2012 Acura TL gear

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Press the brake
pedal and the release button on the
frontoftheshiftlevertoshiftfrom
Park to reverse. To shif t f rom
reverse to neutral, come to a
completestop,andthenshift.Press
the release button bef ore shif ting
into reverse f rom neutral.
Use neutral if you
need to restart a stalled engine, or if
it is necessary to stop brief ly with
the engine idling. Shif t to the Park
position if you need to leave your
vehicle for any reason. Press on the
brake pedal when you are moving
the shift lever from neutral to
another gear.
You must also press the release
button to shift into Park. To avoid
transmission damage, come to a
complete stop before shifting
into Park.
TheshiftlevermustbeinPark
bef ore you can remove the key f rom
the ignition switch.
TheshiftlevermustbeinPark
bef ore you change the power mode
f rom ON to VEHICLE OFF (LOCK).
Use this position f or
your normal driving. The
transmission automatically selects a
suitable gear (1 through 6 gear) to
keep the engine at the best speed f or
the driving conditions.
On models with keyless access system
On models without
keyless access system
Reverse (R)
Neutral (N) Drive (D)
Automatic Transmission
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Driving
2012 TL

µIf you exceed the maximum speed
f or the gear you are in, the engine
speed will enter into the tachometer’s
red zone. If this occurs, you may f eel
the engine cut in and out. This is
caused by a limiter in the engine’s
computer controls. The engine will
run normally when you reduce the
rpm below the red zone. This allows you to move the shif t
lever out of Park if the normal
method of pushing on the brake
pedal and pressing the release
button does not work.
Set the parking brake.
Remove the key from the ignition
switch.
Remove the built-in key from the
keyless access remote (see ).
With the shift lever in D or S, you
canalsousethepaddleshiftersto
shif t the transmission up or down.
With the paddle shifters, you can
operate the transmission much like a
manual transmission without a
clutch pedal. For more inf ormation
on driving with the paddle shif ters,
see page . The engine may cut in and out in R
position or depending on the road
condition, even when the engine
speed is lower than the tachometer’s
red zone. This is the engine’s
computer working to protect the
transmission.
To shift into the S
position, press the release button on
the front of the shift lever, and move
the lever to S. This position is similar
to D, except only gears f rom f irst to
fifth are selected. (When shifting up
automatically, the vehicle speed is
higher than when in the D position.)
The S position keeps the
transmission f rom cycling between
fourth, fifth and sixth gears in stop-
and-go driving. 1.
2.
501
CONT INUED
On models without keyless access system
On models with keyless access
Shif t L ock Release
Engine Speed L imiter
S Position (S)
Automatic Transmission
Driving
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system
2012 TL

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WhenyouaredrivingintheD
position, you can shif t the
transmission up or down manually
with the paddle shifters.
Each time you pull (right), the
transmission shif ts to a higher gear.
Pull (lef t) to downshif t. You will
see the selected gear number on the
instrument panel.
To shif t up or down, use the
(right) or (lef t) paddle shif ter on
either side of the steering wheel. Downshifting with the paddle shifter
allows you to increase the engine
braking when going down steep or
long hills, and provides more power
when climbing uphills. You can
upshif t the transmission manually to
reduce the rpm.
When you pull either paddle shif ter,
the gear position indicator shows you
the selected gear number.
CONT INUED
Using the Paddle Shif ters in the
D position (D-Paddle Shif t Mode)
Driving with the Paddle Shif ters (A utomatic Transmission Only)
Driving
499
GEAR POSITION INDICATOR
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2012 TL

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The transmission control system
monitors the accelerator pedal use
and your driving conditions. When
you press the accelerator pedal as
in normal driving, the system
judges that you are driving at a
constant cruising speed without
using the paddle shifters. Under
these conditions, D-paddle shift
mode is canceled, and the
transmission automatically returns
to drive mode (D).
Each time you pull either paddle
shif ter, the transmission shif ts one
gear up or down. If you want to shif t
up or down more than two gears, pull
the paddle shif ter twice, pause, and
then pull it again.
The automatic transmission will not
allow you to shif t up or down if :
You downshif t bef ore the engine
speed reaches the highest
threshold of the lower gear.
If you try to do this, the gear
position indicator will f lash the
numberof thelowergearseveral
times, then return to a higher gear.
Hold the paddle shifter for 2
seconds to return to drive mode (D).
When the transmission returns to
drive mode (D), the displayed gear
number disappears.
The transmission remains in the
selected gear if you do not accelerate.
You upshif t bef ore the engine
speed reaches the lowest
threshold of the higher gear.
You pull both paddle shif ters at
thesametime.When you depress the accelerator
pedal to the f loor, the transmission
will downshif t f rom second to f irst.
If there is a problem in the
transmission while you are driving
with the paddle shifters, the D
indicator flashes, the D-paddle
shift mode is canceled, and the
transmission returns to drive
mode (D). The transmission downshif ts to f irst
gear and returns to drive mode (D)
when the vehicle comes to a
complete stop or the vehicle speed is
about 6 mph (10 km/h).
You are trying to downshift from
second to f irst with the accelerator
pedal off.
Driving with the Paddle Shif ters (A utomatic Transmission Only)
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CONT INUED
With the shif t lever in the S position,
you can select the sequential shif t
mode to shif t gears; much like a
manual transmission using the
paddle shifters, but without a
Shif ting between f irst and second
gears may occur automatically.
Downshif ting f rom second to f irst
with the accelerator pedal off is When you move the shif t lever f rom
‘‘D’’ to ‘‘S’’ and pull either paddle
shif ter, the gear position indicator
displays ‘‘M’’ along with the selected
gear number.
To upshift, pull the (right) paddle
shif ter. To downshif t, pull the
(lef t) paddle shif ter.
To enter the sequential shif t mode,
pressthereleasebuttononthefront
of the shift lever, move the lever to
the S position, then pull either paddle
shif ter. To cancel the sequential shif t
mode and return to the ordinary
automatic transmission, move the
shif t lever f rom the S position. When
moving the shift lever, be careful not
to operate incorrectly. While you are
driving in the sequential shif t mode,
the transmission will not
automatically return to ordinary
automatic transmission.
Using the Paddle Shif ters in the S
position (Sequential Shif t Mode)
Driving with the Paddle Shif ters (A utomatic Transmission Only)
Driving
501
GEAR POSITION INDICATOR
‘‘M’’ INDICATOR
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clutch pedal.
not allowed.
2012 TL

The automatic transmission will not
allow you to shif t up or down if :If the vehicle speed decreases
below the redline of the selected
lowergearwhiletheindicatoris
f lashing, the transmission
downshif ts, and the indicator
displays the selected gear.
You upshif t bef ore the engine
speed reaches the lowest
threshold of the higher gear.
You pull both paddle shif ters at
thesametime. You downshif t bef ore the engine
speed reaches the highest
threshold of the lower gear.
If you try to do this, the gear
position indicator will f lash the
numberof thelowergearseveral
times, then return to a higher gear.
Downshifting with the paddle shifter
allows you to increase the engine
braking when going down steep or
long hills, and provides more power
when climbing uphills. You can
upshif t the transmission manually to
reduce the rpm.
When you accelerate f rom a stop,
the transmission starts in f irst gear,
and shif ts f rom f irst to second
automatically. You must manually
upshif t between second and sixth
gears. Make sure you upshif t bef ore
the engine speed reaches the
tachometer’s red zone.
The transmission remains in the
selectedgear(6,5,4,3,or2).There
is no automatic downshif t when you
push the accelerator pedal to the
f loor.
When you are driving, the
transmission downshifts to the lower
gear under the f ollowing conditions:
The vehicle slows down to a
certain speed.
You press the brake pedal.
The vehicle detects that you are
driving uphill or downhill. The transmission also shif ts
automatically as the vehicle comes to
a complete stop. It downshif ts to f irst
gear when the vehicle speed reaches
6mph(10km/h)orless.
Driving with the Paddle Shif ters (A utomatic Transmission Only)
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When you are in sequential shif t
mode, and the vehicle is stopped,
pull the (right) paddle shifter to
shif t to second gear. You will see
‘‘M2’’ in the display. Starting in
second gear helps to reduce
wheelspin in deep snow or on a
slippery surf ace. Drive in the highest gear that lets
the engine run and accelerate
smoothly. This will give you good
f uel economy and ef f ective
emissions control. The f ollowing
shif t points are recommended:
Normal acceleration15 mph (24 km/h)
25 mph (40 km/h)
40 mph (64 km/h)
45 mph (72 km/h)
50 mph (81 km/h)
Shif t up
1st to 2nd
2nd to 3rd 3rd to 4th4th to 5th
5th to 6th
Driving with the Paddle Shif ters (A utomatic Transmission Only)
St art ing in Second Gear Recommended Shif t Point s
Driving
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2012 TL

Always use the parking brake when
you park your vehicle. Make sure
the parking brake is set f irmly, or
your vehicle may roll if it is parked
on an incline.
If your vehicle has an automatic
transmission, set the parking
brake before you put the
transmission in Park. This keeps
the vehicle from moving and
putting pressure on the parking
mechanism in the transmission.Make sure the moonroof and the
windows are closed.
Turn of f the lights.
Place any packages, valuables, etc.,
in the trunk or take them with you.
Lock the doors.
Never park over dry leaves, tall
grass, or other f lammable
materials. The hot three way
catalytic converter could cause
these materials to catch on fire. Check the indicator on the
instrument panel to verif y that the
security system is set.
If the vehicle is f acing uphill, turn
the front wheels away from the
curb. If your vehicle has a manual
transmission, put it in f irst gear.If the vehicle is f acing downhill,
turn the front wheels toward the
curb. If your vehicle has a manual
transmission, put it in reverse gear.
Make sure the parking brake is
f ully released bef ore driving away.
Driving with the parking brake
partially set can overheat or
damage the rear brakes.
If you are unable to stop the
engine normally when the vehicle is
parked(intheParkpositiononthe
automatic transmission models), see on
.
On models with keyless access system
Parking T ips
Emergency Engine Stop
Parking
506
NOTE:
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Driving
2012 TL