— Porsche 911 Carrera transmission problems have caused an owner to file a defect petition with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The petitioner wants the government to investigate backup light failures caused by 7-speed manual transmission problems.
According to the defect petition, 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera cars have ZF manual transmissions that suffer faults with the actuators that prevent the backup lights from working when the cars are shifted into REVERSE.
NHTSA is also looking at 2012 and 2014 Porsche 911 Carrera cars after speaking with the automaker about the transmission problems.
The petitioner claims an actuator inside the 7-speed transmission can detach from its mounting, leading to a failure to make contact with the backup light switch which is threaded into the transmission from the outside. The petitioner says actuation occurs as the gearbox engages and disengages reverse gear.
According to the petitioner, his 911 Carerra was diagnosed with the backup light and transmission problems even though no warning lights illuminated. The Porsche owner alleges the proper way to fix the problem is to replace the transmission for about $15,000.
Replacing the detached actuator is allegedly impossible because the part cannot be purchased from Porsche or the transmission manufacturer.
"The petitioner says he is unaware of any similar failure occurring in any modern vehicle and presumes that no manual transmission is intentionally designed and manufactured to have the internal actuator that engages the backup switch simply fall off during the vehicles usable life — certainly not in 7 years and under 50,000 miles."
Porsche has allegedly known about the transmission problems since at least July 2018 when a Porsche dealership technician inspected a 2013 Porsche 911 that suffered from backup light failures. The technician allegedly “found switch to engage lights missing.”
NHTSA says it will look into the claims to learn if an official defect investigation is required.
CarComplaints.com will update our website with results of the Porsche 911 Carrera transmission petition.
