Most cars have the shift stick on the console and you would have to put it to "manual" mode which then allows you to shift with the paddles and if you wanted to go back to auto, you move the shift stick back to the "D" where it's auto.
On this car because of the electronic shifter, there's only D for drive. I notice that I can just use the paddle shifter any time and it was start going into manual mode but sometimes it switches back to auto and I'm not sure what the circumstances for that are.
Am I do this wrong or missing a key function? To me, there's no button or mode to change to manual or auto so it makes it very confusing.
Anyone else have a problem with this?

 

You can use the paddle shifters at any time. However....

In modes other than Sport +, you can use the paddle shifters, but after a short time without further input, the shift mode returns to automatic. In Sport + Mode, the paddle shifters work closer to a true manual mode, and will not change back to auto mode nearly as quickly.

Paddle shifting in the other modes seems most useful if you want to quickly drop down 2-3 gears for passing.

 

On drive mode D and IDS Normal after using the paddle shifts it goes back on auto after 8 sec if i remember correctly. Change IDS to Sport or Sport+ and it still stays on auto if you don't touch the paddle levers, but if you use them it stays in "manual". To return to auto the easiest way is to hold the + paddle for few seconds and returns back to auto or use IDS to switch to Normal

 

In manual mode (Sport+), you select the gear with the paddles and the selection will be held by the car.
The only exceptions are for RPMs that are too low or high. If RPMs reach redline, then the transmission will shift up (automatically) to prevent engine damage. When you slow the car down and RPMs indicate potential 'lugging', the transmission will downshift automatically.

 

This was a timely question. Was thinking about it this week. For some reason I always thought Sport + was for manual paddle shifting only. I found out this week that in Sport + it will still autoshift if you don't touch the paddles. So what's the difference then in auto mode between Sport and Sport +?

 

Sport mode will shift up through the gears at RPMs lower than redline...they are usually RPM values that are higher than Normal mode...hence 'Sport'. I would guess the downshift points are probably similar between Sport and Normal modes. But in any event both of these modes are completely 'automatic'.

Sport+ doesn't automatically shift through gears unless the RPMs have reached redline. The transmission is simply doing what it can to avoid over-revving...the only other action the car could take would be to shutdown the engine (not preferred). In Sport+ mode, you pick the upshift RPM by pressing the + paddle.

In downshift in Sport+ mode, the transmission will not select a gear if it calculates the current speed of the car will yield an 'over-redline' condition. The transmission is once again protecting itself from damage. You will see the display gear display will blink a few times and the car will go to the gear that it can run the engine below redline.

In all these cases, the transmission is preventing engine damage (over-revving) by selecting a gear for you. Sport+ allows the driver to select an RPM for a shift...a 'sport' driving experience will usually desire a higher RPM value...only taking action (upshifting) when damage may occur. Note that picking higher RPMs for each upshift will result in less gas mileage.

By the way, it is a very neat feature that the transmission automatically calculates the RPM of the engine needed to match the speed of car - this is a technique called 'rev matching'...the car is doing this for you when you downshift.

 

That's not how I'm seeing my 2018 work. If I put it in Sport + it will shift similiar to Sport automatically. It's only going to let it go to redline if I touch the paddles. As if the paddles engage manual only mode, but if not touched Sport + mode will shift like Sport mode from what I see.

 

I have no knowledge of the 2018...my comments apply to a 2015. Also I have the 8-speed DCT...the 9-speed is a completely different transmission and may (probably) be programmed differently. My opinion, the 9-speed is not engineered primarily to be manually shifted. I should have clearly stated my information is for the 8-speed DCT in a 2015 car.

The gear display shows "D" or sometimes "D#" with the "D" indicating 'automatic' mode...the transmission is in general control of the gear. "D3" means that you have manually selected gear 3 with the paddles but the transmission will select other gears in a short time. "D" means auto mode is in effect, and driver has selected no gear by the paddles (Econ, Normal, Sport modes).

If the gear display shows "S#" then "S" indicates manual mode has been selected...and the only way I can get to that mode is selecting Sport+ mode. The transmission will hold the gear you have selected as long as you like...only changing gears to prevent the over-revving problem. You can't drive 60 mph in "S2" - the RPMs would be way over redline.

 

When i originally posted this, I was debating on getting a TLX or another car. Sure enough, I'm part of the family now. I read everyone's post and decided to test it myself to come to a conclusion. So here it is.

Eco, Normal and Sport modes will start off Automatic and you can down and up shift whenever you want from the paddles (as long as you're within the allowed RPM limit) and once you do that, you will enter into manual mode. After some time if your accelerator input is pretty constant then it will automatically shift back to Auto mode. Doing this in Eco and Normal modes, it will change back to Auto mode more sooner. In Sport mode you can hold the gear longer before it will shift back to Auto mode.

Sport + mode starts off in Auto and can also be switched to full time manual mode (unlike Eco, Normal, Sport). To do so, just downshift or upshift using the paddles and it will enter manual mode. If you want to take off from a stop in manual mode, go to Sport + then just hit the downshift paddle once and it will put you in M1 mode. Once you're in manual mode, it will not shift for you (unless you're bouncing off the limiter, and I believe if you come to a stop in a high gear it will gear down to 1 or 2 for you) or switch to Auto mode. If you want to change back to Auto Sport + , you can either just cycle through the IDS back to Sport + (or any mode) or hold the upshift paddle for about 2 seconds and it will change back to Auto.

After learning this, I feel like this is very unique and I actually really like it. I like how i can be in normal or sport mode and still downshift/upshift on the fly to pass and stuff and then just keep driving and have it go back to auto unlike most other cars where you would have to move a lever or knob just to get it into manual mode first to start shifting which is an extra step. And then you have Sport + mode which gives you the full manual mode experience like other paddle shifting cars.

Correct me if I'm wrong but this is what I've tested and found true.