2003 Saab 9-5 Owner's Manual - Page 167
2003 Saab 9-5 Manual
Page 167 highlights
Starting and driving Descending hills If the speed of the car increases while descending a steep hill, despite the accelerator being released, the control module will change down a gear when you brake. If you desire more powerful engine braking, manually select a lower gear. 167 Sentronic, manual mode Move the selector lever to the M position. Select a higher gear by flicking the right-hand paddle towards you. Select a lower gear by flicking the left-hand paddle towards you. An example of when you may wish to make manual gear changes is when overtaking, to enable you to remain in a low gear for an extended period of time. Changes from 3rd to 4th and from 4th to 5th can be made when the engine speed is above roughly 2,000 rpm. If the road surface is slippery, you may wish to pull off in 2nd or 3rd to reduce the risk of wheel spin. When descending hills you should select a low gear to increase the braking effect of the engine and thus spare the brakes. Manual gear selections are shown on the main instrument panel. The selector position and the current gear are displayed. Paddles on the steering wheel for changing gear manually When the selector lever is in the M position, as opposed to the D position, gas engines are much more responsive to changes in accelerator position. The accelerator has a different feel. When in manual mode, kick-down operates for 4th and 5th gears (below 2,000 rpm). Kick-down cannot be activated in 1st, 2nd or 3rd gears. For optimum performance, gear changes should be made before reaching 6,000 rpm. To avoid damaging the engine and transmission, the transmission will shift up a gear if the engine is in danger of overrevving. You may feel a slight jolt before this gear change is effected.