When Driving- Page 159

4–31

When Driving

Transaxle

CAUTION

Do not shift into N when driving the 

vehicle. Doing so can cause transaxle 

damage.

NOTE

Apply the parking brake or depress the 

brake pedal before moving the selector 

lever from N to prevent the vehicle from 

moving unexpectedly.

D (Drive)

D is the normal driving position. From a 

stop, the transaxle will automatically shift 

through a 6-gear sequence.

M (Manual)

M is the manual shift mode position. Gears 

can be shifted up or down by operating the 

selector lever. Refer to Manual Shift Mode 

on page 4-32.

 Active Adaptive Shift (AAS)

Active Adaptive Shift (AAS) 

automatically controls the transaxle shift 

points to best suit the road conditions 

and driver input. This improves driving 

feel. The transaxle may switch to AAS 

mode when driving up and down slopes, 

cornering, driving at high elevations, 

or depressing the accelerator pedal 

quickly while the selector lever is in the 

D position. Depending on the road and 

driving conditions/vehicle operations, gear 

shifting could be delayed or not occur, 

however, this does not indicate a problem 

because the AAS mode will maintain the 

optimum gear position.

 Shift-Lock System

The shift-lock system prevents shifting out 

of P unless the brake pedal is depressed.

To shift from P:
1.  Depress and hold the brake pedal.

2.  Start the engine.

3.  Press and hold the lock-release button.

4.  Move the selector lever.

NOTE



  When the ignition is switched to ACC or 

the ignition is switched off, the selector 

lever cannot be shifted from P.



  The ignition cannot be switched to OFF 

if the selector lever is not in P.

 Shift-Lock Override

If the selector lever will not move from P 

using the proper shift procedure, continue 

to hold down the brake pedal.

1.  Remove the shift-lock override cover 

using a cloth-wrapped flat head 

screwdriver.

2.  Insert a screwdriver and push it down.

Cover

Mazda3_8FA4-EA-15G_Edition1.indb   31

2015/05/11   14:00:45