We are going to discuss the Meaning and Use of “S” Shift “+” and “-” in automatic Cars.
I know many of us car owners barely know or understands what the “S” sign we see in our Automatic Gear transmissions mean, depending on the Car manufacturer, it is an “S”, some others have it as “M”, some car manufacturers also don’t use letters, just the “+” and “-” signs, and several other letters or formats based on what the manufacturer used.
As we can see from the images above, it is different patterns for different companies, now to the main discussion, this “S” stands for Shift, to engage your gear in a higher or lower gear ratio, I know this might sound off to some persons, because we all know automatic as once you engage your gear in the drive “D”, then you’re good to go, but with this S “+” and “-” options here, you’re given more power and control to choose any gear of your choice at any point in time as the need arises.
It is safe to call cars with this functionality “Semi-Automatic” transmissions, as it is an intersection or meeting point between a manual and an Automatic, as you can change your gear without a Clutch pedal, and also not limited to the Rigid gear changing format of the conventional automatic transmission.
That been said, it is not rock science on how to make use of this feature, all you have to do is move your gear knob to the shift area and then increase with the “+” option, or decrease your gear with the “-” option, and you’re good to go.
Attached below are videos showing what was explained above..
