We're continually investing in research and development to find new ways to raise our quality, working to help keep you safe. That means leading the way when it comes to packaging safety features on our vehicles – so when you get behind the wheel, you can focus on the journey ahead and the simple joy of driving.
Toyota Safety Sense
Toyota believes that no matter the destination, everyone deserves to arrive safely. That's why Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) is standard on virtually all Toyota models. TSS is an advanced suite of active safety designed to support driver awareness, decision making, and vehicle operation over a wide range of speeds.
Crash protection starts with crash prevention. Packaged together in an integrated system, TSS1 helps address three key areas of accident protection: preventing or mitigating frontal collisions, keeping drivers within their lane3, and enhancing road safety during night-time driving.
First introduced in 2011, our Star Safety System features six accident avoidance safety technologies to enhance your vehicle's stability, braking and traction.
Vehicle Stability Control (VSC)
VSC helps prevent wheelslip and loss of traction by reducing engine power and applying brake force to the wheels that need it. Front wheelslip can occur when the front wheels lose traction during cornering and begin to drift toward the outside of the turn.
Traction Control (TRAC)
Traction Control helps maintain traction on wet, icy, loose or uneven surfaces by applying brake force to the spinning wheel(s).
Brake Assist (BA)
Brake Assist is designed to detect sudden or "panic" braking and then add the full pressure needed to help prevent a collision.
Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD)
Toyota's ABS technology has Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) to help keep the vehicle more stable and balanced when braking.
Anti-lock Brake System (ABS)
ABS helps prevent brakes from locking up by "pulsing" brake pressure to each wheel to help you stay in control in emergency braking situations.
Smart Stop Technology
As an added measure of safety, Toyota created the braking system enhancement known as Smart Stop Technology. This advanced technology automatically cuts engine power and allows the brakes to take precedence over the accelerator when both pedals are pressed at the same time.
Safety Video Gallery
See some of our innovative safety features in action below.
Activate Automatic High Beams to automatically switch between high and low beams as appropriate, getting the most light possible without dazzling other drivers.
Downhill Assist Control helps the vehicle maintain stability on steep downgrades at low speeds, by controlling the speed and preventing the brakes from locking.
Some Toyota vehicles include a Hill Start Assist Control function, which helps prevent the vehicle from rolling backwards when starting off on an incline.
Some Toyota vehicles are equipped with the added safety of a tire pressure monitoring system that alerts you when it senses low pressure in one of your tires.
Quality Builds Excellence
Toyota vehicles are built with legendary quality, durability, and reliability. Not only does this mean
years of driving enjoyment, it also extends to your safety behind the wheel.
Always Testing
Toyota crashes more than 600 vehicles a year – for safety purposes. We've developed a set of comprehensive crash tests with a number of sensors at the prototype phase, and with each collision, we examine the effects and make improvements to the design. Repeating the process over and over, we are constantly creating and then analyzing possible collision scenarios.
Checking... and Triple Checking
Take our airbags, for example. Not only do electronic connections for the airbag system have gold-plated terminals, making them immune to corrosion, every single airbag that comes out of a Toyota plant is inspected three separate times on the production line before being connected.
Safety in the Community
Our commitment to safety goes beyond the vehicles we build. Toyota partners with a number of community groups and organizations engaged in road safety research, taking part in the development of safe driving programs, in collaborative new safety technologies, and in hands-on driver education.
Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) Canada's world-renowned TIRF aims to better understand the causes of traffic injuries and develop mitigating programs and policies. Since 2002, Toyota has partnered with TIRF to conduct studies and develop educational resources for young drivers — and help all Canadians better understand today's complex safety technologies.
kartSTART is a unique hands-on education program that uses go-karts to introduce young drivers to the demands and dynamics of life behind the wheel. And, using exclusively Toyota vehicles, kartSTART also introduces older drivers to the latest vehicle safety technologies, helping them get the most out of our Star Safety System.
Collaborative Safety Research Centre (CSRC) In 2011, Toyota launched the CSRC to serve as a catalyst for the advancement of auto safety in North America. Partnering with universities, hospitals, institutions and agencies on different projects, the CSRC shares the results of its research so that the entire industry — and ultimately drivers everywhere — can benefit.