More of Lexus’ safety systems and driver assistance tech will appear in Toyota’s 2018 lineup

Expect several of Toyota’s 2018 models to be getting safety assistance features that had previously only been seen in Lexus models. The Japanese automaker has recently launched the second generation of the Toyota Safety Sense (TSS), which will have some of the features from the more advanced Lexus Safety System, carrying it over to more affordable vehicles. This gives more people access to the potentially life-saving system.

One of its main features would be the pre-collision system. Though this already is part of the original version of TSS, the second generation model gets an improved braking response, wherein it can now detect a pedestrian blocking the vehicle’s way during the day or night. Furthermore, the sensors can now respond to a potential accident with a bicycle, but only during the day.

Apart from the pre-collision system, the adaptive cruise control has also been improved as well. To be more specific, it can detect traffic in front of the driver better now. Furthermore, the system now has Lane Tracing Assist that will automatically steer the car with very minimal movements, making sure that the vehicle stays within its lane. This can make cruising on highways much more relaxing, since drivers will not have to keep their hands on the wheel constantly.

Moreover, there is also the Road Sign Assist that has been added to the second generation TSS. This feature uses the front-mounted camera to keep an eye on road signs, while displaying the information either on the dashboard or the head-up display - depending on the car model.

That’s not all. The automaker has also upgraded the Lane Departure Alert from the existing system. Therefore, the TSS generation 2 is now able to see the edge of the road, apart from where the lane ends.

As mentioned earlier, the automaker plans to have this installed in “certain Toyota vehicles” that will be released starting mid-2018. But as of now, we do not know yet which models actually come with the upgraded safety system.

Another feature that the TSS offers is automatic high beams where the windshield camera helps with night time driving, as it helps detect headlight and tail lights of preceding vehicles. It then toggles accordingly between high and low beams.

As mentioned earlier, not all Toyota models will benefit from the full range of safety standards. For instance the pre-collision system and lane departure are some of the features of the Yaris and the Prius C, but the lane departure with steering assistant is not available in these models, while the Prius C does not have automatic high beams. But overall, Toyota vehicle owners should feel much safer now that the TSS has been upgraded.

PRESS RELEASE

Toyota Expanding its Industry-Leading Safety Technology Package with Second Generation Toyota Safety Sense

Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMNA) today announced that the second generation of its Toyota Safety Sense™(TSS) package of active safety features will begin rolling out as standard equipment on certain Toyota vehicles beginning in mid-2018. The updated safety package will add new technologies and capabilities that enhance protection for drivers, passengers, and others who share the road, while helping to provide peace of mind in even more driving situations.

“At Toyota, we are committed to making high-level driver assistance systems more widely available and even more affordable across a broader range of our vehicles,” said Chris Nielsen, executive vice president of product support and chief quality officer of Toyota Motor North America. “The second generation of Toyota Safety Sense™ takes our industry-leading suite of safety technologies to the next level, delivering new advanced and intuitive protections that are another step toward a future without traffic injuries or fatalities.”

The second generation TSS reflects Toyota’s ongoing efforts to reduce the cost of advanced safety technologies and make them accessible to a wider range of new car buyers. The initial version of TSS, along with Lexus Safety System+ (LSS+), brought Toyota’s Pre-Collision System (PCS) with Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), Lane Departure Alert (LDA), and other advanced safety systems to more than five million Toyota and Lexus vehicles sold in North America, Japan, and Europe. By the end of 2017, TSS and LSS+ will be standard on almost every model in the Toyota and Lexus lineups.

As with the first generation TSS, the upgraded system is designed to support driver awareness, decision making and vehicle operation over a wide range of speeds under certain conditions. Packaged together into an integrated system, it helps to address three key areas of accident protection: preventing or mitigating frontal collisions, keeping drivers within their lanes, and enhancing road safety during nighttime driving.

The second generation TSS has been expanded to help improve driver situational awareness while providing additional protections for a pedestrian or bicyclist in front of the vehicle. New or updated technologies will include:
Pre-Collision System (updated) with enhanced deceleration capabilities and the ability to help detect a collision with a pedestrian in front of the vehicle during the day and at night, and bicyclist in front of the vehicle during the day.
Lane Departure Alert (updated) enhanced with “road edge detection” to increase the vehicle’s ability to help drivers stay in their lane
Road Sign Assist (new), which is designed to display road sign information in an easy-to-understand format on the dashboard meter display and Head-Up Display if equipped. The vehicle’s onboard camera can detect and recognize certain common road signs in the U.S., Japan and Europe (road sign type varies by market).
Lane Tracing Assist (new), which provides steering support to help the driver keep the vehicle centered in its lane when Dynamic Radar Cruise Control is in operation.
Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (updated) with enhanced forward recognition and acceleration/deceleration performance across a wide range of speeds. (Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control not available vehicles equipped with manual transmissions).