Boxter newbie - tiptronic question - help

[Tagonlne]

Hi

I just bought a 1999 boxter 2.5 tiptronic s and have a query on the automatic gearing.

Sometimes when driving in auto it holds onto 4th sometimes for a really long time and will even let me drive the revs right up without changing to 5th, is this normal? Sometimes it just won't change, or maybe I'm just being too impatient waiting for it?

It happens mostly when driving a bit aggressively, but it never happens like this on my merc tiptronic.

Any help would be appreciated.

Tks

[cvhs18472]

I have a 98 Tip and it does the same thing. maybe it just doesn't like to be run at low revs. If you want it to shift just run up the revs a little and let off, it will then shift to 5th. I don't know why you would want it though as there is more torque in 4'th at high revs than 5th at low revs. driving a 2.5 is a bit different than other cars or in that fact Boxsters. Your car loves high RPM's and left to the computers devices will run that way. happy Motoring, Ed

[tonycarreon]

if you drive leisurely (in automatic mode), the car will be in 5th gear by 35 mph. if you drive aggressively, the car will be in 3rd gear at 70...

it's all in how you drive it. it changes the gear shifts depending on how hard you drive it. in general you'll not pass the redline, but you will kiss it often.

[RonNehring]

Compared to the BMW Z4, the Boxster's true power is more available at the higher end of the RPM range. If the car were to putz around (that's a technical term, by the way) in the 2K - 3K range, you may as well be driving a Kia. The vehicle is designed to operate toward the higher RPM's where power is available.

[DenverSteve]

I can't tell you if it's normal but mine doesn't do it. It never has. Mine shifts up quickly and smoothly. If I want it to stay in a particular gear to run rpm's up, I use manual.

[shlim8]

I think Tony is right...

It's all in how you drive the car, the tip seems to be smart enough to know when you are driving aggressively and delay the gearshifts.

Mine does exactly that, putz around lightly and it'll shift up quickly to 5th. Mash the accelerator down and it'll stay in gear longer, even for a while after you've changed your mood... Then it goes back to shifting quickly...

[florida]

I have a 2000 s tip. The manual states there are seven automatic modes the transmission will select from. I've even noticed it will start me from first if I do a couple quick starts. You can do a quick 5th to 3rd drop shift by quickly pressing the accelerator halfway down and then releasing back to the point you were holding at. This is a cool way to rev up for overtaking on the highway. You can also double tap the tip selector, but thats not as much fun.

The first time I drove mine I thought it was broken because it started in second. (which turns out is normal for a porsche tip)

[Overdrive]

Tiptronics, as I learned on through this forum, have what's called a "kickdown" switch behind the pedal. If you ever press your pedal to the floor and then press with a little more force, you'll activate this switch, which will make the car go into a semi-manual sort of mode and shift down 1 or 2 gears. It will hold that gear until it either hits redline and upshifts, or will hold the gear so long as you're applying 80% or more throttle. Once you let off more than that the car will resume normal shifting. Members on here have mentioned that hitting the kickdown switch twice in quick succession is what accomplishes the 2 gear downshift. I can't speak from personal experience yet...my kickdown switch is called the clutch pedal.

I think it's a pretty neat feature and good for traffic passing without having to go into manual mode. It could be that this is what Tagonlne was doing without realizing that the car has this feature.