Patent ID: 8140253

Claim:
A shift map switching control unit for controlling a shift timing of an automatic transmission of a vehicle, comprising: a plurality of shift maps for deriving the shift timing of the automatic transmission; a fuel sensor that senses a residual quantity of fuel in a fuel tank of the vehicle; a controller for selecting one of said plurality of shift maps for switching control of a shift of the automatic transmission, at least based partly upon an input received from said fuel sensor; and a display for displaying a condition in which the shift map of the high fuel economy type is selected, wherein, when said controller receives an input from said fuel sensor representing the state that a residual quantity of fuel in the fuel tank is equal to or below a predetermined value, said controller selects a shift map of a high fuel economy type in which fuel consumption is reduced, wherein the residual quantity of fuel in the fuel tank is sensed based upon a mean value of output signals from said fuel sensor in a predetermined period of time, and wherein when said controller switches to the shift map of the high fuel economy type, the display is flickered before the shift map switching is initiated.