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boxster7614 · 07-19-2012, 10:49 PM

Recently had some trouble with my Tiptronic and there isn't a lot of information on the web regarding this topic (at least that I could find). I guess due to the fact there aren't very many Tiptronics out there. For years I have been plagued with the dreaded Neutral saftey/multi-function switch. When I would put the car in park-- every now and then the indicator on the dash would flash or show it was in reverse. The car is actually in park however the computer thinks the car is in reverse. This leads to having to put the car into Neutral in order to start the car and over the years has become more and more frequent. I had the dealer look at it years ago and asked if it was possible that the cable be adjusted to fix the problem. They told me that it could not because it was shifting through the gears on the transmission just fine and the switch would need to be replaced. Due the cost of the part and the labor involved in changing it I have just dealt with putting the car into neutral in order to start it over the years.

So the fun begins.... last week I pulled into my parking space, shifted the car into park---I could immediately feel that there was absolutely no resistance in the shifter and the car would not shift out of drive. I thought the cable or shifter had broken, so I pulled apart the center console and began to diagnose- the shifter and cable were fine--This led me to the rear of the car where I found that the linkage arm/rod that attaches to the shift arm on the side of the transmission had become disconnected. Upon further inspection the plastic socket style connector had cracked and came off the end of the linkage rod. The linkage rod is part #8 in the diagram below.
01.gif

I called the dealer and was informed it is sold as one peace (#8) and a special order item not stocked. Because Porsche does not sell just the end socket and my car was out of commission, I used some JB weld epoxy to attach the socket back onto the linkage rod. (I love this stuff) $5 later and my car was fixed. Warning this is a very tight fit because of the way the exhaust is routed next to the transmission, for a while I thought I would have to remove exhaust to perform the repair but eventually I was able to squeeze in to be able replace the linkage rod.

Well when I went back to reattach the cable to the shifter (I had removed this during my diagnosis) I had to readjust it so that it would shift through all the gears. This is done on part number #21. My first attempt led to the indicator blinking when it was in drive, another try led to park blinking. I then left the shifter in reverse while I attached the cable.....Bingo! It now shifts through all the gears and I have no more problems with the stupid indicator flashing. So moral of the story...If you guys have problems with this switch there is no need to replace it, just readjust the cable. My theory is that the cable stretches over time and gets a little out of spec. I wish I would have tried adjusting this years ago instead of blindly believing the dealership.

07-19-2012, 10:49 PM	#1
boxster7614 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: utah Posts: 96	For the few of us with a Tiptronic Recently had some trouble with my Tiptronic and there isn't a lot of information on the web regarding this topic (at least that I could find). I guess due to the fact there aren't very many Tiptronics out there. For years I have been plagued with the dreaded Neutral saftey/multi-function switch. When I would put the car in park-- every now and then the indicator on the dash would flash or show it was in reverse. The car is actually in park however the computer thinks the car is in reverse. This leads to having to put the car into Neutral in order to start the car and over the years has become more and more frequent. I had the dealer look at it years ago and asked if it was possible that the cable be adjusted to fix the problem. They told me that it could not because it was shifting through the gears on the transmission just fine and the switch would need to be replaced. Due the cost of the part and the labor involved in changing it I have just dealt with putting the car into neutral in order to start it over the years. So the fun begins.... last week I pulled into my parking space, shifted the car into park---I could immediately feel that there was absolutely no resistance in the shifter and the car would not shift out of drive. I thought the cable or shifter had broken, so I pulled apart the center console and began to diagnose- the shifter and cable were fine--This led me to the rear of the car where I found that the linkage arm/rod that attaches to the shift arm on the side of the transmission had become disconnected. Upon further inspection the plastic socket style connector had cracked and came off the end of the linkage rod. The linkage rod is part #8 in the diagram below. 01.gif I called the dealer and was informed it is sold as one peace (#8) and a special order item not stocked. Because Porsche does not sell just the end socket and my car was out of commission, I used some JB weld epoxy to attach the socket back onto the linkage rod. (I love this stuff) $5 later and my car was fixed. Warning this is a very tight fit because of the way the exhaust is routed next to the transmission, for a while I thought I would have to remove exhaust to perform the repair but eventually I was able to squeeze in to be able replace the linkage rod. Well when I went back to reattach the cable to the shifter (I had removed this during my diagnosis) I had to readjust it so that it would shift through all the gears. This is done on part number #21. My first attempt led to the indicator blinking when it was in drive, another try led to park blinking. I then left the shifter in reverse while I attached the cable.....Bingo! It now shifts through all the gears and I have no more problems with the stupid indicator flashing. So moral of the story...If you guys have problems with this switch there is no need to replace it, just readjust the cable. My theory is that the cable stretches over time and gets a little out of spec. I wish I would have tried adjusting this years ago instead of blindly believing the dealership.