Torque converter lockup on 2002 tip

Just recently I have been experiencing unusual behavior with my tip. When I'm in manual and 2nd gear while accelerating, I hit a lull at about 2300 rpm that feels like a shift, but it's not since I'm in M mode and continuing in 2nd gear. A recent thread indicated this is considered Torque Converter lockup, a known problem on some 996 tips. Apparently there may not be a solution to this issue. Is this a known problem and does this impact all tips? Is there a solution?

Same thing happens to me sometimes .... but one thing i figured out is that it depends on how you drive your car daily and this problem only occurs when i drive my car slow for a long time. and one more thing sometimes when i step on the accelerator full and release it imediatly i feel a hard hit in the gear.

Thanks Khalid, Hmmmmmm, When I noticed it first, I had just been stuck in traffic due to an accident for about 45 minutes (driving about 5-6 mph). How have you had this fixed in the past?

Step more on the Accelerator pedal let the computer recognize how hard you are and it will not do that again and about the Gear hit thing i took my car to dealer today for 50,000km service and check whats with it . ill be sure to update you with what the mechanic reply to me ... i hope its a minor thing.

Thanks Khalid! You gave me a wonderful reason to go out this morning and stand on the pedal Thank you for letting me know what the dealer says. I plan on taking mine to the dealer later this week and will forward their comments to you Thanks Again, <img border="0" alt="[burnout]" title="" src="graemlins/burnout.gif" />

i notice the same problem, it almost feels like its shifting

I got into this issue a while back and finally came away convinced that this is just the normal operation of the Porsche tiptronic transmission. Hopefully they didn't make up this explanation for my benefit but the story is that the Porsche tiptronic transmission (unlike most automatics) has a direct mechanical coupling feature where it engages the drive line directly in 2nd gear above a certain RPM. This is a good thing because it avoids the inherent power loss from the slippage which is normally present within the torque converter. The unavoidable down side, however, is that you will feel the direct coupling engagement point like a gear shift in transmission shift. Which is in fact what it is.

i wonder if this is unique to the tranny in the Porsche. My 99 Audi A6 has a tiptronic tranny as well, however it is made by ZF and does not behave like my 996. Who actually makes the tranny for the 996? I read somewhere it was actually a Mercedes Benz tranny (as it was in my old 928) as it was on the only one which could do the AWD on the turbo.

Thanks for the continued feedback, but my issue must be different. I have not felt a hesitation "jerk" prior to a couple of days ago. It is really noticeable, and I can't believe this is normal. Late Sunday and this morning, I drove in normal (i.e. non M-mode) and the hesitation/jerk disappeared. On my drive home tonight, I plan to drive in M mode and see if the issue has disappeared there also. Art_Z, over the past 3 or 4 years, I have had a Benz CLK 320 tip (type) and an Acura TL tip and had no issues with them. If this situation is normal, I believe it is unique to Porsche. I guess I just need to invest in a HANS neck restraint device.

OK .. i got my car back and had the transmission checked ........ nothing is worng with it and as i have been told .. this is a common thing in porsche Tip so nothing to be worried about.

The torque converter lock up, as Jeff mentioned, is part of the design of the 'box - not a 'problem'. It is the engagement of the mechanical lock up in the torque converter - its a good thing. It will not be noticable if you drive with a heavy right foot - but is very noticable while slowly driving in traffic.

johnfm, This must not be what I was experiencing. Even when I hit the pedal hard, at about 2,200 rpm, I would get a severe hesitation that would cause a jerk in the car. I had not experienced this before this weekend and it appears to not be happening currently. Is is almost like the transmission was somewhat out of sync. Maybe I am incorrectly thinking this is a "torque converter" problem.

I'm not having that 'problem' yet but you can really notice a difference when the lock is engaged. For example if you start off in second and cruising around when you push the accelerator the acceleratioin feels very sluggish. But if you cycle through the gears from 1 up and the lock is engaged after 2k rpm and go to second you can really feel the kick when you touch the accelerator. It feels like a manual. I guess the key is to always keep it above 2k.