This is one such moment I wish I had a brother, so I could ask him..
Alas, I have no brother and my blog is the next option.
My car gear box is a tad unusual
It has a plus sign after the N, then there is a S right after the D and a minus sign right underneath the S.
What does the plus, the minus sign and the S stands for?
( I know I should read the instruction manual..I am hoping someone would explain in simple terms, rather than me trying to read and understand the manual)
Daughters of Tomorrow
What kind of car is it. Its most likely S is for sports mode. It gives better pickup but you loose mileage.
+/- are if for some reason you want to drive the car as manual e.g you are going uphill/downhill towing something.
Maverick, I think it is tiptronic S, do you know how and when I can use it?
Hi Sarah
Your car obviously has a Tiptronic transmission which allows you to drive in either regular Auto Mode / Manual mode with an electronic cluth by either increasing (+) or decreasing (-) gears.
As for the S, it would usually mean Sports Mode / Sequential Shift. Depends on the transmission used in your specific car.
Being the voracious reader that you are, you should read the relevant bits in your car's instruction manual – nothing more expensive than a wrecked transmission.
m@: The problem is, instruction manuals and I don't understand each other. I even attempted imagining the car as a human body and trying to figure out how each organ works..Still it made no sense. I still don't understand why when the car is fine with the usual gears, am I given something else called tiptronic and how and when I should use it..
Tiptronic transmissions offer you the choice of driving in either auto or manual mode (as in sports cars) where you are in control of the cars gear chgs for better driving pleasure.
If you want to know how to use it, read the instruction manual without the negative attitude. Otherwise, just use Auto.
m@: better still ..>>BNE + read manual + explain to this hapless soul
I did read the manual.
It bothers me so much that I don't know how to use the tiptronic system..
The problem is, the writers of most technical manuals write expecting that everyone knows what they are talking about..( even simple things like where the fuel tank switch is..It is assumed that everyone will automatically know where it is..yes I know it would be close to somewhere where the driver sits..it took me ONLY 15 minutes to find it and yes it was on page 12 of the manual!)