Help - car completely dead - can't get into neutral for towing

[Henke]

Update - towing company number 4 knew what he was doing. He said that what normally happens is that Porsche roadside shop to the lowest bidder and they normally can't handle the more complex jobs. He said when a few fail to deliver it gets escalated and someone from Porsche customer service steps in to find someone who can actually do the job. In fact, I did get a call from Porsche to check in on me and discuss the issue and they also touched base with the towing service to make sure they knew what they were doing.

Hard to believe this is the first time a Taycan has been bricked? The guy toldme that he's experienced a few Teslas and a Rivian with the same issue but the Porsches normally fire up when the 12V battery is charged.

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[alexsas]

how intriguing... keep us posted on what it turns out to be!! good luck...

 

[FlyingPoint]

Now the fun starts with your car at the dealer.

 

[Tooney]

@Henke
How was your Taycan finally transported and moved by the tow truck without being in neutral?
At the beginning of the situation had you returned from a drive and attempted to put the car in park? If so any problems on the drive before parking?

 

[Henke]

@Henke
How was your Taycan finally transported and moved by the tow truck without being in neutral?
At the beginning of the situation had you returned from a drive and attempted to put the car in park? If so any problems on the drive before parking?

I went to a store then stopped at a friend’s house close to mine to drop something off. Zero indication of any issues. The only problem recently has been very irritating CarPlay connectivity (both wired and wireless). The car also asked me to get a brake flush done and it was booked in at first opportunity with a loaner in around a month.

The problem happened just as I pulled into my driveway and opened the garage. The car lost power and started to go bananas with multiple warnings. At that point it was warning me that it could not go in drive or reverse. I managed to get it into reverse and was planning to park on the road but then it said park was not working. So I reversed back into my drive and stuck a couple of blocks behind the wheel.

Called my Porsche sales guy and he sorted things out to expedite with service to look at the car as soon as they got it in. Then I called roadside and the fun began for almost 6 hours. The 4th truck seemed to be much more experienced and backed up his pre talk with action. He got it on his truck using the skates. Looked pretty safe, he knew what he was doing, he said he done this with Teslas and Rivians that cannot go into neutral. The front wheels turned and the rear were on the “skates” (rubber blocks that he got under the wheels using a hammer).

He said Porsche roadside normally shop the job to the low bidders who can’t handle the more difficult toes. If enough of them can’t resolve, customer service steps in and gets a more expensive/experienced company. I think he’s correct because I did receive a direct call from Porsche customer experience and they also spoke to the tow company directly. No complaints about Porsche roadside who were polite, responsive and followed up. The main issue is that the process from them to the tow company needs work so that the correct company is assigned out of the gate.

 

[Henke]

Now the fun starts with your car at the dealer.

Have a great relationship with the sales guy and a couple of service guys over there. They just opened a new spot that is a little farther away but the people are pretty good. Will keep this thread updated, fingers crossed and prayers being said!

 

[Tooney]

I went to a store then stopped at a friend’s house close to mine to drop something off. Zero indication of any issues. The only problem recently has been very irritating CarPlay connectivity (both wired and wireless). The car also asked me to get a brake flush done and it was booked in at first opportunity with a loaner in around a month.

The problem happened just as I pulled into my driveway and opened the garage. The car lost power and started to go bananas with multiple warnings. At that point it was warning me that it could not go in drive or reverse. I managed to get it into reverse and was planning to park on the road but then it said park was not working. So I reversed back into my drive and stuck a couple of blocks behind the wheel.

Called my Porsche sales guy and he sorted things out to expedite with service to look at the car as soon as they got it in. Then I called roadside and the fun began for almost 6 hours. The 4th truck seemed to be much more experienced and backed up his pre talk with action. He got it on his truck using the skates. Looked pretty safe, he knew what he was doing, he said he done this with Teslas and Rivians that cannot go into neutral. The front wheels turned and the rear were on the “skates” (rubber blocks that he got under the wheels using a hammer).

He said Porsche roadside normally shop the job to the low bidders who can’t handle the more difficult toes. If enough of them can’t resolve, customer service steps in and gets a more expensive/experienced company. I think he’s correct because I did receive a direct call from Porsche customer experience and they also spoke to the tow company directly. No complaints about Porsche roadside who were polite, responsive and followed up. The main issue is that the process from them to the tow company needs work so that the correct company is assigned out of the gate.

Sorry you had to go through this.
To get your car on the tow truck, did he use the Taycan's tow hook device - the eye bolt inserted into the front bumper?

 

[Henke]

Sorry you had to go through this.
To get your car on the tow truck, did he use the Taycan's tow hook device - the eye bolt inserted into the front bumper?

No, I think they use that if they can get the car into neutral. He used a couple of his own hooks at the front. I’m not sure exactly what he did as it was dark and he got under the car but he had a couple of loops around the wheels as well.

 

[tophamn]

Surely "neutral" is meaningless in an EV - ?

 

[RBGtaycan]

Surely "neutral" is meaningless in an EV - ?

Since there is a transmission (2 speed), it would seem that "neutral" still has meaning..at least that's what my (hopefully) common sense tells me! ?

 

[Henke]

Surely "neutral" is meaningless in an EV - ?

Different to ICE for sure but in this case, It just means the wheels can spin freely

 

[Scandinavian]

Different to ICE for sure but in this case, It just means the wheels can spin freely

That is no different to an ICE car, is it?

 

[FlyingPoint]

Surely "neutral" is meaningless in an EV - ?

You are joking, right? The forum member has a real issue on his hands and this is the best you can do.

 

[Henke]

Latest update, they could not get access to the car to figure out what is wrong. They are going to have take out the dash and bypass some things, so it will be a few days just for diagnosis. Will update when I know more

 

[jnat]

I had something similar happen to me a year ago, it ended up needing a new "electronics control unit" which is some sort of controller that sits between the 12V battery and everything else I guess.
Here's my post: https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/taycan-immobilized-after-entering-privacy-mode.16547/

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