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Home >> Acura >> 2012 >> RL >> Repair and Diagnosis >> Transmission >> Automatic Trans >> Automatic Transmission >> System Description >> General Description >> Gear Selection
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Gear Selection

The shift lever has five positions; P: PARK, R: REVERSE, N: NEUTRAL, D: DRIVE 1st through 6th gear ranges with automatic shift mode and D-paddle shift mode, and S: DRIVE 1st through 5th gear ranges with automatic shift mode and 1st through 6th gear ranges with sequential sportshift mode.

GEAR SELECTION AND POSITION

Position Description
P: PARK Front wheels locked; the park pawl engaged with the park gear on the countershaft. All clutches are released.
R: REVERSE Reverse; the reverse selector engaged with the third shaft reverse gear and the 4th clutch engaged.
N: NEUTRAL All clutches are released.
D: DRIVE (1st through 6th) General driving; starts off in 1st gear, shifts automatically to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, then 6th gear, depending on the vehicle speed and the throttle position. Downshifts through 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st on deceleration to stop. The lock-up mechanism operates in 1st through 6th gears while accelerating, and in 2nd through 6th gears while decelerating.
S: DRIVE Automatic shift mode (1st through 5th) Used for rapid acceleration at highway speeds and general driving, up-hill and down-hill driving; starts off in 1st gear, shifts automatically to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, then 5th gear, depending on vehicle speed and the throttle position. Downshifts through 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st on deceleration to stop. The lock-up mechanism operates in 1st through 5th gears while accelerating, and in 2nd through 5th gears while decelerating.
Sequential sportshift mode (1st through 6th) Manual gear shift driving; the vehicle can start off in 1st gear, and does not upshift automatically. The vehicle can also start off in 2nd gear, and does not upshift and downshift automatically. Downshifts automatically to 1st on deceleration to stop. The lock-up mechanism operates in 1st through 6th gears while accelerating, and in 2nd through 6th gears while decelerating.

Starting the engine is possible only in P and N because of a neutral-safety switch.