Hi,

I own a 2006 C2S with almost 33k miles on it now ( I like to drive my cars! ) and amidst the myriad of rattles and squeaks I now have, I'm worried I have a more serious problem developing. My clutch bite point still feels reasonable but its become very difficult to launch smoothly in first gear, it tends to ******.

My other issue is what really concerns me ; I noticed this the first time after a valet rode the clutch for a painfully long time whilst bringing the car back to me. Whilst holding a constant throttle position the car 'kangaroos' down the road, its as if i was moving the throttle in and out constantly and it makes the ride very uncomfortable. It happens in every gear and only goes after I leave the car to cool down for a little while. It happened again to me last night just during normal driving, I accelerated rapidly in 2nd and afterwards it started oscillating again. It's worth noting that I tend to have this problem when its been raining a lot.

Is this a clutch problem or a throttle problem? Porsche have looked at it several times but of course it never shows up for them, nor will they drop the clutch out unless I ask them to replace it so I have no idea what the condition of the clutch is. The clutch doesn't "slip" under acceleration at all either.

I've driven and raced performance cars since I was 16 (now 26) and I've never killed a clutch before so I'd like to think its not me! Can anyone offer any advice on this please or has anyone experienced similar symptoms? My car is just about to go in to get some lovely new HRE p40's fitted that my wife very kindly bought for my birthday so I'd like to get my car all fixed up instead of having to look at p40 pictures forever!

Edit - I forgot to mention, when I slip the clutch to pull away in 1st, sometimes I get this strange noise, something I initially thought was a heatshield rattling but its got me thinking that it could well be the clutch plates since it does sound like a ceramic "chirping" sound.

Thanks

 

Those valet guys are jerks , i've seen them abuse hi-end cars , goodluck

 

Definitely take your car to mechanic, from what you say it fits description of what I was told may be a flywheel issue. Or it may be slipping clutch as well.

On other side usually clutch is due at 50K miles, if you drove car harder than usual 33K may be a logical point in car lifetime to get new clutch upgrade.

 

I had the "kangarooing" issue in my 06 Carrera S also in the past and Porsche never was able to see anything on their computers. It was a frustrating problem that they were never able to solve on their own until I read a similar post in PCA's website on the tech section... I did what someone else in the post did and asked them to re-flash the ECU and that, ladies and gentlemen, was the last time I had the issue! All it took was for the Porsche dealer to stop telling me there was nothing wrong and agree to do a re-flash on my car.

I hope this helps with the hesitation issue which I think is the same I experienced as it tends to go away on its own during driving or after a short cool down period. It then disappears and doesn't show up until you least expect it. It is sporadic and most times you take it to the dealer, it won't do it and makes you look bad.

Good luck. Ask the dealer to re-flash the ECU.

 

The jumping forward that you are feeling has nothing to do with the clutch. Rather its something to do with software/fuel delivery that Porsche has not been able to diagnose. I've had it happen to me several times and I know many others on this board as well. It does go away and reappear randomly. My car has 3k more miles than yours and it seems to do it less and less.

You will definitely need a new clutch. What you're describing is a classic slipping clutch. I recently replaced mine and the car feels so much better now. I too like to drive and the more aggressive you drive, the sooner you'll need a new clutch. If your flywheel is in good shape, you're looking at $1,500-$1,800 for parts and labor. Mine was in good shape and I opted not to upgrade to a lightweight flywheel because I can't stand the chatter at idle with the clutch out.

 

If I need to get the clutch done then so be it but naturally I don't want to pay for them to replace it if it doesn't cure the kangarooing! Which of my symptoms are synonymous with a worn clutch? The kangarooing and the sound I'm hearing upon 1st gear pull aways?

The clutch does not appear to slip at all under power, which is what I'd expect.

Thanks for the replies I'm just looking for a little more clarification if possible before I take the car back to the dealer.

 

The "kangarooing" has nothing to do with the clutch. Porsche has been unable to diagnose that problem.

The noise when releasing the the clutch from first gear is the initial sign of a slipping clutch. Eventually it will start to slip under power as it wears more...

 

Thank you very much for clearing that up. Its worth noting that I tend to get the kangarooing (all 3 times in fact) after I've seen the valet's slipping the clutch excessively or holding it on a slope with the clutch. Is this just coincidence?

 

A few board members have had very good success by disconnecting their batteries to "reset" the ECU. (after instaling headers, etc.) I would try that at home first, saves you a trip to the dealer. Especially since someone else commented that an ECU reflash solved a similar problem.
AFAIK, a slipping clutch is most noticable in a high gear if you quickly get off the gas and back on. You would notice the RPM rise, while the speed doesn't. Very hard to detect in 1st gear. I guess if the friction plate were glazed somehow by riding the clutch, it could chatter, but that could go away. One valet holding the car on a hill shouldn't put you cluch in the grave. Even if you smelled it burning. Did you smell it burning after you got the car? You can sure smell it if it was really smoked. Even then, the one event wouldn't kill it. How long have you owned the car and how many people owned the car before you? Maybe you didn't kill it, but someone else did?

 

I've owned it for a year, it had 21k on it when I bought it (1 previous owner who did look after it well). The clutch did stink yes, every time (3 so far) that I've had this happen. I shall try in a higher gear to check but I'm pretty sure it isn't slipping at the moment. However I'm assuming the clutch is on its way out, just not quite there yet.

It's a bit of a shame because I'm going to be trading to an 09 CS within the next 12 months so I'd love to not have to spend 2k on a new clutch!

 

Ok, some help please if you could. I was about to disconnect my battery and leave it overnight so that the ECU would reset but I can't for the life of me find my radio code. Where specifically should it be located?