Porsche is supposedly one of the most durable cars in the market. Prestigious brand, insanely expensive, built for high performance. I wasn't (nor have I) even stressed the car in any real way, yet somehow the gear shifter cable snapped. There are numerous situations where the outcome could be serious personal injury or death (eg. pulling into traffic, accelerating to pass a car, etc). This seemed very fishy to me, so I did some research on the car. It turns out that the previous owner had some warranty work, where the transmission had to be reinstalled. I bought the car Certified Pre-owned, with a clean carfax. This repair order didn't show up on the report, and since it was certified, I assumed Porsche of Flemington (where I purchased the car) did their job. I spoke to several Porsche service repair shops, during my investigation: - Danbury Porsche, where the shifter cable was repaired, initially thought the cable didn't "look right". After completing the repair, Danbury Porsche couldn't confirm or deny that the cable was installed incorrectly. Danbury Porsche assured me that the Cayman was a very reliable car, and they rarely saw Cayman's come in for major repairs. - Autohaus of Lancaster (I spoke to "Justin"), where the initial transmission work was done, told me that "I see the shifter cable fail quite often on Cayman's and 911's." - Porsche of Flemington, where I purchased the car, told me it wasn't "their problem, go talk to Autohaus". - I called 1-800-PORSCHE, explained the story I've laid out here, and they said, "The car's out of warranty, there's nothing we can do about it". I then asked, "is this a known / systemic issue? Can you tell me what the failure rate is on the part?". Their response, "Porsche doesn't divulge such statistics". I replied,"they will with a subpoena". I'm absolutely livid. It's not about the repair money, but rather the principle of the situation. If the part wasn't installed correctly by Autohaus, I would actually be less angry as long as they manned up and fixed it, because mistakes happen. Per the message boards however, this looks to be a more pervasive issue. Perhaps not enough to meet Porsche's recall criteria, but I would argue that their recall criteria is flawed! If this happens to even 1% of their cars, make the simple (relatively cheap) fix, and protect the lives of their customers. I'm especially livid with customer support. This part failing at 34,150 miles is ridiculous, regardless of whether it was mis-installed, or there's a fundamental issue with the part. These are expensive cars, designed for high-performance, and critical components like the shifter cable should be rock solid. The moment the customer service agent saw I was out of warranty (and in my case, < 6 weeks out of warranty!!), she could care less about the situation. I expected more from Porsche, in addition to expecting a first-class machine, I expected premium support. My faith in the brand is shaken. I was looking to buy a Cayenne for my wife, in fact we were planning to make a purchase in the next couple of weeks. Porsche's inability to man up, take responsibility, and do the right thing means they've lost me as a customer. Porsche's loss of my business means nothing to their bottom line, and they'll certainly go on to make tons of profit. My intent for sharing this with the community: 1. make people aware of the problem 2. further validate that this is a systemic issue 3. highlight Porshe's crappy customer service 4. ensure that current and potential Porsche customers are well-informed about what they are getting themselves into. Additional resources related discussions: http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxster-tech/55989-another-broken-shifter-cable.html http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxster-problems-complaints/54367-broken-shifter-cable.html http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxster-problems-complaints/66936-broken-shifter-cable-almost-cost-my-life.html Photos from other posts http://www.jovy-rework.com/images/jovy_uploads/_porsche_link_cable.jpg http://www.planet-9.com/attachments/cayman-boxster-problems-complaints/22867d1330253445t-broken-shifter-cable-almost-cost-my-life-cableenda.jpg http://www.planet-9.com/attachments/cayman-boxster-problems-complaints/22868d1330253445t-broken-shifter-cable-almost-cost-my-life-_porsche_link_cable.jpg Selected quotes from other similar posts on this problem Yeah maybe on a cheaper car, but on a Porsche?? these cars are bloody expensive, we pay for the durability.. this is simply unacceptable, I hope Porsche lose a lot of customers, they can't even make a car as reliable as a Nissan these days and charge twice the price ----- The Cayman S is a nice car, but if it is prone to break its shifter cable in 8500 miles then there is something seriously wrong with modern design. ----- It’s a disgrace that Porsche, a so-called premium brand, can skimp on something as critical as a gear shifter and it’s assembly. Also, to those who say that taking legal action is not the way to go – again why? The OP has obviously been deeply traumatised by his experience and has every right to voice his concerns! ----- Thank you for the advice. But with due respect, the law firm that is taking on my case, with specialists on such issues, sees it differently to you. They think that this is a serious case of a car being unsafe and that the manufacturer can be held liable. I will file a claim and have provided all the relevant evidence which they will prepare the case. I am not asking for the forum members to make a judgement, but simply letting them know that they may be sitting on a time bomb if their linkage is similar to mine. As a performance car, most people who buy these cars will likely use its performance, and I can think of a thousand scenarious where the loss of drive could potentially end up in tears. If Toyota can call back all their cars due to erratic gas pedal response, I fail to see why Porsche can get away with a problem far worse than Toyota's. I have lost all my confidence in this car and every time I change up or down, I am wondering if the damn thing will break again. If it can break at 8600 miles, it can break at any time. It is not as if it will give advance warning before it breaks. Having no drive on a fast bend is massively dangerous. Loosing engine braking is not desirable at any time. Why should I drive a car that is potentially a death trap? I paid good money for this car and I expect to get value for money and irrespective of how much fun it may be to drive, it is basically an unsafe car. Does anyone have data to show how many accidents may have been caused by this failure that the driver did not survive to tell the story? My story would be untold if I had collided with the oncoming car at a combined speed of over 150mph. What is the justification for Porsche to insist on using this unreliable linkage? Profit is the only thing that comes to my mind. ------ I dare Porsche UK and Porsche USA both to disclose the number of cars they have had to replace the shifter cable. The 14 cases are only on this forum. There are many forums. Not everyone who may own a Porsche and experienced this problem are members of any forum. The question is which other makes suffer shifter problems? None in my whole life experience of cars. I've had a 911SC in the past. Apart from a broken hafl-shaft no other problems to speak of. Why should it be acceptable in 2012 for Porsche to offer ashifter cable that is "NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE". Is is simply not good enough and at the very least the car should come with a "HEALTH WARNING". If I had known that the Cayman S was prone to breaking the shifter cable for no apparent reason, I would not have bought it in the first place. I feel cheated.

Have you contacted the law offices of Robert Starr who is a sponsor here? They deal in automotive cases, they have an action vs. Porsche for intermediate shaft failures, maybe they'd like to know about these shifter cable failures as well?

I just reached out to their offices. Thanks!! I've also filed a complaint with the National Highway Transportation Safety Authority (NHTSA). It should take a few days for the complaint to be searchable, but here are the details: NHTSA complaint #: 10483800 NHTSA site: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints/

Cable failure is well known to Porsche , they always have losts of cables in stock... We replaced cables twice on our 987 S in 40,000 miles.... The cable sees far to much load because of its routing/attachment points .... All of the same end parts etc are on the 996/997 cables and they don't seem to break. They have a much smoother routing and see far less stress at the mounting points . Cheers

I find it disturbing that Porsche does not step up on this issue. Judging by what I am reading here, it seems to be a design issue with so many breaks reported.

I was talking with my dealer's tech last January - specifically we were talking about reliability of 987s in general (my 2010 was in for a new engine ) and he brought up the issue of clutch cables breaking being one of the common problems they see. I don't remember all the details but his observation was the issue was localized stress on the cable due to the angle of the attachment point to the tranny - due to the necessity to route the cable around the engine block. That's not news - seems pretty obvious. But he also stated that it was less of a problem on GenIIs. So, is there any evidence or opinions on whether this is true? Or is there just fewer breaking because the GenIIs haven't been around long enough to have a track record?

My shifter cable in my Cayman S went out at 66K, I posted about the incident on the forum on 5/9/2012 . Sounds like a very similar situation to your issue, 2nd to 3rd upshift on a car just off warranty, Porsche originally said "not our problem". For what it's worth, I did write a letter to the head of customer relations (IIRC) for Porsche North America, and about a month later they sent me a repair voucher equal in value to about half the cost of the total repair bill. As I posted then, it would have been easier for all concerned if they had just taken care of a portion of the repair at the time, but in the end I felt they handled the situation in an acceptable manner. Hope you're able to get things worked out.

I was under the impression that 996/997 cars have similar issues. I know that there are quite a few of those guys who replace the OE cable with a cup cable.

My gen 2 broke and guys with newer cars and way less miles than mine have broken. Maybe gen 3 will be ok? Certainly gen 1 and 2 is not good. In countries where salt on the road is used, the problem is far worse.

Just a point of information. I do not believe this is a problem with the base cayman in that the shift cables do not make the bend that places undo pressure on the cable. On the base both cables are in a direct line on only one side of the tranny.

I was looking into having custom cables made from aircraft control cable. I made contact with a company but have not followed up yet. I would imagine aircraft control cable would be the strongest..

Would the reasoning be that the smaller engine allows more room to run the cable in a straighter more direct path?

To mitigate any unforeseen mechanical issues, I just signed up for a carchex extended warranty. It's depressing to read about shifter cable and IMS bearing issues, and aggravating to think that Porsche is unwilling to stand behind their brand and issue recalls to fix the problem. Hopefully I don't run into problems, but at least I've got some warranty coverage to fall back on. I signed up for the Titanium option with Carchex, with additional coverage for seals & gaskets, wear and tear, roadside assistance, and a $50 deductible. I'm covered for 5 years & 100K miles (on the odometer), and it cost me $3600. If Porsche is sincere about protecting their brand and image, they should reach out to owners and offer to pay for (or provide) extended warranty coverage for up to 100,000 miles. Hyundai did something similar back in 2004, when the market firmly believed their cars to be junk. They changed their warranty to cover up to 100,000 miles, essentially proclaiming to the market that they would stand behind their vehicles. If Porsche 's interested in getting more business from me, I'm easy to reach, and I've got $1,000 + $3,600 = $4,600 bill waiting for you.

Happened to me too - 2009 Gen2 Cayman S - 48K miles (I would say gentle miles) Repaired under warranty

why wouldn't you just pick up numeric 's offering?

Carchex sounds familiar...is that $3,600 for 2 yrs? any deductibles?

Here is my story about Porsche , CPO and a broken Shift Cable This past September Iembarked on my third trip across the United States since I retired in 2007 andmost importantly, my first cross-country in my 2009 Porsche Boxster. The last time I drove cross-country in aPorsche was forty-one years earlier in my then shiny, new Irish Green, 1971Porsche 911T. Needless to say, my head wasfilled with nostalgia and excitement! Since it had 30,484 miles onthe odometer, I decided to take my still shiny, but not new, Arctic Silver,2009 Porsche Boxster to Baker Porsche in Charleston, SC for an oil and filterchange and an overall checkup. The first leg of my tripstarted with a visit to my relatives in east Texas. Then I drove on to Colorado Springs for a drive up PikesPeak. Next was a visit with friends inBreckenridge, Colorado, where my wife, Joan, flew in and joined me. FromBreckenridge, Joan and I went on to visit National Parks at Bryce Canyon, GrandStaircase, Zion and Capitol Reef before meeting my travelin’, gamblin’ 91 yearold mother-in-law, Roz, our son, Ken, and nephew, Bryan, in Las Vegas for acouple of days diversion from sightseeing. From Las Vegas it was on tomore sightseeing and driving on the wonderful California roads from Joshua Treeto Palm Springs and over to the San Diego waterfront. I could not resist the winding, picturesque Angeles Crest Highwayhigh above Los Angeles or going up the curvy Highway 33 to quaint Ojai and outto beautiful Pacific Ocean at Cambria. No trip to California would be completewithout driving up the coast on Highway 1 with its breath taking vistas! Once we arrived in SanFrancisco, we took time to visit more relatives and sightsee in this town wenever get tired of visiting. Next weturned inland toward Sacramento, where Joan left me to fly back home. Thisroutine is our tried and true formula for a happy married life, since Joan isnot the road tripper that I am! Now it was time to drive USHighway 50 across Nevada. Named by AAA as “The Loneliest Road in America,” oneof my favorite roads and one that Nevada State Troopers don’t pay muchattention to. The last part of my tripwould be to Monument Valley and Canyon de Chelly, which we did not have time tovisit on the outbound part of our trip. After I took Joan to theairport, I visited Niello Porsche since my Boxster now had traveled 36,095miles. This service included an oil and filter change and a multi-pointinspection at, then I was on my way east on US 50 across Nevada! But, shortly after I startedmaking my way east, I got a message that, because of a very serious familyemergency, my daughter, Elizabeth, needed me in Charlotte, NC by Monday,October 7 th to help her. So,I mapped out trip plans that would get me there in time to help her. On Friday, October 4 th ,while driving through Canyon de Chelly National Park, which is in the Arizonaportion of the Navajo Reservation, I downshifted to climb a hill and my Boxstersuddenly made a pop sound and the shift lever flopped over to one side. TheBoxster was stuck in third gear! Unableto climb the hill, I coasted backwards to a stop to think about my next move.Then ,I looked at my watch, it was 4:25PM on Friday afternoon! So here I am, with 37,179miles on my Boxster, broken down, a time when most repair services are closingup for the weekend. OK, No problem, I will justcall 1-800-PORSCHE service, which is part of the deal I got with my CPO,Certified Pre-Owned Boxster, but after I dial nothing happens, nothing noringing, no automated messages, nothing. I looked at my phone, which was flashing “no service”! So, since there is nothingelse I can do, I sit in my car and try to figure out where the closest Porschedealer is. Hmm, is it Las Vegas orPhoenix or Albuquerque, looks like Albuquerque? I sat there for what seemedlike an eternity. Then a very nicelocal, gentleman driving with his wife and family stopped to see if I neededhelp. I explained that I needed a wrecker,but could not call help because my phone had no service. He tried his cell phone…”no service” Then hetried his wife’s phone…again “no service.” He told me “There is no way you canleave your car here, these people are crazy, no telling what they would do toyour car.” I told him that I wasprepared to sleep in the car if necessary. He took my information andsaid that he would drive to a place in the park where he could get cell phoneservice and call a local wrecker to come tow my car out of the park to thelocal town of Chinle where it would be safe, which he did. He also said that he would come back in anhour to check on me to be sure I was OK, which he also did. What a nice person! While I was waiting for helpto come three other local residents stopped to see if I needed help, but Iassured them that help was on the way. No matter what you hear, the world isfull of kind, helpful people! As seven o’clock approached, I was really starting to get concerned since itwas getting dark and there were fewer and fewer people passing by where I wasparked, but about that time the wrecker arrived. The wrecker used a wheel-liftmethod of tow (not the recommended flat bed method) and the operator said thathe had never towed a Porsche. Both of these things bothered me. So, I worked with the operator to be surethat he lifted the rear wheels, since the car was in gear with no way to get itout of gear and to make sure he did not elevate the rear wheels more than necessarydue to the small “approach angle” of the front of the Boxster, which wouldscrape if the rear was elevated too high and I also requested that he drivevery slowly to avoid any damage to the front of the car from bouncing. All of this succeeded in getting my Boxsterto a hotel parking lot safely with no physical damage. By 7:30 PM my car was parkedat the Holiday Inn Express in Chinle, Arizona. The tow driver even took me to Wells Fargo to get cash so Icould pay him and he made sure that I was safely checked into the Holiday InnExpress, another nice person! Once in my room, I called 1-800-PORSCHE. The very helpful service rep took allmy info and assured me that my car would be towed in to Porsche Albuquerque onSaturday and that I should expect the wrecker anytime after 7:00 AM. Saturday, October 5th At 7:18 AM, while atbreakfast, I received a call from Porsche Roadside Service. The Service Repapologized for the fact that they could not find a properly equipped tow truckany closer than Albuquerque, New Mexico, which was at least four hours east ofwhere I was. She said that the towtruck should get there about noon and that the truck operator would call as hegot closer, which the tow truck operator did. At 8:55 AM I received a callfrom the tow truck driver. He said he would be here in about three and 1/2hours and that he would call again when he reached the Arizona state line.Which he did. Tony, the tow truck driver,arrived in Chinle, Arizona about 1:00 PM and loaded the car and me in thewrecker and hauled us to Porsche Albuquerque where we arrived 7:00 PM, about ahalf hour after they closed. We had to park the car at the night drop off andleave it there unsecured until the dealer opened on Monday, October 7 th ,which I was not very happy about. NextTony took me to the Residence Inn in Albuquerque, where my wife had reserved aroom for me. The following morning I flewto Charlotte, NC to help my daughter with her kids, my grandkids, Riley andJack, who I thoroughly enjoy! On Monday, October 7thPorsche Albuquerque took my car in the shop and determined that it needed shiftcables, which they ordered. The shiftcables were shipped over night to the dealer from the warehouse and werereceived on Tuesday October 8th. Over the next day and a half amechanic repaired my car. On Wednesday October 9th at 6:16 PM thedealer called me to tell me that my car repair had been completed and that theywould get my car cleaned up ready for me to pickup on Thursday, October 10th. On Wednesday evening myson-in-law returned from a trip out of the country, so he could take over thekids while I made my plans to return to Albuquerque to get my Boxster andrestart my journey home. On Thursday, October 10 th I flew to Albuquerque and picked up my car from Albuquerque Porsche in arepaired and good as new condition. From Thursday to the following Monday, Idrove my Boxster from Albuquerque to Pawleys Island, SC without any furtherproblems. I don’t know how easy it isfor the service personnel to see the shifter cables, but neither Baker Porschenor Niello Porsche told me that shifter cables were worn. Once I got home, I submittedmy travel expenses to Porsche Roadside. I was very pleased that Porsche North America covered all of myexpenses including my airfare! Needless to say I highly recommend buyingPorsche CPO cars (Certified Pre Owned cars) since Porsche stands behind themand when extenuating circumstances dictate they will exceed the stated $750coverage limits for Trip Interruption. So to sum it up, Under thecoverage provided under my CPO warranty not only did Porsche tow my Boxsterhalf way across New Mexico and then repair my it with no charge to me, butPorsche also covered all of my expenses that I had to incur to attend to myfamily emergency that occurred while my car was disabled. I certainly do not believethat a major component like shift linkage should fail at 37,000 miles on anycar especially a Porsche, but I can tell you that when the shift linkage didfail, Porsche stepped up and paid every reasonable travel expense that I had toincur because of the failure. Darrel J. Doré Pawleys Island, SC

Wow, that's quite the tale and certainly well beyond my experience w/my broken cable and CPO. It is reassuring however to hear since I've still got well over a year and a half with that coverage.

Which end breaks, the shifter or the transmission ?

Transmission

Interesting design flaw. I believe the early cable shifters in the first Boxsters ran under the engine now they go over the top. Maybe its the cables angle of attack but Porsche has years of experience using cables. More likely a supplier issue.

My 2010 base boxster with 20k miles is currently out of service for the same broken shifter cable issue. Driving to work yesterday leaving my neighborhood, i shifted normally from 1st to 2nd and snap. No warning. Stuck on the side of the road for a 90 minute wait for Porsche roadside assistance to get a tow to me. I stood there thinking of this post which I had previously read and thought how dangerous it could have been if I were on a mountain backroad with blind curves. I surely could have been hit while waiting. I purchased the car used with 15k miles just a few months ago. It is pristine and was only placed in service in Nov 2011 so it had over 2yrs of factory warranty remaining which is why I was willing to purchase the car. I figured i would keep it until the warranty expired and would not be at much risk. I've also already had the clutch starter switch thingy problem as well as a stereo electronic issue and both of those items have been replaced. Everything has been done on Porsche 's dime except for the expensive recent 20k service and the nearest Porsche dealer that is 32 miles from my home has given me outstanding service from day one. The problem is the same thing I have posted on this site before I owned this car which is repeated and common inherent problems are totally unacceptable to me. I purchased my first used Porsche in 2006 before I knew anything much about Porsches and during the first two days of ownership while I was getting it inspected at a couple of different places, I quickly was getting up to speed by reading. I chose the option of returning the car to the dealer where I bought it for a full refund after finding from a well respected local porsche / bmw indy shop that it was going to need repairs for some also very typical Porsche problems. In the years since, I have owned and driven a Honda S2000 and two Mazda MX-5 Miatas. I'm 45 and have owned many, many new and a few used cars in my time and have never, ever had a car as delicate and problem prone as a Porsche . Every time I read or hear about that great "German engineering" thing, it makes me laugh. This latest car is solidifying my long time beliefs in very short order. I do love driving the car and fully admit that the handling characteristics are perfect to me. That part of the car really speaks to me as well as the baritone exhaust note. I must say here that although I favor the handling and overall ride of my Porsche over the other sports cars I mentioned, I do feel the inferior feedback from the struts over certain pavement compared to the double wishbone/multilink set ups on the others. So, if you want to talk about the german engineering on these cars being superior, I will agree on the suspension tuning and sound characteristics. To me, beyond that, if you want to believe their engineers are geniuses, then you must believe they are purposely building vehicles to spec that will ensure a great number of their owners will empty their wallets at the dealerships. I knew in my mind before buying this car that as a driving enthusiast, i was going to have to buy another one someday to get it out of my system. Life is short, you know? I waited for years until the right deal came around that would ensure a couple of years enjoying it without the risk of being out of warranty and without the new car depreciation. I bit when it came around and I am glad I did. I'm not naive enough to think this will be my last problem with the car while I own it. On a good day, I feel like I would like to keep this car forever, but I know that my sensible side would never allow that. No, when it runs out of warranty, I will be back to one of the Japanese marks. Most likely the upcoming Miata , and I will not look back. I cannot stand being taken advantage of above all else. Plus, I cannot truly enjoy my cars if I feel like they can let me down at any moment.

It's always a real pain to be left standing on the side of the road. But, I don't think the 3 problems you mentioned are all that outrageous. I've had similar problem on brand new Acuras. No problems on my 2008 Cayman . It's just the nature of anything that's mass produced these days. Hopefully once you get these couple things behind you, your car will behave the way the overwhelming, vast majority of our cars do and you'll feel better.:cheers:

Its not just a quaint quirk or isolated incident. And as 8escape mentioned, if it happens at the wrong time - it could get you killed. This issue has been happening for at least 6 years ( 987.1 & 987.2 ), so Porsche has had plenty of time to come up with a real fix. My SA even mentioned it when I was in for some other service. He lied and said the problem was isolated to Gen 1. A year later - I got stranded in the middle of a busy intersection during evening rush. I was stuck in 3rd. As carefully as possible I slipped the clutch enough to get it rolling around the corner and on to the shoulder. I have no doubt it will happen again (I'm out of warranty now). I'm thinking of buying a set of those Numeric Racing cup style cables just to have for when needed.

Take a good look at the Numeric Racing cables ... see attached. They're less than a set of the stock cables and seem very solid and crisp. I haven't had a chance to install mine yet, but when I do I'll report back.

I had the numeric cables installed in my car about a year ago when my cable snapped at around 50k. One of the best mods I've ever done to the car. made shifting pure joy and i never have to worry about the things breaking again. At 400 bucks not cheap but cheaper than stock and about 100x better! I also track the car extensively and it's one less thing to worry about. So far my car has been bulletproof reliable after 6 hard track days.

I've had my 2009 Cayman and it's ~ 16.5k miles. I'm wondering if I should proactively replace the shifter cable in the spring? I still have warranty until March. I just really don't want to be in a situation where I'm stuck in rush hour when the car comes back out... Any suggestions?

I don't know about others but before mine popped I had one or two times where it definitely felt overly notchy, which ended up being the precursor to it breaking on me. If you haven't experienced any problems you can always just hold out, you're pretty low mileage too. If you're really concerned though swap them out when your warranty is over for Numeric 's cables.

Shooter's advice is right-on. However I don't recall any shifting issues just before it broke. Now that I'm out-of-warranty I'm thinking of buying the Numeric cables just so I'd have them on-hand. In case the OEM break again I won't be forced to buy that same crap again out of expediency (car is a DD). l plan on keeping the car for a long time (hopefully), so I'm pretty sure I'll get to use them eventually. If not - I can always sell them. BTW, I don't think the odometer mileage is that meaningful AFA cable failure. Urban driving probably has many times the number of shifts as highway. Driving style also is a big factor. More agressive driving account for lots of down/up shifts.

Oh my goodness. I was reading this thread earlier this week with some apprehension and then, tonight, it went. No drama, just as I was reversing into driveway shifter went loose and wouldn't select a gear. Stuck in reverse. Oh dear. Now my drive is on a hill so there's a bit of clutch control involved and I guess that might have finished it off. I admit it had been sticking a bit over the past few months and I guess I knew something wasn't quite right. The car's done about 76k, so she probably felt like now's the time for a nice new expensive component. Questions are a) can I get Numeric shifter cables in the UK and b) are they okay in terms of noise. Any info especially from this side of the pond appreciated.

I can't speak for numeric , but I can't see why they couldn't ship overseas. the only caveat I can offer is that there was some delay in shipping the cables, some of which was over the Xmas & new year's holidays. *may* have involved being busy, parts on order, waiting for some number of orders to accumulate ... my empty speculation ... usual small-vendor issues. try to call them and explain your situation and get an accurate idea of when/how they'll ship. my 0.0000000002. they *are* stunningly well made.

Slightly off topic but what happened to your 2010 that it is in for a new engine!???

I know this is several years after your post, but what is the story on this action against Porsche on the IMS ? I have not had a problem but am curious. I did the LN Engineering fix on my 986 Boxster with an M96 engine . I currently have an ' 06 Cayman S with the M97 engine and I believe it is supposed to be the fix but I have an '05 Boxster S with the M96 but only 32k on it.