6 month review of Toyota Safety Sense

Thought I would post a thread with my thoughts on Safety sense as I could not find much info about it when I bought the truck. These are just my thoughts feel free to add tips or your own thoughts on the system. This is based on about 10k kms driven during Canadian fall and Winter in an '18 Doublecab 4x4

Lane departure warning:
Works well, for long highway trips or if you are worried about drifting out of your lane it would be very helpful. For my day to day driving I mostly keep it disabled, I live in Canada and swerving around the potholes sets it off. This feature WILL stay disabled when I stop and restart the truck. Mine is activated through a steering wheel control.

Adaptive cruise control:

I like this feature for long drives, I ocassionally do 12-15hr trips so being able to simply follow traffic is nice and the sensitivity on mine is easily adjustable. It does have some limitations though, I have had it adjust my speed with no other vehicles around and seems to get a false read from snowbanks, as well cars travelling the same direction in another lane sometimes cause it to adjust especially in curves. This system also struggles with large differences in speed I.e. a vehicle merging that is going much faster or slower than you. It will brake or accelerate much harder than necessary, I have started shutting it off if I realize I am approaching this situation.

I have heard some owners report that heavy snow and rain can affect the radar, I have not had this issue but I also don't use cruise in bad weather.

This system has some great advantages but I prefer the predictability of a traditional unit for most situations.

Pre collision:

This has adjustable sensitivity however the truck must be stopped to do it and must be done through the dash menu. This feature can be disabled but will leave an amber warning light on the dash. This feature WILL re-engage itself each time you start the truck.

I have had this trigger twice, both times for left turning vehicles which I had seen and knew I had time to avoid, however it is reassuring to know that had I been distracted it would work.

I have had the sensor become obstructed by frost and snow, the system will simply advise that the sensor is blocked and the amber light on the dash comes on. It will automatically engage once the camera is cleared. Not a huge fan of electronic gadgetry but this is one system that even if it avoids only one accident over the life of the truck it is worth it.

Auto headlights:

The work well on flat straight roads, however on curves and hills they are constantly flicking on and off and often trigger on streetlights and yard lights. I leave mine off most of the time due to the number of false HI low switches. This Will stay deactivated when you stop or start the truck.

SUMMARY:

I'm not a fan of electronic gadgetry (Why I got a tundra) and I would not pay extra for any of these features except maybe the pre collision which could easily pay for itself by preventing one incident, I think these are standard on all 18+ Tundras so Its kind of a moot point, All other things being equal at this point I think I would pick a 2017 without the systems if I could.

 

I'm in NE Ohio and was driving to work this morning with frost all over the truck (I obviously scraped all the windows clear), but the lane keep assist and pre-collision were both disabled for the drive. I imagine once the frost melts off this afternoon, they'll be re-enabled. That's my main complaint is how in even the slightest inclement weather, the pre-collision is disabled with a constant warning on the dash.

Blind spot monitoring, park assist, and rear cross traffic have been helpful for me during my adjustment period coming from a compact sedan to this truck.

I was frustrated by the sensitivity of radar cruise control in my mom's Lexus, and the truck is the same, so now I just engage the standard cruise control anytime I use it.

 

It may sound stupid, but I think these are great features for the older folks. 16-30 should not be allowed to use them I think it dumbs them down (this will never happen). As we get older our reflexes ect. deteriorate and I really like knowing my mother has these because her driving and road ragers is not a good combo...

 

Very good review OP. I feel the same way about these features.

One of the positives I will say about the TSS is my insurance in MD is just a few dollars higher than my old 2006 CR-V.

 

Agreed. Also in NE Ohio and I noticed this morning with just a thin layer of frost, my collision and assist were both disabled. I have noticed though, as you drive, it can clear up on it's own and will eventually re-enable.

As OP and you stated, the cruise control is way too harsh on braking and acceleration. I shouldn't be getting up to 3000 rpms just to increase the speed.

They're all nice features to have. But I don't see a daily use for all of them. At least not all at the same time.

 

Well said OP. The only reason I bought the 2020 truck is the pre-collision system. I drove mine for about 4k miles and it activated 4 times due to the vehicles from other lanes cut in front of me at street lights. I can stop the truck every time by myself but I feel a lot safer when it sent out warning signals on the dash and slowed down the truck.

 

Nice write up. I have a 2020 and have the convenience package with the parking, blind spot and rear traffic assist.

With the Lane Departure warning I keep it on for now but it’s annoying when driving off highway. I drive some highway every day so I don’t complete disable it but I wish there was a way to adjust the speed that it activates. Right now it activates at 32 mph which means driving around something at 35 mph sets it off. I wish you could set it to activate only at highway speeds or at least like 50 instead of 32.
I don’t use cruise control much, maybe I should since I find myself speeding on the highway everyday in my new truck, so I can’t review that option.
The pre-collision has only activated once for a turning car, nice to have.
The parking assist is nice but I have 2 gripes:
There is no dash display that tells you if it’s on or off and you can’t see the light on the button to tell if it’s on or off without bending down to look at it (at least I can’t, Maybe taller people with the seat pushed back can see it better).
2nd gripe is the front bumper doesn’t seem to have sensors in the middle, so pulling up behind something smaller to park and the corner sensors won’t pick it up. I almost found out the hard way when inching forward behind a smart car that the sensors weren’t picking it up at all.
Rear traffic alert is nice when backing out of a spot or my driveway, it’s even picked up pedestrians which is always a good thing.

 

Very nice write-up and well written! I have had my 2018 for a little over two years and nearly 50,000 miles. My take (briefly):

1) Lane Departure: Shut it off two days after getting new truck, never turned it back on. Annoying. I live in rural California in two lane road country, lane departures are SOP.
2) Pre Collision Safety System: Had this go off twice when I was in total control of the situation. Worthless IMO. I shut it off every time I get in the truck and wish it could be permanently disabled (dealer tells me it can't).
3) Auto Hi-Beams: They're okay, I use them from time to time. Not as good as it should be.
4) Adaptive Cruise: Use it occasionally in varying traffic situations. Again, not as good as it should be. Use normal cruise 80+% of the time.

Dan

 

Nice write up OP.

I believe the folks that complain about the system does not understand it and is afraid of change because I have had 2 false Pre-collision incidents and both were a reflection problem. It never applied the brakes but it was definitely me know that it was NOT happy. I could be wrong but I have driven mine for 2 years now and still going strong

 

The only thing I don't like about the system is the automatic acceleration is too aggressive for me sometime. If I could limit the rpm to 3k max then I'd be perfectly happy with the system.

 

Nice clear headed write-up.
Here in Los Angeles in stop 'n stop traffic I rarely get the chance to activate the cruse or lane departure but the pre collision gets a lot of use. It was much more chatty when i first got the truck, going off around 3 times in 17 miles- that's 6 times a day. Now it goes off about twice a week. I don't think my driving has changed...