Well, I thought I would give an update to this thread since I started it about 2 years ago. I still have my 2009 997.2 C4S and yes it is still "notchy" shifting between 1st and 2nd, whether it is hot or cold (doesn't get very cold here in AZ). If I "short shift" between 1st and 2nd (less than about 3000 RPM) and do a very slow shift, then it tends to minimize this notchy feeling. A hell of a way to have to drive a Porsche, but I guess you have to do what you must to solve the problem. As someone once said, 1st gear should be used only to get you moving away from a stop and then "go for it" in the rest of the gears (although that doesn't help you when you are trying to get that "hole shot" away from the stoplight when you are next to a Corvette or Ferrari!!).

BTW, I just drove my first 991 with the 7-speed MT at the local Porsche dealer. A very "sweet" gearbox - head and shoulders better than the gearbox in my 997.2. Oh well...................

 

Thank you for the response. I have had the car for a year and it only has 8000 miles. I certainly do not expect a "sedan" type transmission as I have driven sports cars for years. Once the car is warm, I still struggle to get it in gear. I will never force a stick into gear and on occasion I have to wait a second or two for the gears to stop so it will fall into place. I can feel the gears moving as I wait. This happens on 1,2,3 and 4. 5 and 6 are not as bad as I do not have to wait.
My first comment to the dealer was that there is something that needs adjusting. I guess that didn't sound right to them. I will try what you advised in your post.
Also, I have read a great deal of your posts. Thank you for spending the time writing them as they are very informative.

 

Having owned sports cars for years will do the trick. This is my first Porsche but I certainly don't get confused about how the transmission should feel. That tells us something real is going on, not a difference in driving style.

Some quick arithmetic also tells us that the original owner only put a couple of thousand a year on the car. That's not unusual with Porsches since they are often bought as the fun car while a couple of sedans do the majority of the family miles. It means first that it isn't very likely to be the clutch. You would know the other symptoms of a prematurely destroyed clutch and routine wear won't begin to show that early. That leaves adjustment issues at some stage in the driveline. I can easily see someone who isn't a perennial Porsche owner just tolerating the awkward shifting for as few miles as that original owner put on the car, which means we probably have a condition that began at the factory. Just a slight over-adjustment here or there can make a world of difference in transmissions that transfer as much torque as ours do.

I still would find a way to drive a couple of other 997.2's. Not to rule out this being your imagination, because your experience does that, but to better inform your sensations when you compare the examples with your own. That way you can be very specific about the differences when you talk to the new mechanic about this.

Once you get someone who isn't already committed to non-action, I think they'll solve it quickly. If they are stubborn, then get PCNA involved. The car is still under warranty unless my arithmetic wrong, so they need to fix this -- and they can if you get the right people to examine the car.

Gary

 

Get this issue logged and recorded by your Porsche dealer so you have some documented proof you had a problem . That might help you later on should a real issue turn up... gearboxes and shop rates are pretty expensive. I agree with Gary that our cars are sports cars and therefore are more " temperamental". Try a Ferrari or a Maserati with an F1 box. However, my 996 C2 was very smooth (but long) , then after installing a SShifter it became more accurate and knotchy which I loved. The car never stumbled because of gear selection issues. My current 996T is as smooth as butter too but I change gears only " as fast as I think the box will / can take it and I take great care to "guide" the gear shifter in 1st, 2nd and 3rd to make sure I do not end up with the gear pop-out. I would say my box feels top notch, so good inf act that I have no intentions of installing a Short Shifter.

 

My issue has been resolved! I took my 911 4S in for an oil change and brake flush yesterday. I mentioned the clutch again and asked for a tech to go for a drive when they finished. I also mentioned that my tail was not going up by itself as I had someone follow me doing 85. I decided to take my computer with me and wait since they stated it should take less then 2 hours. 4.5 hours later I was told it was finished. They said the clutch was fine and so was the tail. They gave me a tech and he took me for a drive. The first thing I noticed was how smooth and effortless the tech was switching gears. It made me wonder if I was driving the car wrong. The tech was a wealth of information and nice guy. When we returned he stated that the clutch felt great and that next time it felt funny to just come in. I got behind the wheel to leave and instantly noticed a difference when I engaged the clutch. All of my shifts were smooth and the clutch was amazing! I drove it for an hour and found I had a grin from ear to ear. The grin was not because the problem was resolved but rather the exhilaration of driving the car as it was designed for the first time. I also noticed a change in the tail. It went up for the first time. I walked by my garage 5 minutes after I arrived home and found a fan running. I actually walked into the garage and directly to the back of my car only to figure out it was a cooling fan on my car. This is the first time the fan has ever worked to my knowledge. I'm not sure if the brake flush fixed the problem or if they did some additional work. I'm not sure if they did something with the tail or if it just started working. The only thing I'm sure of is the problem(s) have been resolved.

 

My understanding is that the brake and clutch share the same fluids and hydrolic lines. I am sure someone will correct me if i am mistaken.

It seems that your issue may have been due to the hydrolics or possibly air in the line. Im no techy but that seems logical to me.

I also felt my 2010 997.2 C2 was a little stiff and notchy until I changed the shifter to OEM SSK. It felt better immediately and now recently had the brake flush at 10k miles. I am not denying that it may be psychological but i definitely notice an improvement in the smoothness changing the low gears.

Regardless, congrats on the "grin"

 

I drive a 2010 Carrera 2 with 55tmiles and 1. clutch.

Regularly, from a full stop, when I try to put the car in first gear the transmission blocks completely. So I have to double clutch and try again. The car behind me starts to honk which gets annoying....

Also have a notchy shift from 1. to 2. gear and can not really shift directly.

I suspect that synchronizers are worn but not entirely sure.

Regards,

CF

 

Cool Flash,


I took mine to the Porsche dealer a couple years ago after I just got tired of the "notchy" 1-2 shift and had them look at it. They of course said that they could find nothing wrong. Now I just live with it - I think this is just inherent to the 997.2 manual gearbox. BTW, my girlfriend has a 2009 Boxster S and its 6-speed is "smooth as butter". Oh well.....................

 

My wife has stated her "new" '11 997.2 S Cab with manual does not shift as smoothly as her old six-speed manual Audi S4 Cab. And, with a 340-hp, 305 lb/ft V8, that was no shrinking violet! I've found that one just has to be decisive and precise with the gear shift. For example, I had a heckuva time getting into reverse until I learned you had to pull the lever HARD and straight toward the steering wheel. After that, no problems. Getting into first can be a pain but all the gears snick nicely after that. YMMV.

 

I just got a new-to-me 2011 C4 and am driving a manual transmission for the first time in a while -- my last car with a stick was a 2000 Audi A4. I notice a little resistance from my transmission, when the car is cold (which has been the norm lately here in Boston), but then it clears up once I've been driving for a few minutes. I have noticed that I have to be precise when shifting back into 1st gear, but that I'm able to select 1st without much of a problem. Other posters have the comment about Porsche having world-class manual transmission and i couldn't agree more. Love the way my transmission and clutch feel -- very natural and smooth. My only beef is that 6th gear isn't tall enough for me. Perhaps this is where the 2012's 7-speed has an advantage. That said, with my mix of small-town traffic and highway congestion, I'm amazed that I'm getting over 22 MPH in my C4.

 

I've had my 09 since last Oct. Put about 2000 miles on it since then. Mine has shifted fine since I've had it...my car has 15,500 miles and appeared to be very well cared for considering two previous owners. This too was my first manual to own in a LONG time. But I ride a lot of motorcycles and drive other cars and vehicles. One thing I can attest to, mentioned earlier in this thread, is that getting into 1st, in about anything manual I've ever driven or ridden is always a bit of a trick, typically if you're rolling, it's just not going to happen with a blip or some force. Admittedly, I'm a mild mod junkie to an extent with my other vehicles and dirt bikes, although as far doing stuff or LOOKS, wheels and tires is about as far as it goes...more to the performance side is where I spend my money. I was reading up on short throw shifters and such, found a thread with good info, consulted the indy mechanic I know and went with the OEM 997.2 GT3 shifter (w/ metal bushings) vs the SSK with the same plastic bushings as stock. The feel in general is just THAT much better and precise...however I think it accentuated the tough first gear shift when it's cold. The only time mine is tough to get 1st is when it's cold. But downshifts are FAR more precise and I have more confidence in just throwing my downshifts now with a throttle blip. The next level is certainly with Cup cables and perhaps a Numeric style shifter.

Also, I felt the same way about the gearing of 6th until I drove it a while and got used to where the car likes to RPM wise. I'm not sure how well it would feel at 75 mph lugging around at 2k RPM's?? They like to rev and I find myself in 5th a lot at 70-80 mph especially if there is traffic and I'm on and off the gas, getting a little engine braking. 6th gear feels like it's just getting started at 110. Anyway, if anything I would 1st gear to be a few teeth longer. As I do tend to "use 1st to get it rolling, then let it rip in the other gears". If my brain is not thinking "SHIFT" at 7000, then it's easy to hit the rev limiter in 1st. Unlike other cars I've driven, this thing makes power all the way to redline...and beyond if you note the GT3's and such. Feel like it could go to 8500 no problem!

My bigger issue with my car is that stumble/hesitation it tends to get when you short shift 1st to 2nd and land in the 2600-2800 rpm range, nearly impossible to get a an easy smooth shift, it takes some work...OR just run it up to 5k and shift it harder. Doesn't always do it, but it's an issue has been discussed in other threads...sounds like a variocam issue.

Bottom line...it's just not a pedestrian, general public transmission and clutch. I've driven manuals my whole life but this took a little more time to learn to be smooth for sure! And the jumpiness and difficulty is even worse (for a new driver) in Sport Mode! The car actually drives better IMO in Sport mode, but it took a while to not buck the car if my foot got bounced or I wasn't smooth! I hopped in and drove numerous 997.1 cars on test drives and it felt like as easy as a Civic! This 09 is a different animal, especially in Sport mode. Imagine a guy like me, that "can drive anything", goes in for a test drive and bucks the $hit out of the car and embarrasses himself in front of a salesman or whatever, starts thinking "wow, maybe I don't want a sports car" or worse...gets a automatic. I also think that fly-by-wire throttle and the delay off dead idle is also a contributor.

 

That was a good read Wheeler. thanks.

 

This is my 4th 911 (911, 964, 993, 997) and they have all had issues with going into 1st from stop or from 2nd. I believe it is inherent in the 911, regardless of the year or series.

 

Hi to all you fellow 911 owners, great forum by the way. I bought my 1st porsche 6 months ago from a main porsche dealer . A 2009 gen 2 3.6 carrera , it has 2 years porsche warranty. I've wanted a 911 all my life , though my bubble is now beginning to burst . The car has now gone 38000miles with myself covering just over 2000 in the car. The gear change has been awful since I've first had it , there is a resistance and some times a clunking/ grinding when shifting from 1st -2nd even when the car is warm/hot. The first opc said there was nothing wrong , I lived with it but wasn't enjoying this grinding/ clunking/ notchy experience. So I eventually took it to a different opc they too said nothing was wrong so I asked them to drive the car the next morning when cold. I got a call stating I need a new gearbox and parts were on order from Germany. The gearbox box replaced and I was so excited about picking up my fresh slick 911. They didn't relive the clutch as they said it was ok. On collecting and driving the car it felt exactly the same as always with a stiff clunking / notchy gear change. I wondered of they had even replaced the box!? I had the car up on a ramp to confirm and it looks like a new box but it's exactly the same! I now don't enjoy driving it and the main dealer garage have fobbed me off saying it felt ok on 2 cold mornings when they tried it. I don't like to keep complaining but I'm not happy with my car! Any advice on whAt else it could be or what I can do would be much appreciated as I want to love my porsche that I've spent all my money on.
Thanks

 

Update:

I changed over to GT3 shift console and adjusted the shift cables a little. Not much improvement to be honest.

I adjusted the way I shift a little by not pulling the shifter so much toward the left which helps when shifting into first gear.

When the first gear is blocked I let off the clutch just an inch or so and then I am able to move the shifter all the way to first.

Hope that helps others.

Regards,

CF