Here’s How the STAR System Keeps You Safe Aboard Toyota Vehicles

Every Toyota vehicle made in the last 10 years has come standard with a suite of safety technologies called the STAR system and it remains vital to automotive safety to this day.

How the STAR system improves traction

The STAR system includes the traction control and the Anti-Lock Braking system, which both have a similar goal: Increasing the tire’s traction on slippery surfaces. Under acceleration, if the system detects a wheel spinning faster than the other, it will reduce the engine’s power and apply the brakes to this wheel in order to match its speed to the others. When braking, the Anti-Lock system acts in the opposite way. Indeed, when it detects a wheel slowing down faster than the others, it momentarily releases the brake pressure to this particular wheel to prevent it from locking up.

How it improves stability

Other systems that are part of the STAR system found in all Toyota models are focused on keeping the vehicle stable and going down the path desired by the driver. These include the Vehicle Stability Control, which prevents sideways slides by acting on each individual brake to control vehicle movement and prevent a loss of control. Another system with a similar goal is the Electronic Brake Force Distribution, which makes sure all wheels slow down at the same rate to avoid the vehicle pulling to one side under hard braking.

How it improves braking

The Toyota STAR system is also beneficial to the braking performance of the vehicle since it includes the Brake Assist and the Smart Stop Technology, in addition to the ABS and the EBD. The Brake Assist detects a rapid depression of the brake pedal and immediately applies the maximum braking force in order to stop the vehicle as quickly as possible in an emergency. In order to prevent such a situation, the Smart Stop Technology doesn’t allow the engine to accelerate when the brake pedal is pushed.