doggdoc

How bad is it to accidentally come to a stop but forget that the car is in 4th/5th SS mode, and then try to drive again? For example, coming to stop at a red light?

oracion

I think it automatically down-shifts if your speed is too low?

doggdoc

I've been hoping someone would nicely say the computer inside the TLS is smarter than I am...thanks O

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Yup.. it will automatically downshift if it recognizes that you're stopping. I did this on the test drive, not realizing that I was in SS.... next thing you know I was in first gear automatically.....

ucla107

yup... it goes down to 4th if you're under 50mph then down to 3rd if you're inder 20mph then down to 1st if you're under 10....

however it will only go back up to 2nd after you get it going again...


on the side note, the BMW 3-series keeps it at 2nd after you're at a complete stop... rather than starting the car on 1st... wonder why

ZodiakTL

bmw does it to get better gas mileage and smoother off-the line starts. i know that with my car, if i step on the gas a little too much, all the pasangers always get pulled back into the seats cuz its too sudden, but with bmw being in 2nd u never get that, the start is always very smooth. damn germans though of everything the new 7 series will not even move unless u step on the gas. meaning when ur stuck in traffic, and u just let go of the brake, the car will stand still until u tap the gas. how cool is that?

Pawel

It's all included in the price.

SteVTEC

huh??

So are you saying that the BMW's start out in 2nd gear just if you're in their sport shift mode and you leave it in 2nd, or that it does it all the time??

I could understand why it would stay in 2nd in their sport shift mode (or whatever they call it) because you can use that for winter traction starts. You get much less torque at the wheels in 2nd than in 1st and it's great for icey surfaces. I can do that in my Accord by leaving the auto tranny in 2nd. Even if you're at a complete stop it'll still start out in 2nd. The only time you do that is for winter traction and NOT everyday driving.

If the BMW starts in 2nd gear all the time then that makes no sense. Lugging an engine from a stop in 2nd gear will DECREASE your mileage, not increase it. It'll also put more wear and tear on the auto tranny as well.

yee

don't all automatic starts in 2nd if you're in D ?

SteVTEC

umm...not mine in my Accord. And not in any of my parent's Camry's. And not in any GM pos I've driven.

I've heard of winter start modes that let you start out in 2nd gear, but I don't ever recall hearing about an auto tranny that by default starts out in 2nd gear.

Silver Panther

There's one exception that I know of... the Lincoln LX starts off in second gear, which many of the automotive press evaluators complained about in their reviews. My question is, if it always starts out in second, is second really first and what is the point of having a first gear (though it can apparently be selected manually)... also, "if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it really make a sound?" :o)

ZodiakTL

it starts out in 2nd all the time. the reason this saves gas is that the higher u rev the more gas u use, so it helps keep the rpms down. if the computer sees that ur trying to accelerate fast, it'll down shift into 1st. if ur in SS in the TL and u start off, it'll go to second almsot immediately, however, if while in 2nd, u then floor it, it will downshift into 1st again to help u accelerate. i can't speak for BMW tiptronic as i'm not familiar with the system, but that is how auto BMW's work. as far as transmission stress, i would think its actually less since it has one less shift to go through, instead of doing 1-2-3, it does 2-3, so less slipping torque converter=less stress on tranny. thats why if u've ever driven a bmw, it always feels heavy and slow, cuz ur always starting in 2nd.

lonny

Oh yeah, well my old go-cart had the technology before BMW - it would just sit there until I stepped on the gas!

ZodiakTL

heh... yeah, now that u mention it, so did my buick regal :p

SteVTEC

so are you guys saying that the TL-S in auto mode (D3, D4, or D5) will automatically start out in 2nd gear?

Or are you just saying that if you leave it in 2nd in SportShift mode it'll start out in 2nd gear, unless you get on the gas hard in which case it'll automatically go down to 1st for you...

You're not saying that in full-auto mode it starts out in 2nd all the time, right??

ZodiakTL

heh.. what r u confused about, the 2nd is for 1st SS only, and when in 3rd passing out of 2nd, when starting in 1st, 2nd only upshifts while its windy outside....

Seriously though, TL/TL-S will always start out in 1st, SS or auto, and then will switch to 2nd almost immediately. However, if you are in SS and doing mild acceleration, it will stay in 1st longer before going to 2nd. If u floor in SS in 1st, it will go to redline before going to 2nd. If, when in SSn ur cruising in 2nd and then floor it, it will downshift into 1st. BMW on the other hand always starts out in 2nd.

does that clear that up?

AKRY

There is one thing though.... I think it's in the manual some where saying that if you manually pull the shifter to D2, tranny will start in 2nd gear for winter driving......

gonna go check the manual again...

Ok, it's on Pg. 186 of Owner's Manual(not sure if US and Canada has same # of pages).

BTW, last time I was cruising on highway at about 60mph, 4th in SS, I manually shift down to 3rd and gun it, and the damn computer cut off my fuel(techmeter bouncing back and forth)at around 5,500...... any one experienced the same thing?? Shouldn't we be able to pull redline on all gears?? Damn Acura tech told me it's normal!!! F@#$.....

Andy Kuo

tdoh

Well, I was cruising at 80 mph in SS D5 gear and decided to see what would happen if I SS downshifted to 4 and then quickly afterwards to 3. Downshift to 4 went okay but when I downshifted to 3 (still going about 75 mph or so) the '3' light flashed for a moment and then displayed '4' again. I take this to mean that the computer-controlled tranny is smart enough to not shift into a lower gear when the revs are too high, even in SS mode. Or should I be able to downshift no matter how high the rpms are in a particular gear?

Tony

SteVTEC

don't worry, I think the shift lockouts are normal - we have similar things happening on the Accord V6.

If we downshift to D3 at around 90mph, it'll just stay in 4th and we can't get to 3rd at all, even though it'll take us clear up to 116mph. But if we're just below 90mph, like at 87-88mph or so, you can still get to 3rd via a downshift.

Same thing with 2nd gear too. It tops out at 73mph, but if you're at 60mph and you floor it it'll only go down to 3rd, and if you manually shift down to 2nd it'll still stay in 3rd. But if you're going like 55mph or so you can still get a 2nd gear downshift and take it all the way up to 73mph on the Accord V6.

Auto tranny's piss me off. My next car will have a manual!!!