Controls, Safety, Instruments
51
Steering WheelTiptronic rocker switchesThe Porsche Tiptronic is a six-speed transmission
and features an “automatic” and a “manual” gear-
shift mode.
You can change temporarily to manual mode using
rocker switches A on the steering wheel.
fPlease observe the chapter “TIPTRONIC S” on
Page 198.
HornfPress button B to operate the horn.Airbag unitAirbag unit C is located behind the padded steer-
ing wheel boss.
In conjunction with the safety belts, the “airbag” is
a safety system designed to provide the driver and
passengers with maximum protection from injury
in an accident.
fPlease observe the chapter “AIRBAG SYS-
TEMS” on Page 49.
Steering Wheel HeatingIf the interior temperature in the vehicle is lower
than +54°F (12°C) when the ignition is switched
on, the steering wheel heating is switched on au-
tomatically.
When this happens, the steering wheel adjusts to
a temperature of +73°F (23°C).
If the interior temperature rises above +71°F
(22°C) when the vehicle is operational, the steer-
ing wheel heating switches off again.
Controls, Safety, Instruments
65
Warning!
To avoid overheating and premature wear of
the brakes:
fBefore descending a steep grade, reduce
speed and shift the transmission into a lower
driving position to control speed.
fDo not “ride the brakes“ by resting your foot on
the pedal when not intending to apply brake
pressure.
fDo not hold the pedal down too long or too of-
ten. This could cause the brakes to get hot and not function properly.
Brake boosterThe brake booster assists braking only when
the engine is running.
When the car is moving while the engine is not run-
ning, or if the brake booster is defective, more
pressure on the brake pedal is required to bring
the car to a stop.
Moisture, road salt or grit on brakes affects brak-
ing. When the vehicle is driven on salted or gritted
roads for extended periods, the brakes should be
washed down thoroughly about every 2 weeks. An
automatic carwash facility cannot do this job prop-
erly. Brakes will dry after a few cautious brake ap-
plications.
Warning!
Driving through water may reduce the trac-
tion. Moisture on brakes from road water, car
wash, or a coating of road salt or grit may af-
fect braking efficiency.
fCautiously apply brakes to test brakes after being exposed.
160
Controls, Safety, Instruments Limits of ultrasonic measurement
– ParkAssist cannot detect sound-absorbing ob-
stacles (e.g. powder snow),
– Sound-reflecting obstacles (e.g. glass surfac-
es, flat painted surfaces),
– And very thin obstacles.
Other ultrasound sources (e.g. pneumatic brakes
of other vehicles, jackhammers) can interfere with
detection of obstacles.
Fault indication without warning tone
All red light segments of the active warning indica-
tors light up when there is a temporary fault in
ParkAssist.
Note
Correct operation is no longer ensured if there is
a temporary fault (e.g. caused by ice formation or
heavy soiling on the sensors).
The system detects the temporary fault.
All light segments light up until a speed of
9 mph (14 km/h) is reached.
ParkAssist is ready for operation again when the
interference has been eliminated.Fault indication with warning tone
In the event of a long-lasting fault in ParkAssist,
the red light segments of the active warning indi-
cators light up and a continuous tone sounds for
three seconds after a transmission range has
been selected.
Possible causes
– Defect or system fault.
fSwitch ParkAssist off.
When ParkAssist is switched off, the indicator
light in the button lights up.
fPlease have the fault remedied at an autho-
rized Porsche dealer.Driving with a trailer
The ParkAssist rear monitoring area is switched
off when the trailer’s power supply is plugged in.
Controls, Safety, Instruments
169
Car Telephone and Aftermarket Alarms Important legal and safety information re-
garding 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 personal injury or
death.
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 cre-
ate 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,
problems 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. Interfer-
ence caused by buildings, landscape and weather
is unavoidable. It may become particularly difficult
to hear when using the hands-free function due to
external noise such as engine and wind noise.
Automatic car-wash
fUnscrew external antennas before using an au-
tomatic car-wash.
Shifting Gear, Traction Systems
197 Shifting Gear, Traction Systems
Tiptronic S ................................................. 198
Selector Lever Positions ............................. 199
Driving Programs for On-Road
and Off-Road Driving ................................... 206
Power-Transmission and
Running-Gear Control Systems .................... 211
Off-Road Driving ......................................... 220
Air Suspension with Level Control
and Height Adjustment................................ 228
Porsche Active Suspension
Management (PASM) .................................. 231
198
Shifting Gear, Traction Systems
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 205.
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.
Shifting Gear, Traction Systems
199
Selector lever positionIndicator 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:
– All gear indicators light up
– The transmission no longer shifts.
fHave the fault rectified immediately at your 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.
200
Shifting Gear, Traction Systems
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%).