40
SAFETY AND EMERGENCY FEATURESStar Safety System
™
Your vehicle comes standard with the Star Safety SystemTM, which combines Anti-
lock Brake System (ABS), Brake Assist (BA), Electronic Brake-force D\
istribution
(EBD), Smart Stop Technology (SST), Traction Control (TRAC) and Ve\
hicle Stability
Control (VSC).
Refer to the Owner’s Manual for more details and important information on limitations
to these systems.
VEHICLE STABILITY CONTROL (VSC)
VSC helps prevent loss of traction during cornering by reducing engine p\
ower and
applying brake force to selected wheels.
Toyota’s VSC monitors steering angle and the direction your vehicle i\
s traveling.
When it senses that the front or rear wheels begin to lose traction, VSC\
reduces
engine power and applies braking to selected wheels. This helps restore \
traction
and vehicle control.
ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM (ABS)
Toyota’s ABS sensors detect which wheels are locking up and limits wh\
eel lockup
by “pulsing” each wheel’s brakes independently. Pulsing release\
s brake pressure
repeatedly for fractions of a second. This helps the tires attain the tr\
action that
current road conditions will allow, helping you to stay in directional c\
ontrol.
BRAKE ASSIST (BA)
Brake Assist is designed to detect sudden or “panic” braking, and \
then add braking
pressure to help decrease the vehicle’s stopping distance. When there\
’s only a split
second to react, Brake Assist can add additional brake pressure more qui\
ckly than
just the driver alone can.
ELECTRONIC BRAKE FORCE DISTRIBUTION (EBD)
Toyota’s ABS technology has Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD\
) to help
maintain control and balance when braking. Abrupt stops can cause a vehi\
cle to tilt
forward, reducing the braking power of the rear wheels. EBD responds to \
sudden
stops by redistributing brake force to enhance the braking effectiveness\
of all four
wheels.
SMART STOP TECHNOLOGY (SST)
Smart Stop Technology automatically reduces engine power when the accele\
rator
and brake pedals are pressed simultaneously under certain conditions.
SST engages when the accelerator is depressed first and the brakes are a\
pplied
firmly for longer than one-half second at speeds greater than five miles\
per hour.
SST doesn’t engage if the brake pedal is depressed before the acceler\
ator pedal,
allowing vehicles to start on a steep hill and safely accelerate without\
rolling
backward.
