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Shifting Gear, Traction Systems
201 Shifting Gear, Traction Systems
Manual transmission, clutch ........................ 202
Tiptronic S ................................................. 203
Selector Lever Positions ............................. 204
Driving Programs for On-Road and
Off-Road Driving ......................................... 211
Power-Transmission and Running-Gear
Control Systems ........................................ 217
Off-Road Driving ......................................... 227
Air Suspension with Level Control
and Height Adjustment................................ 236
Porsche Active Suspension
Management (PASM) .................................. 239
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Shifting Gear, Traction Systems
Manual transmission, clutch
Warning!
Risk of accident.
fDo not obstruct the pedal travel with floor mats or other objects.
Floor mats of the correct size and with the
appropriate fasteners are available from your
authorized Porsche dealer.The positions of the gears are shown on the shift
diagram on the gearshift lever.
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 reversing lights are lit.
Permitted engine speedfYou should change into a higher gear before
the needle reaches the red mark on the
tachometer, 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 down-shifting.
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Shifting Gear, Traction Systems
203
Tiptronic SThe Porsche Tiptronic is a six-speed transmission
and features an “automatic” and a “manual” gear-
shift mode.
Inautomatic selection mode (selector lever po-
sitionD), gear changing is automatic.
Depending on the driving program, you can
change temporarily from automatic to manual
mode using the rocker switches on the steering
wheel.
Inmanual selection mode (selector lever
positionM), you change gear using the rocker
switches on the steering wheel or by pushing the
selector lever forward or back.
You can change between selector lever positions
Dand M as you wish while driving.
Note on operation
Take care not to operate the rocker switches on
the steering wheel inadvertently, thereby trigger-
ing undesired gear changes.
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 pressedRelease button
The release button (arrow) on the front side of the
selector lever prevents unintentional gear chang-
es.
The release button must be pressed when shifting
to position Ror P.
The selector lever cannot be operated in the event
of an electrical fault.
fPlease observe the chapter “SELECTOR LE-
VER EMERGENCY RELEASE” on Page 210.
StartingThe engine can be started only in selector lever
positionPor N with the brake pedal pressed.Moving offfSelect the desired position for moving off
(D, M or R) only when the engine is idling and
when depressing the brake pedal.
fSince the car creeps when in gear, do not re-
lease the brake until you want to move off.
fAfter selecting a gear, do not accelerate until
you can feel that the gear is engaged.
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Shifting Gear, Traction Systems
DisplayIndicator for selector lever position and
engaged gearWhen the engine is running, the selector lever po-
sition and engaged gear are indicated.If there is a fault in the transmission:
–An X appears instead of the current gear indi-
cation on the multi-purpose display of the in-
strument panel.
The transmission no longer shifts.
fTo remedy the fault, immediately consult an au-
thorized Porsche dealer.
Selector Lever PositionsP – Parking lockIn selector lever position P, the driven wheels are
mechanically locked.
fEngage parking lock only when vehicle is
stationary.
fEngage parking lock after applying the park-
ing brake and release it before releasing the
parking brake.
fAlways apply the parking brake before leaving
the vehicle.
The ignition key can be withdrawn only in selector
lever position P.R – ReversefSelect reverse only if car is stationary and the
brake is applied.N – NeutralSelector lever position N must be selected for
towing or in car washes, for example.
fSelect the desired position for moving off
(D, M or R) only when the engine is idling and
when depressing the brake pedal.
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205
D - Automatic selection mode (in the road
driving program)The functions of selector lever positions Dand M
differ in the on-road program, High Range, and in
the off-road program, Low Range.
fUse selector lever position D for “normal” driv-
ing.
The gears 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. Movement of the accelerator,
driving speed, longitudinal and lateral acceleration
and the road profile all have an influence on the
gear-changing characteristic.
When PSM is switched off, transmission gear
changes are done at higher engine speeds.
Unwanted upward shifts, e.g. before bends, are
prevented by swiftly releasing the accelerator ped-
al.
Depending on lateral acceleration, upward chang-
es on bends are not made until the engine-speed
limit is reached.
During braking, and depending on the amount of
deceleration, the Tiptronic changes down earlier.
For subsequent cornering, the right gear is en-
gaged when pressure is applied to the brakes be-
fore the bend.The bend is taken in the right gear, and when you
accelerate out of the bend you do not have to
change down.
Moving off
In 2nd gear, the vehicle moves off with the throttle
only slightly open. Move off in 1st gear with the
throttle open wider or when the engine is cold.
When PSM is switched off, the car generally
moves off in 1st gear.
Shifting gear on the steering wheel
By shifting gear with the rocker switches on the
steering wheel, you can temporarily change from
automatic selection mode D to manual selection
mode M.
Advantages
– Shifting down before bends and on entering
built-up areas.
– Shifting down on downward slopes (engine
braking).
– Shifting down for brief spurts of acceleration.
– Selecting 1st or 2nd gear for moving off.
The manual selection mode remains engaged:
– For cornering (depending on the lateral accel-
eration) and overrunning,
– When the vehicle is stationary (e.g. at a junc-
tion).The system leaves manual selection mode:
– automatically after around 8 seconds
(unless car is cornering, overrunning or
stationary),
– if you depress the accelerator to kickdown.
Temporary change-down
Precondition
– Speed is higher than approx. 33 mph
(54 km/h).
fDepress accelerator quickly.
The Tiptronic changes temporarily to the sport-
iest gear-changing map, i.e. to the highest pos-
sible gear-changing points. Correspondingly,
the transmission shifts down immediately by
one, two or three gears.
Ending the function
fRelease the accelerator markedly (by approx.
25%).
f f f
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Shifting Gear, Traction Systems Kickdown
The kickdown function is active in selector lever
position D.
fFor optimum acceleration, e.g. when overtak-
ing, 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
full-throttle position.
D - Automatic selection mode (in the off-
road driving program)The functions of selector lever positions Dand M
differ in the on-road program, High Range, and in
the off-road program, Low Range.
fUse selector lever position D for “normal” driv-
ing.
The gears are shifted automatically according
to the accelerator position and speed.
The gears are shifted automatically according to
the accelerator position and speed. The gear-
changing points have been adjusted to achieve the
best possible vehicle control on difficult terrain.Depending on the route profile, the gear-changing
points are shifted towards higher or lower engine-
speed ranges. On steep downhill stretches, up-
ward shifts are prevented until medium engine
speeds are reached (at least 2,500 rpm).
When the car is overrunning, an automatic upshift
does not occur when the engine speed limit is
reached.
Moving off
The car moves off in 1st gear.
Shifting gear on the steering wheel
By shifting gear with the rocker switches on the
steering wheel, you can temporarily change from
automatic selection mode D to manual selection
mode M.
Advantages
– Shifting down on downward slopes (engine
braking).
– Shifting down for brief spurts of acceleration.
– Selecting 1st/2nd or 3rd gear for moving off.
The manual selection mode remains engaged:
– For overrunning
– Depending on lateral acceleration
– When the vehicle is stationary (e.g. at a junc-
tion).The system leaves manual selection mode:
– Automatically after around 8 seconds
(unless car is subject to high lateral accelera-
tion, is overrunning or stationary),
– if you depress the accelerator to kickdown.
Kickdown
The kickdown function is active in selector lever
position D.
fFor optimum acceleration, e.g. when overtak-
ing, 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
full-throttle position.
Tip on driving
Unlike in the on-road driving program, an automat-
ic upshift is not performed in manual selection
modeM when the engine-speed limit is reached.
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207
M - Manual selection mode (in the road
driving program)The functions of selector lever positions Dand M
differ in the on-road program, High Range, and in
the off-road program, Low Range.
The currently selected gear is retained if you
change from D to M.
If you change 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“.
The kickdown function cannot be used to
downshift in manual selection mode “M“.
fTherefore shift down manually when accelerat-ing (e.g. to overtake).
Shifting up
fPress upper part (+) of a rocker switch Aor
fPush selector lever B forward in the M gate.Shifting down
fPress lower part (–) of a rocker switch Aor
fPush selector lever B back in the M gate.
Depending on driving speed and engine speed,
you can shift up or down at any time. Gear chang-
es which would exceed the upper or lower engine-
speed limit are not executed by the control unit.
You can change down two gears by quickly press-
ing rocker switches A or selector lever B twice.
If PSM is active and the engine-speed limit is
reached, an automatic upward shift is performed
or, just before idling speed is reached, a down-
ward 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 panel will display se-
lector lever position D.
fTo remedy the fault, please consult an autho-
rized Porsche dealer.
f f f
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Shifting Gear, Traction Systems
M - Manual selection mode (in the off-
road driving program)The functions of selector lever positions Dand M
differ in the on-road program, High Range, and in
the off-road program, Low Range.
The currently selected gear is retained if you
change from D to M.
If you change 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“.
The kickdown function cannot be used to
downshift in manual selection mode “M“.
fTherefore shift down manually when accelerat-ing (e.g. to overtake).
Tip on driving
The kickdown function is not active in selector le-
ver position M.
Unlike in the road driving program, an automatic
upshift is not performed when the engine-speed
limit is reached.
Shifting up
fPress upper part (+) of a rocker switch Aor
fPush selector lever B forward in the M gate.Shifting down
fPress lower part (–) of a rocker switch Aor
fPush selector lever B back in the M gate.
Depending on driving speed and engine speed,
you can shift up or down at any time. Gear chang-
es which would exceed the upper or lower engine-
speed limit are not executed by the control unit.
You can change down two gears by quickly press-
ing rocker switches A or selector lever B twice.
The gear is changed down automatically just be-
fore idle speed is reached.
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 instru-
ment panel will display selector lever position D.
fTo remedy the fault, please consult an autho-
rized Porsche dealer.