Tiptronic issues

[borgein]

Hi

My '98 Boxster 2.5 has a Tiptronic gearbox and the car has 77000 miles on the clock.

During the last 3000 miles approximately my car has been starting to downshift very hard (as if you where to drop the clutch totally on a manual) when i have the tiptronic in manual mode, this happens most when i downshift from 4th to 3rd gear. But also in other gears. It does not always happen, but it happens more and more often.

This can't be healthy for the car, because the entire car gets a serious jerk when this happen, and i'm thinking that the rear driveline/axle's and so on will take damage from this over time. It's also dangerous when it happens on wet/icy roads in turns for example, since the rear wheels will "lock up" when this happens and the rear will come out.

In auto-mode the car shifts mostly as it should, but i think the shifts have become more rough lately than they were when i got the car. The gearbox does not slip at all, and works as it should. I have never experienced any CEL/fault codes either.

Does anyone have any idea what this could be? Could it be too little ATF oil? or could it be fixed by just doing a ATF oil and filter change? I have searched on google about this and got some VW articles that explained that this could be caused by the tiptronic's valve cover and/or the solenoids in the transmission aswell...

Please help me out here, as i'm kinda scared to drive the car as it is now, because if the transmission gets broken, well... then i get broke aswell :|

[RFM]

The Tiptronic memory can be read out, that is the first thing to do. If the memory contains no fault codes, you can in consultation with a specialised shop, change the ATF to start with and decide what further action have to be taken.

[borgein]

The Tiptronic memory can be read out, that is the first thing to do. If the memory contains no fault codes, you can in consultation with a specialised shop, change the ATF to start with and decide what further action have to be taken.

How can i read out the tiptronic fault memory? and shouldn't the CEL light up if/when the tiptronic logs a failure? I have a generic CEL reader, but it doesn't read Porsche specific codes. And the nearest Porsche service center is like 40 miles away and takes like 8 hours to drive to... So that's out of the question.

[Loren]

The Tiptronic memory can be read out, that is the first thing to do. If the memory contains no fault codes, you can in consultation with a specialised shop, change the ATF to start with and decide what further action have to be taken.

How can i read out the tiptronic fault memory? and shouldn't the CEL light up if/when the tiptronic logs a failure? I have a generic CEL reader, but it doesn't read Porsche specific codes. And the nearest Porsche service center is like 40 miles away and takes like 8 hours to drive to... So that's out of the question.

The Durametric software, a PST2 or PIWIS will be need to read out any faults other than DME faults.

[RFM]

The Tiptronic memory is readable with the Porsche PIWIS tester and probably with DURAMETRIC diagnostic tool, the CEL is engine and environment related and have nothing to do with the gear box. You can buy a DURAMETRIC tool, visit the web side for instructions and possibilities.

[juniinc]

uhm 40miles & takes 8hrs? at 77.000 miles it wouldn't hurt to change your ATF/filter

[RFM]

bogein lives in Norway juniinc, perhaps he have to take some ferry's at it's way to the dealership.

[juniinc]

Uhm those Scandinavian LOL

[borgein]

uhm 40miles & takes 8hrs? at 77.000 miles it wouldn't hurt to change your ATF/filter

Yep, our roads aren't straight forward. Consider all our roads to be what you look at old backcountry roads like, lots of twists and turns with mountains and rivers flowing all over the place... Very fun in the summer (takes only 4-5 hours then, if you speed alot, our speedlimit is 80km/h here, which is roughly around 55mph i guess?) But during the winter it's a different story, snowy roads and ice all over the place... Not fun. Especially not with a Boxster without TC :)

Yep i have considered changing the ATF and filter. But if the solenoids are bad aswell (very common on this ZF Tiptronic transmission apparently, especially on VW's, and since it's the same transmission...) i might aswell change them while i'm at it.

For all i know it might just be a low ATF oil level. Is there a easy way to check this without special equipment?

Edited January 23, 2009 by borgein

[borgein]

The Durametric software, a PST2 or PIWIS will be need to read out any faults other than DME faults.

Are both of them Porsche specific tools, or are they used on other brands of cars also?

Oh, and, does anyone know how i can reset the Tiptronic learning memory? I read on some VW forums that they had to put the key in the ignition and press and hold the gas pedal down for 8 seconds for the tiptronic transmission to reset the learning it has saved.

Edited January 23, 2009 by borgein

[Loren]

For all i know it might just be a low ATF oil level. Is there a easy way to check this without special equipment?

You will need a thermometer at least.

See the 996 DIY (the Boxster is basically the same except the transmission faces the other direction) - Tiptronic Transmission Service

[Loren]

Are both of them Porsche specific tools, or are they used on other brands of cars also?

Oh, and, does anyone know how i can reset the Tiptronic learning memory? I read on some VW forums that they had to put the key in the ignition and press and hold the gas pedal down for 8 seconds for the tiptronic transmission to reset the learning it has saved.

Both are Porsche specific tools and do much more that just diagnostics.

To do a full test you would again need a PST2 or PIWIS tester.

You should try to find an independent Porsche shop that has one of these tools.

[dammad]

Did you ever find out what the problem was? my 996 tip has similar symptoms.