What Does the “M” Or “L” Button Do on the Sport?

Depending on your Bronco Sport model, you have either an “M” button or an “L” button in the middle of your shifter dial. The M (Manual) comes standard in the First Edition, the Badlands, and the Heritage Limited; all the other trims come with the L (Low).

When you engage these buttons, you’re telling your Sport that you prefer to shift the vehicle, if using the M, or hold lower gears, if equipped with the L. This can be a great feature when towing or in hilly terrain. That being said, it is not a true manual mode –– it will shift on its own as needed to protect the transmission, as I have discovered.

According to the Sport owner's manual, once you select Manual, you can upshift or downshift using the paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. The right paddle has the (+) sign and will shift up while the left paddle has the (-), which downshifts.

When engaged, the instrument cluster displays the current gear at the bottom of the dash display. It will flash when your vehicle cannot shift into the requested gear, based on if that gear raises or lowers the engine speed beyond “the limit.” When you slow to a stop, the display will automatically decrease to 1^st. However, with acceleration or hill descent, the Sport will shift into 2^nd or 3^rd and will not hold gears as it would with a true manual transmission.

The L button holds the vehicle in lower gears and is recommended to be used on hilly or mountainous roads, or when towing a trailer. It is not “low range,” like a transfer case, but it tells the vehicle to choose lower gears when possible.

I have tried using Manual on the trails in my Sport and noticed that when the vehicle “engine braking” should occur by holding that gear, the vehicle simply shifts, requiring me to apply the brakes. So, when you are out on trails and need to do a steep hill descent, don’t rely on the Manual to engine brake you down, like in the Bronco or with a true manual transmission.

See the Ford Quick Tips video below to help understand better how to utilize this feature on your Bronco Sport.

Have you utilized this feature on your Bronco Sport? What have you liked or disliked about it?