I am new to this car. The transmission can be set to manual mode by placing the car in drive and then moving the shifter left. Unfortunately, since the driver is to the left of the shifter, when shifting from park to drive, there is a tendency to also pull the shifter to the left, accidentally leaving you in manual mode. Of course, when I did this, I was entering a busy highway and I needed to move out quickly. Instead, the car went quickly to redline and would not accelerate. I am now saying what the hell and scrambling, trying to move right although no place to go. Totally unpleasant.
I have seen a YouTube video that says if I had truly floored it, I would have hit a switch to override the manual and shift (but to what gear and for how long?) I want my stick-shifts back!
What vehicle is this ?
Paddle shifter on steering wheel?
How did you go from P to D/Manual mode while entering the busy highway??
In manual mode the transmission should either start off in a higher gear and you have to slap it down to 1st, or start off in 1st and you should have noticed it not shifting going to the highway on ramp… Most also show the gear you are in on the dash, so as someone said to me, you should always be paying attention to the dash… But you never said what vehicle either…
My Tacoma 6 speed auto defaults to 4th or 5th (depending on your speed) gear no matter your speed even if not moving when it is put in manual mode…
Every manual mode vehicle I have ever drove was not hard but not easy to move to manual mode from Drive…
And yes, the transmission should have, what we used to call it in non ECT’s, blow shift even in manual mode to keep from damaging the engine and or trans…
Accidents happen, just need to pay a little more attention… Sorry this happened to you…
EDIT after Nevada posted his… This is how mine works…
Manual shift or “Sport Shift” mode has been around for 30 years, time to become familiar with the operation of the shift lever.
Ya. More generally, I guess, time to learn how to operate your vehicle. If you can’t handle that, then there’s likely other stuff too…
The OP is asking about a safety question. I see no reason for insults.
It is not a safety question . It is just that someone has failed to become familiar with something . Just like buying anything that is new to the buyer .
If you post on an open forum and can’t handle a critiquing, then you shouldn’t be on an open forum…
Beside, we are not throwing insults out, we are just critiquing and or explaining what happened…
This is no more a safety issue than hitting the gas instead of the brake, or throwing the vehicle up to reverse while driving… It is 100% human error…
Manual on my Pontiac is to the right and down. To shift up you just push the gear shift up once for each gear. The gear you are in is displayed on the dash. The only time I ever use it is for pulling the trailer.
Now I will say you can get confused. Don’t remember which Acura but I dropped my wife off at the dealer to pick up our new car. She told me later that it made a lot of noise on the freeway. Then discovered it was in manual mode. Don’t know how close she got to red line but it never shifted up. A guy I knew said he always breaks new cars in by driving it like the devil was after him so I didn’t worry too much.
Dad did this fresh off a flight to the uk, put the rented toyota in manual mode by mistake and realized it was revving higher than expected. Had the car for maybe 30min. One time slip to be blamed on jet lag.
Do you believe it is possible to drive 70 mph in first gear? I think it had to have upshifted twice to 3rd gear.
There were no insults or even critique. Someone posted about a problem and some people said some helpful things.
For all: this is a 2024 Mazda CX-5. It is my wife’s car, so I have generally only driven it on open roads. For my case, I was leaving a gas station totally unaware that it was in manual mode. Since I was creeping in first, it would not have shifted in drive, and of course it was in 1st . I was entering a fast moving line of traffic, and it would have been fine if it shifted automatically. When it happened, my first reaction was that the car was broken.
I am telling this story because I suspect it will happen to others. Personally, the only time I ever want to use a car in manual in the snow for a startup in second. I might also if climbing a long hill in slow traffic and experience the transmission hunting for the right gear.
I agree with those who say it is my responsibility to know how the car operates, but in this case, maybe the designers made it just a little too easy to set it into manual mode. One more little light on the dash is not enough warning.
And, to be frank, the car has a number of “features” that I dislike. I don’t really need the cruise control to do any more than my 2007 Mazda3 does. I really like daytime driving lights, blind-spot monitoring and rear camera. I still don’t know how to turn on the radio, and I have 396 pages of owner’s manual to get through. Most of all, I have serious concerns that mechanics have not kept up with the complexity of these systems, and the only service will be at the dealer.
his brief YouTube shows the one-finger ease of placing the vehicle into manual mode. It can also be done all in one motion by pulling to the left a bit while moving from park to drive.
Some people say my error was ALL driver error, but sometimes good design means anticipating what the driver might do incorrectly, and prevent it by design. Isn’t that what blind=spot monitoring does? Or, a seat belt?
I think you will find the Adaptive Cruise Control is a very nice feature . I have ours set on the maximum distance to follow the vehicle in front of us.
Adaptive Cruise Control This is my wife’s car, so I leave her settings alone. Since I drive mostly in very mild traffic on the interstate, I come up upon someone slower in my lane, and my usual routine would be to hold my speed, get closer and move to pass. However, the ACC has slowed me just gradually enough that I don’t notice, and I finally wake up and see I am dawdling along behind.
I have not experienced any other functions for this, but maybe those are more worthwhile.
Like you I also own a 2024 Mazda but unlike you I also agreed to the Dealers insistence (against my will) that I go through their review of all the operational controls.
All the features are a bit intimidating but if you take the time to understand them you’ll probably understand and appreciate them.
That includes the Automatic Shift Override that’s been on practically every automatic transmission since at least the last 20 years.
Manual gear select positions? Hasn’t that been common since the 1950’s?
It is impractical for an automatic transmission shift lever to have 8 forward positions, a plus or minus switch functions better. The same applies for a console shift lever, the secondary gate has plus and minus switches to actuate upshifts and downshifts.
It would be challenging to select 4th, 5th or 6th gear while descending a grade, a switch makes this easier.
With all due respect, my wife’s 2021 Volvo XC60 has the exact same design and neither of us have ever had an issue with it. My 2022 Chevy Colorado is even easier to get in manual mode - just pull it one notch past D straight down (not left). I think this is a case of being unfamiliar with a vehicle and blaming the design. That configuration is extremely common and has been for quite some time. In any case, glad you were not in an accident.