paddle shifters: how to use
 

as someone who grew up in san Francisco we never had stick shifts in our family cars (my mother wouldn't allow it!) When attempting to go down one of our many steep hills we would put the auto trans in low 1 or low 2. Jump to the present: I now have a CVT and am wondering how to properly use the paddle shifters when I am descending a hill. Do I need to put the trans in S mode or can I leave it in D? Which paddle shifter do I use to gear down (I'm assuming the "-" shifter?) this is completely foreign to me. thanks for your help

Your correct, use the minus one to down shift and the plus one to up shift, you can also feel an extra line raised on the back of the up shift paddle...

You can use the paddle shifters in both D and S. The car will act as if it has gears and won't let you over run the engine, it will bump up or down if you leave it alone too long and the engine is going too fast... I would suggest playing around with it at a slower speed (possibly in a parking lot) until you get used to it... I find it helpful to get on a short on ramp, or passing a car at high speeds. It's a a nice added feature to have on an automatic car; one I plan on making sure I can get on all my future cars!

Honestly, and I promise I'm not trying to be mean, don't bother with the paddle shifters if you don't know how to drive stick. Actually, I'll go so far as to say just "don't bother with the paddle shifters".

I use them in 2 instances, both with the shifter in "D" and both "downshifting" (pressing the "-" on the left).
1) for additional engine braking, particularly when coming to a stop, or on short hills
2) to downshift to get a little boost passing or going up hills

In "D" mode the paddle shifting is temporary. It will switch back to automatic within a few seconds, so I don't find it really useful for additional engine breaking down large hills-- it goes back to "normal" too quickly.

In "S" mode, the car will only shift for you if you redline. S mode feels useless to me as well. I asked some opinions on S mode here: https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/3rd-...port-mode.html

OP your salesman should be shot. You should have gotten a chance to briefly get educated on every feature of your purchase. You asking such a simple question says a lot about the dealer you bought your car from. I'm not picking on you, just the dealer.

Hi Maui, I will try to help you out. If you are wanting to use it for going down steep hills put it in the "s" mode. While you can use the paddle shifters in s and d mode while in drive it is only temporary, so it will automatically shift back to drive which could possible be an issue if while going down hill it suddenly shifts up and you lose your braking through the transmission. So with it in the S mode, as you start down the hill pull the left paddle to control your speed. You will notice the engine rpm raise but you cant over rev the engine as it will automatically shift up a notch. If the engine isn't revving much pull the shift paddle again to step the tranny down another notch. Continue to do so till you get the desired control. Obviously if you are in the lowest range and still going to fast you need to compensate with the brakes. You cant hurt anything so just try it out and experiment. You will get the hang of it pretty quick. Remember once you have gotten to the bottom of the hill and you need to go faster you now have it upshift the car or just put it back in drive.

Hope that helps.

thanks to all for the instructions, I think I got it!

Funny, I was looking at how to use them.. I'll try tomorrow. I'm in the "what's the point" group, though. Manual or auto, no in between.

I was wondering if the paddle shifters can be used to reduce the drone of the engine when you press the throttle hard. Does any one has experience if using the paddle shifters, the driver may help the CVT to match the higher RPM after hard pressing the gas pedal?
Thanks!

If you are not using them as Maui wants as in controlling your speed downhill then they basically are just a sporty option for fun. I find it kind of handy when I want to just play, I have always enjoyed manuals for sport but also enjoy the ease of an automatic. The paddles allow both, when I am done playing I just put it back into drive and continue. :)

I believe you're wrong on this one. I use "S" mode a lot and I do not have to red line it in order to shift to next gear. I rarely red line before shifting gears.

If you let the CVT do what it wants, it will be as quiet as possible. If you paddle down, it will always get louder. If you paddle up it might get a little quieter but then you would have poor acceleration for barely any reduction in drone. If you paddle up at highway speeds, the RPM will actually INCREASE because the highest simulated gear, 7th, is still too short for highway speeds.

The paddles are really only useful for engine breaking. Sure, you could also downshift to speed up and pass somebody, but then you are forcing the engine to lock to a specific gear ratio instead of letting the CVT adjust the ratio for maximum acceleration. So if you continue to accelerate after downshifting you would actually have less power than if you had just let the CVT do its own thing.

If you need more power, just drop into sport mode.