2007 Ram 2500 (Diesel) brakes

•Airbag deployment level (if applicable)
•Impact acceleration and angle
•Seatbelt status
•Brake status (service and parking brakes)
•Accelerator status (including vehicle speed)
•Engine control status (including engine speed)
•Transmission gear selection
•Cruise control status
•Traction/stability control status
•Tire pressure monitoring system status (if equipped)
Child Restraint
Everyone in your vehicle needs to be buckled up all the
time — babies and children, too. Every state in the United
States and all Canadian provinces require that small
children ride in proper restraint systems. This is the law,
and you can be prosecuted for ignoring it.
Children 12 years and under should ride properly buck-
led up in a rear seat, if available. According to crash
statistics, children are safer when properly restrained in
the rear seats rather than in the front.
60 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING YOUR VEHICLE

Engine Idling — In Cold Weather
Avoid prolonged idling in ambient temperatures below
0°F. Long periods of idling may be harmful to your
engine because combustion chamber temperatures can
drop so low that the fuel may not burn completely.
Incomplete combustion allows carbon and varnish to
form on piston rings and injector nozzles. Also, the
unburned fuel can enter the crankcase, diluting the oil
and causing rapid wear to the engine.
NOTE:An optional driver-controlled high idle speed is
available on automatic transmission equipped vehicles
with speed control. This feature allows the driver to
select an elevated idle speed between 1100 and 1500
rpms. Your dealer can enable this feature.
NOTE:
•If ambient temperatures are low and the coolant
temperature is below 200°F (93°C), the engine idlespeed will slowly increase to 1000 RPM after 2 minutes
of idle, if the following conditions are met:
•foot is off brake pedal and throttle pedal
•automatic transmission is in Park (P)
•vehicle speed is zero
•Applying the throttle will cancel fast idle
•If the engine is equipped with an exhaust brake,
operating the exhaust brake at idle will greatly im-
prove warm up rate and will help keep the engine
close to operating temperature during extended idle.
CAUTION!
Use of aftermarket exhaust brakes is not recom-
mended and could lead to engine damage
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Engine Speed Control
CAUTION!
Prevent overspeeding the engine going down hill.
When descending steep grades, use a combination of
gears and service brakes to control vehicle/engine
speed. Overspeed can cause severe engine damage.
Operating Precautions
Avoid Overheating The Engine
The temperature of the coolant (a mixture of 50%
ethylene-glycol and 50% water) must not exceed the
normal range of the temperature gauge (240°F/116°C)
with a 16 psi (110 kPa) radiator cap.
Usually the coolant temperature indicated during opera-
tion will be to the left of center in the normal range of the
gauge.
Avoid Low Coolant Temperature Operation
Continual operation at low coolant temperature below
the normal range on the gauge (140°F/60°C) can be
harmful to the engine. Low coolant temperature can
cause incomplete combustion which allows carbon and
varnish to form on piston rings and injector nozzles.
Also, the unburned fuel can enter the crankcase, diluting
the lubricating oil and causing rapid wear to the engine.
Cooling System Tips — Automatic Transmission
To reduce potential for engine and transmission over-
heating in high ambient temperature conditions, take the
following actions:
•City Driving —
when stopped, put transmission in neutral and increase
engine idle speed.
•Highway Driving —
reduce your speed.
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DIESEL EXHAUST BRAKE (ENGINE BRAKING) –
IF EQUIPPED
The Exhaust Brake feature is enabled and disabled by
pressing the exhaust brake switch located on the Instru-
ment Panel.NOTE:For optimum braking power it is recommended
to use the Exhaust Brake while in Tow/Haul Mode.
The purpose of the exhaust brake (engine braking) fea-
ture is to supply negative (braking) torque to the engine.
Typically, the engine braking is used for, but not limited
to, vehicle towing applications where vehicle braking can
be achieved by the internal engine power, thereby spar-
ing the mechanical brakes of the vehicle.
Benefits of the exhaust brake are:
•vehicle driving control
•reduced brake fade
•longer brake life
•faster cab warm-up.
Exhaust Brake Switch
290 STARTING AND OPERATING

•engine running
•foot off the brake pedal
•driver ’s seat belt is unbuckled
•driver ’s door is open.
When this feature is triggered the horn will sound, the
high beams and turn signal lamps will flash, and the
PRNDL position will flash. This will continue until one of
the following conditions is met:
•engine is turned off
•transmission is in Park
•driver ’s seat belt is buckled
•brakes applied.The alarm will continue for 3 minutes if the driver’s door
is closed but none of the other conditions listed above are
met.
Automatic Transmission with Overdrive (48RE) —
If Equipped
The gear shift selector display, located in the instrument
panel cluster, indicates the transmission gear range (the
selector is illuminated for night driving). The selector
lever is mounted on the right side of the steering column.
You must depress the brake pedal, to pull the selector
lever out of park (P) position (Brake Interlock System). To
drive, move the selector lever from Park or Neutral to the
desired drive position. Pull the selector lever toward you
when shifting into Reverse, Second, First or Park, or
when shifting out of Park.
Gear Ranges
DO NOT race the engine when shifting from Park or
Neutral position into another gear range.
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customer, upon exiting the vehicle, that the transmission
is not in the Park position. This feature will only be
functional under following conditions:
•engine running
•foot off the brake pedal
•driver ’s seat belt is unbuckled
•driver ’s door is open.
When this feature is triggered the horn will sound, the
high beams and turn signal lamps will flash. This will
continue until one of the following conditions is met:
•engine is turned off
•transmission is in Park
•driver ’s door is closed
•driver ’s seat belt is buckled
•brakes applied.
MANUAL TRANSMISSION
WARNING!
You or others could be injured if you leave the
vehicle unattended without having the parking
brake fully applied. The parking brake should al-
ways be applied when the driver is not in the vehicle,
especially on an incline.
Truck models with manual transmission are equipped
with a clutch interlocking ignition system. The clutch
pedal must be fully depressed to start the vehicle.
Fully depress the clutch pedal before shifting gears. As
you release the clutch pedal, lightly depress the accelera-
tor pedal.
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5

Mode 2to3 3to4 4to5 5to6
Accel &
Cruise15 (24) 25 (40) 40 (64) 45 (72)
Downshifting
Moving from a high gear down to a lower gear is
recommended to preserve brakes when driving down
steep hills. In addition, downshifting at the right time
provides better acceleration when you desire to resume
speed. Downshift progressively. Do not skip gears to
avoid overspeeding the engine and clutch. For accelera-
tion at speeds less than 15 mph (25 km/h), 2nd gear is
recommended.
CAUTION!
When descending a hill, be very careful to downshift
one gear at a time to prevent overspeeding the engine
which can cause valve damage.
To prevent clutch and transmission damage, your vehicle
should be downshifted at speeds no greater than those
listed in the Maximum Recommended Downshifting
Speed chart.
Maximum Recommended Downshifting Speeds
Gear
Selec-
tion1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Maxi-
mum
Speed10 mph
(16
km/h)19 mph
(31
km/h)32 mph
(51
km/h)50 mph
(80
km/h)68 mph
(109
km/h)
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WARNING!
•Always fully apply the parking brake when leav-
ing your vehicle, or it may roll and cause damage
or injury. Also be certain to leave an automatic
transmission in Park, a manual transmission in
Reverse or First gear. Failure to do so may allow
the vehicle to roll and cause damage or injury.
•Never leave children alone in a vehicle. Leaving
children in a vehicle unattended is dangerous for a
number of reasons. A child or others could be
seriously or fatally injured. Don’t leave the keys in
the ignition. A child could operate power win-
dows, other controls, or move the vehicle.
•Be sure the parking brake is fully disengaged
before driving, failure to do so can lead to brake
problems due to excessive heating of the rear
brakes.When parking on a hill, turn the front wheels toward the
curb on a downhill grade and away from the curb on an
uphill grade.
The parking brake should always be applied whenever
the driver is not in the vehicle.
BRAKE SYSTEM
If power assist is lost for any reason (for example,
repeated brake applications with the engine off), the
brakes will still function. However, you will experience a
substantial increase in braking effort to stop the vehicle.
If either the front or rear hydraulic systems lose normal
capability, the remaining system will still function with
some loss of overall braking effectiveness. This will be
evident by increased pedal travel during application,
greater pedal force required to slow or stop, and activa-
tion of the BRAKE warning lamp and the ABS lamp (if
equipped) during brake use.
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