So I recently bought a 2017 Prius V 5. I got the upgraded package almost entirely because I wanted the forward collision avoidance. So, imagine my chagrin when I learn that they were sued because this system did not meet the baseline standards for what a system like that should do in 2013. But surely, in the last 4 years they have fixed that? Haven't they? I am really hoping that someone here can tell me that they have updated this system or the case was resolved because the suit lacked merit. The car has not had an NTSA safety rating since then and an obvious reason is that it would fail on this. I really want to be wrong here. Anyone have a reliable source for information on the functionality of this feature on this vehicle? The other question I have is (hopefully) simpler. The collision avoidance system Switch does not have an indicator that I can find showing that it is on or off. When you press the button it just says "forward collision avoidance system". Anyone know how to tell if the system is on or off?
congrats and welcome! i don't remember the lawsuit, can you type the link? edit: found it, the judge dismissed the case. sounds like people just didn't like the fact that it didn't pass the iihs test. 2017 should be much better, has it passed the iihs test?
The IIHS test has changed since the launch of the 3rd Gen Prius and the Prius v (both came with earlier versions of PCS). The PCS found on your Prius v is designed to reduce the impact force by slowing the vehicle down. It's not designed to completely avoid the collision (although it may in some cases). This is different from the newer versions of PCS found the 2016+ Prius (Gen 4) where it IS designed to avoid a collision below a certain speed (18 mph for pedestrians and 25 mph for cars) and anything above that speed, it will reduce the speed at point of contact. The Prius v does not have Toyota Safety Sense as far as I know (even though it has the same basic features... it's not the latest safety suite that is on other Toyota vehicles).
