Shifting Gears

[oonsi]

I got my first ever 2006 carrera S last week, the car drives great but had gear problems.

the first problem was after 2 days of getting my car... the reverse gear would not go in. the dealer fixed it in one houre, it was a cable adjustment issue. there is two cables under the gear console... they adjusted the left one and it works well now.

After that i started to notice diffeculty fitting in the first gear when in slow motion, the gear fits in eventually but not smooth at all, the second gear is bit better while 3-6 gears fit in great!

the dealer said it is normal but i am still not convinced, anyone with such experience?

Thanks

[BennyGca]

My S does it a little too... Mostly when I just get going in the morning when the gearbox is still cold. It should get better after a few minutes of driving.

I have the short shift option now so that also makes it a little stiff due to the decrease in leverage. I just wiggle the shifter in neutral a couple times and try again, usually goes in the second time no problem.

...I think it's normal.

[jean]

I just installed the short shifter in my 997 S .

I never experienced any of your problems with the standard shifter . In fact , it was extremely smooth in all gears .

I just installed the Porsche short shifter myself, and I must say , it is great .

It is more "precise" than the standard, but I have no problems getting into any gear . In fact , I simply replaced the standard shifter and using the same cable length , it worked great without any further adjustments having been necessary .

The only problem I had was getting the shifter knob off .After that , everything else was pretty straight forward . Simply exchanging one for the other .

You should have absolutely no problems . If you do , have the dealer fix it and don't accept "its normal" for an answer .

[atm]

I have the standard shifter in my 997 C2S. When cold 2nd is very stiff. So much so that I often avoid it.

I also find going into 1st from 2nd very stiff. With my 986 it is a lot easier and I do this regularly. You dont want to get caught 'off cam' in a 986. At least the 997 has grunt and 'off cam - or variocam' is less of a problem.

[oonsi]

The PORSCHE is a super sports car and its Gear is not like a normal car... you always need to syncronize gears before going into the first gear (when you depress the clutch give it couple of fast throtle presses and then go to first) this will solve the problem and changing into first will be smooth and precise.

[1999Porsche911]

The PORSCHE is a super sports car and its Gear is not like a normal car... you always need to syncronize gears before going into the first gear (when you depress the clutch give it couple of fast throtle presses and then go to first) this will solve the problem and changing into first will be smooth and precise.

ALL upshifts to ANY gear should be as smooth as butter and should be able to be accomplished using one finger or there is somethng wrong. All down shifts at a reasonable speed should also be smooth. 1st gear may be slightly harder until vehicle speed drops down to below 25 mph.

People that claim that a stiffness or notchiness is normal are in denial that there car has a problem. If your transmission is not shifting smoothly and easily on a warmed engine, keep bringing it back to the dealer until it does. Most likely shifter cable(s) need adjusting. Just because something may be common does not mean it is normal.

[chance2001]

I really believe there seems to be more art than science to adjusting these cables. My 997S shifts so smoothly I can't even describe it. I will tell you it's hard for me to get reverse often. I don't want them jacking with it and mess up my other gears, though. I tend to agree that you need to take it back until they get it right (what you feel is right).

[S_Liners]

I just installed the short shifter in my 997 S .

I never experienced any of your problems with the standard shifter . In fact , it was extremely smooth in all gears .

I just installed the Porsche short shifter myself, and I must say , it is great .

It is more "precise" than the standard, but I have no problems getting into any gear . In fact , I simply replaced the standard shifter and using the same cable length , it worked great without any further adjustments having been necessary .

The only problem I had was getting the shifter knob off .After that , everything else was pretty straight forward . Simply exchanging one for the other .

You should have absolutely no problems . If you do , have the dealer fix it and don't accept "its normal" for an answer .

Jean,

I made my first attempt to install mine today, but got stuck on removing the leather boot.

How did you manage to unclip it?

I can't wait to get it installed...

Thanks,

Leo.

[MichaelL]

The transmission has triple synchromesh on first & second gear. It tends to be a little stiff when the car is cold. It will loosen up somewhat with increased mileage. If first is hard to engage, which happens sometimes, shift back into second and then forward into first.

[Hroussard]

Folks. I you were driving a Yugo you would be screaming because the gear does not engage as one would expect. Welcome to the world of "make believe". You should be lining the sucker up in front of the Porsche dealership and get them to put it right AND you should report the crap to anybody that wants to know.

You are not doing anybody a favor by assuming that it's "because it is a Porsche" de gear stick does not "HAVE" to engage as well as any other car out there. At 100 GRAND it OUGHT to be PERFECT.

Seen the new Audi lately??? I bet that thing will shift as expected. Seen the new Maserati? You bet your bottom dollars it shifts as advertised and I am not even talking about the disaster RMS problems which - if you let Porsche convince you - is merely a feature that allows you to replace the engine - another wear-out item- earlier in the life cycle. Porsche seems to understand that there is a difference between revenue and profits.

I have a 996 and it is doing well but I do not think Porsche has their stuff together and will be able to sell me another one in a few years from now after all, the 997 ONLY has 350 some horses. It will be about 200 horses short of a real sport car in a few years from now.

Did I mention diesel sports cars??? It's next !!

Gruesse!

[jean]

I just installed the short shifter in my 997 S .

I never experienced any of your problems with the standard shifter . In fact , it was extremely smooth in all gears .

I just installed the Porsche short shifter myself, and I must say , it is great .

It is more "precise" than the standard, but I have no problems getting into any gear . In fact , I simply replaced the standard shifter and using the same cable length , it worked great without any further adjustments having been necessary .

The only problem I had was getting the shifter knob off .After that , everything else was pretty straight forward . Simply exchanging one for the other .

You should have absolutely no problems . If you do , have the dealer fix it and don't accept "its normal" for an answer .

Jean,

I made my first attempt to install mine today, but got stuck on removing the leather boot.

How did you manage to unclip it?

Hi, I was out of town for a few weeks.

Do you still need help with installing your shifter ?

Hi, I was out of town for a few weeks.

Do you still need instructions for removing the shifter ??

I can't wait to get it installed...

Thanks,

Leo.

Edited April 10, 2006 by Jean

[mglobe]

For what it is worth, other than 1st being stiff to engage during the first minute or two of operation (just as Porsche says it will be), my sport shifter works like a dream. It operates just as I would expect a Porsche to, and is by far the best transmission I've ever used. I agree with others who have stated that if your transmission does not engage properly, it needs to be fixed. These cars should, and can operate flawlessly.

JMHO

[Porshce Nut]

For what it is worth, other than 1st being stiff to engage during the first minute or two of operation (just as Porsche says it will be), my sport shifter works like a dream. It operates just as I would expect a Porsche to, and is by far the best transmission I've ever used. I agree with others who have stated that if your transmission does not engage properly, it needs to be fixed. These cars should, and can operate flawlessly.

JMHO

i took my S in complaining of hard shifing into 2nd, i have the SS, and they replace the entire trany. seemed like over kill to me, but it does seem to work better now. but it is still a little knotchy at times, but they say that is b/c it is a SS?

[jean]

i took my S in complaining of hard shifing into 2nd, i have the SS, and they replace the entire trany. seemed like over kill to me, but it does seem to work better now. but it is still a little knotchy at times, but they say that is b/c it is a SS?

If it's still a little "knotchy" I would insist they keep changing the transmission until it's right.

It should be smooth as butter, so don't take NO for an answer .

Btw: What is the name and location of your dealer ? He sounds fantastic. I would love to use him from now on for all my warranty work (even if I don't get a free loaner )

I'll be happy to let him know that you recommended him .

[Porshce Nut]

i took my S in complaining of hard shifing into 2nd, i have the SS, and they replace the entire trany. seemed like over kill to me, but it does seem to work better now. but it is still a little knotchy at times, but they say that is b/c it is a SS?

If it's still a little "knotchy" I would insist they keep changing the transmission until it's right.

It should be smooth as butter, so don't take NO for an answer .

Btw: What is the name and location of your dealer ? He sounds fantastic. I would love to use him from now on for all my warranty work (even if I don't get a free loaner )

I'll be happy to let him know that you recommended him .

I am confused, on one thread you treat me like a total ***$%$#% hole, and on this on you are all nice. My dealer is Hennesy Porsche in Alpharetta, GA. I think the trany swap was rediculas b/c in my (non mechanic) opinion, i would have figured that the problem would be linkage related, but they said they found metal shavings in the pan so they wanted to replace it. Made no difference to me, not like it is ever going to be a collector car that needs to have original matching numbers. But i am still keeping my eye on the way it shifs and will return if not satisfied. it is in the shop now for several other issues, so the jury is out as to whether this car is going to be a PIA or just working the bugs out. for 90K it better work damm well.

[pab997]

Mine seems to be getting better with age. Either I'm getting use to it or things are starting to loosen up. I've only got 5K on it so it is still quite new. It really helps to make sure you've fully depressed the clutch. A friend suggested moving up the driver's seat slightly to make sure I was fully depressing the clutch pedal. There really seems to be a long clutch pedal travel compared to the japanese imports I'm used to.

[BennyGca]

...the other important thing to remember is that the transmission needs to warm up.

I also have the SS kit that I installed last fall and 1st gear does take a couple of tries to get into first thing in the morning.

That said, after a few minutes of warming up and it shifts perfectly.

[colonel]

IAfter that i started to notice diffeculty fitting in the first gear when in slow motion, the gear fits in eventually but not smooth at all, the second gear is bit better while 3-6 gears fit in great!

Thanks

"fitting in first gear when in slow motion"...

I thought it's always better to engage first gear only from dead stop, otherwise, shift to 2nd gear...

[poppies]

Engage first gear only from dead stop. This is the rule I learned from the driving school years ago...

[shtintl]

hey guys: i'm new to this forum. hope everyone is enjoying their 997 as much as i am. i'm not a guru when it comes to cars, and this is my first porsche (C2S) but i have the same problem in that first does not engage easily until the either the engine/tranny warms up, or i start from a dead stop. i never shift into first if i'm going faster than 10mph

[mglobe]

hey guys: i'm new to this forum. hope everyone is enjoying their 997 as much as i am. i'm not a guru when it comes to cars, and this is my first porsche (C2S) but i have the same problem in that first does not engage easily until the either the engine/tranny warms up, or i start from a dead stop. i never shift into first if i'm going faster than 10mph

At least on cars with the Sport Shifter, Porsche tells you that 1st will be difficult to engage until the car warms up. This is just normal. Otherwise wrt getting into 1st gear I do two things that I was taught years ago when cars were steam powered (ok, maybe not that long ago). First of all, when you are at a complete stop, depress the clutch, slide the shifter into 2nd gear, and then without releasing the clutch slide it into 1st. Not exactly sure how this works (I'm not the worlds greatest mechanic), but it is very clear it does. The other thing I do, when I'm trying to shift into 1st while moving slowely (10mpg or less) is the same thing I do with all downshifts -- double clutch. It makes downshifts much smoother, and you get to hear the nice little engine blip.

:beer: