2009 DODGE RAM 3500 DIESEL brakes

•
Completely inspect the underbody of your vehicle.
Check tires, body structure, steering, suspension, and
exhaust system for damage.
•
Check threaded fasteners for looseness, particularly on
the chassis, drivetrain components, steering, and sus-
pension. Retighten them, if required, and torque to the
values specified in the Service Manual.
•
Check for accumulations of plants or brush. These
things could be a fire hazard, or they might hide
damage to fuel lines, brake hoses, axle pinion seals,
and propeller shafts.
•
After extended operation in mud, sand, water, or
similar dirty conditions, have brake drums and rotors,
brake linings, and axle yokes inspected and cleaned as
soon as possible.
•
If you experience unusual vibration after driving in
mud, slush or similar conditions, check the wheels for
packed material. Packed foreign material can cause a
wheel imbalance and cleaning the wheels will correct
the situation.
WARNING!
Abrasive material in any part of the brakes may cause
excessive wear or unpredictable braking. You might
not have full braking power when you need it to
prevent an accident. If you have been operating your
vehicle in dirty conditions, get your brakes checked
and cleaned as necessary. Failure to do so may result
is serious injury.
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WARNING!
•
Driving through standing water limits your vehi-
cle’s traction capabilities. Do not exceed 5 mph
(8 km/h) when driving through standing water.
•
Driving through standing water limits your vehi-
cle’s braking capabilities, which increases stop-
ping distances. Therefore, after driving through
standing water, drive slowly and lightly press on
the brake pedal several times to dry the brakes.
•
Getting water inside your vehicle’s engine can
cause it to lock up and stall out, and leave you
stranded.
•
Failure to follow these warnings may result in
injuries that are serious or fatal to you, your
passengers, and others around you.
DRIVING OFF-ROAD — RAM TRUCK ONLYCare should be taken when attempting to climb steep
hills or driving diagonally across a hill or slope. If natural
obstacles force you to travel diagonally up or down a hill,
choose a mild angle and keep as little side tilt as possible.
Keep the vehicle moving and make turns slowly and
cautiously.
If you must back down a hill, back straight down using
REVERSE gear. Never back down in NEUTRAL, or
diagonally across the hill.
When driving over sand, mud, and other soft terrain,
shift to low gear and drive steadily. Apply the accelerator
slowly to avoid spinning the wheels.
DO NOT REDUCE the tire pressures for this type of
driving.
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NOTE:•
Avoid overheating the winch motor. For extended
winching, stop at reasonable intervals to allow the
winch motor to cool down.
•
What to look for under load:The wire rope must
always spool onto the drum as indicated by the drum
rotation decal on the winch. As you power-in, make
sure the wire rope winds evenly and tightly on the
drum. This prevents the outer wire wraps from draw-
ing into the inner wraps, binding and damaging the
wire rope. Avoid shock loads by using the control
switch intermittently to take up wire rope slack. Shock
loads can momentarily far exceed the winch and wire
rope ratings. During side pulls the wire rope tends to
stack up at one end of the drum. This stack can become large enough to cause serious damage to the winch.
So, line up pulls as straight ahead as possible and stop
winching if the wire rope comes close to the tie rods or
mounting plate. To fix an uneven stack, spool out that
section of the rope and reposition it to the opposite end
of the drum, which will free up space for continued
winching.
16. Secure vehicle. Once recovery of the vehicle’s is
complete, be sure to secure the vehicle’s brakes and put
the transmission in PARK. Release tension in the wire
rope.
17. Disconnect the wire rope, and disconnect from the
anchor.
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a hill, you should apply the parking brake before placing
the shift lever in PARK, otherwise, the load on the
transmission locking mechanism may make it difficult to
move the shift lever out of PARK.
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 the transmission
in PARK. Failure to do so may allow the vehicle to
roll and cause damage or injury.
•
Never leave children alone in a vehicle. Leaving
unattended children in a vehicle is dangerous for a
number of reasons. A child or others could be
seriously or fatally injured. Do not leave the key in
the ignition. A child could operate power win-
dows, other controls, or move the vehicle.(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
•
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 SYSTEMIf 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.
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The system’s pump motor runs during an ABS stop to
provide regulated hydraulic pressure. The pump motor
makes a low humming noise during operation. This is
normal.
The ABS conducts a low-speed selftest at about 10 mph
(16 km/h). If you have your foot lightly on the brake
while this test is occurring, you may feel slight pedal
movement. The movement can be more apparent on ice
and snow. This is normal.
The ABS pump motor runs during the self-test at 10 mph
(16 km/h) and during an ABS stop. The pump motor
makes a low humming noise during operation. This is
normal.
When you are in a severe braking condition involving
use of the ABS, you will experience some pedal drop as
the vehicle comes to a complete stop. This is the result of
the system reverting to the base brake system and is
normal.Engagement of the ABS may be accompanied by a
pulsing sensation. You may also hear a clicking noise.
These occurrences are normal, and indicate that the
system is functioning.
ABS Warning LightThe ABS includes an amber warning light. When the light
is illuminated, the ABS is not functioning. The system
reverts to standard, non-anti-lock brakes.
WARNING!
•
Pumping of the anti-lock brakes will diminish
their effectiveness and may lead to an accident.
Pumping makes the stopping distance longer. Just
press firmly on your brake pedal when you need
to slow down or stop.
(Continued)
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WARNING! (Continued)
•
The Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS) cannot prevent
the natural laws of physics from acting on the
vehicle, nor can it increase braking or steering
efficiency beyond that afforded by the condition
of the vehicle brakes and tires or the traction
afforded.
•
The ABS cannot prevent accidents, including
those resulting from excessive speed in turns,
following another vehicle too closely, or hydro-
planing. Only a safe, attentive, and skillful driver
can prevent accidents.
•
The capabilities of an ABS-equipped vehicle must
never be exploited in a reckless or dangerous
manner which could jeopardize the user’s safety
or the safety of others.
ELECTRONIC BRAKE CONTROL SYSTEM — IF
EQUIPPEDYour vehicle is equipped with an advanced electronic
brake control system that includes Anti-Lock Brake Sys-
tem (ABS), Traction Control System (TCS), Brake Assist
System (BAS), HSA (Hill Start Assist), Electronic Roll
Mitigation (ERM), Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and
Trailer Sway Control (TSC). All six systems work to-
gether to enhance vehicle stability and control in various
driving conditions, and are commonly referred to as ESP.Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS)The ABS aids the driver in maintaining vehicle control
under adverse braking conditions. The system controls
hydraulic brake pressure to prevent wheel lockup and
help avoid skidding on slippery surfaces during braking.
For more information about ABS, refer to “Anti-Lock
Brake System” under “Brake System” in Section 5 of this
manual.
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NOTE:ABS improves steering control of the vehicle
during hard braking maneuvers.
WARNING!
•
ABS cannot prevent the natural laws of physics
from acting on the vehicle, nor can it increase
braking or steering efficiency beyond that af-
forded by the condition of the vehicle brakes and
tires or the traction afforded.
•
The ABS cannot prevent accidents, including
those resulting from excessive speed in turns,
following another vehicle too closely, or hydro-
planing. Only a safe, attentive, and skillful driver
can prevent accidents.
•
The capabilities of an ABS-equipped vehicle must
never be exploited in a reckless or dangerous
manner which could jeopardize the user’s safety
or the safety of others.
Traction Control System (TCS)The TCS monitors the amount of wheel spin of each of
the driven wheels. If wheel spin is detected, brake
pressure is applied to the slipping wheel(s), and engine
power is reduced to provide enhanced acceleration and
stability. A feature of the TCS functions similar to a
limited-slip differential 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 to the wheel that is not spinning.
This feature remains active even if TCS and ESP are in the
“Partial Off” mode. Refer to “Electronic Stability Pro-
gram (ESP)” in this section of this manual. This brake
pressure modulation transfers drive torque from slipping
to non-slipping wheels to provide optimal forward
traction.
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Brake Assist System (BAS)The BAS is designed to optimize the vehicle’s braking
capability during emergency braking maneuvers. The
BAS detects an emergency braking situation by sensing
the rate and amount of brake application and then
applies optimum pressure to the brakes. The system
applies optimum pressure to the brakes in emergency
braking conditions. This can help reduce braking dis-
tances. The BAS complements the ABS. Applying the
brakes very quickly results in the best BAS assistance. To
receive the benefit of BAS, you must apply continuous
braking pressure during the stopping sequence. Do not
reduce brake pedal pressure unless braking is no longer
desired.
Once the brake pedal is released, the BAS is deactivated.
WARNING!
•
The BAS cannot prevent the natural laws of phys-
ics from acting on the vehicle, nor can it increase
braking efficiency beyond that afforded by the
condition of the vehicle brakes and tires or the
traction afforded.
•
The BAS cannot prevent accidents, including
those resulting from excessive speed in turns,
following another vehicle too closely, or hydro-
planing. Only a safe, attentive, and skillful driver
can prevent accidents.
•
The capabilities of a BAS-equipped vehicle must
never be exploited in a reckless or dangerous
manner which could jeopardize the user ’s safety
or the safety of others.
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