[bearcarver]

The accelerator kickdown gets on my nerves while driving in manual mode.
On twisty back roads I would love to use full throttle without the transmisson
downshifting.

Does this bother anyone else?

 

[bearcarver]

I must say though that these are awesome little cars. Been driving Mazda 3's going on 3 years now and have been very pleased. Very practical and Zoom Zoom all at the same time.

 

[pete_89t2]

The accelerator kickdown gets on my nerves while driving in manual mode.
On twisty back roads I would love to use full throttle without the transmisson
downshifting.

Does this bother anyone else?

This would bother me, need to find out if my car is the same... Are you saying the accel pedal kickdown overrides your gear selection when in manual mode shifting? I haven't experienced this yet with mine (2014 3SGT hatch, 6AT), mainly because I'm still breaking it in, and I haven't had to dive that deeply into the throttle. The twisties near me don't offer much in the way of elevation change, so I don't need to dig too deep into the throttle to keep up a brisk pace.

 

[rdriggett]

The accelerator kickdown gets on my nerves while driving in manual mode.
On twisty back roads I would love to use full throttle without the transmisson
downshifting.

Does this bother anyone else?

I can see how that could be annoying, but i believe mazda put it there as an idiot proof emergency function. Most of the population rarely if ever floors it and would probably not think to downshift in an emergency. If you want full control of your car you should of got the stick shift; no computer can override my gear selection

 

[bearcarver]

Yea it overrides your selection. It really only bothers me when I'm in 3rd and I want to ride that nice midrange pull all the way through up to the upper rpms. If you go full throttle it shifts to 2nd, quickly redlines and then you have to shift back in to 3rd which is were I wanted to be to start with.

Your right, it is not as much bother in the 3S because the better lower rpm tourqe'

 

[JerryO81]

Yeah, it's a little irritating to me sometimes too. I've learned to just push the pedal down until you can feel the switch, rather than mashing it to the floor.
Otherwise, the switch does exactly what it was designed to do, drop a gear and accelerate ASAP.

I don't notice much difference in acceleration between stopping at the switch and mashing the pedal and then shifting back to the gear I was in.

 

[bearcarver]

I can see how that could be annoying, but i believe mazda put it there as an idiot proof emergency function. Most of the population rarely if ever floors it and would probably not think to downshift in an emergency. If you want full control of your car you should of got the stick shift; no computer can override my gear selection

That's what I was thinking to. I wish I did have a manual when out playing, but
that would'nt work for some of the family.

I wonder if it can be turned off as part of a tune or something one day.

 

[mlin32]

The kickdown functionality is pretty commonplace throughout the industry. My prior cars from over 10 years ago had this and functioned similarly. It is useful for overtaking manoeuvers to drop multiple gears at once.

If one wants to just hold a gear in manual mode, the simple solution is simply to not mash the throttle. Kinda like if one doesn't want to activate ABS, don't mash the brake pedal.

 

[XCNuse]

The kickdown functionality is pretty commonplace throughout the industry. My prior cars from over 10 years ago had this and functioned similarly. It is useful for overtaking manoeuvers to drop multiple gears at once.

Difference being, this is only something in just the new 2014 models, it wasn't around before.

I guess it depends on circumstances it could get annoying, but then again, having an automatic is annoying 9/10 times anyway, I've never driven an automatic that feels "right" to me. It's always weird.

 

[adamgirard]

One thing I'll add to this is that the AT in manual mode will only downshift, even if you go past the kickdown switch if it can safely do so. So if you're in 3rd gear at 4500 RPM, stomp it to the floor but a downshift would cause the RPMs to be past redline in 2nd gear, it's not going to downshift, its going to stay in 3rd gear. So maybe try holding your RPMs higher before pushing it to keep it in gear.

 

[bearcarver]

One thing I'll add to this is that the AT in manual mode will only downshift, even if you go past the kickdown switch if it can safely do so. So if you're in 3rd gear at 4500 RPM, stomp it to the floor but a downshift would cause the RPMs to be past redline in 2nd gear, it's not going to downshift, its going to stay in 3rd gear. So maybe try holding your RPMs higher before pushing it to keep it in gear.

I know what you mean. But when you wait until 4500 to mash it, then you feel
that extra power you get at full throttle that you wish you didn't have to wait for. I have got to were I just go ahead use 2nd more. It has never kicked down from 2nd to 1st. I doubt if it can without overreving. It would be cool if manual mode was truly manual, but it is still very usefull in many situations, especially hilly or curvy roads.

 

[adamgirard]

I agree, I like having the AT for everyday driving and I've had a ton of fun on some windy, mountain roads in the summer using manual mode and also as a safety measure when trying to slow down on a hill in slippery weather.

 

[Fat Ralphy]

Finally know what the kick down switch is having experienced it logging WOT for Orange Virus.

In the higher gears I guess it makes sense, like for passing at freeway speeds maybe.

 

[nenewell]

Any chance Orange Virus would be able to deactivate downshift when the kickdown switch is activated in manual mode? I'd be willing to pay a few hundred for this (though cable and software might make it too expensive).

 

[MeteorGray]

Back in the Stone Age 50s when I started driving, our 1956 Chevy two-speed Powerglide auto tranny had what we called a "passing gear." When you pushed that 265-cubic-inch V-8 to the floor, it downshifed to first gear and hauled a$$.

That "passing gear" sounds suspiciously like the "kickdown" being discussed here in 2015. I always thought it was just the tranny performing a courtesy downshift because it figured you want to go Zoom Zoom when you open that throttle.

 

[deepblue3]

I've found sometimes I wished the AT would downshift more aggressively without activating the kickdown switch. When I'm towing, the car always feels like it's in too high a gear even with the pedal down on top of the switch. Only if I press the switch, does the car really downshift.

When not towing though, the torque in the gear the AT chooses is quite adequate.

 

[Fat Ralphy]

I actually like the kickdown switch now that I have tuned....

Makes for some good speed weaving around in traffic.

 

[bearcarver]

+1 on OV deactivating the switch! I want to get mine tuned someday and that would be a great addition to the tuning

 

[chrischil]

I'm a little confused about what you guys are talking about? This is my first N/A car in 6 years and my first Mazda 3 that wasn't turbo'd (had the last two Speed3 generations). I now drive the automatic 3S GT.

 

[JerryO81]

I'm a little confused about what you guys are talking about? This is my first N/A car in 6 years and my first Mazda 3 that wasn't turbo'd (had the last two Speed3 generations). I now drive the automatic 3S GT.

If you go out to your car (you don't even have to start it) and gently press the gas pedal down, you will find that the pedal kinda stops about 3/4 of the way down. If you press a little harder, the pedal will continue down. This is the kick-down switch. Pushing the pedal all the way down activates this switch, which drops you down a gear for easier passing.