When Driving; Automatic Transaxle; Using selector lever- Page 168

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When Driving

Automatic Transaxle

*Some models.

 Manually Shifting Down

You can shift gears down by operating 

the selector lever or the steering shift 

switches

*

.

M6 → M5 → M4 → M3 → M2→ M1

Using selector lever

To shift down to a lower gear, tap the 

selector lever forward   once.

Using steering shift switch

*

To shift down to a lower gear with the 

steering shift switches, pull the DOWN 

switch   toward you once with your 

fingers.

DOWN switch

WARNING

Do not use engine braking on slippery 

road surfaces or at high speeds:

Shifting down while driving on wet, 

snowy, or frozen roads, or while driving 

at high speeds causes sudden engine 

braking, which is dangerous. The 

sudden change in tire speed could 

cause the tires to skid. This could lead to 

loss of vehicle control and an accident.

Keep your hands on the steering wheel 

rim when using fingers on the steering 

shift switches:

Putting your hands inside the rim of the 

steering wheel when using the steering 

shift switches is dangerous. If the driver's 

air bag were to deploy in a collision, your 

hands could be impacted causing injury.

NOTE



  When driving at high speeds, the gear 

may not shift down.



  During deceleration, the gear may 

automatically shift down depending on 

vehicle speed.



  When depressing the accelerator fully, 

the transaxle will shift to a lower gear, 

depending on vehicle speed. However, 

the gears do not kickdown while the 

DSC is turned off.

 Second Gear Fixed Mode

When the selector lever is moved back   

while the vehicle speed is about 10 km/h 

(6.2 mph) or less, the transaxle is set in the 

second gear fixed mode. The gear is fixed 

in second while in this mode for easier 

acceleration from a stop and driving on 

slippery roads such as snow-covered roads.

If the selector lever is moved back   or 

forward 

 while in the second gear fixed 

mode, the mode will be canceled.

Mazda3_8FL6-EA-16F_Edition2.indb   38

2016/08/10   17:36:12