[jon44]

The owner's manual indicates this is possible. Just curious what hear you end up in?
E.g., if I'm going 40 mph down a steep hill and want to use the engine to help brake, will shifting to manual automatically put it into the appropriate gear for the situation?
Also curious about any other uses for "Manual"
Thanks in advance,
J

 

[Pilgrim]

Don't know about the 3rd series, but in my 2007 I often moved the shift lever down one notch when descending long hills in the Rockies. As long as you don't over-rev the engine, you're fine.

 

[jptshadow]

Anytime you shift over to Manual, the computer will calculate the RPM and the current speed for the proper gear so the engine does not over-rev. Now, at this time, the engine brake might not be strong enough. You can now down shift one gear to gain the engine brake you want. Keep in mind, the stronger the engine brake the higher the engine rev will be (u probably already know this). My personal rule of thumb is nothing goes over 3.5k RPM.
I do manual 90% of the time (mainly to avoid the CVT drop the RPM too quickly)

 

[Pilgrim]

I think 3.5K RPM is a reasonable limit for 15 minutes going downhill, but when you're accelerating it's worth visiting close to redline occasionally. It's also a lot more fun.

 

[6stang7]

I use manual as a brake quite regularly from Flagstaff to Phoenix which is about 140 miles with a drop from 7,000 down to 1200 feet. I set the cruise at speed limit and let it do its thing. It will exceed cruise a couple of times but normally works great.

 

[Pilgrim]

I use manual as a brake quite regularly from Flagstaff to Phoenix which is about 140 miles with a drop from 7,000 down to 1200 feet. I set the cruise at speed limit and let it do its thing. It will exceed cruise a couple of times but normally works great.

Well said. Many people never figure this out - they've forgotten about the concept of using engine braking.

 

[jon44]

I use manual as a brake quite regularly from Flagstaff to Phoenix which is about 140 miles with a drop from 7,000 down to 1200 feet. I set the cruise at speed limit and let it do its thing. It will exceed cruise a couple of times but normally works great.

Just to be clear, are you still actually in automatic in this situation? (Or does cruise control work in manual mode?)

 

[6stang7]

Just to be clear, are you still actually in automatic in this situation? (Or does cruise control work in manual mode?)

Cruise works in manual mode.