Toyota: Precollision Systems 'Widely Available' by 2018 Model Year

Toyota says it plans to introduce new collision mitigation technology in 2015 and hopes the technology will become widely available — but not necessarily standard — across the automaker’s lineup by the 2018 model year. Company executives recently told The Detroit News that the automaker would install collision-prevention systems across its lineup by 2017, but spokesman Moe Durand later clarified to Cars.com that the date reflected the 2017 calendar year, which translates to the 2017 or 2018 model year depending on the rollout.

Related: 2015 Toyota Sienna Price Jumps $1,680 Over 2014 Model

In what the automaker calls “all-new, multifeature active safety systems” that incorporate “precollision” technology, Toyota will introduce such systems ahead of any government mandate, Seigo Kuzumaki, deputy chief safety technology officer, told reporters last week.

Collision-prevention systems encompass a number of emerging technologies. Chief among them is forward-collision warning, which alerts you if you’re closing fast on a slower car or stationary object. If you ignore the warning many such systems can hit the brakes just before impact. A number of Toyota models — the Prius hybrid and Highlander SUV plus every Lexus — already offer collision warning as an option. But it’s missing on a number of affordable cars, including the Toyota Corolla and every Scion. Toyota will offer precollision technology even in its “most affordable compacts,” Kuzumaki said, but it’s unclear whether that includes Scion. A Toyota spokesman didn’t respond to our query.

The benefits of collision-warning systems are significant, especially for the most effective types. In a July 2012 analysis, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that forward-collision warning systems with automatic braking are statistically better at crash reduction versus systems that only warn you. Later that year, the National Transportation Safety Board pushed for a whole suite of accident-avoidance systems — forward-collision warning with auto braking, plus blind spot and lane departure warning systems — to become standard on all new cars. Lexus widely offers such features, and spokesman Bill Kwong told us every version of its optional collision warning feature, dubbed the Pre-Collision System, includes auto-braking. However, IIHS has yet to evaluate the system on most Lexus models.

We’d like to see collision-warning systems become standard, not just optional. Case in point: If you want PCS on the Prius, it’s optional only on the top trim, the Prius Five. The Five (with or without PCS) accounts for just 3.4 percent of new 2014 Prius inventory on Cars.com.

Still, that satisfies IIHS, which merely requires collision warning as an option — with or without effective auto-braking — to earn its highest award, Top Safety Pick Plus. But the ever-moving bar will invariably creep higher. Can Toyota keep up? Wait and see.

Cars.com photo by Evan Sears