Tiptronic 997.1 won’t start unless shifter in neutral. :(

[Mariosbt]

My car is a 3.6 2007 997.1 C2 Tiptronic S. Normal ignition procedure is turn on ingnition.. press the footbrake whilst shifter still in park position... then turn the key & she fires up. Recently though.. all I get is a faint ‘whirring’ noise from the dash and no start. First time this happened I was miles from home. I discovered the only way to start her, was to put the shifter into neutral, put foot on foot rake, which is what I’ve been doing for a couple of months. The car is on sorn at the moment but will be going for annual check and oil / filter change when the weather improves. Can anyone diagnose the problem before my indie starts poking about ?

[Scrump]

My 996.2 had the same problem.
Turned out to be dirt/lack of lubrication on the shifter mechanism under the car preventing it making the required contact in Park.
My indie cleaned the mechanism and it has been fine since and also a lot smoother to move the lever between positions.

[Paynewright]

Brake pedal switch??

[Mariosbt]

Paynewright said:

Brake pedal switch??

I don’t think it is the brake pedal sensor because you still need to press the footbrake to start the engine when shifter is in neutral. I think I will suggest cleaning the mechanism to my indie as mentioned in the previous post but thanks for your contribution.

[philcray]

Had exactly the same problem on my gen 1 2007 997 c2s tip. Porsche Kendal eventually fixed it, it seems the problem was to do with some sensor not being fully engaged when in P, hence the intermittent fault and nothing at all happening when ignition key turned, although starting fine in N.

I recall the gear lever was a lot smoother to move after they had fixed it, it had previously been a bit stiff.

By coincidence, the car also had a number of other problems with starting around the same time, these were diagnosed down to the alternator, battery & starter motor so this had confused things a little. Luckily I had the Porsche warranty so all was fixed under that.

[Mariosbt]

Thanks for sharing that. I will tell my indie when I take the car in. Cheers.

[Mariosbt]

Scrump said:

My 996.2 had the same problem.
Turned out to be dirt/lack of lubrication on the shifter mechanism under the car preventing it making the required contact in Park.
My indie cleaned the mechanism and it has been fine since and also a lot smoother to move the lever between positions.

I took my 997.1 Tiptronic into Jasmine Porsche at Nelson ( Lancashire ) today, to sort this problem. They cleaned the transmission linkage and changed the trans. Oil & filter. Driving the car home felt like I had a brand new gearbox!!!....Unbelievable! I have owned this car for 4 years now & thought this transmission was ok, but trust me.....if you own a 996,997, 911 ,or Boxster Tiptronic, & you think the transmission / shifter is a bit stiff or rough, please, please, please have your indie clean & re-grease the linkage...it’s a transformation XXX.

[Scrump]

Thanks for reporting back to update the thread, glad to hear it is sorted.