![]() In some cars, the shifter has to be slid into manual mode first, or there will be a button. On most cars, the paddles are always active. How do I activate the paddle shifters? With the gear selector in Drive, squeeze the paddle toward you with your fingertips for either a downshift or an upshift. “Other than that, it really doesn’t accomplish much, and the average driver isn’t going to care.” “The only people who are going to want to use paddles are people who understand the sporty side of driving and want to use it for some performance advantage,” says Andretti. Eleven percent said that they never use the paddles, and 4 percent said the only time they’ve used them was when they accidentally bumped the paddles while driving. While around a quarter (24 percent) of drivers with automatic transmission-equipped vehicles in CR’s survey said their car has them, only 9 percent said they use them at least occasionally. ![]() ![]() Still, most drivers who have paddle shifters use them rarely, if at all. ![]() “That way works, but it’s not as convenient as paddles,” Shenhar says. But with today’s eight-, nine-, and 10-speed transmissions, as well as continuously variable transmissions (CVTs), paddle shifters have become the norm in terms of a manual override available with an automatic transmission.Īlternatively, some cars have conventional console-mounted shifters that allow drivers to flick the gear selector to the side and manually select gears, usually by moving the stick back and forth, or with a button on the shifter handle. Paddles also allow the driver to downshift and slow the car with engine braking, which uses engine deceleration to slow the car and help keep it at a steady speed on a long, steep downhill grade without overheating the brakes.īefore paddle shifters began appearing in passenger cars, drivers with automatic transmission-equipped vehicles could select from one of three or four possible gears. “On most cars that have paddles, the car’s computer knows when to shift up to the next gear to avoid damaging the engine by winding the rpms too high, and it won’t let you shift into a lower gear if the speed is too high.”Ī driver can use paddle shifters to keep the engine revs at a more optimal level when entering a corner, or to wind up the revs higher when they need more power before upshifting. “Paddle shifters give you the option of manual shifting, sort of, and are also foolproof,” Shenhar says. Paddle shifters are easier to use and more forgiving than conventional manual transmissions, allowing drivers to shift without using a clutch or worrying about wrecking the engine. “For a professional race driver, it makes everything faster and easier.” Andretti says that, all other things being equal, a car with paddle shifters will always beat one that has an old-fashioned stick shifter. “Instead of having a stick on the side where you have to take your hands off the wheel to shift, you can keep your hands on the wheel,” says Mario Andretti, who captured the checkered flag in everything from Formula 1 to NASCAR over his decades-long racing career. Those are paddle shifters, which allow you to manually select gears on an automatic transmission-equipped car for more control or responsiveness.įormula 1 drivers have been using paddle shifters since the ’90s. Have you noticed two flap- or ear-like appendages poking out from behind your steering wheel-one on either side? Maybe there’s a minus sign on the left one and a plus sign on the right one. But many automatic cars today also have the ability to be driven like a manual-almost. Only 4 percent of American drivers say that the vehicle they most often drive has a manual transmission, according to a recent nationally representative CR survey of 2,000 American adults.
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