legacycentral bbs

hey guys i just bought a legacy turbo (91 auto)..and i'm sure u know it has this "manual" button on it..my question is what does the button do?? im a real noob when it comes to these things so sorry about that..and i have this razo shift knob with an overdrive button i was wodnering if that will work compensating the manual button...thanks in advance

The manual button prevents the AT from downshifting in the lower gears. If you shift down into 1-3, you'll find that when the Manual is on, the indicators are orange. When it's not, they're green. It sorta somewhat feels kinda maybe M/T-ish, if only because it forces the transmission to be selective about its gearing due to whatever gear you put it on.

Legacy777 has a great description:

Manual Button

The manual button has some controversy as two what its function is. But I'm here to disavow any of those rumors. Firstly, the automatic transmission normally runs a power split of 90% front 10% rear. This is under normal driving conditions. Secondly, the manual button ONLY works when the shift lever indicator is in the positions "3" or "2".

Ok, so you're ready to hear what this thingy does. It is a very primitive version of traction control. When the shift lever is either 3 or 2, and the manual button is depressed, it will keep the transmission from going into first gear. By doing this, you have less torque, more evenly distributed power, and a less chance to slip and slide around.

So to recap, when the shift lever is in the 2 position the transmission stays in 2nd gear. When the shift lever is in the 3 position the transmission chooses between 2nd and 3rd gear. If the shift lever is any other position then the two above, the manual button does absolutely positively nothing.

Whoa! Haven't read that one before.

Wait, what happened to that "Gear Cut Defender" thing Ciper was working on!? I'd like one of those!

hey thanks a lot guys..that answers my question..great!!