A Tip For You While Test-Driving

[mmcartalk]

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

 

[IS-SV]

Note: BMW and Mazda do not program +/- manual mode in reverse. That is the correct pattern requiring moving lever up for downshift and pulling lever down for upshift, as expected by serious drivers.

Also all decent auto tranny premium cars (incl. Lexus) now have paddle shifters (- left, + right), very effective.

 

[mmcartalk]

Note: BMW and Mazda do not program +/- manual mode in reverse. That is the correct pattern requiring moving lever up for downshift and pulling lever down for upshift, as expected by serious drivers.

I wasn't referring to what is considered "correct", or by whom.......only pointing out differences. The majority of vehicles with console-shift-levers do it in a +/- fashion.

Also all decent auto tranny premium cars (incl. Lexus) now have paddle shifters (- left, + right), very effective.

Paddle-shifters sometimes vary, too....though not as often as the lever. My 1Gen Lexus IS300, BTW, had round push-buttons built into the thick steering wheel spokes for manual-shifting. The buttons on both the front sides of the spokes downshifted, and those on the rear of the spokes (totally hidden from view and accessed by feel alone) upshifted. The first time I drove that-generation IS alone (before I bought one), I couldn't figure out how to upshift manually LOL...the salesperson had to show me the buttons on the rear spokes.

 

[IS-SV]

I wasn't referring to what is considered "correct", or by whom.......only pointing out differences. The majority of vehicles with console-shift-levers do it in a +/- fashion.

Yes, which is why I pointed out correct setup. Because you made statement about "programming lever and markings in reverse" (above).

 

[mmcartalk]

Exactly why I pointed out correct setup. Because you made statement about "programming lever and markings in reverse" m (see above).

Whatever. Let's move on.

 

[IS-SV]

Whatever. Let's move on.

Yes, "whatever", hey at least the last 2 posts were actually on topic and now refined, wow.

 

[CIF]

mmcartalk does make a valuable point; for non-enthusiasts, the reversal of the gear change indicators can be confusing to average drivers.

 

[IS-SV]

mmcartalk does make a valuable point; for non-enthusiasts, the reversal of the gear change indicators can be confusing to average drivers.

Agreed. And the automaker creativity and differences with auto tranny shifters are quite diverse today, some unfamiliar at first glance to drivers new to certain brands.

 

[mmcartalk]

mmcartalk does make a valuable point; for non-enthusiasts, the reversal of the gear change indicators can be confusing to average drivers.

I've been test-driving cars for decades, and it is an easy slip-up to make, even for experienced people. My brother once brought home a Mazda6, which was a loaner/rental while his Subaru was getting some body-damage repaired. He wanted my opinion of it, so I took it out for a little spin. I typically bumped the lever forward and downshifted when I should have pulled it back and uipshifted. (that's one reason why I wrote this thread in the first place). Fortunately, I wasn't going that fast, and the computer allowed the downshift and did not actually overspeed the engine, though it did give the drivetrain somewhat of a jolt. I immediately recognized the error and instantly upshifted. Needless to say, I was quite careful after that.

 

[mmcartalk]

I'm generally not one for unnecessary or frivolous regulations on new cars (indeed, IMO, in some areas, there are too many regulations already)....but it might not be a bad idea for DOT to standardize how the manual-shift gates are marked. There would also be a precedent for this...back before the mid-60s and the safety-regulations that Ralph Nader and Co. got Congress to pass (and the President to sign), some cars (particularly big GM models) had P-N-D-L-R shift quadrants instead of P-R-N-D-L....and transmissions on those cars were accidentally getting torn up by drivers used to other quadrants (or going into reverse when they meant to downshift). The Edsel, of course, had the shift-buttons shaped like a circle in the middle of the steering wheel....which caused even more confusion. The Motor Vehicle Act of 1966 standardized all that, once and for all, and gave us the P-R-N-D-L (or P-R-N-D-Manual-Mode) that we have virtually standard today. Might not be a bad idea to standardize the (+/-) markings as well....even if that means doing it like Mazda and BMW do.

 

[Och]

I wasn't referring to what is considered "correct", or by whom.......only pointing out differences. The majority of vehicles with console-shift-levers do it in a +/- fashion.



Paddle-shifters sometimes vary, too....though not as often as the lever. My 1Gen Lexus IS300, BTW, had round push-buttons built into the thick steering wheel spokes for manual-shifting. The buttons on both the front sides of the spokes downshifted, and those on the rear of the spokes (totally hidden from view and accessed by feel alone) upshifted. The first time I drove that-generation IS alone (before I bought one), I couldn't figure out how to upshift manually LOL...the salesperson had to show me the buttons on the rear spokes.

My 745 also had up/down buttons on the steering wheel, and for some reason they almost never did anything, the car remained in D.

 

[mmcartalk]

My 745 also had up/down buttons on the steering wheel, and for some reason they almost never did anything, the car remained in D.

Were they operating properly? Older BMWs, along with some other German makes, were noted for electrical problems.