How to use manual transmission on automatic transmission car - Vietnamese drivers need to know

Manual or sport gear can be used to overtake other vehicles, brake when going downhill or simply increase driving inspiration.

Most modern cars use automatic transmission because of its simplicity in operation. In the US, only about 10% of cars use manual transmission, while in Vietnam, many manufacturers have discontinued the manual transmission version of their current car models. However, the simplicity of automatic transmission makes many drivers lazy to learn and use all the functions, including manual or sport transmission.

Basically, manual or sport transmission is a type of transmission that is manually shifted according to the driver's will, not automatically changed by the car. The gear shifting can be done through the gear lever or the paddles on the steering wheel. There are 3 basic types of manual transmission: limited gear, +/- change on the gear lever and change on the steering wheel.

1. Change +/- on the gear lever

This is the most popular type of manual transmission today, called manual or sport transmission, on the gear lever there is an additional space to push the gear lever with two symbols +/- to increase or decrease the number. This mode can be marked with the letters M (Manual), S (Sport) or nothing.

With this type of gear, the driver can change gears as desired, just like using a manual transmission. To go up a gear, push the gear lever to (+), to go down a gear, push the gear lever to (-). If you don't want to use manual gear anymore, just push it to position D and the car will automatically adjust as before. The driver can shift from D to M (S) at any time, whether the car is stationary or moving.

On some cars, for example Toyota, the S (+/-) function does not necessarily mean the actual gear the car is in, but only means the gear limit.

For example, the car is running at 3rd gear in D mode, the driver switches to S, pushes up to 4 or 5, 6, the dashboard still jumps up to these gears, but if there is no intervention to accelerate, the actual gear of the car is still at 3. If you push the gear lever to 5, it only makes sense, no matter how hard you accelerate, the gear will still automatically change to a maximum of 5, it cannot go up to 6.

On many cars with electronic gearshifts, for example Mercedes, if the driver shifts to M but does not change gears according to speed for a long time, the car will automatically intervene and return to normal D gear.

2. Steering wheel paddle shifters

Steering wheel paddle shifters are a common feature on sports cars, luxury cars, and even some popular cars. These paddles work similarly to the +/- on the gear lever with the usual design of the right paddle increasing the gear and the left paddle decreasing the gear.

Some cars only have paddles on the steering wheel, some cars have +/- on the gear lever, depending on the driver's preference, the gear lever or the paddles. This design is often the most preferred by drivers who like to drive.

On vehicles equipped with CVT automatic transmission, to increase driving inspiration, manufacturers can equip additional paddle shifters on the steering wheel, which essentially represent virtual gears. With this vehicle, the gear lever still only has the normal D without M, S or +/-. The driver may be driving and shifting gears on the paddle shifters, but after a period of no intervention, the vehicle will automatically return to normal CVT.

3. Limit a few numbers

Most old cars and some cars today still use this design. Besides the normal D number, the car has an additional number 2, 1 or 3, 2, 1 or 3, 2, L... depending on the manufacturer, in which L represents Low (low number), equivalent to number 1.

With this type of structure, the main function of the manual transmission is to overtake or brake the engine, but cannot shift to a higher gear. For example, when driving in 4th gear, to overtake the car in front, the driver can shift to 3rd gear to increase torque to help accelerate faster.

Another case is when going downhill, the car often moves quickly due to inertia, forcing the driver to brake to slow down to a safe level. Braking for a long time with strong force can cause the brake fluid to lose its effect, leading to the brake pads locking or overheating, causing skidding. At this time, the driver shifts to a lower gear such as 3, 2, 1 or L to brake the engine, the car slows down by itself without the need to brake.

According to VNE