a method for controlling the gears of a vehicle that has an automatic transmission that is arranged to change gear according to a plurality of gear modes that differ in that changing to a higher gear is carried out at different minimum engine speeds or , if the changing is carried out steplessly , with different degrees of gearing , with the transmission having a forward gear position for driving the vehicle forwards and a reverse gear position for driving the vehicle backwards , comprising detection of an operating parameter and , in response to this production of a parameter signal for a control unit , selection , that is carried out by the control unit , of one of the gear modes on the basis of the parameter signal &# 39 ; s value . the parameter signal represents the total distance that the vehicle has been driven during an individual sequence with at least one of the forward gear position and the reverse gear position .