Jeep Compass2018 Owner's Manual page 249

248 STARTING AND OPERATING
AutoStick
AutoStick is a driver-interactive transmission feature pro-
viding manual shift control, giving you more control of the
vehicle. AutoStick allows you to maximize engine braking,
eliminate undesirable upshifts and downshifts, and im-
prove overall vehicle performance. This system can also
provide you with more control during passing, city driv-
ing, cold slippery conditions, mountain driving, trailer
towing, and many other situations.
Operation
When the gear selector is in the AutoStick position (beside
the DRIVE position), it can be moved forward and rear-
ward. This allows the driver to manually select the trans-
mission gear being used. Moving the gear selector forward
(-) triggers a downshift and rearward (+) an upshift. The
current gear is displayed in the instrument cluster.
In AutoStick mode, the transmission will shift up or down
when the driver moves the gear selector rearward (+) or
forward (-), unless an engine lugging or overspeed condi-
tion would result. It will remain in the selected gear until
another upshift or downshift is chosen, except as described
below.
• Six-speed transmissions will automatically upshift when
necessary to prevent engine over-speed.
• The transmission will automatically downshift as the
vehicle slows (to prevent engine lugging) and will
display the current gear.
• The transmission will automatically downshift to first
gear when coming to a stop. After a stop, the driver
should manually upshift (+) the transmission as the
vehicle is accelerated.
• You can start out, from a stop, in first or second gear (or
third gear, in six-speed models, or in 4LO range, Snow
mode, or Sand mode, where available). Tapping (+) (at a
stop) will allow starting in second gear. Starting out in
second gear can be helpful in snowy or icy conditions.
• If a requested downshift would cause the engine to
over-speed, that shift will not occur.
• The system will ignore attempts to upshift at too low of
a vehicle speed.
• Transmission shifting will be more noticeable when
AutoStick is enabled.
• The system may revert to automatic shift mode if a fault
or overheat condition is detected.