Toyota develops its vehicles and technology under the umbrella of an ‘Integrated Safety Management Concept’, one part of a three-pronged approach which involves continual improvement in vehicle safety as well as initiatives to improve driver and pedestrian awareness and to create a safe traffic environment.
Toyota’s eventual aim is to realise a society where traffic accidents are a thing of the past, which is why decades of research into safety technologies have resulted in Toyota cars receiving consistently high results in Euro NCAP crash safety tests, with the Prius, Yaris, Auris, Verso, Avensis and RAV4 achieving the maximum five-star award.
In this post, we take a look at some of the technologies that bring convenience to owning a Toyota while adding a layer of safety when you’re on the go:
Automatic High Beam (AHB)
Automatic rain-sensing wipers
Electrochromatic auto-dimming rear-view mirror
Automatic dusk-sensing headlights
Follow Me Home headlights
LED headlights
High-Intensity Discharge (HID) headlights
Adaptive Front-Lighting System (AFS)
Automatic High Beam (AHB)
Automatic High Beam (AHB) is part of the new Toyota Safety Sense suite of active technologies to improve safety by preventing or minimising the severity of road accidents. Automatic High Beam contributes by detecting the headlights of oncoming vehicles and automatically switching from high to low beam (dipped) headlights to avoid dazzling other drivers. Consequently, high beam can be used more often, meaning pedestrians and obstacles are easier to spot.
Automatic High Beam is available as standard on new Prius, Avensis, Verso and RAV4, with the system optionally available on Yaris too.
Automatic rain-sensing wipers
To ensure you always have a clear view of the road ahead, several Toyota models include automatic rain-sensing wipers. These vehicles are equipped with a rain sensor mounted at the top of the windscreen that detects rain on the screen and automatically selects the appropriate wiper speed (intermittent, low speed, or high speed) for the intensity of the rain.
Rain-sensing wipers are fitted as standard on most of the Toyota range including Auris, RAV4 and Verso.
Electrochromatic auto-dimming rear-view mirror
This is a specially designed rear-view mirror that detects intense glare from the headlights of following vehicles and automatically dims the surface of the rear-view mirror to avoid the driver’s vision being dazzled by the bright lights.
Toyota’s auto-dimming electrochromatic rear-view mirror is available on most Toyota passenger vehicles (dependent on trim level) with the exception of Aygo, Prius+, Prius Plug-in and GT86.
Automatic dusk-sensing headlights
Toyota has developed a system that senses when light levels are falling and automatically switches on the headlights, ensuring that the driver always has a good view of the road ahead. The system also activates when travelling through dimly lit tunnels, minimising the risks of dramatic changes in lighting conditions when travelling through the day.
Automatic dusk-sensing headlights are available on all current Toyotas (depending on trim level) except Aygo, Prius+ and Mirai.
Follow Me Home headlights
Toyota even protects vehicle occupants once they’ve exited the vehicle by means of Follow Me Home headlights which stay on for approximately 30 seconds after the engine is switched off.
This provides a pool of light that helps you find your way safely to the front door of your house without tripping over the cat or walking into an unseen plant pot.
Follow Me Home headlights feature on many Toyota passenger vehicles.
LED headlights
LED headlights have been adopted on many vehicles in the Toyota range due to their advantages over other lighting technologies. These advantages include producing light that is closest to daylight, using less energy and having a much longer life of up to 100,000 hours – that’s almost the same as the vehicle itself!
LED headlights can currently be found on RAV4, Land Cruiser and Prius Plug-in models, with the Toyota Avensis featuring LED headlights that also have a dusk-sensing ability.
High-Intensity Discharge (HID) headlights
Toyota first produced a High-Intensity Discharge (HID) headlight in 1996, and its current bi-xenon HID headlights continue to be a leading conventional headlight technology that gives drivers better visibility at night thanks to a brighter headlight beam than standard halogen headlights.
Bi-xenon HID headlights are fitted as standard equipment on GT86 models.
Adaptive Front-Lighting System (AFS)
The Adaptive Front-Lighting System (AFS) fitted to selected Toyota models improves the effectiveness of Toyota’s headlights by changing the direction of the low-beam headlights in relation to steering angle and vehicle speed. In effect, as you enter a corner, the headlights will adjust to point the beam into the corner, improving illumination of the road rather than simply shining ahead at the verge or pavement. The wider lighted area provided by AFS is another example of the lengths to which Toyota will go to improve driver confidence and occupant safety.
Adaptive Front-Lighting System is featured as standard equipment on Avensis and Land Cruiser models.
To learn more about other Toyota safety technologies, see these related posts:
Braking technologies
Stability and control technologies
Monitoring systems
Occupant safety
With both adaptive front lighting and high beam on my avensis excel how does the system cope when driving a UK model (right hand drive) on roads of continental Europe when driving on the right hand side of the road. Can these systems be easily adjusted to cope with driving on the right, are they smart enough to change themselves? and for high beam, do I need to fix beam deflectors for driving on the continent, does this affect the adaptive front lighting?
Hi Mike,
Thanks for your post. If the vehicle has LED headlights, it is unlikely that you will need beam deflectors, because the beam pattern is normally flat. If the vehicle is fitted with halogen bulbs, then there will be a ‘kick-up’ in the beam pattern and you will need beam deflectors. The best way to know is either to take the vehicle into your nearest dealer for confirmation. Hope this helps. Many thanks!
I live in New Zealand where there are numerous tight corners to negotiate, even on main roads. The adaptive beam that corners with the steering wheel, is the most DANGEROUS safety system yet invented.
Driving recently on a tight bend, I was momentarily almost forced into a ditch but managed to narrowly avoid it, with little space left, all because of those pathetic adaptive beams forcing me off, as I expected a head on collision to occur.
They should be banned!!
Hi Ray,
Thanks for getting in touch with us. We’re really sorry to hear you’re unhappy with the adaptive beam in your car. If you would like to discuss this further, we would recommend contacting Toyota in your region as they are best placed to help.
Thanks.
Hi,
I’ve got a Toyota Corolla Hybrid 2020 with LED headlights, but the beam pattern is clearly not flat. I can see the left headlight beam is much higher than the right one. Is it possible to adjust the beam pattern if I’ll drive in Europe? Somewhere in the car infotainment system, or maybe some manual switch around the headlights?
Thanks
Hi Leslie,
Thanks for your comment.
If you believe there is an issue with your vehicle, we would recommend taking it to your nearest Toyota Centre.
Thanks.
I have a 2019 Corolla with LED’s, do I need beam deflectors when traveling in Europe?
Hi Scott,
Please provide your full vehicle registration so we can look into this for you.
Thanks.
I have a June 2018 Toyota Prius PHEV Excel and I am taking it to France this year. Will I need beam deflectors or can the headlights be adjusted so that they don’t cause a problem to oncoming vehicles?
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your comment.
Please provide your vehicle registration so we can look into this for you.
Thanks.
HK18 NKZ
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your comment.
Our technical team have advised that your vehicle is fitted with LED headlamps so the beam pattern should be flat, with no ‘kick up’ to the left, so therefore no need for any stickers.
However, we would advise that the AHS is not used but operate the high beams manually when travelling abroad.
We hope this helps.
Thanks.
Hi is it possible to check this for my Toyota Verso? Reg YG65CLF. Many thanks
Hi there,
Thanks for your comment.
Our technical team have advised that this vehicle has conventional headlamps.
Conventional lens headlights will need beam deflector stickers for travelling abroad as their lens design gives the lights a ‘kick’.
We hope this helps.
Thanks.
Hi is it possible to check whether best deflectors are needed for my Toyota Corolla in France? Reg FG20 BOJ. Many thanks
Hi Robert,
Given the information available on our system, we can only advise the vehicle is checked in a Toyota Centre to check the beam conforms with the standard required in France.
We hope this helps.
Thanks.
Hi is it possible to check whether beam deflectors are needed for my Toyota Corolla in France? Reg FG70NUH
Hi Ian,
Thanks for your comment.
Beam deflectors will be required for your Corolla.
Please be sure to follow the installation instructions for the chosen accessory kit.
Thanks.
Can you confirm if I need to apply beam benders (deflectors) to Toyota Corolla 2019 reg HG19TVZ. I believe the headlamps are LED. From what has been posted (above) it would appear that the beam is flat and deflectors will not be needed. Please confirm…
Hi Pete,
Thanks for your comment.
We would advise you to have the beam pattern checked at a local MOT testing station to confirm the beam pattern is okay for driving abroad.
LED headlights can generate a lot of heat on the lens which could cause stick on beam deflectors to melt.
Thanks.
Hello, Would it be possible to confirm if I need beam deflectors when going to France, as the comments looks to be yes and no for Toyota Corolla. Reg is EX71ZNA
It is a 2021 Corolla Sports Touring Excel
Hi Mo,
Thanks for your comment.
To drive abroad on the right side of the road you’re not allowed to have the kick-up on the left of the beam.
Your nearest Toyota Centre will be able to tell you if the left of your beam has kick-up.
If there is a kick-up, you’ll need to apply stickers to remove the kick-up.
We hope this helps.
Thanks.
Hi is it possible to check whether beam deflectors are needed for my Toyota Rav4 in France? Reg AF21VJP
Hi Mark,
Thanks for your comment.
To drive abroad on the right side of the road you’re not allowed to have the kick-up on the left of the beam.
Your nearest Toyota Centre will be able to tell you if the left of your beam has kick-up.
If there is a kick-up, you’ll need to apply stickers to remove the kick-up.
We hope this helps.
Thanks.
Hi I’ve taken my car for service to Toyota enfield and I asked if i need beam deflectors but they were not sure if I need it or not, can you please advise me if i need it my registration number is JJ11BEL also I don’t have normal h11 bulbs i have 2 round bulb like bulbs that you have at home I think they are xenon bulbs.
Hi Jubel,
Thanks for your question.
Our technical team have advised that this vehicle is equipped with LED headlamps, so no alterations to the beam pattern are required.
Thanks.