Must be a whole batch of bad ones from Porsche. I ordered one from our host and on the first road trip after installation the shifter lever started rotating, and next thing I know I cannot get 5th gear anymore. Its a long way from Olympia to Hansville in 4th, for sure. I was able to eventually get it into 5th with some delicate angling of the lever and just the right amount of force....
Inspection showed the failed joint (brazed?), and I advised our host of what I felt was poor quality components from Porsche, especially at the price. Our host did not indicate any others having this problem (this was early August 2006). My fix was to reassemble (with plenty of Loctite at the joint, just for whatever value it might add) using a 0.125 diameter roll pin inserted through a match drilled hole in the assembly.
So far, the repair seems fine - but it shouldn't be needed on an expensive item like this, from "the factory" no less....
In addition, the spring loaded triangular piece (on top of the shift aseembly cover) that kicks the lever back into the 3-4 gate when you leave 5th was poorly finished, causing rough operation and a slight hangup as you come out of 5th. When I had things apart to fix the brazed joint I found heavy wear on the shift lever from an unfinished, sharp edge on the triangular piece. A couple minutes with a Dremel to put a smooth radiius on it, and it was much better - but, again, poor quality control on something that ought to be much better.