2011 Ram 1500 Owner's Manual

NOTE:In order to ensure proper operation, the Elec-
tronic Speed Control System has been designed to shut
down if multiple Speed Control functions are operated at
the same time. If this occurs, the Electronic Speed Control System can be reactivated by pushing the Electronic
Speed Control ON/OFF button and resetting the desired
vehicle set speed.
To Activate
Push the ON/OFF button (located in the end of the lever)
once and the cruise indicator light (located in the mes-
sage window of the cluster) will illuminate showing that
the Electronic Speed Control system is on. To turn the
Electronic Speed Control system off, push the ON/OFF
button a second time and both the Electronic Speed
Control system and indicator will turn off.
Electronic Speed Control Lever
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UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE 135

WARNING!
Leaving the Electronic Speed Control system on
when not in use is dangerous. You could accidently
set the system or cause it to go faster than you want.
You could lose control and have an accident. Always
leave the Electronic Speed Control system off when
you are not using it.
To Set A Desired Speed
Turn the Electronic Speed Control ON. When the vehicle
has reached the desired speed, press the SET lever
downward and then release. Lift your foot off the accel-
erator and the vehicle will operate at the selected speed.
Deactivating Electronic Speed Control
A soft tap on the brake pedal or pulling the Electronic
Speed Control lever (CANCEL) toward you will deacti-
vate the Electronic Speed Control without erasing the setspeed memory. Pushing the ON/OFF button to the OFF
position or turning OFF the ignition erases the set speed
memory.
To Resume Speed
To resume a previously set speed, raise the Electronic
Speed Control lever (RESUME ACCEL) upwards and
release. Resume can be used at any speed above 30 mph
(50 km/h).
Varying The Speed Setting
When the Electronic Speed Control is set, you can in-
crease speed by pushing up and holding the RESUME
ACCEL lever. If the lever is continually held in the
RESUME ACCEL position, the set speed will continue to
increase until the lever is released, then the new set speed
will be established.
Tapping the RESUME ACCEL lever once will result in a
1 mph (2 km/h) increase in set speed. Each subsequent
tap of the lever results in an increase of 1 mph (2 km/h).
136 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE

To decrease speed while the Electronic Speed Control is
set, push down and hold the SET DECEL lever. If the
lever is continually held in the SET DECEL position, the
set speed will continue to decrease until the lever is
released. Release the lever when the desired speed is
reached, and the new set speed will be established.
Tapping the SET DECEL lever once will result ina1mph
(2 km/h) decrease in set speed. Each subsequent tap of
the lever results in a decrease of 1 mph (2 km/h).
To Accelerate For Passing
Press the accelerator as you would normally. When the
pedal is released, the vehicle will return to the set speed.
NOTE:The Electronic Speed Control system maintains
speed up and down hills. A slight speed change on
moderate hills is normal. Your vehicle may experience a downshift (automatic
transmissions only) while climbing uphill or descending
downhill. This downshift is necessary to maintain vehicle
set speed.
On steep hills a greater speed loss or gain may occur so
it may be preferable to drive without Electronic Speed
Control.
WARNING!
Electronic Speed Control can be dangerous where the
system cannot maintain a constant speed. Your ve-
hicle could go too fast for the conditions, and you
could lose control and have an accident. Do not use
Electronic Speed Control in heavy traffic or on roads
that are winding, icy, snow-covered or slippery.
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UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE 137

PARKSENSEREAR PARK ASSIST — IF
EQUIPPED
The ParkSense Rear Park Assist system provides visual
and audible indications of the distance between the rear
fascia and a detected obstacle when backing up, e.g.
during a parking maneuver. Refer to ParkSense System
Usage Precautions for limitations of this system and
recommendations.
ParkSense will retain the last system state (enabled or
disabled) from the last ignition cycle when the ignition is
changed to the ON/RUN position.
ParkSense can be active only when the shift lever is in
REVERSE. If ParkSense is enabled at this shift lever
position, the system will remain active until the vehicle
speed is increased to approximately 11 mph (18 km/h) or
above. The system will become active again if the vehicle
speed is decreased to speeds less than approximately
10 mph (16 km/h).
ParkSense Sensors
The four ParkSense sensors, located in the rear fascia/
bumper, monitor the area behind the vehicle that is
within the sensors’ field of view. The sensors can detect
obstacles from approximately 12 in (30 cm) up to 79 in
(200 cm) from the rear fascia/bumper in the horizontal
direction, depending on the location, type and orienta-
tion of the obstacle.
ParkSense Warning Display
The ParkSense Warning screen will only be displayed if
Sound and Display is selected from the Customer- Pro-
grammable Features section of the Electronic Vehicle
Information Center (EVIC). Refer to “Electronic Vehicle
Information Center (EVIC)/Personal Settings (Customer-
Programmable Features)” in “Understanding Your In-
strument Panel” for further information.
The ParkSense Warning Display is located in the Instru-
ment cluster ’s EVIC display. It provides both visual and
138 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE

audible warnings to indicate the distance between the
rear fascia/bumper and the detected obstacle.ParkSenseDisplay
When the vehicle is in REVERSE, the warning display
will turn ON indicating the system status.
Rear ParkSense Display
Park Assist System On
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UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE 139

The system will indicate a detected obstacle by showing
three solid arcs and will produce a one-half second tone.
As the vehicle moves closer to the object the EVIC
display will show fewer arcs and the sound tone will
change from slow, to fast, to continuous.
Park Assist System OffSlow Tone
140 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE

The vehicle is close to the obstacle when the EVIC display
shows one flashing arc and sounds a continuous tone.
The following chart shows the warning alert operation
when the system is detecting an obstacle:
Fast ToneContinuous Tone
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UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE 141

WARNING ALERTS
Rear Distance (in/cm) Greater than
79 in (200 cm) 79-39 in
(200-100 cm) 39-25 in
(100-65 cm) 25-12 in
(65-30 cm) Less than
12 in (30 cm)
Audible Alert Chime None
Single 1/2
Second Tone Slow
FastContinuous
Display Message Park Assist ON Warning Object DetectedWarning Object
Detected Warning Object
Detected Warning Object
Detected
Arcs None3 Solid
(Continuous) 3 Slow
Flashing 2 Slow
Flashing 1 Slow
Flashing
Radio Mute NoYes YesYesYes
NOTE: ParkSense will MUTE the radio, if on, when
the system is sounding an audio tone.
Enabling And Disabling ParkSense 
ParkSensecan be enabled and disabled with a switch
located in the switch bank of the instrument panel or
through the Customer-Programmable Features section of
the EVIC. The available choices are: OFF, Sound Only, or Sound and Display. Refer to “Electronic Vehicle Informa-
tion Center (EVIC)/Personal Settings (Customer-
Programmable Features)” in “Understanding Your In-
strument Panel” for further information.
When the ParkSense switch is pressed to
disable the system, the instrument cluster will
display the “PARK ASSIST OFF” message for
142 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE