brake RAM CHASSIS CAB 2016 Manual PDF

reduce braking distances. The BAS complements the
anti-lock brake system (ABS). Applying the brakes very
quickly results in the best BAS assistance. To receive the
benefit of the system, you must apply continuous brak-
ing pressure during the stopping sequence, (do not
“pump” the brakes). Do not reduce brake pedal pressure
unless braking is no longer desired. Once the brake pedal
is released, the BAS is deactivated.
WARNING!The Brake Assist System (BAS) cannot prevent the
natural laws of physics from acting on the vehicle,
nor can it increase the traction afforded by prevailing
road conditions. BAS cannot prevent collisions, in-
cluding those resulting from excessive speed in
turns, driving on very slippery surfaces, or hydro-
planing. The capabilities of a BAS-equipped vehicle (Continued) WARNING! (Continued)must never be exploited in a reckless or dangerous
manner, which could jeopardize the user’s safety or
the safety of others.
Hill Start Assist (HSA)
The HSA system is designed to mitigate roll back from a
complete stop while on an incline. If the driver releases
the brake while stopped on an incline, HSA will continue
to hold the brake pressure for a short period. If the driver
does not apply the throttle before this time expires, the
system will release brake pressure and the vehicle will
roll down the hill as normal.
The following conditions must be met in order for HSA to
activate:
• The feature must be enabled.
• The vehicle must be stopped.446 STARTING AND OPERATING

• Park brake must be off.
• Driver door must be closed.
• The vehicle must be on a sufficient grade.
• The gear selection must match vehicle uphill direction
(i.e., vehicle facing uphill is in forward gear; vehicle
backing uphill is in REVERSE gear).
• HSA will work in REVERSE gear and all forward
gears. The system will not activate if the transmission
is in PARK or NEUTRAL. For vehicles equipped with
a manual transmission, if the clutch is pressed, HSA
will remain active.
WARNING!There may be situations where the Hill Start Assist
(HSA) will not activate and slight rolling may occur, (Continued) WARNING! (Continued)such as on minor hills or with a loaded vehicle, or
while pulling a trailer. HSA is not a substitute for
active driving involvement. It is always the driver ’s
responsibility to be attentive to distance to other
vehicles, people, and objects, and most importantly
brake operation to ensure safe operation of the ve-
hicle under all road conditions. Your complete atten-
tion is always required while driving to maintain
safe control of your vehicle. Failure to follow these
warnings can result in a collision or serious personal
injury.
Towing With HSA
HSA will also provide assistance to mitigate roll back
while towing a trailer. 5STARTING AND OPERATING 447

WARNING!• If you use a trailer brake controller with your
trailer, the trailer brakes may be activated and
deactivated with the brake switch. If so, there may
not be enough brake pressure to hold both the
vehicle and the trailer on a hill when the brake
pedal is released. In order to avoid rolling down an
incline while resuming acceleration, manually ac-
tivate the trailer brake or apply more vehicle brake
pressure prior to releasing the brake pedal.
• HSA is not a parking brake. Always apply the
parking brake fully when leaving your vehicle.
Also, be certain to leave the transmission in PARK.
• Failure to follow these warnings may cause the
vehicle to roll down the incline and could collide
with another vehicle, object or person, and cause
serious or fatal injury. Always remember to use the (Continued) WARNING! (Continued)parking brake while parking on a hill and that the
driver is responsible for braking the vehicle.
Disabling And Enabling HSA
This feature can be turned on or turned off. To change the
current setting, proceed as follows:
• For vehicles equipped with the Electronic Vehicle
Information Center (EVIC) or Driver Information Dis-
play (DID), refer to “Electronic Vehicle Information
Center (EVIC)” or “Driver Information Display (DID)”
in “Understanding Your Instrument Panel” for further
information.
• If disabling HSA using Uconnect Settings, refer to
“Uconnect Settings” in “Understanding Your Instru-
ment Panel” for further information.448 STARTING AND OPERATING

For vehicles not equipped with the EVIC/DID, perform
the following steps:
1. Center the steering wheel (front wheels pointing
straight forward).
2. Shift the transmission into PARK.
3. Apply the parking brake.
4. Start the engine.
5. Rotate the steering wheel slightly more than one-half
turn to the left.
6. Push the “ESC Off” button located in the lower switch
bank below the climate control four times within
twenty seconds. The “ESC Off Indicator Light” should
turn on and turn off two times.
7. Rotate the steering wheel back to center and then an
additional slighty more than one-half turn to the right. 8. Turn the ignition switch to the OFF position and then
back to the ON position. If the sequence was com-
pleted properly, the “ESC Off Indicator Light” will
blink several times to confirm HSA is disabled.
9. Repeat these steps if you want to return this feature to
its previous setting.
Traction Control System (TCS)
This system monitors the amount of wheel spin of each of
the driven wheels. If wheel spin is detected, the TCS may
apply brake pressure to the spinning wheel(s) and/or
reduce engine power to provide enhanced acceleration
and stability. A feature of the TCS, Brake Limited Differ-
ential (BLD), functions similar to a limited slip differen-
tial and controls the wheel spin across a driven axle. If
one wheel on a driven axle is spinning faster than the
other, the system will apply the brake of the spinning
wheel. This will allow more engine torque to be applied 5STARTING AND OPERATING 449

to the wheel that is not spinning. BLD may remain
enabled even if TCS and ESC are in a reduced mode.
Electronic Stability Control (ESC)
This system enhances directional control and stability of
the vehicle under various driving conditions. ESC cor-
rects for oversteering or understeering of the vehicle by
applying the brake of the appropriate wheel(s) to assist in
counteracting the oversteer or understeer condition. En-
gine power may also be reduced to help the vehicle
maintain the desired path.
ESC uses sensors in the vehicle to determine the vehicle
path intended by the driver and compares it to the actual
path of the vehicle. When the actual path does not match
the intended path, ESC applies the brake of the appro-
priate wheel to assist in counteracting the oversteer or
understeer condition.
• Oversteer - when the vehicle is turning more than
appropriate for the steering wheel position. • Understeer - when the vehicle is turning less than
appropriate for the steering wheel position.
The “ESC Activation/Malfunction Indicator Light” lo-
cated in the instrument cluster will start to flash as soon
as the ESC system becomes active. The “ESC Activation/
Malfunction Indicator Light” also flashes when the TCS
is active. If the “ESC Activation/Malfunction Indicator
Light” begins to flash during acceleration, ease up on the
accelerator and apply as little throttle as possible. Be sure
to adapt your speed and driving to the prevailing road
conditions.
WARNING!• Electronic Stability Control (ESC) cannot prevent
the natural laws of physics from acting on the
vehicle, nor can it increase the traction afforded by
prevailing road conditions. ESC cannot prevent (Continued)450 STARTING AND OPERATING

speeds greater than 30 mph (48 km/h), see your autho-
rized dealer as soon as possible to have the problem
diagnosed and corrected.
The “ESC Activation/Malfunction Indicator Light” (lo-
cated in the instrument cluster) starts to flash as soon as
the tires lose traction and the ESC system becomes active.
The “ESC Activation/Malfunction Indicator Light” also
flashes when TCS is active. If the “ESC Activation/
Malfunction Indicator Light” begins to flash during ac-
celeration, ease up on the accelerator and apply as little
throttle as possible. Be sure to adapt your speed and
driving to the prevailing road conditions.
NOTE:
• The “ESC Activation/Malfunction Indicator Light”
and the “ESC OFF Indicator Light” come on momen-
tarily each time the ignition switch is turned ON. • Each time the ignition is turned ON, the ESC system
will be ON even if it was turned off previously.
• The ESC system will make buzzing or clicking sounds
when it is active. This is normal; the sounds will stop
when ESC becomes inactive following the maneuver
that caused the ESC activation.
The “ESC OFF Indicator Light” indicates the
customer has elected to have the Electronic
Stability Control (ESC) in a reduced mode.
Electronic Roll Mitigation (ERM)
This system anticipates the potential for wheel lift by
monitoring the driver ’s steering wheel input and the
speed of the vehicle. When ERM determines that the rate
of change of the steering wheel angle and vehicle’s speed
are sufficient to potentially cause wheel lift, it then
applies the appropriate brake and may also reduce454 STARTING AND OPERATING

may be reduced and you may feel the brakes being
applied to individual wheels to attempt to stop the trailer
from swaying. TSC is disabled when the ESC system is in
the “Partial Off” or “Full Off” modes.
WARNING!If TSC activates while driving, slow the vehicle
down, stop at the nearest safe location, and adjust the
trailer load to eliminate trailer sway.
Hill Descent Control (HDC) — If Equipped
HDC is intended for low speed off road driving while in
4WD Low Range. HDC maintains vehicle speed while
descending hills during various driving situations. HDC
controls vehicle speed by actively controlling the brakes.
HDC has three states:
1. Off (feature is not enabled and will not activate). 2. Enabled (feature is enabled and ready but activation
conditions are not met, or driver is actively overriding
with brake or throttle application).
3. Active (feature is enabled and actively controlling
vehicle speed).
Enabling HDC
HDC is enabled by pushing the HDC switch, but the
following conditions must also be met to enable HDC:
• Driveline is in 4WD Low Range
• Vehicle speed is below 5 mph (8 km/h).
• Parking brake is released.
• Driver door is closed.
Activating HDC
Once HDC is enabled, it will activate automatically if
driven down a grade of sufficient magnitude. The set456 STARTING AND OPERATING

speed for HDC is selectable by the driver, and can be
adjusted by using the gear shift +/-. The following
summarizes the HDC set speeds:
HDC Target Set Speeds
• P = No set speed. HDC may be enabled but will not
activate
• R = 0.6 mph (1 km/h)
• N = 1.2 mph (2 km/h)
• D = 0.6 mph (1 km/h)
• 1st = 0.6 mph (1 km/h)
• 2nd = 1.2 mph (2 km/h)
• 3rd = 1.8 mph (3 km/h)
• 4th = 2.5 mph (4 km/h)
• 5th = 3.1 mph (5 km/h) • 6th = 3.7 mph (6 km/h)
• 7th = 4.3 mph (7 km/h)
• 8th = 5.0 mph (8 km/h)
• 9th = 5.6 mph (9 km/h) – If Equipped
NOTE: During HDC, the +/- shifter input is used for
HDC target speed selection but will not affect the gear
chosen by the transmission. When actively controlling
HDC, the transmission will shift appropriately for the
driver-selected set speed and corresponding driving con-
ditions.
Driver Override
The driver may override HDC activation with throttle or
brake application at anytime. 5STARTING AND OPERATING 457

Deactivating HDC
HDC will be deactivated but remain available if any of
the following conditions occur:
• Driver overrides HDC set speed with throttle or brake
application.
• Vehicle speed exceeds 20 mph (32 km/h) but remains
below 40 mph (64 km/h).
• Vehicle is on a downhill grade of insufficient magni-
tude, is on level ground, or is on an uphill grade.
• Vehicle is shifted to park.
Disabling HDC
HDC will be deactivated and disabled if any of the
following conditions occur:
• The driver pushes the HDC switch.
• The driveline is shifted out of 4WD Low Range. • The parking brake is applied.
• Driver door opens.
• The vehicle is driven greater than 20 mph (32 km/h)
for greater than 70 seconds.
• The vehicle is driven greater than 40 mph (64 km/h)
(HDC exits immediately).
• HDC detects excessive brake temperature.
Feedback To The Driver
The instrument cluster has an HDC icon and the HDC
switch has an LED which offer feedback to the driver
about the state HDC is in.
• The cluster icon and switch lamp will illuminate and
remain on solid when HDC is enabled or activated.
This is the normal operating condition for HDC.458 STARTING AND OPERATING

• The cluster icon and switch lamp will flash for several
seconds then extinguish when the driver pushes the
HDC switch but enable conditions are not met.
• The cluster icon and switch lamp will flash for several
seconds then extinguish when HDC disables due to
excess speed.
• The cluster icon and switch lamp will flash when HDC
deactivates due to overheated brakes. The flashing will
stop and HDC will activate again once the brakes have
cooled sufficiently.
WARNING!HDC is only intended to assist the driver in control-
ling vehicle speed when descending hills. The driver
must remain attentive to the driving conditions and
is responsible for maintaining a safe vehicle speed. TIRE SAFETY INFORMATION
Tire Markings
1 — U.S. DOT Safety Standards
Code (TIN) 4 — Maximum Load
2 — Size Designation 5 — Maximum Pressure
3 — Service Description 6 — Treadwear, Traction and
Temperature Grades 5STARTING AND OPERATING 459