Hey Guys,
If I recall correctly I was told at the dealer when I bought the car that the paddle shifters are for Sports mode only. When I wrote this on this forums in one of the posts someone corrected me saying that they can be used in any mode. Well I actually got to using the shifters last couple of weeks and I can only activate them in Sports mode. Is this normal for all or is something not right? I could be wrong but I thought I was able to use them in other modes when I tried once before......... but it could be my bad memory.

 

In your instrument panel menu, you can go to Vehicle Settings and check "Use Paddles in D , S Modes"

This will change your paddle shifter setting so that you can use them in both D and Sport modes.

Hope that helps

 

I can already use it in S mode, so they can only be used in D and S? or others as well?

 

As Demetre indicated you can setup whether to use your shifters in D and S modes, or in S mode only (you cannot use it in D only).

There are no other modes

Edit: for me I chose to use it in D and S because when I drive in the snow I want to downshift. Obviously I'm not driving in the winter in S mode, hence my settings include both D and S

 

Sure there are there is the normal and economy modes

 

We are talking about modes selected by the gear "puck"

 

LOL, that’s the risk with this XE, when we talk. There are so many different subtle names and terms, that we have to qualify what we say.

Raffin, you are very much on the right track. There are FOUR official Driving Modes. “Modes” are preset behaviors of responsiveness and gear-order that the car has been programmed to follow when you press on the pedal or turn your wheel. Normal, Eco, Snow/Ice/Hydro, and Dynamic.

Your dealer is WRONG (or misunderstood your question, maybe). As long as you have checked the right box in the Driver’s Assistance menu, you can use the manual-shift paddles behind your steering wheel on all FOUR modes,… err, um, provided that...

…your GEAR is set to Drive position, or set to Sport position. “Gear” is that ole’ shifter thing we put into reverse, park, etc.

It can get complicated when you find out that you can “overlap” Modes on top of Gears, and still have access to the shift paddles,… and Sport GEAR + Dynamic MODE together, forces you to use the paddles to operate the car as near to manual-transmission as the automatic XE will get. Go carefully, RaffinJ.

 

that is too much mumbo jumbo for me I will be happy even if I decide to enable it for regular and eco modes.

 

So in the interest of "keeping it simple", just do as suggested.
Go into your vehicle settings and look for paddle shifters. Change the setting so you can use it both "D" and "S" gears. That's all. Forget about the 4 modes. Those don't matter here. You want to be able to always use your shifters, so make that change to your settings and you'll be happy.

 

A little added benefit of using the paddle shifters is that it seems to cancel out that annoying 'Start/Stop' feature.

 

What do you mean? I didn't observe this behavior. Are you sure it's not a coincidence? The start/stop doesn't work when it's below 32 F

 

I came to a traffic light and the car turned off. rather then hit the start/stop I just hit the paddle shifter and the car fired up. I assumed in the manual shift mode that the start/stop doesn't come into play. I will recheck and make sure that I'm not leading you wrong. Might not be today as it is only 28 F outside

 

I'm almost certain you're right. When I'm in sports mode using the paddle shifters, the stop/start system doesn't work.

 

Ok, Temps here have risen to 38F so I was able to go out and do some testing. If a D
(Drive) shows on the dash then auto start/stop functions in the normal, annoying, way - but if you use the paddle shifter, in any mode (I was in Eco) then the auto Start/Stop seems to be disengaged. Trany selector was in a 'D' mode not the 'S' mode when I started using the paddles.
Certainly not a fix, just an observation. I'm not looking to be forced into manually shifting just to beat that start/stop feature.
As the weather warms up here in the Northeast I'll be out there looking for that plug in the trunk.

 

Occasionally I use the paddles in my XF to enable/disable the stop/start feature. If I'm shifting manually but approaching a light i'll hold down the right paddle to put it back in auto shift and the car will turn off at the light. Or if I want to get away from a light quicker or smoother i'll hit the left paddle and the car will turn back on and put me in first gear. Personally I like the auto stop/start feature since it is so easy to decide when it is effective by either using the right amount of brake pressure, using the paddles, or simply pushing the enable/disable button. I enjoy the quiet while waiting at lights.

 

do i take my foot off the gas to change gear in sports mode ?

 

No just keep your foot planted and hit the paddles, the TCM will do the rest.

 

Thank's Ian,
Now i can have a little fun and see just what this V6 twin turbo can do.

 

The only V6 in the XE is petrol and that’s supercharged not turbocharged. The diesel is twin turbocharged.

 

I am guessing he may have a different model, it is scary to think he would not know this....