2019 Ram 3500 transmission

330 STARTING AND OPERATING
provide enough traction to complete the climb. If you do
not make it to the top, place the vehicle in REVERSE and
back straight down the grade using engine resistance
along with the vehicle brakes.
• Driving Down Hill – Before driving down a steep hill you
need to determine if it is too steep for a safe descent. What
is the surface traction? Is the grade too steep to maintain a
slow controlled descent? Are there obstacles? Is it a
straight descent? Is there plenty of distance at the base of
the hill to regain control if the vehicle descends too fast? If
you feel confident in your ability to proceed then make
sure you are in 4LO (Low Range) with the transmission in
first gear (manually select first gear on automatic transmis -
sions) and proceed with caution. Allow engine braking to
control the descent and apply your brakes if necessary, but
do not allow the tires to lock. •
Driving Across An Incline – If at all possible avoid
driving across an incline. If it is necessary, know your
vehicle's abilities. Driving across an incline places more
weight on the down hill wheels, which increases the possi -
bilities of a down hill slide or rollover. Make sure the
surface has good traction with firm and stable soils. If
possible transverse the incline at an angle heading slightly
up or down.
• If You Stall Or Begin To Lose Headway – If you stall or
begin to lose headway while climbing a steep hill, allow
your vehicle to come to a stop and immediately apply the
brake. Restart the engine and shift into REVERSE. Back
slowly down the hill allowing the compression braking of
the engine and transmission to help regulate your speed. If
WARNING!
Never attempt to climb a hill at an angle or turn around
on a steep grade. Driving across an incline increases the
risk of a roll over, which may result in severe injury or
death.
WARNING!
Do not descend a steep grade in NEUTRAL. Use vehicle
brakes in conjunction with engine braking. Descending
a grade too fast could cause you to lose control and be
seriously injured or killed.
WARNING!
Driving across an incline increases the risk of a rollover,
which may result in severe injury.

STARTING AND OPERATING 331
the brakes are required to control vehicle speed, apply
them lightly and avoid locking or skidding the tires.
Driving Through Water
Extreme care should be taken crossing any type of water.
Water crossings should be avoided if possible and only be
attempted when necessary, in a safe responsible manner.
You should only drive through areas which are designated
and approved. You should tread lightly and avoid damage
to the environment. You should know your vehicle's abilities
and be able to recover it if something goes wrong. You
should never stop or shut a vehicle off when crossing deep
water unless you ingested water into the engine air intake. If
the engine stalls do not attempt to restart it. Determine if it
has ingested water first. The key to any crossing is low andslow. You want to use first gear in 4L (Low Range) and
proceed very slowly with a constant slow speed (3-5 mph
[5–8 km/h] maximum) and light throttle. Keep the vehicle
moving; do not try to accelerate through the crossing. After
crossing any water higher than the bottom of the axle differ
-
entials, you should inspect all of the vehicle fluids for signs
of water ingestion.
• Before You Cross Any Type Of Water – As you approach
any type of water you need to determine if you can cross it
safely and responsibly. If necessary, get out and walk
through the water or probe it with a stick. You need to be
sure of its depth, approach angle, current and bottom
condition. Be careful of murky or muddy waters, check for
hidden obstacles. Make sure you will not be intruding on
any wildlife and you can recover the vehicle if necessary.
The key to a safe crossing is the water depth, current and
bottom conditions. On soft bottoms the vehicle will sink in,
WARNING!
If the engine stalls or you lose headway or cannot make
it to the top of a steep hill or grade, never attempt to turn
around. To do so may result in tipping and rolling the
vehicle, which may result in severe injury. Always back
carefully straight down a hill in REVERSE. Never back
down a hill in NEUTRAL using only the vehicle brakes.
Never drive diagonally across a hill, always drive
straight up or down.
CAUTION!
Water ingestion into the axles, transmission, transfer
case, engine or vehicle interior can occur if you drive too
fast or through too deep of water. Water can cause
permanent damage to engine, driveline or other vehicle
components and your brakes will be less effective once
wet and/or muddy.
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346 STARTING AND OPERATING
NOTE:
How to choose an anchor point: A secure anchor is critical to
winching operations. An anchor must be strong enough to
hold while winching. Natural anchors include trees, stumps
and rocks. Hook the cable as low as possible. If no natural
anchors are available when recovering another vehicle, your
vehicle becomes the anchor point. In this case, be sure to put
the transmission in NEUTRAL, apply the hand brake and
block its wheels to prevent your vehicle from moving.
Ideally, you'll want an anchor point that will enable you to
pull straight in the direction the vehicle will move. This
allows the synthetic rope to wind tightly and evenly onto the
spooling drum. An anchor point as far away as possible will
provide the winch with its greatest pulling power.
7. Attach the Clevis/D-shackle and Tree Trunk Protector. Attach the shackle to the two ends of the strap or chain
and through the hook, being careful not to over tighten
(tighten and back-off 1/2 turn). Clevis/D-Shackles
8. Lock the clutch. Lock the winch drum by rotating the clutch lever on the winch to engage.
NOTE:
Always ensure the clutch is fully engaged or disengaged.

356 STARTING AND OPERATING
Metric Speed (km/h)
• Pushing the RES (+) button once will result in a 1 km/h increase in set speed. Each subsequent tap of the button
results in an increase of 1 km/h.
• If the button is continually pushed, the set speed will continue to increase until the button is released, then the
new set speed will be established.
To Decrease Speed
When the Speed Control is set, you can decrease speed by
pushing the SET (-) button.
The driver’s preferred units can be selected through the
instrument panel settings if equipped. Refer to “Getting To
Know Your Instrument Panel” for more information. The
speed decrement shown is dependant on the chosen speed
unit of U.S. (mph) or Metric (km/h):
U.S. Speed (mph)
• Pushing the SET (-) button once will result in a 1 mph decrease in set speed. Each subsequent tap of the button
results in a decrease of 1 mph.
• If the button is continually pushed, the set speed will continue to decrease until the button is released, then the
new set speed will be established. Metric Speed (km/h)

• Pushing the SET (-) button once will result in a 1 km/h decrease in set speed. Each subsequent tap of the button
results in a decrease of 1 km/h.
• If the button is continually pushed, the set speed will continue to decrease until the button is released, then the
new set speed will be established.
To Accelerate For Passing
Press the accelerator as you would normally. When the pedal
is released, the vehicle will return to the set speed.
Using Speed Control On Hills
The transmission may downshift on hills to maintain the
vehicle set speed.
NOTE:
The Speed Control system maintains speed up and down
hills. A slight speed change on moderate hills is normal.

360 STARTING AND OPERATING
Activating Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
You can only engage ACC if the vehicle speed is above
0 mph (0 km/h).

The minimum set speed for the ACC system is 20 mph (32 km/h).

When the system is turned on and in the ready state, the
instrument cluster display will read “ACC Ready.”
When the system is off, the instrument cluster display will
read “Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) Off.”
NOTE:
You cannot engage ACC under the following conditions:
• When in Four-Wheel Drive Low.
• When you apply the brakes.
• When the parking brake is applied.
• When the automatic transmission is in PARK, REVERSE orNEUTRAL.
• When the vehicle speed is outside of the speed range.
• When the brakes are overheated.
• When the driver door is open at low speed.
• When the driver seat belt is unbuckled at low speed.
• ESC Full-Off Mode is active.
To Activate/Deactivate
Push and release the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) on/off
button. The ACC menu in the instrument cluster displays
“ACC Ready.”
Adaptive Cruise Control Ready
To turn the system off, push and release the Adaptive Cruise
Control (ACC) on/off button again. At this time, the system
will turn off and the instrument cluster display will show
“Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) Off.”

STARTING AND OPERATING 397
PARKVIEW REAR BACK UP CAMERA
Your vehicle may be equipped with the ParkView Rear Back
Up Camera that allows you to see a image of the rear
surroundings of your vehicle whenever the gear selector is
put into REVERSE or whenever it is initiated through the
"Backup Camera" button in the "Controls" menu. Whenever
the gear selector is put into REVERSE, the image will be
displayed in the rearview mirror display (if equipped) or
Uconnect screen (if equipped). If the image is displayed in
the Uconnect screen, a caution note to “check entire
surroundings” will display across the top of the screen. After
five seconds this note will disappear.
Manual Activation Of The Rear View Camera:
1. Press the "Controls" button located on the bottom of theUconnect display.
2. Press the "Backup Camera" button to turn the Rear View Camera system on.
When the vehicle is shifted out of REVERSE (with Camera
delay turned off), the rear Camera mode is exited and the
previous screen appears again. When the vehicle is shifted out of REVERSE (with Camera
delay turned on), the rear Camera image will be displayed
for up to 10 seconds after shifting to another gear, unless the
vehicle speed exceeds 8 mph (13 km/h), the transmission is
shifted into PARK, the ignition is switched to the OFF posi
-
tion, or the touchscreen button “X” to disable display of the
Rear View Camera image is pressed.
Whenever the Rear View Camera image is activated through
the "Backup Camera" button in the "Controls" menu, and the
vehicle speed is greater than, or equal to, 8 mph (13 km/h), a display timer for the image is initiated. The image will
continue to be displayed until the display timer exceeds 10
seconds.
NOTE:
• If the vehicle speed remains below 8 mph (13 km/h), the Rear View Camera image will be displayed continuously
until deactivated via the touchscreen button "X", the trans -
mission is shifted into PARK, or the ignition is cycled to
the OFF position.
• The touchscreen button "X" to disable display of the camera image is made available ONLY when the vehicle is
not in REVERSE.
5

STARTING AND OPERATING 419
(Continued)
Perform the maintenance listed in the “Scheduled
Servicing”. Refer to “Scheduled Servicing” in “Servicing
And Maintenance” for the proper maintenance intervals.
When towing a trailer, never exceed the GAWR or GCWR
ratings.• Then, during the first 500 miles (805 km) that a trailer is
towed, do not drive over 50 mph (80 km/h) and do not
make starts at full throttle. This helps the engine and
other parts of the vehicle wear in at the heavier loads.
WARNING!
• Make certain that the load is secured in the trailer and will not shift during travel. When trailering cargo that
is not fully secured, dynamic load shifts can occur that
may be difficult for the driver to control. You could lose
control of your vehicle and have a collision.
• When hauling cargo or towing a trailer, do not overload your vehicle or trailer. Overloading can cause a loss of
control, poor performance or damage to brakes, axle,
engine, transmission, steering, suspension, chassis
structure or tires. CAUTION!
(Continued)
• Safety chains must always be used between your
vehicle and trailer. Always connect the chains to the
hook retainers of the vehicle hitch. Cross the chains
under the trailer tongue and allow enough slack for
turning corners.
• Vehicles with trailers should not be parked on a grade. When parking, apply the parking brake on the tow
vehicle. Put the tow vehicle transmission in PARK. For
four-wheel drive vehicles, make sure the transfer case
is not in NEUTRAL. Always, block or "chock" the
trailer wheels.
• GCWR must not be exceeded.
• Total weight must be distributed between the tow vehicle and the trailer such that the following four
ratings are not exceeded:
1. GVWR
2. GTW
3. GAWR
4. Tongue weight rating for the trailer hitch utilized.
WARNING! (Continued)
5

426 STARTING AND OPERATING
Towing Tips
Before setting out on a trip, practice turning, stopping, and
backing up the trailer in an area located away from heavy
traffic.
Automatic Transmission
The DRIVE range can be selected when towing. The trans-
mission controls include a drive strategy to avoid frequent
shifting when towing. However, if frequent shifting does
occur while in DRIVE, select TOW/HAUL mode or select a
lower gear range (using the Electronic Range Select (ERS)
shift control).
NOTE:
Using TOW/HAUL mode or selecting a lower gear range
(using the ERS shift control) while operating the vehicle
under heavy loading conditions will improve performance
and extend transmission life by reducing excessive shifting
and heat build up. This action will also provide better engine
braking.
Tow/Haul Mode
To reduce potential for automatic transmission overheating,
activate TOW/HAUL mode when driving in hilly areas, or select a lower gear range (using the Electronic Range Select
(ERS) shift control) on more severe grades.
Speed Control — If Equipped
• Do not use on hilly terrain or with heavy loads.
• When using the speed control, if you experience speed
drops greater than 10 mph (16 km/h), disengage until you
can get back to cruising speed.
• Use speed control in flat terrain and with light loads to maximize fuel efficiency.
Cooling System
To reduce potential for engine and transmission over -
heating, take the following actions:
City Driving
• In city traffic — while stopped, place the transmission in NEUTRAL, but do not increase engine idle speed.
Highway Driving
• Reduce speed.
• Temporarily turn off air conditioning.