2019 Ram 1500 manual transmission

INTRODUCTION
Dear Customer, congratulations on selecting your new
vehicle. Be assured that it represents precision workman-
ship, distinctive styling, and high quality.
This is a specialized utility vehicle. It can go places and
perform tasks that are not intended for conventional pas-
senger vehicles. It handles and maneuvers differently from
many passenger vehicles both on-road and off-road, so
take time to become familiar with your vehicle. If
equipped, the two-wheel drive version of this vehicle was
designed for on-road use only. It is not intended for
off-road driving or use in other severe conditions suited for
a four-wheel drive vehicle. Before you start to drive this
vehicle, read the Owner ’s Manual. Be sure you are familiar
with all vehicle controls, particularly those used for brak-
ing, steering, transmission, and transfer case shifting.
Learn how your vehicle handles on different road surfaces.
Your driving skills will improve with experience. When
driving off-road, or working the vehicle, don’t overload the
vehicle or expect the vehicle to overcome the natural laws
of physics. Always observe federal, state, provincial and
local laws wherever you drive. As with other vehicles of
this type, failure to operate this vehicle correctly may result
in loss of control or a collision. Refer to the “Driving Tips”
in “Starting and Operating” for further information.This Owner ’s Manual has been prepared with the assis-
tance of service and engineering specialists to acquaint you
with the operation and maintenance of your vehicle. It is
supplemented by Warranty Information, and customer
oriented documents. In the attached Warranty Booklet you
will find a description of the services that FCA offers to its
customers, the Warranty Certificate and the details of the
terms and conditions for maintaining its validity. Please
take the time to read all of these publications carefully
before driving your vehicle for the first time. Following the
instructions, recommendations, tips, and important warn-
ings in this manual will help assure safe and enjoyable
operation of your vehicle.
This Owner ’s Manual describes all versions of this vehicle.
Options and equipment dedicated to specific markets or
versions are not expressly indicated in the text. Therefore,
you should only consider the information which is related
to the trim level, engine, and version that you have
purchased. Any content introduced throughout the Own-
er ’s Information, that may or may not be applicable to your
vehicle, will be identified with the wording “If Equipped”.
All data contained in this publication are intended to help
you use your vehicle in the best possible way. FCA aims at
a constant improvement of the vehicles produced. For this
reason, it reserves the right to make changes to the model
4 INTRODUCTION

The following conditions must be met in order for HSA to
activate:
•The feature must be enabled.
• The vehicle must be stopped.
• 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,
such as on minor hills or with a loaded vehicle, or
while pulling a trailer. HSA is not a substitute for
(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
active driving involvement. It is always the driver ’s
responsibility to be attentive to distance to other ve-
hicles, people, and objects, and most importantly brake
operation to ensure safe operation of the vehicle under
all road conditions. Your complete attention 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.
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 resum-
ing acceleration, manually activate the trailer brake
(Continued)
5
SAFETY 201

STARTING THE ENGINE
Before starting your vehicle, adjust your seat, adjust both
inside and outside mirrors, and fasten your seat belt.
The starter should not be operated for more than 10-second
intervals. Waiting a few seconds between such intervals
will protect the starter from overheating.
WARNING!
•When leaving the vehicle, always make sure the
keyless ignition node is in the OFFmode, remove
the key fob from the vehicle and lock the vehicle.
•
Never leave children alone in a vehicle, or with access
to an unlocked vehicle. Allowing children to be in a
vehicle unattended is dangerous for a number of
reasons. A child or others could be seriously or fatally
injured. Children should be warned not to touch the
parking brake, brake pedal or the gear selector.
•Do not leave the key fob in or near the vehicle, or in a
location accessible to children, and do not leave the
ignition of a vehicle equipped with Keyless Enter-
N-Go in the ACC or ON/RUN mode. A child could
operate power windows, other controls, or move the
vehicle.
(Continued)
WARNING! (Continued)
•Do not leave children or animals inside parked
vehicles in hot weather. Interior heat build-up may
cause serious injury or death.
Automatic Transmission
Start the engine with the transmission in PARK position.
Apply the brake before shifting into any driving range.
NOTE:
• This vehicle is equipped with a transmission shift inter-
locking system. The brake pedal must be pressed to shift
out of PARK.
• If equipped with an 8-speed transmission, starting the
vehicle in NEUTRAL is not possible unless the Manual
Park Release has been activated. For the Manual Park
Release operation refer to Manual Park Release in “In
Case Of Emergency”.
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STARTING AND OPERATING 293

NOTE:A new engine may consume some oil during its
first few thousand miles (kilometers) of operation. This
should be considered a normal part of the break-in and not
interpreted as a problem. Please check your oil level with
the engine oil indicator often during the break in period.
Add oil as required.
PARKING BRAKE
Electric Park Brake (EPB)
Your vehicle is equipped with an Electric Park Brake
System (EPB) that offers simple operation, and some
additional features that make the parking brake more
convenient and useful.
The parking brake is primarily intended to prevent the
vehicle from rolling while parked. Before leaving the
vehicle, make sure that the park brake is applied. Also, be
certain to leave the transmission in PARK.
You can engage the park brake in two ways:
• Manually, by applying the park brake switch.
• Automatically, by enabling the Auto Park Brake feature
in the customer programmable features section of the
Uconnect settings. The park brake switch is located on the instrument panel to
the left of the steering wheel (below the headlamp switch).
To apply the park brake manually, pull up on the switch
momentarily. You may hear a slight whirring sound from
the back of the vehicle while the park brake engages. Once
the park brake is fully engaged, the BRAKE telltale light in
the instrument cluster and an indicator on the switch will
illuminate. If your foot is on the brake pedal while you
apply the park brake, you may notice a small amount of
brake pedal movement. The park brake can be applied
even when the ignition switch is OFF but the BRAKE
Electric Park Brake Switch
300 STARTING AND OPERATING

telltale light will not illuminate, however, it can only be
released when the ignition is in the ON/RUN mode.
NOTE:The EPB fault light will illuminate if the EPB switch
is held for longer than 20 seconds in either the released or
applied position. The light will extinguish upon releasing
the switch.
If the Auto Park Brake feature is enabled, the parking brake
will automatically engage whenever the transmission is
placed into PARK. If your foot is on the brake pedal, you
may notice a small amount of brake pedal movement while
the park brake is engaging.
The park brake will release automatically when the igni-
tion is ON, the transmission is in DRIVE or REVERSE, the
driver seat belt is buckled, and an attempt is made to drive
away.
To release the park brake manually, the ignition switch
must be in the ON/RUN mode. Put your foot on the brake
pedal, then push the park brake switch down momentarily.
You may hear a slight whirring sound from the back of the
vehicle while the parking brake disengages. You may also
notice a small amount of movement in the brake pedal.
Once the park brake is fully disengaged, The BRAKE
telltale light in the instrument cluster and the LED indica-
tor on the switch will extinguish. NOTE:
When parking on a hill, it is important to turn the
front wheels toward the curb on a downhill grade and
away from the curb on an uphill grade. Apply the park
brake before placing the gear selector in PARK, otherwise
the load on the transmission locking mechanism may make
it difficult to move the gear selector out of PARK. The
parking brake should always be applied whenever the
driver is not in the vehicle.
WARNING!
• Never use the PARK position as a substitute for the
parking brake. Always apply the parking brake fully
when parked to guard against vehicle movement and
possible injury or damage.
• When exiting the vehicle, always remove the key fob
from the ignition and lock your vehicle.
• Never leave children alone in a vehicle, or with
access to an unlocked vehicle. Allowing children to
be in a vehicle unattended is dangerous for a number
of reasons. A child or others could be seriously or
fatally injured. Children should be warned not to
touch the parking brake, brake pedal or the gear
selector.
(Continued)
6
STARTING AND OPERATING 301

Auto Park Brake
The electric park brake can be programmed to be applied
automatically whenever the vehicle is at a standstill and
the automatic transmission is placed in PARK. Auto Park
Brake is enabled and disabled by customer selection
through the customer programmable features section of the
Uconnect Settings.
Any single auto park brake application can be bypassed by
pushing the EPB switch to the release position while the
transmission is placed in PARK.
SafeHold
SafeHold is a safety feature of the Electric Park Brake
System that will engage the park brake automatically if the
vehicle is left unsecured while the ignition is in ON/RUN.
For automatic transmissions, the park brake will automati-
cally engage if all of the following conditions are met:
•The vehicle is at a standstill.
• There is no attempt to depress the brake pedal or
accelerator pedal.
• The seat belt is unbuckled.
• The driver door is open. SafeHold can be temporarily bypassed by pushing the
Electric Park Brake Switch while the driver door is open.
Once manually bypassed, SafeHold will be enabled again
once the vehicle reaches 12 mph (20 km/h) or the ignition
is turned to the OFF position and back to ON again.
Brake Service Mode
We recommend having your brakes serviced by your
authorized dealer. You should only make repairs for which
you have the knowledge and the right equipment. You
should only enter Brake Service Mode during brake ser-
vice.
When servicing your rear brakes, it may be necessary for
you or your technician to push the rear piston into the rear
caliper bore. With the electric park brake system, this can
only be done after retracting the Electric Park Brake
actuator. Fortunately, actuator retraction can be done easily
by entering the Brake Service Mode through the Uconnect
Settings in your vehicle. This menu based system will
guide you through the steps necessary to retract the EPB
actuator in order to perform rear brake service.
6
STARTING AND OPERATING 303

may be somewhat abrupt. This is a normal condition, and
precision shifts will develop within a few hundred miles
(kilometers).
Only shift from DRIVE to PARK or REVERSE when the
accelerator pedal is released and the vehicle is stopped. Be
sure to keep your foot on the brake pedal when shifting
between these gears.
The transmission gear selector has only PARK, REVERSE,
NEUTRAL, and DRIVE positions. Manual downshifts can
be made using the Electronic Range Select (ERS) shift
control. Pressing the GEAR-/GEAR+ switches (on the
steering wheel) while in the DRIVE position will select the
highest available transmission gear, and will display that
gear limit in the instrument cluster as 1, 2, 3, etc. Refer to
“Electronic Range Select (ERS) Operation” in this section
for further information. Some models will display both the
selected gear limit, and the actual current gear, while in
ERS mode.
Gear Ranges
Do not depress the accelerator pedal when shifting from
PARK or NEUTRAL into another gear range.
NOTE:After selecting any gear range, wait a moment to
allow the selected gear to engage before accelerating. This
is especially important when the engine is cold.
Electronic Transmission Gear Selector
6
STARTING AND OPERATING 307

NEUTRAL (N)
Neutral — This range disengages both the front and rear
driveshafts from the powertrain. To be used for flat towing
behind another vehicle. Refer to “Recreational Towing” in
this section for further information.
WARNING!
•You or others could be injured or killed if you leave
the vehicle unattended with the transfer case in the
NEUTRAL (N) position without first fully engaging
the parking brake. The transfer case NEUTRAL (N)
position disengages both the front and rear drive
shaft from the powertrain, and will allow the vehicle
to roll, even if the automatic transmission is in PARK
(or manual transmission is in gear). The parking
brake should always be applied when the driver is
not in the vehicle.
• The transmission may not engage PARK if the ve-
hicle is moving. Always bring the vehicle to a
complete stop before shifting to PARK, and verify
that the transmission gear position indicator solidly
indicates PARK (P) without blinking. Ensure that the
vehicle is completely stopped, and the PARK posi-
tion is properly indicated, before exiting the vehicle. This electronically shifted transfer case is designed to be
driven in the two–wheel drive position (2WD) for normal
street and highway conditions on dry hard surfaced roads).
Driving the vehicle in 2WD will have greater fuel economy
benefits as the front axle is not engaged in 2WD.
When additional traction is required, the transfer case 4WD
HIGH and 4WD LOW positions can be used to maximize
torque to the front driveshaft, forcing the front and rear
wheels to rotate at the same speed. This is accomplished by
pushing the desired position on the 4WD control switch.
Refer to “Shifting Procedure” in this section for specific
shifting instructions.
The 4WD HIGH and 4WD LOW positions are designed for
loose, slippery road surfaces only. Driving in the 4WD
HIGH and 4WD LOW positions on dry hard surfaced
roads may cause increased tire wear and damage to the
driveline components.
NOTE:
The transfer case NEUTRAL button is located in
the center of the 4WD Control Switch and is pushed by
using a ballpoint pen or similar object. The transfer case
NEUTRAL position is to be used for recreational towing
only. Refer to “Recreational Towing” in “Starting And
Operating” for further information.
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STARTING AND OPERATING 315