06 boxster shifts down inexplicably

[cborders]

Yesterday, I'm driving back from Tooele to Herriman, doing a steady
60, and the car shifts into 4th. *I let off the gas a little but it
stays in 4th. *I manually shift it back to 5th after a few seconds, it
automatically shifts back to 4th. *Next I step on the gas and it
shifts to 3rd. *It's like the mapping is off. *I then shift into
neutral and back to drive then the problem goes away.

The car is still under warrenty for 800 more miles so I called Dave
Strong Porsche. *The told me it would cost me $120 if they couldn't
find a problem. *I can understand a fee if it wasn't under warrenty.

Anyone out there ever experienced a similar issue with a Boxster?

[turboflyer]

What the hell is that fee for, oh yea dealer profit. I would say call Porsche customer service and ask if that is how the dealership should be taking care if their customers. It would seem that kind of anomaly should register in the ECU if not even a check engine light. Do your self a favor and video the problem and refuse to pay if they do not fix it. Oh and demand a loaner car. Oh yea customers are always right and number one. Sure.

[soule77]

I agree, any problem with the drivetrain should be 100% covered under warranty, especailly for a car like a porsche...it is not a hyundai (no offense to hyundai's) but you should expect a higher level of service. BMW provided me with a loaner for 2 weeks when my old M3 experienced similar problems.

[mikefocke]

Gee, they expect to get paid for their incompetence now?

I'd document the problem in a letter to the dealer and to Porsche to establish the fact that the problem occurred under warranty (include dated picture of the odometer to document mileage) and you expect it to be fixed under warranty even if it takes several tries to diagnose it.

Sudden and unexpected shifting creates a danger that could result in loss of control, loss of life and certainly an expensive lawsuit. At the very least coping with it in the manner you did distracts you from the safe driving of your vehicle.

The only odd shifting I've ever experienced with a TIP occurred when under brisk acceleration in a curve/turn I suddenly needed to slow quickly because someone pulled in front of me and I came off the gas completely. The trans downshifted and seemed locked in gear when I wanted to resume. Don't remember the gear. Do remember at least once switching to neutral and back and everything then being all right. Happened maybe 3 times in 15k miles with me.

Your steady speed unwanted shift sounds different...and worse.

[cborders]

UPDATE

I took it to Dave Strong Porsche in Salt Lake yesterday. They scanned for faults and ran the vehicle analysis log and found no stored faults. They test drove and found that it is shifting normally. Of course, I knew this as I have not been able to duplicate the problem either. There was no charge for the visit.

Now that the problem is documented under warranty, hopefully won't have issues if the problem comes up again after 50,000 miles.

[Doug&Julie]

Good to hear they're doing their jobs.

Not sure if this relates but one of my Subarus would occasionally have trouble starting and after which the engine light would come on. But after starting fine again three times in a row the engine light would go out, like the fault was "erased". In other words, it was like the car's memory was saying "never mind, that seems to be fixed now". If I wanted the dealership to see the fault, I had to take it in right after the trouble. I wonder if there's something similar in the Boxster?

Did that make any sense?