2012 Ram Cargo Van Owner's Manual

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.
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).
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UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE 215

ParkSenseSensors
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
audible warnings to indicate the distance between the
rear fascia/bumper and the detected obstacle.
ParkSense Warning Display
216 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE

ParkSenseDisplay
When the vehicle is in REVERSE, the warning display
will turn ON indicating the system status.
Park Assist System ON
Park Assist System OFF
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UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE 217

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.
Slow Tone
Fast Tone
218 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:
Continuous Tone
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UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE 219

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 System ONWarning Object
Detected Warning 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/Disabling ParkSense
ParkSense can be enabled and disabled through the
Customer-Programmable Features section of the EVIC.
The available choices are: OFF, Sound Only, or Sound and
Display. Refer to “Electronic Vehicle Information Center (EVIC)/Personal Settings (Customer-Programmable Fea-
tures)” in “Understanding Your Instrument Panel” for
further information.
When ParkSense
is disabled, the instrument cluster will
display the “PARK ASSIST SYSTEM OFF” message for
approximately five seconds. Refer to “Electronic Vehicle
Information Center (EVIC)” in “Understanding Your
Instrument Panel” for further information. When the
220 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE

shift lever is moved to REVERSE and the system is
disabled, the EVIC will display the “PARK ASSIST SYS-
TEM OFF” message for as long as the vehicle is in
REVERSE.
Service The ParkSenseRear Park Assist System
When the ParkSenseRear Park Assist System is mal-
functioning, the instrument cluster will actuate a single
chime, once per ignition cycle, and it will display the
“CLEAN PARK ASSIST SENSORS” or the “SERVICE
PARK ASSIST SYSTEM” message. Refer to “Electronic
Vehicle Information Center (EVIC)” in “Understanding
Your Instrument Panel” for further information. When
the shift lever is moved to REVERSE and the system has
detected a faulted condition, the EVIC will display the
“CLEAN PARK ASSIST SENSORS” or the “SERVICE
PARK ASSIST SYSTEM” message for as long as the
vehicle is in REVERSE. Under this condition, ParkSense
will not operate. If “CLEAN PARK ASSIST SENSORS” appears in the
EVIC after making sure the rear fascia/bumper is free
from snow, ice, mud, dirt or other obstruction, see your
authorized dealer.
If “SERVICE PARK ASSIST SYSTEM” appears in the
EVIC, see your authorized dealer.
Cleaning The ParkSense
System
Clean the ParkSensesensors with water, car wash soap
and a soft cloth. Do not use rough or hard cloths. Do not
scratch or poke the sensors. Otherwise, you could dam-
age the sensors.
ParkSense System Usage Precautions
NOTE:
•Ensure that the rear bumper is free of snow, ice, mud,
dirt and debris to keep the ParkSense system operat-
ing properly.
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UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE 221

•Jackhammers, large trucks, and other vibrations could
affect the performance of ParkSense.
•When you turn ParkSenseoff, the instrument cluster
will display “PARK ASSIST SYSTEM OFF.” Further-
more, once you turn ParkSense off, it remains off
until you turn it on again, even if you cycle the ignition
key.
•When you move the shift lever to the REVERSE
position and ParkSense is turned off, the EVIC will
display “PARK ASSIST SYSTEM OFF” message for as
long as the vehicle is in REVERSE.
•ParkSense, when on, will MUTE the radio when it is
sounding a tone.
•Clean the ParkSense sensors regularly, taking care
not to scratch or damage them. The sensors must not
be covered with ice, snow, slush, mud, dirt or debris.
Failure to do so can result in the system not working properly. The ParkSense
system might not detect an
obstacle behind the fascia/bumper, or it could provide
a false indication that an obstacle is behind the fascia/
bumper.
•Objects such as bicycle carriers, trailer hitches, etc.,
must not be placed within 12 in (30 cm) from the rear
fascia/bumper while driving the vehicle. Failure to do
so can result in the system misinterpreting a close
object as a sensor problem, causing the “SERVICE
PARK ASSIST SYSTEM” message to be displayed in
the EVIC.
•On vehicles equipped with a tailgate, ParkSense
should be disabled when the tailgate is in the lowered
or open position and the vehicle is in REVERSE. A
lowered tailgate could provide a false indication that
an obstacle is behind the vehicle.
222 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF YOUR VEHICLE