What does the M +/- in an automatic transmission mean? How to use it?
2 Answers
Automatic transmission M +/- refers to the manual mode for upshifting or downshifting. The usage method is: A manual-automatic transmission has a manual mode function. After shifting into M gear, the vehicle becomes a manual transmission car, allowing the driver to control the gear manually. A manual-automatic transmission is a transmission device that combines manual and automatic shifting functions, consisting of a gearbox, electronically controlled clutch, automatic shift control mechanism, and electronic control components. Other gears in an automatic transmission include: 1. D gear refers to the drive gear; 2. R gear refers to the reverse gear; 3. P gear refers to the parking gear; 4. L gear refers to the low gear; 5. N gear refers to the neutral gear; 6. W gear refers to the snow/rain gear; 7. S gear refers to the sport mode driving gear.
When I first started learning to drive, I didn't quite understand what the M gear in an automatic transmission was for. Later, I realized it stands for Manual mode. After shifting to M gear, you can manually control the gears using the plus/minus buttons on the gear lever or the paddle shifters on the steering wheel - push forward to upshift and pull back to downshift. This design is particularly suitable for scenarios requiring precise power control, such as using lower gears to limit speed when going downhill on winding mountain roads to prevent brake overheating, or downshifting before overtaking to raise RPMs for quicker and more decisive acceleration. However, the transmission has protective mechanisms that will automatically intervene to shift gears when RPMs are too high or too low. Once you get used to it, you might find D gear too boring, especially on roads with many curves, where manual shifting adds a lot of driving pleasure.