Have you ever been cruising around town and noticed that your car has a feature that says DS? Some cars come with this DS mode which is typically shown around the shifter. This feature can be available on sportier cars but what does DS stand for?
What does DS mean for a car? DS stands for drive sport. This lessens the comfort of your ride and makes the car more aggressive. While it won’t hurt the car you may notice things like harder shifts and see the engine revving higher than normal.
What does the DS gear shift do?
The DS option on automatic shifters enables drive shift mode. This mode gives your car more of a sporty feel. From more noticeable shifts to the engine waiting longer to shift. You can manually cause the car to shift. Although, hitting redline will automatically shift for you.
The DS feature is there to give you a more “manual car” feel without having to press a clutch. If you want to speed up your car pull the shifter back and the car will downshift. When your engine reaches a higher RPM you can shift up to increase speed. This turn will give you a sportier feel and make your car quicker.
Can the DS feature hurt my car?
The DS feature can increase the speed of your car. However, your car’s computer is always in control. There are safety nets in place to prevent you from hurting your car. Things like shifting too late or shifting into too low of gear will be stopped by your ECU (Electronic Control Unit).
Can the DS feature hurt your car? While it may cause a little excess wear if you use DS mode all of the time you can be sure that your engine is safe if you happen to forget to shift. Once a threshold is met the computer will step in and make sure your engine is safe.
Do all cars have the DS feature?
Not all cars have the DS feature. Only automatic cars showcase the DS mode. Some of these cars have paddle shifters that can be used the same way.
How do you turn off the DS feature?
If you’ve been driving in DS mode you may be wondering how to turn it off. Luckily there aren’t many steps you need to go through to go back to regular driving mode. Simply put the shifter back in the D (Drive) mode and your car will return to normal.
You can pretty much do this at any speed and the computer will make sure that your engine and transmission has a smooth transmission. Shifting to the D mode will disable the DS feature.