Automatic transmission with steptronic – BMW 325Ci Coupe 2004 User Manual

Page 68

Kickdown

You can achieve maximum road perfor-
mance using kickdown.

Depress the accelerator pedal past the
increased resistance point at the full-
throttle position.

M/S manual operation and Sport
program

When you move the selector lever from
the D position to the left into the M/S
range, the sport program is activated,
indicated by the letters SD in the instru-
ment cluster. The M/S mode is recom-
mended for performance-oriented driv-
ing. Steptronic enters the manual
selection mode and executes the
desired shift whenever you tap the
selector lever in the direction indicated
by + or –.

This mode allows you to execute
upshifts manually by tapping the lever
toward +, while downshifts are selected
by tapping in the – direction. The dis-
plays M1 through M5 appear in the
instrument cluster.

The transmission will only execute
upshifts and downshifts that will result
in an appropriate combination of vehi-
cle speed and engine rpm. For
instance, downshifts that would result
in excessive engine speed are not exe-
cuted. The desired, then the actual
gear, briefly appear in the instrument
cluster.

Whenever you want to use the auto-
matic mode again, just shift the selector
lever toward the right to position D.

Shifting from M/S to the selector lever
positions P, R and N is possible only by
going through D.

To accelerate quickly in the man-
ual mode for maneuvers such as

passing another vehicle, shift down
manually or employ the kickdown
mode.

Shifting from M/S to the selector lever
positions P, R and N is possible only by
going through D.

Automatic transmission with Steptronic*