Mazda 3 Owner's Manual page 192

When Driving
Transaxle
CAUTION
Do not shift into N when driving the
vehicle. Doing so can cause transaxle
damage.
NOTE
Apply the parking brake or depress the
brake pedal before moving the selector
lever from N to prevent the vehicle from
moving unexpectedly.
D (Drive)
D is the normal driving position. From
a stop, the transaxle will automatically
shift through a 4-gear (4-speed transaxle
model)/6-gear (6-speed transaxle model)
sequence.
M (Manual)
M is the manual shift mode position. Gears
can be shifted up or down by operating the
selector lever. Refer to Manual Shift Mode
on page 4-53 .
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4–52
Some models.
Active Adaptive Shift (AAS)
Active Adaptive Shift (AAS)
automatically controls the transaxle shift
points to best suit the road conditions
and driver input. This improves driving
feel. The transaxle may switch to AAS
mode when driving up and down slopes,
cornering, or depressing the accelerator
pedal quickly while the selector lever is in
the D position. Depending on the driving
conditions and vehicle operations, the
transaxle may not shift gears, however,
this does not indicate a problem because
the AAS mode will maintain the optimum
gear position.
Shift-Lock System
The shift-lock system prevents shifting out
of P unless the brake pedal is depressed.
To shift from P:
1. Depress and hold the brake pedal.
2. Start the engine.
3. Press and hold the lock-release button.
4. Move the selector lever.
NOTE
When the ignition is switched to
ACC or the ignition is switched off,
the selector lever cannot be shifted
from P.
The ignition cannot be switched to
OFF if the selector lever is not in P.
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