If you like the fun of shifting gears yourself, but wanna keep your hands on the wheel, paddle shifters may be just the thing.
On Corolla S models, with CVTi S, you’ll find the shift paddles on the back of the steering wheel, on either side. They’ll let you shift up or down through seven gears with some limitations. The shift lever has to be in D for drive, or M for manual, before they’ll operate.
So, if you’re in drive and pull one of the paddle shifters, the transmission will switch to manual operation temporarily. To keep it in manual mode, move the shift level left into the M position.
Pulling the plus paddle on the right upshifts to the next highest gear. Use the minus paddle to downshift. If you try to downshift, but hear two warning tones instead, that means the system won’t drop to a lower gear, because that could push the engine RPM past redline.
