mmcartalk
Expert
- Messages
- 4,157
- Reactions
- 2,675
I know that, like me, there are a number of you here on this forum who are car enthusiasts or, for whatever reason, test-drive a number of different vehicles. I thought I'd share a little tip with you as to one thing to watch for, and be careful of, on a test-drive.
Automatic-transmission vehicles with console-mounted, stick-type shifters that offer a Sport/Manual-Shift mode often have a separate fore-aft shift-gate that is either to the left or the right (usually to the left in American-market, left-hand-drive vehicles). Some Chrysler-designed vehicles use a crosswise, left-right manual-shift gate instead of a fore-aft one. To shift up or down one gear, you usually bump or tap the shift lever forward or back to the (+) or (-) marking. The majority of newer cars have the markings with (+) ahead and (-) back to upshift or downshift. A few makes, though, including BMW, Mazda, and occasionally someone else, program the lever and markings in reverse......(-) ahead to downshift and (+) in back to upshift. To shift in the manual mode, this obviously requires that you look at the markings closely before you actually drive, as if you are used to doing it one way (as I tend to be with the forward (+) and back (-), even though I drive a lot of cars), it's easy sometimes to forget (or to forget and check beforehand), if you are in a reverse-programmed BMW or Mazda (although I already have enough trouble adapting to some of BMW's electronic console-shifters, even without that feature LOL).
If you do forget, of course (or forget to check beforehand), and accidentally bump the lever the wrong way, particularly at higher RPMs, the engine-transmission computer will probably not allow a shift to take place that would actually damage the engine by lugging it or over-redlining it. But, it still could, in some cases, cause a strong shock or jar to the drivetrain and motor-mounts if the vehicle doesn't have an automatic engine-rev-matching downshift feature (most automatics don't, but some do)...that's the automatic-equivalent to double-clutching or a heel-and-toe shift with a manual transmission.
One other thing that can sometimes happen, with this type of setup, to surprise you, is if the transmission is ready to (or just starting to) shift on its own, and then you suddenly switch it to the manual mode and give it an up or down-shift command. It will (sometimes) cause the engine to shift up or down two gears instead of one...and that, of course, can cause more of a shock to the drivetrain than you were expecting. That can also happen, in some cases, if you don't know what automatic gear you are actually in before you put it in the manual mode.
One thing I like about some Fiat automatics, particularly in the 500L (as I noted that when I did the 500L review) is that they have a display-mode with the gauges that always shows you what gear you are in at any given moment, even in full-automatic mode....most vehicles with automatics display the relevant gear only in the manual mode. With that feature on the Fiat automatics, it makes the guesswork and/or double-shifts I described less-lkely, as you know what gear you are in before you switch to manual. Unfortunately, I didn't think much of the rest of the 500L, but of course, that's another subject for another thread.
Of course, some vehicles have different patterns and hardware, like the new Chrysler 200/Land Rover/Jaguar shift-knob (or the older Jaguar J-pattern)...but what I have shown covers the majority of vehicles.
Typical (+/-) manual-pattern found on many vehicles
BMW-Type (-/+ ) electronic pattern
Mazda (-/+) manual-shift pattern
Chrysler (and older Mercedes) Sideways Auto-Stick pattern
Automatic-transmission vehicles with console-mounted, stick-type shifters that offer a Sport/Manual-Shift mode often have a separate fore-aft shift-gate that is either to the left or the right (usually to the left in American-market, left-hand-drive vehicles). Some Chrysler-designed vehicles use a crosswise, left-right manual-shift gate instead of a fore-aft one. To shift up or down one gear, you usually bump or tap the shift lever forward or back to the (+) or (-) marking. The majority of newer cars have the markings with (+) ahead and (-) back to upshift or downshift. A few makes, though, including BMW, Mazda, and occasionally someone else, program the lever and markings in reverse......(-) ahead to downshift and (+) in back to upshift. To shift in the manual mode, this obviously requires that you look at the markings closely before you actually drive, as if you are used to doing it one way (as I tend to be with the forward (+) and back (-), even though I drive a lot of cars), it's easy sometimes to forget (or to forget and check beforehand), if you are in a reverse-programmed BMW or Mazda (although I already have enough trouble adapting to some of BMW's electronic console-shifters, even without that feature LOL).
If you do forget, of course (or forget to check beforehand), and accidentally bump the lever the wrong way, particularly at higher RPMs, the engine-transmission computer will probably not allow a shift to take place that would actually damage the engine by lugging it or over-redlining it. But, it still could, in some cases, cause a strong shock or jar to the drivetrain and motor-mounts if the vehicle doesn't have an automatic engine-rev-matching downshift feature (most automatics don't, but some do)...that's the automatic-equivalent to double-clutching or a heel-and-toe shift with a manual transmission.
One other thing that can sometimes happen, with this type of setup, to surprise you, is if the transmission is ready to (or just starting to) shift on its own, and then you suddenly switch it to the manual mode and give it an up or down-shift command. It will (sometimes) cause the engine to shift up or down two gears instead of one...and that, of course, can cause more of a shock to the drivetrain than you were expecting. That can also happen, in some cases, if you don't know what automatic gear you are actually in before you put it in the manual mode.
One thing I like about some Fiat automatics, particularly in the 500L (as I noted that when I did the 500L review) is that they have a display-mode with the gauges that always shows you what gear you are in at any given moment, even in full-automatic mode....most vehicles with automatics display the relevant gear only in the manual mode. With that feature on the Fiat automatics, it makes the guesswork and/or double-shifts I described less-lkely, as you know what gear you are in before you switch to manual. Unfortunately, I didn't think much of the rest of the 500L, but of course, that's another subject for another thread.
Of course, some vehicles have different patterns and hardware, like the new Chrysler 200/Land Rover/Jaguar shift-knob (or the older Jaguar J-pattern)...but what I have shown covers the majority of vehicles.
Typical (+/-) manual-pattern found on many vehicles
BMW-Type (-/+ ) electronic pattern
Mazda (-/+) manual-shift pattern
Chrysler (and older Mercedes) Sideways Auto-Stick pattern