DOES ANYONE KNOW EXACTLY, AND I MEAN EXACTLY WHAT THE THREE POSITION SWITCH ABOVE MY SHIFTER IS. THE ONE LABELED A/T. I MEAN WHAT DOES IT REALLY DO. ALSO, I ALMOST EVERYTIME HAVE TO PUSH THE LITTLE ORANGE BUTTON ON MY SHIFTER TO SHIFT OUT OF PARK. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT? MR FIXIT WORKED ON THE WINDOWS BEFORE I GOT IT AND THE BACK DOORS I THINK THE REGULATORS, HELL I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, IS THE LEAST OF MY WORRIES. IT'S A TOTAL MESS INSIDE THEIR. CAN ANYONE TELL ME HOW IT LOOKED TO BEGIN WITH, OR GOT A DRAWING?

 

the switch is a power/comfort switch for the automatic transmission. the power will make it shift harder and faster, while the comfort will shift slow and smooth. the middle is supposed to be computer controlled and will automatically switch to either one depending on the conditions. dont know about the rest of your questions.

 

That switch will NOT control how fast or smooth it shifts. It ONLY controls the shifts points.....ie. Tells the tranny WHEN to shift....NOT how hard(controled mostly by valve body) or fast(again...mostly valve body).


Mike S.

 

ok i dont understand how i was "WRONG". i was trying to tell him the difference where he could understand. why dont you enlighten us genius?

 

In comfort The shift point is LOWER. In power the shift point is HIGHER.
If you have to press the shift lock release button all the time you may have a fuse blown. That happened to me and i forgot what i did so i cant tell ya

 

You stated that in power "it will shift harder and faster". This is not true. Harder and faster, in dealing with an auto, would mean the gears are physically changing faster. By putting the car in Power you are only telling the car at what point on the tach to shift. This shift point is determined by engine speed, throttle position, etc.. By selecting power your telling the car to hold a little longer and then shift.

I gotta go outside and rip off my driver side wiper so I can pretend I'm a mercedes...even if my passanger side one is "stuck in mid flight".
Alright boys, time to rest my brain...I'm a genius you know

Mike S.

 

yeah exactly. power is for performance, comfort is for regular driving. a higher shift point = firmer, quicker shifts. a lower shift point = smoother and more comfortable. i was just trying to explain it simply.

 

Well you explained it wrong again.

 

ha ha....funny.

 

They are not FIRMER either....your getting close though. Putting it in C may make it more comfortable. Again....in power they are not firmer or quicker...just happen at a higher rpm.


phew.

Mike S.

 

so guys tell me exactly what the switch is for. not the technicalities of it, but what the switch was made for. was it not made for comfort/performance?

 

It was made for comfort and performance but the method by which it achives it is not in the speed of the shift, but when it shifts. The comfort comes from the fact that it will just rev up a little and then shift. The power comes from holding the gear longer. Imagine if you floored you car and it always shifted at 2500rpm. You wouldn't get anywhere too fast. You would always be shifting into a harder gear. Thats why when you floor it, the engine redlines each gear (it will do this in C or P regardless) to hold the gear as long as possible. It only has to shift cuz the engine starts to run out of power.


I don't know how to make if anymore clear cut than this. Sorry for sounding like a jerk before.

Mike S.

 

ok I think that he get's the point guys....any help with his other questions?

 

My car does the same thing, but only seems to do it when its raining. I duno why it does it but im guessing there is probably a wire that is chaffing and shorting when it rains, and maybe yours is almost in two since yours does it more.
Hope this helps...

 

You need a gear shift switch, there's two of them. Should be the one under the passenger side kick panel, had to have mine changed last year also. The top button would work sporadically, then eventually gave up. I dealt with using the little orange button until I needed something else fixed, then the mechanic let me know what it was.

 

The POWER mode shifts at higher rpm's, if you accelerate at a normal paste it usually shifts at around 3k rpms. The Auto is about 2.5k, the comfort is like 2k. Thats if you accelerate at a normal/average paste. Now both James and Mike S. are probably right to a limit. The comfort mode definately feels a lot smoother and quiter, but thats basically because its at lower rpm's like Mike said.
I keep it on Auto.

 

everytime when i go to shift out of park i have to press the shift lock button, im so used to it when i drive my friends cars, i go to press the damn thing, hahaha, but anyways, you think its a fuse blown? ill check it out, thanks
and bout the power/comfort i agree wit both yall, so get over it!