There is a ton of details to this story, but I'll keep it short and to the point:
2008 Cayman S
56K miles
CPO extended warranty expired 20 days ago.
On the highway heading to work today, went to shift from 5th to 6th... shifter just went limp. No pops or jolts... just felt disconnected. I was stuck in 5th gear. I could wiggle the shift knob in and out of 5th/6th positions, but the gears never changed. Drove a little extra ways to an exit I knew I could roll into a parking lot.
-First assumption "crap... the shift cable snapped..." I have read many stories on here...
-Actual analysis: the D-shaped connection on the transmission housing (drivers side) was just flopping around. There is a stud where the D-shape pivots and the nut had fallen off the stud... allowing the entire linkage to move freely without changing gears. See attached image for an example of the part I am talking about.
As a temporary fix, I was able to cut a fender washer to the same D-shape and bolt it on. This got me down the street (able to use all gears again) to an independent Porsche performance shop who is going to fix it with the correct parts. Some of the pieces must have fallen off and are lost on the highway.
A little back story: About 2 months ago (while still under warranty) I had the rear main and the clutch replaced at my local dealer. To do this, they needed to remove the transmission. Seems like more than coincident that my shift linkages fell apart today. I'm guessing they forgot to torque it properly during re-installation. What are my options? Will Porsche pay for the labor at the independent shop? If not, will they pay to tow it from the indi shop to my local dealer (50min drive) and then fix it themselves at no charge?
I'm a little frustrated with the situation, but don't know how to spin this into being certain it is the dealer's fault... or if I should even blame them....
Also, before inspecting the cables... while still assuming they had snapped... I ordered Numeric cables. I'm going to go ahead and have the indi shop install them while the car is there.
I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions you guys have.
thanks
-Dave
I'd essentially tell the dealer what you shared with us and ask for some help. It can only have happened because they didn't put everything back to spec. There just isn't any way they could spin this to being your fault or a wear item and also it's quite possible they have some type of warranty on the work they did. One can hope. They'll probably want to fix it themselves but I'd just ask for some help with the bill and let the indie do it. If they insist, I'd let them do it and cancel the cable order. Keep us posted and good luck.:cheers:
Good point. The local BMW dealer has 2 years on their work. I think the P-car store is the same though I don't use them as much. Unless something has changed they screw up as much as they fix.
I agree that it's not a wear item or something you could do. That they just had it apart is icing.
Les
Thanks guys! I think my brain was clouded yesterday. Nice to know others agree with how I thought the situation should play out.
My local Porsche dealer immediately offered to fix it... no questions asked. I told the dealer it was sitting at the indie shop and Porsche offered to reimburse me for the charges and just have the indie shop fix it. The indie shop is going to break my service into two separate bills... one for the bracket repair (to be reimbursed) and one for the shift cable install. I can't wait to feel the difference of the Numeric cables!
I've got to say.... I am always pleasantly surprised at how much my local Porsche service advisor keeps me happy (and keeps my wallet in my pocket). It's nice to experience that in the automotive world once in a while. *Thumbs up to 'Porsche of the Village' in Cincinnati!
Glad to hear you got this resolved. You're gonna love the Numeric cup cables.
