“P not available. Only park on a flat surface. Visit workshop”

[vincent.ogrady]

Feb-26; purchased my first ever Porsche

A new 911 Targa (992 generation) from OPC Leicester

May-26; problems with forward and reverse gears not engaging

Engine starts without problems

But an amber sign on the central display; “P not available. Only park on a flat surface. Visit workshop”

Does not occur every time, but it occurs very frequently

Often takes 10 or 15 minutes of starting and restarting the engine before the gears engage

Service Centre at OPC Leicester had the car for 1 day earlier this month, told me they had rectified the problem, within 30 minutes of leaving it was back to square one with the same sign being displayed and gears not engaging

My Targa went back to OPC Leicester on 28-Jun

As of today, the issues remain unresolved

No suggestion from them as to when the car will be returned to me with all issues resolved

From the questions they are asking it would appear they are focusing on the Vodafone Tracker they recommended I had installed via them prior to purchase

Any Forum views on this would be greatly appreciated

 

[6DW]

There is a similar thread with this experience ......

Have a look at the responses HERE...

David

 

[vincent.ogrady]

There is a similar thread with this experience ......

Have a look at the responses HERE...

David

Thank you, David

That forum post was very interesting and informative

I have passed it on to OPC Leicester in case it gives them any clues

They responded by telling me they are liaising with Porsche Technical

 

[vincent.ogrady]

To all those all who expressed an interest in the outcome of my adventures with the Service Team at OPC Leicester

Here is what I posted on the PCGB R8 WhatsApp Forum

I collected my car on Wednesday afternoon and all seems good (so far …….)

BACKGROUND OPC Leicester recommended and fitted a Vodafone Tracker when I purchased my Targa 4S in February this year

And here is the summary as sent to me by the Head of the Service Department

“As discussed, we repaired the loose connection on the tracker unit and as part of our discussions with Porsche technical team, we were advised to also move the tracker unit further in towards the centre console area. Although we have not experienced issues with 911, we have had some in other models and this was attributed to the location of the tracker, where it was not picking up the driver card thus enabling the immobilisation of the vehicle and not allowing gear selection.
As mentioned previously, the engine will start with this system but it will immobilise the vehicle through immobilisation of gear selection and therefore no drive and this displayed on the instrument cluster.”

All’s well that ends well as they say

 

[vincent.ogrady]

My Targa 4S was purchased in mid February and there were no issues whatsoever until sometime in mid May

Thereafter, the problem occurred quite frequently

It could only be rectified by turning off the engine

Pausing

Restarting the engine and hoping that the gears would engage

Sometimes a second attempt was sufficient

But often had to go through this cycle over 5 or 10 minutes for the gears to function

 

[vincent.ogrady]

And here is the latest update

My Targa 4S was collected from OPC Leicester on Wednesday of this week after they had had it for a week and a half for investigations and modifications to the Vodafone Tracker installation

All seemed fine

However, the amber sign/message reappeared once on the following morning, Thursday

“P not available
Park on a flat surface
Visit workshop”

A single second restart of the engine was enough to allow the gears to engage and the issue did not reappear thereafter yesterday - Hurrah!!!

And this morning, Friday, the message is continuously reappearing - No Hurrahs

Gonna soldier on coz I got a busy Friday and weekend

But looks like I'll be back to OPC Leicester bright and early on Monday morning

 

[TonyJW]

As I have a 2023 model I was surprised that Porsche now seem to rely on an aftermarket fitment. Searched on the club website for tracker and found this link which you might have seen already. It seems to cover what you have but still not clear why Porsche have gone this way.

https://www.porscheclubgb.com/forum/threads/which-non-porsche-tracker.216167/

 

[vincent.ogrady]

Thank you, Tony

Despite Porsche Leicester having my Targa for a week and a half, the problem remains, all be it much improved and far less frequent.

Upon purchase, I received two Vodafone Tracker Fobs

Within a few days of purchase the first fob was generating a low battery text message from Vodafone so the lithium battery was changed

Porsche Leicester recommended that I swap over the fobs just in case there was a problem with the first fob I was using

But the problem of gear is not engaging remains despite whichever fob I am using

I am going to monitor it for a few more days, swapping over the fobs

But it looks like it's going to have to go back to Porsche Leicester next week yet again

 

[996_992]

As I have a 2023 model I was surprised that Porsche now seem to rely on an aftermarket fitment. Searched on the club website for tracker and found this link which you might have seen already. It seems to cover what you have but still not clear why Porsche have gone this way.

https://www.porscheclubgb.com/forum/threads/which-non-porsche-tracker.216167/

As far as I'm aware official Porsche tracker is the Vodafone one referred to, but I wasn't aware it could actually stop the car from starting