Weird sound from brand new 971 - possible PDK issue?
 

For 971 owners:

Do you hear/feel a weird sound/jerky motion as you roll to a stop? It feels like the car is downshifting, but the downshift is not smooth? It does not matter if you’re rolling slowly to a full stop, it feels like you’re upsetting the balance and the downshift due to an abrupt stop.

Trying to figure out if it’s a known issue with the new PDK. I seems to have watched/read/heard somewhere that they noticed it too... but not completely sure now.

Yes,my car (2017 4S) does it from time to time, or at least I notice it from time to time. I believe it happens when the transmission shifts down to first gear as the car is coming to a full stop. I also hear a similar "clunk" from the transmission when rolling along at very slow speeds in traffic jams. Both events are supposedly normal according to the dealers, as several people have reported in the forum.

My experience with the PDK:

If you are driving in Sport Mode the downshifts are much more noticeable.

I have found that in "Comfort" mode the PDK only downshifts to 2nd at a stop (and starts in 2nd) unless the car detects it is on a fairly steep incline when it will down shift to 1st.

What driving mode are you using?

Regards,

Sport mode prioritizes performance and "connectedness" over smooth shifting. I notice a much more aggressive downshift pattern when in sport mode. SportPlus - if you have SportChrono - is even more so, not really suitable for normal street driving but great for other activities :)

I have read that the PDK does have some "break-in" period according to some users when it is learning your driving style and wearing-in the clutches.

It will never be as smooth as a torque converter style transmission (tiptronic) but it has many other advantages (shift speed & efficiency).

Drive and have fun,

I have the exact same issue on my '18 Panamera 4 ...I was going to take it to the dealership but decided to check here first. I was literally thinking my transmission was bad and when my car is in Sport Mode the jerking is very noticeable and sounds bad. There also is a clacking sound on accelerations but normally my music drowns it out but nothing drowns out the jerking when coming to a stop. Is anyone from Porsche corporate in this forum that has addressed this issue or could? My '10 Panamera 4S never had this was super smooth..I'm also inquiring if this is on all 971's or just the 4 trim level?

Please keep me posted if that helps any....its now top of mind for me when I drive and everyone who gets in ask about it..embarrassing. I didn't have this on my '10 Panamera 4s.

If you bought the vehicle not brand new, you may want to do PDK reset on it. Search for PDK reset. Thread is for 970 but I bet it is identical to 971.
Since car learns your habits, resetting PDK may clear out previous owner data. If new, you may want to take time to build new dbase of info for PDK, see if it changed behavior.
Also, I noticed if you drive in sport/sport+ mode, and accelerate very lazy, you will feel shifting more than if you accelerated more spirited.