2012 Citroen C3 Owner's Manual

9
111
DRIVING








GEAR SHIFT INDICATOR *

System which reduces fuel consumption
by advising the driver to change up on
vehicles fi tted with a manual gearbox.


Operation

The system intervenes only when driv-
ing economically.
Depending on the driving situation and
your vehicle's equipment, the system
may advise you to skip one or more
gears. You can follow this instruc-
tion without engaging the intermediate
gears.
The gear recommended should not
be considered compulsory. In fact, the
confi guration of the road, the amount
of traffi c and safety remain determining
factors when choosing the best gear.
Therefore, the driver remains responsi-
ble for deciding whether or not to follow
the advice given by the system.
This function cannot be deactivated.
In the case of driving which
makes particular demands on
the performance of the engine
(fi rm pressure on the accelerator
pedal, for example, when over-
taking...), the system will not
recommend a gear change.
The system never suggests:


- engaging fi rst gear,

- engaging reverse gear,

- engaging a lower gear.


- You press the accelerator pedal
moderately.
Example:


- You are in third gear.

- The system may suggest that you
engage a higher gear, if appropriate.

*
According to engine.
The information appears in the form
of an arrow in the instrument panel
screen.
Depending on your vehicle's equipment,
this arrow may be accompanied by the
recommended gear.

9
11 2
DRIVING
ELECTRONIC GEARBOX
Five or six-speed electronically con-
trolled gearbox which offers a choice
between the comfort of automated op-
eration or the pleasure of manual gear
changing.
Two driving modes are offered:


- automated
mode for automatic
control of the gears by the gearbox,
without any action by the driver,

- manual
mode for the sequential
changing of the gears by the driver,
using the gear lever or the steering
mounted control paddles,
In automated mode, you can temporar-
ily take control of gear changes at any
time, using the steering mounted control
paddles.
R.
Reverse


)
With your foot on the brake, move
the lever forwards to select this po-
sition.

N.
Neutral.


)
With your foot on the brake, select
this position to start the engine.

A.
Automated mode.


)
Move the lever backwards to select
this mode.

M +/-.
Manual mode with sequential
gear changing.


)
Move the lever backwards, then to
the left to select this mode, then:


- push forwards to change up a gear,

- or push backwards to change down
a gear.

Gear lever


+.
Paddle to the right of the steering
wheel for changing up.


)
Press the back of the steering
mounted "+"
paddle to change up a
gear.

-.
Paddle to the left of the steering
wheel for changing down.


)
Press the back of the steering
mounted "-"
paddle to change down
a gear.


Steering mounted controls

The steering mounted paddles
do not allow neutral to be select-
ed, reverse gear to be engaged
or disengaged, or the driving
mode to be changed.

9
113
DRIVING

Display in the instrument panel


Gear lever positions

N.
Neutral

R.
Reverse

1 2 3 4 5/6.
Gears in manual mode.

AUTO.
This comes on when automated
mode is selected. It goes off when
changing to manual mode.

Moving off



)
Select position N
.

)
Press the brake pedal fully.

)
Start the engine.
N
appears in the instrument
panel.

N
fl ashes in the instrument panel
screen if the gear lever is not in
position N
when starting.


)
Select automated mode (position A
),
manual mode (position M
) or reverse
(position R
).

AUTO
and 1
, 1
or R
appear in
the instrument panel.


)
Place your foot on the
brake
when this warning
lamp fl ashes (e.g.: starting
the engine).


You must keep your foot on the
brake pedal while starting the
engine. Vehicles fi tted with the 6-speed
electronic gearbox system then
move off on their own (refer to
the paragraph "Creep function").
Creep function
(6-speed electronic gearbox system)
This function allows the vehicle to be
manoeuvered more easily at low speeds (when parking, in traffi c jams...).
With the gear lever in position A
, M
or
R
, the vehicle moves as soon as you
take your foot off the brake pedal
, at
low speed and with the engine at idle.
Do not leave children unsuper-
vised inside the vehicle when
the engine is running.


)
Release the parking brake.

)
Progressively take your foot off the
brake pedal.
Do not press the brake and
clutch pedals simultaneously.
This can cause rapid clutch
wear.

)
Accelerate away. The creep function may be tem-
porarily unavailable if the clutch
temperature is too high or the
slope too steep.

9
11 4
DRIVING

Manual mode



)
Select position M
.
The gears engaged appear in
succession in the instrument
panel.
The gear change requests are only carried
out if the engine speed permits.
It is not necessary to release the accel-
erator pedal during gear changes.
When braking or slowing down, the
gearbox changes down automatically
so that the vehicle picks up in the right
gear.
Under full acceleration, the change up will
not take place unless the driver operates
the gear lever or steering mounted control
paddle (unless the engine is close to its
maximum speed).

Temporary control of gear changing
You can temporarily take over control of
gear changes using the steering mount-
ed "+"
and "-"
control paddles: if the
engine speed allows, the gear change
is carried out.
This function allows you to anticipate
certain situations such as overtaking
another vehicle or approaching a bend.
After a few moments without any action
on the paddles, the gearbox resumes
control of gear changing automatically.

You can change mode at any
time by moving the gear lever
from A
to M
or the other way
round.
Never select neutral (position N
)
when moving.


Automated mode



)
Select position A
.

AUTO
and the gear engaged
appear in the instrument panel.
The gearbox then operates in auto-adap-tive mode, without any action on the part
of the driver. It continuously selects the
most suitable gear taking account of:


- optimisation of fuel consumption,

- driving style,

- road conditions,

- vehicle load.
For optimum acceleration, when over-
taking another vehicle for example,
press the accelerator pedal fully down,
beyond the point of resistance.
You can change mode at any
time by moving the gear lever
from A
to M
or the other way
round.
Never select neutral (position N
)
when moving.

9
115
DRIVING
Reverse

To engage reverse, the vehicle must
be immobilised with your foot on the
brake.


)
Select position R
.


Stopping the vehicle
Operatin
g fault

With the ignition on, if this
warning lamp comes on and
AUTO
fl ashes, accompa-
nied by an audible signal and a mes-
sage in the multifunction screen, this
indicates a gearbox fault.
Have it checked by a CITROËN dealer
or a qualifi ed workshop. There is an audible signal on
engagement of reverse.
At low speed, if reverse gear is request-
ed, the N
warning lamp fl ashes and the
gearbox goes into neutral automatically.
To engage reverse, put the gear lever
into position N
, then to position R
. Before doing anything under the
bonnet, ensure that the gear le-
ver is in neutral (position N
) and
that the parking brake is ap-
plied.
For all parking situations, you
must apply the parking brake

to immobilise the vehicle. When immobilising the vehicle
with the engine running, you
must put the gear lever into
neutral (position N
).
Before switching off the engine:


- change to position N
to be in neutral,
or

- leave the vehicle in gear; in this case
the vehicle cannot be moved.
Reinitialisation(5-speed electronic gearbox)

Following disconnection of the battery, it
is necessary to reinitialise the gearbox.


)
Switch on the ignition.

AUTO
and - -
appear in the
instrument panel.


)
Select position N
.

)
Press the brake pedal.

)
Wait for around 30 seconds until N

or a gear appears in the instrument
panel.

)
Move the gear lever to position A
,
then to position N
.

)
With your foot still on the brake pedal,
start the engine.
The gearbox is operational again.
In exceptional circumstances,
the gearbox may need an au-
tomatic reinitialisation: starting
and gear changing are no lon-
ger possible.

AUTO
and - -
appear in
the instrument panel.
Follow the procedure described
above.

9
116
DRIVING
AUTOMATIC GEARBOX
Four-speed automatic gearbox which
offers a choice between the comfort of
fully automatic operation, enhanced by
sport and snow programmes, or manual
gear changing.
Therefore, four driving modes are of-
fered:


- automatic
operation for electronic
management of the gears by the
gearbox,

- sport
programme for a more dy-
namic style of driving,

- snow
programme to improve driv-
ing when traction is poor,

- manual
operation for sequential
changing of the gears by the driver.


1.
Gear lever.

2.
Button "S"
(sport)
.

3.
Button "

7

"
(snow).




Gear selection gate


P.
Park.


- Immobilisation of the vehicle, park-
ing brake on or off.

- Starting the engine.

R.
Reverse.


- Reversing manoeuvres, vehicle sta-
tionary, engine at idle.

N.
Neutral.


- Immobilisation of the vehicle, park-
ing brake on.

- Starting the engine.

D.
Automatic operation.

M +/-.
Manual operation with sequential
changing of the four gears.


)
Push forwards to change up through
the gears.
or

)
Pull backwards to change down
through the gears.

Gear lever

When you move the lever in the gate
to select a position, the corresponding
indicator is displayed in the instrument
panel.

P.
Park

R.
Reverse

N.
Neutral

D.
Drive (Automatic driving)

S.
Sport
programme

7

.
Snow
programme

1 2 3 4

.
Gears engaged during manual
operation

-.
Invalid value during manual operation


Displays in the instrument panel


Foot on brake


)
Press the brake pedal when
this indicator lamp is displayed
in the instrument panel (e.g.:
starting the engine).

9
11 7
DRIVING

Moving off



)
Apply the parking brake.

)
Select position P
or N
.

)
Start the engine.
If this procedure is not followed, an au-
dible signal is heard, accompanied by a
message in the multifunction screen.


)
With the engine running, press the
brake pedal.

)
Release the parking brake.

)
Select position R
, D
or M
.

)
Gradually release the brake pedal.
The vehicle moves off immediately.
Automatic operation



)
Select position D
for automatic

changing of the four gears.
The gearbox then operates in auto-
adaptive mode, without any intervention
on the part of the driver. It continuously
selects the most suitable gear accord-
ing to the style of driving, the profi le of
the road and the load in the vehicle.
For maximum acceleration without
touching the lever, press the accelera-
tor pedal down fully (kick down). The
gearbox changes down automatically
or maintains the gear selected until the
maximum engine speed is reached.
On braking, the gearbox changes down
automatically to provide effi cient engine
braking.
If you release the accelerator sharply,
the gearbox will not change to a higher
gear for safety reasons.

Sport and snow programmes

These two special programmes supple-
ment the automatic operation in very
specifi c conditions of use.

Sport programme "S"


)
Press button "S"
, after starting the
engine.
The gearbox automatically favours a
dynamic style of driving.

Snow programme " 7
"


)
Press button " 7
", after starting the
engine.
The gearbox adapts to driving on slip-
pery roads.
This programme improves starting and
drive when traction is poor.
Return to automatic operation



)
At any time, press the button select-
ed again to quit the programme en-
gaged and return to auto-adaptive
mode.
If position N
is engaged inadver-
tently while driving, allow the en-
gine to return to idle then engage
position D
to accelerate.
Never select position N
while the
vehicle is moving.
Never select positions P
or R

unless the vehicle is completely
stationary. When the engine is running at
idle, with the brakes released,
if position R
, D
or M
is selected,
the vehicle moves even without
the accelerator being pressed.
When the engine is running,
never leave children in the ve-
hicle without supervision.
When carrying out maintenance
with the engine running, apply
the parking brake and select
position P
.
S
appears on the instrument
panel.

7
appears on the instrument
panel.

9
118
DRIVING
Manual operation



)
Select position M
for sequential

changing of the four gears.

)
Push the lever towards the +
sign to
change up a gear.

)
Pull the lever towards the -
sign to
change down a gear.
It is only possible to change from one
gear to another if the vehicle speed and
engine speed permit; otherwise, the
gearbox will operate temporarily in au-
tomatic mode.

D
disappears and the gears
engaged appear in succes-
sion on the instrument panel.
If the engine speed is too low
or too high, the gear selected
fl ashes for a few seconds, then the ac-
tual gear engaged is displayed.
It is possible to change from position D

(automatic) to position M
(manual) at
any time.
When the vehicle is stationary or moving
very slowly, the gearbox selects gear M1

automatically.
The sport and snow programmes do not
operate in manual mode.
Invalid value during manual
operation
This symbol is displayed if a
gear is not engaged correctly
(selector between two posi-
tions).

Stopping the vehicle

Before switching off the engine, you
can engage position P
or N
to place the
gearbox in neutral.
In both cases, apply the parking brake
to immobilise the vehicle.
If the lever is not in position P
,
when the driver's door is opened
or approximately 45 seconds af-
ter the ignition is switched off, a
message appears in the multi-
function screen.


)
Return the lever to position P
;
the message disappears.
There is a risk of damage to the
gearbox:


- if you press the accelera-
tor and brake pedals at the
same time,

- if you force the movement
of the gear lever from the
P
position to another position
when the battery is fl at.


Operating fault

When the ignition is on, the
lighting of this warning lamp,
accompanied by an audible
signal and a message in the multifunc-
tion screen, indicates a gearbox fault.
In this case, the gearbox switches to
back-up mode and is locked in 3rd gear.
You may feel a substantial knock when
changing from P
to R
and from N
to R
.
This will not cause any damage to the
gearbox.
Do not exceed 60 mph (100 km/h), local
speed restrictions permitting.
Contact a CITROËN dealer or a quali-
fi ed workshop as soon as possible.
To reduce fuel consumption
when at a prolonged standstill
with the engine running (traffi c
jam...), put the gear lever in the
N
position and apply the parking
brake.