2020 Ram 1500 trailer

208 SAFETY
The following conditions must be met in order for HSA to
activate:
• The feature must be enabled.
• The vehicle must be stopped.
• The park brake must be off.
• The 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 (R) gear).
• HSA will work in REVERSE (R) gear and all forward gears. The system will not activate if the transmission is in PARK
(P) or NEUTRAL (N). 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 active
driving involvement. It is always the driver’s
responsibility to be attentive to distance to other
vehicles, 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.
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SAFETY 209
Towing With HSA
Hill Start Assist (HSA) will also provide assistance to miti-
gate roll back while towing a trailer. Disabling And Enabling HSA
This feature can be turned on or turned off. To change the
current setting, proceed as follows:
• If disabling HSA using your instrument cluster display,
refer to “Instrument Cluster Display” in “Getting To Know
Your Instrument Panel” for further information.
• If disabling HSA using Uconnect Settings, refer to “Ucon -
nect Settings” in “Multimedia” for further information.
For vehicles not equipped with an instrument cluster
display, perform the following steps:
1. Center the steering wheel (front wheels pointing straight forward).
2. Shift the transmission into PARK (P).
3. Apply the park brake.
4. Start the engine.
5. Rotate the steering wheel slightly more than one-half turn to the left.
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 resuming acceleration,
manually activate the trailer brake or apply more
vehicle brake pressure prior to releasing the brake
pedal.
• HSA is not a parking brake. Always apply the parking brake fully when exiting your vehicle. Also, be certain
to place the transmission in PARK.
• Failure to follow these warnings can result in a colli -
sion or serious personal injury.
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210 SAFETY

6. Push the “ESC Off” button located in the lower switch bankbelow the climate control four times within 20 seconds. The
“ESC Off Indicator Light” should turn on and turn off two
times.

7. Rotate the steering wheel back to center and then an addi -
tional slightly more than one-half turn to the right.
8. Turn the ignition to the OFF mode and then back to ON. If the sequence was completed properly, the “ESC Off
Indicator Light” will blink several times to confirm HSA
is disabled.
9. Repeat these steps if you want to return this feature to its previous setting.
Traction Control System (TCS)
The Traction Control System (TCS) monitors the amount of
wheel spin of each of the driven wheels. If wheel spin is
detected, the TCS may apply brake pressure to the spinning
wheel(s) and/or reduce engine power to provide enhanced
acceleration and stability. A feature of the TCS, Brake
Limited Differential (BLD), 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. BLD may remain enabled even if TCS and
ESC are in a reduced mode.
Trailer Sway Control (TSC)
Trailer Sway Control (TSC) uses sensors in the vehicle to
recognize an excessively swaying trailer and will take the
appropriate actions to attempt to stop the sway. TSC will
become active automatically once an excessively swaying
trailer is recognized.
NOTE:
TSC cannot stop all trailers from swaying. Always use
caution when towing a trailer and follow the trailer tongue
weight recommendations. Refer to “Trailer Towing” in
“Starting And Operating” for further information.
When TSC is functioning, the “ESC Activation/Malfunction
Indicator Light” will flash, the engine power may be reduced
and you may feel the brakes being applied to individual
wheels to attempt to stop the trailer from swaying. TSC is
disabled when the ESC system is in the “Partial Off” or “Full
Off” modes.
WARNING!
If TSC activates while driving, slow the vehicle down,
stop at the nearest safe location, and adjust the trailer
load to eliminate trailer sway.
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216 SAFETY
For information on how Blind Spot Monitoring functions
when pulling a trailer, refer to “Trailer Merge Assist” in this
section.
Rear Cross Path (RCP)
The Rear Cross Path (RCP) feature is intended to aid the
driver when backing out of parking spaces where their
vision of oncoming vehicles may be blocked. Proceed slowly
and cautiously out of the parking space until the rear end of
the vehicle is exposed. The RCP system will then have a clear
view of the cross traffic, and if an oncoming vehicle is
detected, alert the driver.RCP Detection Zones
RCP monitors the rear detection zones on both sides of the
vehicle, for objects that are moving toward the side of the
vehicle with a minimum speed of approximately 3 mph
(5 km/h), to objects moving a maximum of approximately
20 mph (32 km/h), such as in parking lot situations.
NOTE:
In a parking lot situation, oncoming vehicles can be obscured
by vehicles parked on either side. If the sensors are blocked
by other structures or vehicles, the system will not be able to
alert the driver.
WARNING!
The Blind Spot Monitoring system is only an aid to help
detect objects in the blind spot zones. The BSM system is
not designed to detect pedestrians, bicyclists, or animals.
Even if your vehicle is equipped with the BSM system,
always check your vehicle’s mirrors, glance over your
shoulder, and use your turn signal before changing
lanes. Failure to do so can result in serious injury or
death.
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218 SAFETY
Blind Spot Alert Off
When the BSM system is turned off there will be no visual or
audible alerts from either the BSM, RCP, or Trailer Merge
Assist systems.
NOTE:
The BSM system will store the current operating mode when
the vehicle is shut off. Each time the vehicle is started the
previously stored mode will be recalled and used.
Trailer Merge Assist
NOTE:
When Trailer Merge Assist is activated, Rear Cross Path is
disabled.
Trailer Merge Assist is a function of the Blind Spot Moni-
toring (BSM) system that extends the blind spot zone to work
while pulling a trailer. Trailer Merge Assist consists of three
sub functions:
• Automatic Trailer Detection
• Trailer Length Detection
• Trailer Merge Warning Blind Spot Zones With Trailer Merge Assist
Automatic Trailer Detection
There are two modes of operation for the detection of the
trailer length:
• Automatic Mode — When “Auto Mode” is selected, the
system will use the blind spot sensors to automatically
determine the presence and length of a trailer. The pres -
ence of a trailer will be detected using the blind spot radar
within 90 seconds of forward movement of the vehicle.
1 — Vehicle
2 — Trailer
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SAFETY 219
The vehicle must be moving above 6 mph (10 km/h) to
activate the feature. Once the trailer has been detected, the
system will default to the maximum blind spot zone until
the length has been verified. You will see “Auto” in the
instrument panel cluster .
• Max Mode — When “Max Mode” is selected, the system
will default to the maximum blind spot zone regardless of
what size trailer is attached
NOTE:
Selected setting is stored when the ignition is cycled OFF. To
change this setting, it must be selected through the Uconnect
Settings. Refer to “Uconnect Settings” in “Multimedia” for
further information.
Trailer Length Detection
Once the trailer presence has been established. The trailer
length will be established (by making a 90 degree turn) and
then the trailer length category (example 10-20 ft (3 m to
6 m)) will be displayed. This can take up to 30 seconds after
completing the turn. NOTE:
During the same ignition cycle, if the vehicle is at a standstill
for a minimum of 90 seconds, a new “trailer detection
request” is enabled by the system once the vehicle resumes
motion.
Maximum length supported by the Trailer Merge Assist
feature is 39.5 ft (12 m). Trailer length is considered the
forward most portion of the trailer hitch to the rearward
most portion of the body, bumper, or ramp of the trailer.
Maximum width supported by the Trailer Merge Assist
feature is 8.5 ft (2.59 m). Trailer width is measured at the
widest portion of the trailer and may include wheels, tires,
finders, or rails.
NOTE:
Fifth wheel or gooseneck trailers are not supported by
Trailer Merge Assist.
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220 SAFETY
Trailer Length Detection
Trailer length will be identified and placed into one of the
following categories:
• Trailer length up to 10 ft (3 m) — Blind spot zone will be adjusted to 10 ft (3 m) .
• Trailer length between 10 ft to 20 ft (3 m to 6 m) — Blind spot zone will be adjusted to 20 ft (6 m) . • Trailer length between 20 ft to 30 ft (6 m to 9 m) — Blind
spot zone will be adjusted to 30 ft (9 m) .
• Trailer length between 30 ft and 39.5 ft (9 m to 12 m) — Blind spot zone will be adjusted to MAX distance .
NOTE:
Trailer length is determined within +/- 3 ft (1 m) of actual
length. Trailers that are the same size as the category limit,
10/20/30 ft (3/6/9 m), could be subject to being placed in
the category above or below the correct one.
Trailer Merge Warning
Trailer Merge Warning is the extension of the blind spot
function to cover the length of the trailer, plus a safety
margin, to warn the driver when there is a vehicle in the adja -
cent lane. The driver is alerted by the illumination of the BSM
warning light located in the outside mirror on the side the
other vehicle is detected. In addition, an audible (chime) alert
will be heard and radio volume reduced. Refer to “Modes Of
Operation” in this section for further information.
1 — Trailer Length
2 — Trailer Width
3 — Trailer Hitch
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SAFETY 221
NOTE:
• The Trailer Merge Alert system DOES NOT alert the driverabout rapidly approaching vehicles that are outside the
detection zones.
• The Blind Spot Monitoring (BSM) system may experience drop outs (blinking on and off) of the side mirror warning
indicator lamps when a motorcycle or any small object
remains at the side of the vehicle for extended periods of
time (more than a couple of seconds).
• Crowded areas such as parking lots, neighborhoods, etc. May lead to an increased amount of false alerts. This is
normal operation. General Information
The following regulatory statement applies to all Radio
Frequency (RF) devices equipped in this vehicle:
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules and with
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
license-exempt RSS standard(s). Operation is subject to the
following two conditions:
1. This device may not cause harmful interference, and
2. This device must accept any interference received,
including interference that may cause undesired opera -
tion.
Le présent appareil est conforme aux CNR d`Innovation,
Science and Economic Development applicables aux appar -
eils radio exempts de licence. L'exploitation est autorisée aux
deux conditions suivantes:
1. l'appareil ne doit pas produire de brouillage, et
2. l'utilisateur de l'appareil doit accepter tout brouillage radioélectrique subi, même si le brouillage est susceptible
d'en compromettre le fonctionnement.
WARNING!
The Blind Spot Monitoring system is only an aid to help
detect objects in the blind spot zones. The BSM system is
not designed to detect pedestrians, bicyclists, or animals.
Even if your vehicle is equipped with the BSM system,
always check your vehicle’s mirrors, glance over your
shoulder, and use your turn signal before changing
lanes. Failure to do so can result in serious injury or
death.
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