Saab 9-5, Owner'S Manual

Page: 156 / 272

156 Starting and driving
Sentronic, manual mode
3
Move the selector lever to the M position.
Select a higher gear by pushing the
right-hand paddle on the steering
wheel. Select a lower gear by pushing the
left-hand paddle on the steering wheel.
An example of when you may wish to make
manual gear changes is when overtaking, to
enable you to remain in a low gear for an
extended period of time.
Changes from 3rd to 4th and from 4th to 5th
can be made when the engine speed is
above roughly 2,000 rpm.
If you select a gear that is judged too high by
the system, the selected gear position will
be shown briefly on the main instrument
panel and then the gear that is actually
engaged.
If the road surface is slippery, you may wish
to pull off in 2nd or 3rd to reduce the risk of
wheel spin.
When descending hills you should select a
low gear to increase the braking effect of the
engine and thus spare the brakes.
Manual gear selections are shown on the
main instrument panel. The selector posi-
tion and the current gear are displayed.
When the selector lever is in the M position,
as opposed to the D position, engines are
much more responsive to changes in accel-
erator position. The accelerator has a differ-
ent feel.
When in manual mode, kick-down operates
for 4th and 5th gears (below 2,000 rpm).
Kick-down cannot be activated in 1st, 2nd or
3rd gears.
For optimum performance, gear changes
should be made before reaching 6,000 rpm.
To avoid damaging the engine and trans-
mission, the transmission will shift up a gear
if the engine is in danger of overrevving. You
may feel a slight jolt before this gear change
is effected.
IB3880
Paddles on the steering wheel for
changing gear manually
95_US_MY09.book Page 156 Tuesday, April 15, 2008 11:03 AM