Steptronic Transmission BMW

Steptronic Transmission- BMW

 

Steptronic is a brand name created and used by BMW, they also use this brand name for automatic transmissions used in MINI cars. Steptronic is basically an ordinary automatic transmission with torque converter which has a shift lever which allows not only to engage the classic automatic drive modes PRND, but also a manual choice of gears. You can toggle between automatic and manual mode by tilting the shift lever left or right. This is also possible during the ride. If you have an 8 speed gearbox and you currently ride in 5th gear, simply switch to manual mode, then a display in the cockpit shows that the gearbox is in 5th gear. Now you can shift gears manually by simply flipping the lever forward (one gear up) or back (one gear down). More recent cars with Steptronic transmission often have shift paddles or buttons at the steering wheel, which allow you to shift manually without taking your hands off the wheel.

 

 

In comparison to a manual gearbox a Steptronic gearbox is foolproof. An electronic safety mechanism prevents you from selecting a gear which could hurt the gearbox or stall the engine.

 

Today a manual gear selector to an automatic gearbox is quite common. Other car makers use different brand names for that, Porsche calls it Tiptronic, others invented other names. You must not mix up the BMW Steptronic with the BMW SMG gearbox used in certain sporty BMW M cars: SMG stands for sequential manual gearbox, it is a gearbox similar to a motorcycle gearbox, which can change gears sequentally without having to open a clutch. An SMG also allows shifting up and down with a fingertip, but it works entirely different than a Steptronic.

You can also watch the video how to operate the steptronic transmission