2020 RAM 1500 Owners Manual - PARKING BRAKE

PARKING BRAKE

Your vehicle is equipped with an Electric Park Brake System 5

(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 Ucon- nect settings.

The park brake switch is located on the instrument panel to the left of the steering wheel (below the headlamp switch).

Electric Park Brake 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 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 ignition 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 indicator 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.

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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.

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.

Be sure the parking brake is fully disengaged before driving; failure to do so can lead to brake failure and a collision.

Always fully apply the parking brake when leaving your vehicle, or it may roll and cause damage or injury. Also be certain to leave the transmission in PARK. Failure to do so may allow the vehicle to roll and cause damage or injury.

If exceptional circumstances should make it necessary to engage the park brake while the vehicle is in motion, main- tain upward pressure on the electric park brake switch for as long as engagement is desired. The BRAKE telltale light will illuminate, and a continuous chime will sound. The rear stop lamps will also be illuminated automatically while the vehicle remains in motion.

To disengage the park brake while the vehicle is in motion, release the switch. If the vehicle is brought to a complete stop using the parking brake, when the vehicle reaches approxi- mately 3 mph, (5 km/h) the parking brake will remain engaged.

In the unlikely event of a malfunction of the Electric Park Brake system, a yellow EPB fault light will illuminate. This may be accompanied by the BRAKE telltale light flashing. In this event, urgent service of the electric park brake system is required. Do not rely on the parking brake to hold the vehicle stationary.

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 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 acceler- ator pedal.

The seat belt is unbuckled.

The driver door is open.

SafeHold can be temporarily bypassed by pushing the Elec- tric 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.

We recommend having your brakes serviced by your autho- rized 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 service.

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. Fortu- nately, 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.

Service Mode has requirements that must be met in order to be activated:

The vehicle must be at a standstill.

The park brake must be unapplied.

The transmission must be in PARK or NEUTRAL.

While in service mode, the Electric Park Brake fault lamp will flash continuously while the ignition is ON.

When brake service work is complete, the following steps must be followed to reset the park brake system to normal operation:

Ensure the vehicle is at a standstill.

Press the brake pedal with moderate force.

Apply the Electric Park Brake Switch.

WARNING!