OK, into the first month of driving the XF. Today I was driving in Drive mode on the motorway and I accidentally went to the Manual mode by press the Down gear paddle. I did not notice and the car slowed down considerably. Since it was on the motorway I could not slow down and put it back into the Drive mode? (Is there a way). So I had to keep on playing with the paddles until it stopped and I moved it back to the Drive mode. Is there a way to disable the paddles if in Drive mode just in case I press it by accident?

Personally I think there should be a way to disable the paddles if in Drive mode just in case like me I pressed it by accident and did not realize it for a short period of time which was dangerous on the motorway?

 

Easy to do: simply hold the upshift paddle continuously for a few seconds and the transmission reverts to D. Bonus, the transmission immediately upshifts and then selects D if you hold the paddle for a little longer.

Do the same while in S manual mode and it will also return to S automatic mode in similar fashion.

You can also do so by selecting S and then returning to D as moving the selector cancels the manual shift mode. In an emergency you could also select N briefly and return to D if you wish. This also cancels manual mode.

I agree that it is slightly too easy to select a gear manually by mistake however this is balanced by the ease of use when you wish to do so. After a while you can learn not to do this, most of the time. I still occasionally select a gear by mistake especially when parking. No harm comes from this as the transmission will not shift to a gear that is too low or too high for your actual road speed., nor will a forward gear be selected by mistake if you have selected R for reverse.

It is disconcerting the first few times it happens though. When you have done this a few times then you realize it pretty quickly and canceling manual mode by selecting and holding the upshift paddle becomes automatic.

For the US market at least the XF now comes with the paddles disabled when D is selected. One assumes American drivers have complained, I know at least one Canadian customer has complained to my dealer who "repaired" this fault by disconnecting the paddles entirely!

Your dealer can probably re-flash your car to the current US spec if you wish.

 

Thanks for this! Very useful to know.

 

Agreed, once you've hit the paddles a few times by mistake, you learn not to. If you do, it is simple to correct, thrust me I know.

 

I've only had the car for a few days but I find the paddles incredibly useful when I know I want to make a quick pass or merge, or to throw the car in 1st gear when in D to make a quick getaway (seems to always start in 2nd, smoother but slower). I was always against manu-matics but I've never driven one as good as the XF's, two taps on the freeway and I can or merge cars like they're all standing still .

Must be my hand positioning, but I've never even come close to accidentally hitting a paddle. They seem to be perfectly positioned to not be in my way but available when needed. Thanks for the info on forcing it back into auto though, that's very helpful. If I understood you correctly you just hold the upshift paddle for a few seconds?

 

Correct. Also, you are correct that in D the transmission starts in 2 and only downshifts to 1 if you stand on it. In S it also starts in 2 but downshifts more quickly when you floor it. For quick starts select S and 1 manually and then stand on it, the difference is remarkable. Also, the transmission upshifts at redline automatically even in manual mode.

You will also select a gear manually by accident sooner or later, everyone does! 8-)

 

Just tried it today going from manual to Drive.Works like a dream. I am pretty chuffed I got this info here. Really useful forum!

 

XFFan......As with so many inquiries in this forum.... answers can be found in the Owner's Handbook, which explains the shift paddle operation........you may want to read pages 139-143.

 

Hey, we are also helpful. Finding things in the owners manual is sometimes not so simple. The selling dealer ought to have informed XFFan of this safety related info.

 

+1 My selling dealer sales guy walked me through just about all the features, and he was even correct!

 

This is true only in manual mode with D selected though, at least in the XFR. I have been guilty of hitting the limiter in manual/S a few times - it gets there damned quick! Helpful orange tint to the gear indicator on the dash when it gets close to red line is a good tool though.

 

.....and where is the fun in reading a manual?

Forums like these are to help each other and share knowledge

 

Regular XF upshifts at redline regardless of driver input, you need a dynamic mode to control this function which the base XF does not have.