Button/switch under the throttle????

[ss134]

Hi, apologies if this question has been answered before (i'm sure it has) but searching for 'button' 'switch' and 'throttle' in the same search has resulted in me being non the wiser!

So, i took delivery of my E90 DCT M3 this week after owning a 335i for a year and the car has delivered what i was hoping for over my 335i and then some.....i absolutely love it. I have 600 miles on the clock as i write (after another midnight drive!) so obviously i havent given the car full throttle as i am running it in as directed - after parking up in the garage and turning off the car i was checking to see how much extra travel there is left in the throttle compared to what i have been using during break in....and i noticed that there is a small button/switch that can clearly be felt engage when the throttle is fully depressed (it is visable too)....there is a definate on/off feel when you lift/apply full throttle - i have never owned a car with this before and was just wondering what it is and what it does???

Many Thanks.

[ss134]

Anyone!

[piloto]

kickdown switch?

[ss134]

Originally Posted by piloto

kickdown switch?

LOL - could be, ive only ever had manual cars before! So just to confirm 6MT cars do not have this then?

[08E92M3]

Originally Posted by piloto

kickdown switch?

Precisely!

[BlackLight]

try it for the first time after you had your 1200 mi service on a empty stretch of highway, set to D5, with "power" button engaged as well. Roll along at 45mph and slap down the throttle past the button...

[erio]

Yeah that's the kickdown point. If you are in sequential mode and you accelerate past that point and downshift once, it will select the lowest gear possible to give you max. acceleration. If you are in D/drive mode it will do the same automatically. It's in the owner's manual in the section describing the DCT.

[holt]

Yep, and I believe the "button" has to be pressed for launch control as well.

[///M Rakete]

Originally Posted by holt

Yep, and I believe the "button" has to be pressed for launch control as well.

+1, which I think is the single most often thing that prevents people from getting LC to work.

It's the kickdown for DCT.

[erio]

Originally Posted by holt

Yep, and I believe the "button" has to be pressed for launch control as well.

+1. You have to keep it down ALL THE WAY or launch control will fail by not upshifting.

[BMW3R]

I am one of those who has never been successful at LC. Now I will need to try again.

By the way, I always get everything set up right and see the flag in the instrument panel. But, I understand that you cannot touch the brake after activation and must push the pedal to the metal and hold??

[///M Rakete]

Originally Posted by BMW3R

I am one of those who has never been successful at LC. Now I will need to try again.

By the way, I always get everything set up right and see the flag in the instrument panel. But, I understand that you cannot touch the brake after activation and must push the pedal to the metal and hold??

Correct.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by ss134

LOL - could be, ive only ever had manual cars before! So just to confirm 6MT cars do not have this then?

No, 6MT cars (or any car with a manual transmission) don't have it because there is no mechanism needed to send a message to the transmission to do something specific under full throttle.

Of course, even for an automatic/DCT/whatever you still don't truely need the switch to provide actual "tactile feel" under your foot, but they do it that way so you have some feedback as to what is happening and why.

[frankzlin79]

Originally Posted by ss134

Hi, apologies if this question has been answered before (i'm sure it has) but searching for 'button' 'switch' and 'throttle' in the same search has resulted in me being non the wiser!

So, i took delivery of my E90 DCT M3 this week after owning a 335i for a year and the car has delivered what i was hoping for over my 335i and then some.....i absolutely love it. I have 600 miles on the clock as i write (after another midnight drive!) so obviously i havent given the car full throttle as i am running it in as directed - after parking up in the garage and turning off the car i was checking to see how much extra travel there is left in the throttle compared to what i have been using during break in....and i noticed that there is a small button/switch that can clearly be felt engage when the throttle is fully depressed (it is visable too)....there is a definate on/off feel when you lift/apply full throttle - i have never owned a car with this before and was just wondering what it is and what it does???

Many Thanks.

Was your 335i manual or automatic? All recent 3-series automatic cars (328i, 335i, etc.) have the kickdown feature, which tells the car to downshift so that the rpms are set in the power band range (like 5000 rpm and up).

[ss134]

Originally Posted by frankzlin79

Was your 335i manual or automatic? All recent 3-series automatic cars (328i, 335i, etc.) have the kickdown feature, which tells the car to downshift so that the rpms are set in the power band range (like 5000 rpm and up).

My 335i was manual - i have never owned an Auto. I know DCT is an 'automated manual' and i ordered it blind without a test drive.....i had many sleepless nights wondering if i had made a mistake but after 10 mins in the car i knew i had made the right decision - this gearbox surpassed all of my expectations, i love it.

Thanks to everyone who posted - much appreciated!