
Controls, Instruments
137
Rear luggage compartmentA Topping up engine oil
B Topping up coolant
C Coolant level

Controls, Instruments
141
Car Telephone and
Aftermarket Alarms Important legal and safety information
regarding the use of cellular telephones:
Some states may prohibit the use of cellular tele-
phones while driving a vehicle. Check the laws and
regulations on the use of cellular telephones in the
areas where you drive.
Danger!
Risk of an accident.
Severe personal injury or death can result in
the event of an accident.
Looking away from the road or turning your
attention away from your driving can cause
an accident and serious or fatal injury.
When using your cellular telephone, you should al-
ways:
fGive full attention to your driving - pull off the
road and park before making or answering a
call if traffic conditions so require; and
fKeep both hands on the steering wheel - use
hands-free operation (if available) - pull off the
road and park before using a hand-held tele-phone. It is essential to observe the instructions of
the telephone manufacturer before putting
the telephone into operation.
Any portable telephone or radio transmitter which
is used in a Porsche must be properly installed in
accordance with the technical requirements of
Porsche.
The transmission power must not exceed
10 W.
The devices must possess a type approval for
your vehicle and have an “e” symbol.
If you should require equipment with transmission
power values greater than 10 W, please consult
your authorized Porsche dealer for this purpose.
He is familiar with the technical requirements for
installing devices of this kind.
The antennas for all radios and telephones with a
transmitting antenna must be externally mounted.
The improper installation of radios or telephones
or use of a radio or telephone with a transmitting
antenna inside the car may cause the warning
lights to come on.
Improper installation of such equipment can crea-
te a discharged battery or excessive current draw
from added equipment. If aftermarket systems are installed by non-dealer-
ship technicians or outside the selling dealer, pro-
blems may result. Installation of aftermarket
equipment is not covered under the New Car War-
ranty.
fConsult your authorized Porsche dealer about
the installation of non Porsche approved equip-
ment.
Reception quality
The reception quality of your car telephone will
change constantly when you are driving. Interfe-
rence caused by buildings, landscape and
weather is unavoidable. It may become particular-
ly difficult to hear when using the hands-free func-
tion due to external noise such as engine and wind
noise.
Automatic car-wash
fUnscrew the external antenna before using an
automatic car-wash.

146
Shifting Gear
Manual Transmission, ClutchThe positions of the gears are shown on the shift
diagram on the gearshift lever.
Warning!
Risk of accident.
fDo not obstruct the pedal travel with floor mats
or other objects.
Nonskid floor mats of the correct size are
available at your authorized Porsche dealer.
To avoid damage to the clutch and transmis-
sion:
fAlways depress the clutch pedal fully when
changing gears. Make sure that the gearshift
lever is completely engaged.
fOnly shift into reverse when the car has come to a complete stop.fWhen shifting gears, always ensure that the
clutch pedal is fully depressed and the gear
has fully engaged.
fSelect reverse only when vehicle is stationary.
fSelect an appropriately low gear on upward
and downward slopes.
This will ensure optimum use of engine power
and engine braking.
When reverse gear is selected and the ignition is
on, the backup lights are illuminated.
Permitted engine speedfYou should change into a higher gear before
the needle reaches the red mark on the ta-
chometer, or ease off the accelerator.
If the red zone is reached during acceleration, fuel
feed is interrupted.
Caution!
Risk of engine damage (overrevving) when
shifting down to a lower gear.
fTake care not to exceed the maximum permit-ted engine speed when shifting down.

Shifting Gear
147
Tiptronic SThe Porsche Tiptronic is a five-speed transmission
with an “automatic” and a “manual” selection
mode.
In automatic selection mode (selector lever po-
sition D), gear changing is automatic.
You can change temporarily from automatic to
manual mode using the rocker switches on the
steering wheel.
In manual selection mode (selector lever posi-
tion M), you change gear using the rocker switch-
es on the steering wheel.
You can change between selector lever position D
and M as you wish while driving.
Note
Take care not to operate the rocker switches on
the steering wheel inadvertently in either auto mat-
ic or manual mode, thereby triggering undesired
gear changes.Keylock positionThe ignition key can be withdrawn only in selec-
tor lever position P.
Changing the selector lever positionThe selector lever is locked with the ignition key
withdrawn.
The selector lever can be moved from position P
or N only with:
– the ignition switched on,
– the brake pedal pressed and
– the release button pressed.Release button
The release button (arrow) in the selector lever
prevents unintentional gear changes.
The release button must be pressed when shifting
to position R or P.
StartingThe engine can be started only if the brake pedal
is depressed and the selector lever is in position
P or N.Moving offfOnly select the desired position for moving off
(D, M or R) when the engine is idling and the
brake pedal is depressed.
fSince the vehicle creeps when in gear, do not
release the brake until you want to move off.
fAfter selecting a gear, do not accelerate until
you can feel that the gear is engaged.

148
Shifting Gear
Indicator for selector lever position and
engaged gear When the engine is running, the selector lever po-
sition and engaged gear are indicated. If the selector lever is between two positions:
– The corresponding selector lever position in
the instrument cluster flashes and
– the warning “Selector lever not engaged” ap-
pears in the on-board computer.
fEngage the selector lever correctly.
– The selector lever position is displayed imme-
diately after the correct position has been de-
tected.
– The current gear is shown after a brief detec-
tion period.If there is a fault in the transmission:
– The 4th-gear and the selector lever position se-
lected displays flash in alternation.
– The warning “Tiptronic emergency run” ap-
pears on the on-board computer.
Please observe the chapter “EMERGENCY
PROGRAM” on Page 152.
– Have the fault remedied at an autorized
Porsche dealer.

Shifting Gear
149
Selector Lever Positions P – Parking lock fSelect only when car has been stopped.
fEngage parking lock after applying the hand-
brake and release it before releasing the hand-
brake.
The ignition key can be withdrawn only in
selector lever position P. R – Reverse fSelect only when car has been stopped and
the brake is applied. N – Neutral Selector lever position N must be selected for to-
wing or in car washes, for example.
fSelect the desired position for moving off (D,
M or R) only when the engine is idling and while
depressing the brake pedal.
fSelect position N while driving only if the car
is threatening to skid in slippery conditions.
Otherwise N should not be selected when dri-
ving.
D – Automatic selection mode fSelect position D for “normal” driving. The ge-
ars are shifted automatically according to the
accelerator position and speed.
Depending on the way the vehicle is driven and on
the resistance (e.g. uphill), the gear-changing
points are shifted towards higher or lower engine-
speed ranges.
The accelerator position, driving speed, engine
speed, longitudinal and lateral acceleration and
the road profile all have an influence on the gear-
changing characteristic.
Unwanted upward shifts, e.g. before bends, are
prevented by swiftly releasing the accelerator pe-
dal.
Depending on lateral acceleration, upward shifts
on bends are not made until the engine-speed limit
is reached.
Under braking, and depending on the amount of
deceleration, the Tiptronic shifts down earlier.
For subsequent cornering, the right gear is enga-
ged when pressure is applied to the brakes before
the bend.
The bend is taken in the right gear, and when you
accelerate out of the bend you do not have to shift
down. Driving off
In 2nd gear, the vehicle drives off with the throttle
only slightly open.
Drive off in 1st gear with the throttle open wider
or when the engine is cold.

150
Shifting Gear Shifting gear on the steering wheel
With the toggle switches on the steering wheel,
you can change temporarily from automatic
selection mode D to manual mode M.
Advantages:
– Shifting down before bends and on entering bu-
ilt-up areas.
– Shifting down on downward slopes (engine bra-
king).
– Shifting down for brief spurts of acceleration.
– Selecting 1st gear for moving off.
The manual selection mode remains engaged:
– for cornering (depending on the lateral
acceleration) and overrunning,
– when the vehicle is stationary
(e.g. at a junction).
The system leaves manual selection mode:
– automatically after approx. 8 seconds
(unless cornering or overrunning),
– if you depress the accelerator to kickdown,
– after moving off. Temporary change-down
Conditions:
Speed is higher than approx. 33 mph (54 km/h).
fDepress accelerator quickly.
The Tiptronic changes temporarily to the spor-
tiest gear-changing map, i.e. to the highest
possible gear-changing points. Correspondin-
gly, the transmission shifts down immediately
by one or two gears.
Ending the function:
fRelease the accelerator markedly (by approx.
25%). Kickdown
The kickdown function is active in selector lever
position D, even if you temporarily change to ma-
nual mode M using the toggle switches on the
steering wheel.
fFor optimum acceleration, e.g. when overta-
king, depress the accelerator pedal beyond
the full-throttle point (kickdown).
The transmission shifts down depending on the
speed of travel and engine speed.
Upward shifts occur at the highest possible engine
speeds.
These gear-changing speeds remain active until
the accelerator is released to approx. 80% of the
wide open throttle position.

Shifting Gear
151
M - Manual Selection Mode The currently selected gear is retained if you
change from D to M.
If you shift from M to D, the gear-changing map
suitable for your current driving style is selected
and the appropriate gear is selected.
Warning!
The kickdown function is not active in manual
selection mode “M”.
fTherefore shift down manually when accelera-ting (e.g. to overtake). Two toggle switches in the upper steering-wheel
spokes let you comfortably and reliably select the
five forward gears.
Shifting up
fPress upper part (+) of a toggle switch.
Shifting down
fPress lower part (–) of a toggle switch.
Depending on driving speed and engine speed,
you can shift up or down at any time.
Gear changes which would exceed the upper or lo-
wer engine-speed limit are not executed by the
controller.
You can shift down two gears at once by quickly
pressing the toggle switches twice.
If the engine-speed limit is reached, an auto matic
upward shift is performed or, just before idling
speed is reached, a downward shift is performed.
fSelect an appropriately low gear on upward
and downward slopes.
This will ensure optimum use of engine power
and engine braking. If manual mode fails, the control electronics
switch to automatic mode. In this event, the
instrument cluster will display selector lever posi-
tion D.
fTo remedy the fault, please consult an authori-
zed Porsche dealer.