Shifting into Manual Mode

I see. Fair enough.

Think of it like putting a manual in gear while stopped in neutral

Mine is inconsistent. Sometimes it stays in manual mode after a stop. But very rarely. It keeps defaulting to auto mode and I've tried everything including shifting to D and holing it or shifting to D twice while stopped or downshifting to 1 while stopped (then it will take off in manual but only sometimes). I'll wait for a software fix. It should be shift to D to go into manual then shift to D to come out of manual.

That sounds strange. For me, if the transmission is in sport mode then it stays in manual mode once you hit a paddle unless you come to a stop. From a stop, if you hit up, it will launch in 2nd gear and if you hit down it'll go into 1. 100% of the time it behaves the same.

You are sure you aren't trying this in comfort, eco, or smart modes or custom with the trans in comfort?

Hey man. I want it to go into manual when I hit the paddle and not come out unless I tell it to. I know it reverts to auto no matter what in any mode. For it to behave differently depending on the mode is not logical. But I'll see if that is the case. I drive in sport most of the time but I haven't spent the time to do a full analysis. Come to think of it, I should 'n't have to. Does that make me lazy... YOU BET!

Sorry, but that's literally the point of the different modes: to behave differently. It's perfectly logical.

The 2007 Infiniti G35x sedan I had behaved exactly the same.

There are several pages in the owner's manual (I only have the online version since my car is due in 2 days) that describe the ways in which manual will revert to automatic mode. This is normal on all cars.

For example on my "old" Pontiac G8, if you are in manual mode and come to a stop, it only makes sense that the transmission will not stay in a higher gear or you wouldn't be able to launch from a stop in 6th gear, so it drops into automatic 1st.

Also on the Stinger, when you use the paddle shifters, press them quickly to switch to manual mode. The manual says that if you hold them down for more than one second, they revert back to automatic. I assume that is because the gear you are trying to select is outside of the RPM range of the engine and the computer is keeping you from making a mistake of either over-revving or lugging.

Not buying any of this guys. At no point in time can I decide to stay in a gear without changing the gear. At no point can I stay in manual mode without being surprised by a shift at some point because I haven't revisited the owner's manual to remind me of the plethora of logical gates that decide stuff I don't want decided for me. KISS. Both paddles change mode in any driving mode. Downshifts occur automatically if revs too low. Like... D'UH!

BTW: The transmission is spectacular in auto mode in sport mode.

Disagree - Auto is awful when driving aggressively near limit. It?s fine for street but awful in completion

100% agree Steve. On the steering wheel paddle models it should only change gear automatically after you have selected manual IF

1. You have come to a stop
2. The revs are too high and about to damage the engine
3. The revs are too low and about to damage the engine. Which would be quite a feat considering you can take off in second with the foot to the floor so revs too low shouldn't be a problem

I believe that some models have a shifter that you can put into a true manual mode (I hope that is correct). I've driven many cars that once in manual stay in manual except for the above reasons so what were KIA thinking on such a sporty car. Dumbasses

No not when it comes to a true manual mode. If I want to be in comfort or whatever mode for its throttle mapping and ease of driving in certain situations then why shouldn't I be able to select a true manual mode under any condition. I mean isn't the idea of manual mode to simulate a manual gearbox so why should it matter which mode you are in. Just leave it up to the driver

So.. you are complaining that if you want true manual mode, that you have to put the transmission in sport mode first? I've never heard of a car that doesn't require something similar.

Simple solution to that. Sell it and buy a car that behaves the way you want. Sounds like you want something with a manual.

What I said was that you should be able to select a proper full manual in any mode not just Sport. After all it's only telling the transmission what gear to be in so it really shouldn't matter what the mode is

And it doesn't seem like you are listening when Steve and I say that being in Sport mode isn't a true manual either so having to set it to Sport as per your reply still doesn't achieve anything meaningful.

Do you not get that even in Sport mode when the gear indicator goes from "a number" to "D" on its own when you are driving then it has dropped out of manual and gone full auto? Why does it need to?

And don't you think that if many other manufacturers can somehow manage to do it then KIA should make this already great car even better

Ok, 2 things. Yes I am 'listening', I just don't agree with the premise of your point. Here are two reasons why:

1. In my car, if I click a paddle in sport mode, it ONLY goes back to "D" under 1 of 2 circumstances: I come to a full stop, or I take it out myself by changing drive mode, holding the + paddle for 1 second, or clicking the shifter back towards me. That's it. NEVER on it's own while in motion. Is yours different? If so that might explain this discussion.


2. Kia has never marketted anything different that I have seen. If you didn't like the way it works, you could have not bought the car. Presumably and wisely if you cared so much about this you would have tested it prior to purchase to confirm it met your requirement. It's not a deficiency, rather it's a misalignment with your personal taste. And there is nothing unusual about it at that. This is exactly the way my Infiniti G35x sedan worked - first you put it in sport mode "DS" (in that case by moving the shift lever to the side, rather than with a knob) then upon clicking a paddle or pulling the lever +/- it would shift, and stay in said gear until stopping. It wasn't in 'manual mode' until you shift. If you clicked a paddle while in normal D, it would behave similarly to the Stinger when you click a paddle in comfort. Point is, they behave the same with 1 difference: the Infiniti didn't go to DS at a stop, it just went to 1. My personal preference is the way the Stinger does it, but to each his own.

Bottom line:
Ultimately it's a feature of the car that you may or may not like, just like the many other features, and if you don't like it, then I guess you just have to decide whether it's worth selling the car over. And if a sales person promised you something different, and you feel the product is difficient relative to that promise, then speak with your lawyer about it. What I've been trying to do is help clarify in case it was just misunderstanding of the controls, given the assumption that yours works like mine does (Canada spec GT Limited). I will, however, stop trying to help and commence NGAF

Agreed auto trans in this car is ok for cruising on street. It?s absolutely terrible in more competitive driving scenarios. I?m wondering if somone might be able to hack oem trans tune and make manual truly manual. Also wish there was a way to speed shifts. The car when really pushed hard just does the weirdest things . Sad to say my 8 speed paddle shifter transmission in my Dodge SUV works better than the Kia .

Also no sense if having it up shift if you have rev limiter . Just allow me to shift the car as I like. Also make the dang paddles eaiser to reach or allow consol shift like most other brands do.

Well if that is the case then it seems the top spec Australian 3.3 ltr, Steve O's Canadian model and from what I have seen on forums other peoples cars as well behave differently to yours. All I know is if mine is in sport and I upshift via paddles to 4th and stay at a constant speed of say 60 kmh then at some point it changes to "D". Why mine and others do this and not yours I do not know

I heard you the first time when you said "Simple solution to that. Sell it and buy a car that behaves the way you want" but I just felt I should ignore the comment. Now that you have said it again I can only say that my comments are about what I think would make the car a better all round car. If you don't agree that's fine by me

And it appears as though your now too bored. Oh well I think I'll survive

So Calisting it looks like from your comments that your transmission behaves like mine and is not true manual and yes I agree its not the greatest gearbox or at least the programming in the world. Looks like you might have to sell yours as well because you dare raise an issue in the world according to Brandon

Well hey...maybe I am crazy and mine is like that too and I've convinced myself otherwise.

Maybe some day there will be a tuning option that changes the behavior to the way you like.

I drove all the way to work and home today in manual mode and the car never once shifted to D on its own other than when stopping. Light part throttle in 3rd and 4th around 2000 - 3000 rpm all day long with no change of gear or reversion to D.

I don't have an explanation for it, but this is my observation.

If your car truely behaves different from that maybe check with the dealer about a Transmission logic update just in case?

Yes I will ask as I have to go in to the dealer in a few weeks. I'm not overly confident there will be one but doesn't hurt to ask

The odd thing is why yours is ok. Not doubting what you are saying so are you able to give us more info on the car like engine, I assume paddle shift, build date etc

I'm now very curious as to what may be different on your car that causes mine and other cars to behave differently

Thanks

It's a Canadian GT Limited, which is equivalent to an American GT2 plus more interior equipment and features. 3.3T engine.

Importantly, it has the electronic console shifter and paddle shifters. Don't all Stingers have paddle shifters?

I'll get the build date off the door sill later today.

Some pics of what mine does in sport when left to its own devices. Video taken and converted to stills. 3.3 GT Top Spec


My shifter type


Start off in 2nd


Changes to D on its own after 6.5 seconds


Paddle upshift to 4th


Changes to D on its own after 7.5 seconds


80 kmh paddle shift to 4th


Changes to D on its own after 8 seconds