Pre-Collision Braking Almost Killed Me Today

The whole section of the manual is well worth reading. Another interesting page:


Maybe PiPLosAngeles' false alarm was caused by a stopped vehicle just barely in what the car thought was their lane?

 

There are similar warnings with DRCC.

 

Camera data can be pulled with techstream.

The dealer can access with techstream under Advanced Function:

 

Never mind

 

I have heard or heard-of at least two cases where Nissan’s system has caused such concerns, but nothing serious with respect to Toyota’s.

As for me in particular, since May of 2017, I can immediately recall:
* One case, quite recently in fact, where a car cut in in front of me, I didn’t perceive it to be particularly much of an emergency, so I came to what I intended to be a slightly-faster-than-usual-stop, but the car reacted by beeping and then slamming on the brakes. The car that cut in was stopped in front of me, but there was still a fair distance before I’d have hit it.
* Four cases where it hit the brakes and there really was a car in front of me and I did in fact fail to see those cars. In two of those cases I also hit the brakes, the other two it I did not. So, 2-3 of those cases, it may well have prevented an accident!
* 2-3 cases where I was slowly backing into the garage and it slammed on the brakes. There was nothing behind me in the garage, buuut, our driveway is unusual in the it slopes downward toward the house, so maybe-perhaps it Sax looking at the up-sloping-as-it-saw-it concrete of the approaching garage floor.

So, so far, for me at least, PCS has solved more problems than it has caused, and the concerns it has caused have mostly been comparatively minor.

 

My breaking system saved me from getting in an accident last year. I was getting ready to switch lanes, looked to my left for a second for traffic then the whole dash lit up with sound and in front of me the car had stopped unexpectedly and luckily being alerted I switched Lanes instantly and avoided rear ending the car in front of me.

 

Good to hear the positive cases where it helped. I assume us older folk need the assist, especially if the automated car ahead slams its brakes on ahead of us.

 

I’ve had this happen to me at stop lights that have a slight curve to them with parked cars on the side of the street. (Think small downtown square area.) Scares the bejeezus out of me as it s just as I get started from the light. The car must catch the edge of one of the parked cars to set it off.

 

I'm actually surprised it has it for reverse.

 

A similar sudden braking happened to my 2020 Prime and I know exactly how and why (my guess) it happened.
I was coming to a stop sign and there was another car already stopped just front of me. I was the 2nd. The 1st car took off from the stop sign, and I looked left/right and then I took off immediately (quicker acceleration than normally I do). As I was almost done crossing the intersection, doing about 15-20 mph, my Prime suddenly applied the brake by itself and stopped. But the car front of me was already at least 100-200' away. It was a very abrupt & complete stop. I think this auto-brake system not only uses the distance & speed in its algorithm, it might also uses acceleration as a parameter when deciding to auto-brake. And maybe most recent memory too!

 

When I visited the Toyota dealer on Super Bowl Sunday in February 2012, I was immediately surprised that they had a 2012 Prius v Two base model on display in the showroom.

I immediately purchased it that day and have been completely satisfied with my purchase. The model was new for 2012 and was at least $10,000 less than the top of the line model.

The only thing that I wish I didn't have was Smart Key. Cost of a replacement key is $300+ or close to $15,000 if all keys were loss. The system is always on and, like a "vampire" constantly "sucks" the life blood out of the less tan powerful 12 volt. My index finger will pronablt never get arthritis from pushing the unlock button on a key fob or from inserting and turning an ignition key.

Recently, I looked at the Rav4 hybrid. Although it does not have Smart Key, which is a plus for me. Even the base model has Safety Sense 2.0, which I would rather not have. There is, as with nearly all current vehicles, nearly a $10,000 difference between the base and the highest optioned model.

If I want the base model, I'd have to order it, which I would, if I wanted one.

Gadgets and options have high profit margins for the manufacturer, the dealer, the financiers, the insurance companies and the dealer aftermarket and repair. It's their way of lightening one's wallet and making consumers basically "lifetime wage slaves."

 

I suppose it’s worth pointing out that this backing case was ICS (the ultrasonic sensors) rather than PCS (radar) reacting.

Then again, some of the forward-direction cases could have been too.

 

Yeah, I replied to myself (just now) to that effect. That was ICS rather than PCS.

 

I actually don't see having auto braking while going in reverse as an need. I can picture edge cases where it'll prevent damage, but backing up is usually a low speed affair, and likely a time when you might be getting close to another object on purpose.

 

For me, it’s low priority for sure, but not bad to have.

 

I believe the automatic braking system (both forward and reverse) calculates the vehicle speed and distance-to-object. It then activates if there is no force or insufficient force on the brake pedal to stop the vehicle.

While it's unusual to have the system activate while backing up, I have had it do so -- and been thankful. One occasion was while backing into my garage at night when I had not successfully activated the garage door opener and did not recognize the that the dark-color door was still closed.

The other occasion was while backing uphill into a parking space and not correctly interpreting the image on the back-up camera screen as the back of my Prime approached the front-end of an F-150 pick-up truck with its high bumper. This was a parking space at the end of the block, so there was nothing parked in front of me and I probably was accelerating too aggressively to back up the hill.

Otherwise, I am a life-long city driver and skilled at backing into parallel parking spaces with only a few inches to spare. In such cases, the Prime sets off all kinds of alerts, but they are mostly from the side proximity sensors as my front fender closely clears the car in front.

 

Need a dash cam

 

I confirm it is working for reverse. It happened a couple of times to me while I was approaching too close to a wall.

 

Do you remember the approximate speed of your Prime when it happened to you in reverse?

 

You need a dashcam fixed on the instrument cluster that will testify to the exact moment the car braked itself.