So I figured out what the L in PRNDL does. It sucks, that's what it does.
The 'gear' (according to the manual, which I really did read) is designed for enhanced engine braking on long descents and holding a gear going up long, steep grades. I figured it might be good for sluggish freeway traffic. Wrong-o. It is, in fact, good for nothing. While the D 'gear' is too concerned with fuel economy to shift properly, the L 'gear' is too concerned with grenading the motor, shifting poorly and generally making your commute terrible to be of any use.
It holds onto each gear for an impossibly long time. Only when the motor sounds like a thousand blenders being blended by a giant, evil blender, does it slam itself into the next highest gear where it repeats the gear holding, engine blending process all over again. Downshifts are similarly no good and lack any refinement or grace. I even used it on a long downhill only to find the gears to be so far apart that there seemed to be no sweet spot where the car ever felt comfortable or smooth. The engine was either ready to puke its guts out and slowing down too much or the transmission would not relinquish the higher gear and in fact caused me to ride the brakes to hold a steady speed, completely defeating the purpose of the L 'gear'.
Was there something wrong with the PRND321 setup?
Kurt Niebuhr, Photo Editor @ 20,134 miles
SadButTrue says:
01:27 PM, 05/14/09
Best photoshopping ever.
bimmerjay says:
01:30 PM, 05/14/09
LOL *Best photo edit ever*
The solution is a manual transmission FTW. Aside from that, I do not understand why Ford has just slapped the "L" on so many of their cars. Maybe the powertrain engineers wanted to be on the golf course by 4 that day?
So is it really so hard to provide lockout gates for each gear? This goes back to the argument on an old IL LT blog post about designing for the lowest common denominator. I could understand the lack of a manumatic feature (that takes much more advanced software and better tranny mechanicals to make it not irritating and slow to use), but seriously Ford.... L??? WTF??
louiswei says:
03:02 PM, 05/14/09
Geez...
For the kind of people who opt for a Ford Focus they'll never get to use the 'L', they probably don't even know what 'L' is there for!
Using the PRND321 will just confuse the heck out of 99% of the Focus owners.
I am with Ford on this one.
bimmerjay says:
03:13 PM, 05/14/09
"Using the PRND321 will just confuse the heck out of 99% of the Focus owners"
Anyone confused by that should not even have a license. Again with the lowest common denominator arguments.
misterfusion says:
03:17 PM, 05/14/09
GM split the difference on its cars with 4-speed autos. My Aura's shift gate has P-R-N-D-I-L, with the "I" apparently meaning "intermediate" or something. Basically it locks-out the overdrive, which can be useful in certain situations like slow traffic or downhill engine braking.
In my experience, it works better than what is described here with the Focus, but the shift logic is still not spot-on. Honestly, I don't see what was wrong with the good ol' P-R-N-D-3-2-1.
Most GM cars with the 6-speed auto have shift paddles, but I don't know what the gate looks like. Anyone...?
subytrojan says:
03:22 PM, 05/14/09
Another quality blog entry by Kurt! :thumbsup: Sweet photochop, too!
And why isn't this car gone yet?
Give it das boot! Or rally it!
gibot says:
03:26 PM, 05/14/09
Awesome, Awesome photochop! :*)
roadburner says:
04:18 PM, 05/14/09
"Give it das boot! Or rally it!"
I think that this dismal transportation module would be perfect for the 24 Hours of LeMons: http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/
stovt001 says:
05:13 PM, 05/14/09
Misterfusion: 6 speed auto equipped cars from GM have a straight PRNDM gate, with the M engaging sport mode until a paddle shifter is hit, putting it in manual mode.
I have the PRNDIL pattern in my 4 speed auto Cobalt. "I" works great on hills and passing situations by simply looking out OD. "L" turns off traction control, making it good if I'm in an especially juvenile mood but otherwise it is just as useless as described here.
clarkma5 says:
05:21 PM, 05/14/09
The problem with PRND4321 is the space it takes up on the center console, hence ford's move to "L". And also hence BMW's wonky shifter thing.
They should just go to a manual gate already...
redliner says:
05:43 PM, 05/14/09
theres always J-gate...
http://www.jaguar-xj8.com/6-speed%20transmission.jpg
caheew says:
06:01 PM, 05/14/09
When I saw this, I lol'd......heartily.
cwc1 says:
08:21 PM, 05/14/09
This is why old school slushboxes always sucked in a car with a small engine with low torque. Apparently, they still suck even in 2009, and Ford chose to make them even worse by reducing the ability to manually select and hold gears.
the_big_al says:
10:41 PM, 05/14/09
Ford has been doing the PRNDL thing for a long time and I have always hated it. For a while they had PRN(D)DL - my wife's old Taurus had that but it was still not as good as GM's near perfected (when they had still used 4-speed autos) PRND321, like my truck has. Why is Ford still stuck in the dark ages with their gear selectors??
mr42hh says:
05:44 AM, 05/15/09
PRNDL=Fail - proper cars have 123456R and three pedals.
banhugh says:
05:50 AM, 05/15/09
and two steering wheels
cowbell says:
06:50 AM, 05/15/09
I really fail to see your logic here, Kurt. The manual said L is for "long descents and holding a gear going up long, steep grades" and you somehow think that means it's good for "sluggish freeway traffic"? Those things are complete opposite!
The manual basically says this option is for maintaining constant speed under special circumstances, so you test for stop and go. Of course it turned out poorly!
Maybe take it to some hills and test it how it was intended.
thegrocer says:
07:28 AM, 05/15/09
How is low in the Flex with the new six-speed? Why Ford decided to put their new shifter and old transmission together is beyond me. I have PRD21 (OD is a switch) in my wife's 2006 Focus and, honestly, I just leave it in D with OD on 99% of the time...unless I'm going down hills and want engine braking...in which case, it's OD off or 2, depending...and I've only done that a few times on trips since it's flat where we live.
compliance says:
09:42 AM, 05/15/09
I lol'd at the photo and how Kurt has no idea what the 'L' is for. Someone use that "WRONG" stamp on this post.
audisport says:
09:48 AM, 05/15/09
The best set up ever and of course I'm biased is VW/Audi's PRNDS. Leave it in drive and shift yourself if you life to hold gears, pretend like you have a manual trans, etc. Or put it in Sport to not end up in 6th gear at 40 mph longer and shift a bit quicker. GM has gotten alot better but Ford is stuck in 1985.