Toyota Camry 2007-2011: How to Use Sportmatic

This article applies to the Toyota Camry (2007-2011).

Toyota's Sportmatic transmission offers increased flexibility behind the wheel. Consider the following:

First, when you're driving on steep hills or in the mountains, it's an excellent tool. Your car's automatic transmission will automatically shift to find your engine's best fuel economy. But in mountainous terrains, it will probably shift too often, causing your transmission to work harder and will put more strain on your brakes. However, if you keep it in a lower gear, it will take less brake force to slow your car down since your car's engine will be naturally doing that, and it will put less stress on your transmission.

Second, in rain and snow, the Sportmatic is extremely helpful. During slippery road conditions where control is much more difficult, being able to control your transmission will allow you to increase your overall control of your vehicle. That could save you from accidents, fender benders, and other dangerous foul weather outcomes.

Finally, using your Sportmatic while cornering at a higher speed is a great idea. Downshifting around a curve is a much better idea than jamming on your brakes and will, again, give you the much needed control you want.

So let's take a look at how to use your Camry's Sportmatic feature.

Step 1 – Familiarize yourself with the shift lever control

Take a look at how your shift lever operates and where each station on your shift pattern is located. It will probably look something like Figure 1. Take a moment to notice where every station on the console is.

Step 2 – Move shift lever to "S" position

While driving, or even when stationary, you can flick the shifter between "D" and "S" at any time without harming the vehicle. Try moving the shifter in "S" and pulling it toward you. When you initially shift into "S" mode, the initial shift range is set to automatically go into a higher gear and will be determined by your vehicle's speed. Pulling down towards the minus ("-") sign will initiate a downshift to a lower gear, increasing the RPMs. Conversely, pushing the shifter forward towards the plus ("+") sign will cause the transmission to upshift to a higher gear, lowering the RPMs. The Sportmatic is programmed to over-ride driver input if the command to downshift or upshift is outside the normal operating conditions for the engine and transmission, so you won't hurt anything by experimenting.

Related Discussions

• How to Use Sportmatic - CamryForums.com
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