[napolef1]

I have had my car for about a month now. I understand when you shift the car into "S" you use the paddle shifters, but recently I tapped the paddle shifter while driving in "D" and it actually shifted the car up and down. Here are my questions:

1. What is the difference?

2. Why does the display read M1,M2, etc. when in S? What does the M stand for?

3. Is it bad to paddle shift while in drive? Obviously the computer overrides the driver if it were to be dangerous, but what are some benefits/drawback to paddle-shifting in drive? Also, why does the display go blank after a few seconds after switching into the gear?

 

[RBeaubien]

While in Drive, the paddles temporarily override the automatically selected gear. After you drive at a steady pace for a few seconds, it will automatically return to the optimum gear. When in S mode, it will hold whatever gear you select until you change it yourself. M stands for Manual mode.

The override feature in drive is useful for things like planning a pass on a 2-way road. Down shifting before you actually go so you can get going faster. There are no issues with using the paddles in drive. The computer will not allow you to overrev the engine. Only your mpg will suffer as the computer is usually best at keeping efficiency at optimum levels.