Need4S

Our '17 GTS seems reluctant to engage 1st gear, unless you come to a complete stop and wait a fraction of a second. Otherwise, it only downshifts to 2nd, and when you take off, it starts off in 2nd.

Also, from stop sign to stop sign driving, it seems that after a couple of these, the engine bogs or hesitates, and the transmission seems like it slips the clutch too much.

The above symptoms seem marginally better if sport mode is engaged.

Before I take it for a service visit, does anyone else have these issues?

shaf

I bet you are in normal mode. Try sport mode and it will shift into first sooner. Normal mode is disappointing, never in right gear.

Choppen

I have a similar problem with a 2015 Macan S. Hesitation in starting up from a stop is intermittent, but I cannot count on the car moving forward from a stop when I push the gas pedal. I had a similar problem with a 2011 Cayenne (tiptronic trans), so I think it may not be a pdk issue, but has to do with a software problem somewhere in an auto stop/start/hold program. The local dealership says they can't find anything wrong (it is intermittent). This occurs when in either manual or auto mode, when auto stop/start is not active, and when hold is not active.

Need4S

Interesting. I also think it's a software issue or possibly a sensor. This is different from my 911's PDK, which instantly engages and moves regardless, and always seems to be in the right gear. It always starts in 1st from a stop or slow roll.

The Macan, however, seems to be confused as to what to do when you don't come to a complete stop. Unless you completely stop, it won't engage 1st, and when you accelerate away in 2nd, it sometimes, but not always, seems to slip the clutch excessively. This seems to happen less in Sport Mode, but using that mode doesn't completely eliminate it. It also seems to happen less or not at all if you're driving hard, like stopping very firmly and giving it a lot of throttle when taking off, but it's not a good idea to drive like that all the time! So maybe a bad sensor or maybe the calibrations are off.

I didn't notice any of this behavior when driving it in Europe, but the driving conditions here are a bit different (we did much more highway than stop and go, stop sign to stop sign city driving like we do here in the U.S.), so I'm not sure if it was always this way and I didn't notice previously, or something has changed.

Apart from the lost time, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have a dealer's tech check this out but I wanted to see if this was just perhaps part of the programming on all Macans. I guess I can't yet tell, but the general silence (with the exception of the one post above) seems to suggest to me the problem is with my particular car, not Macans in general.

Choppen

Please post if you find anything to resolve the issues.

Need4S

Well, no resolution other than it does seem much better after some extended driving to use Sport Mode. I was told by the dealer the transmission has a ton of sensors and would give warnings or throw codes if there was something truly wrong, and that, the programming is quite different between a Macan and 911. So, for now we will just drive it and see how it goes. The warranty period is comfortably long enough.

Choppen

It appears that if I feather the brakes while pushing the gas, my Macan may hesitate. Seems to get confused between stopping and going. In two instances the engine actually stopped, fortunately no accident. I guess this speaks against left foot braking in the Macan. I have not had the slow shift to first gear problem, but I now drive in sport mode only (which should be the default...it seems to have no impact on mpg).

jrotsaert

Have the car checked for transfer case issues