Any way to spoof the radar cruise/pre-collision system? (1 Viewer)

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I'm not a fan of the pre collision system. I'd love to disable both and not have dash warning lights.

All it takes is one deer hopping out of the bushes in front of you late one night on the highway. Truck stops RIGHT NOW. Like, before you can even get your foot off the gas. Seat belt tensioner engages, holds you back. Saved me twice. I'm OK with that. I wish my Miata had PCS, it would have saved me from having the front end replaced last Fall.
 
Yeah, I get it. Some people love it. However, it annoys the $h!^ out of me. I've had it kick in while braking in the middle of stopping for a small herd of deer and the seatbelt pretensioners scared the living crap out of my passengers. I drive highway speeds about 1% of my driving, and have never in all my years of driving needed magic brakes. I love it that some of you love it, but I hate it. I would turn off every electronic computer nanny in my vehicles if I could. If everyone could get past their opinions about the feature, and focus the discussion on how to achieve the desired outcome, that'd be awesome.
 
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Have the dealer turn it off.

Yeah, and while you're at it, ask about having them shut off the ABS and all the air bags. See how that goes.

@CharlieS understood, sorry for the editorial. And I have had a couple of false alarms with it. It's also annoying in a snowstorm when the badge gets covered with ice and throws an error message on the dash.
 
That might have been jowetts point. Toyota most likely intentionally makes these systems difficult to disable because of the liability issues.
 
I think ABS and airbags may be slightly different since they are legally mandatory (in the US).

PCS and Radar Cruise are electronic nanny systems that are a nice to have features (for some). As far as I know, there is no regulation requiring these systems.

I haven't been to a dealer for anything other than warranty work, so I don't know what they'd say. I guess it is worth asking. Based on how helpful they have been in the past, I have a feeling the answer is going to be no. I guess I'll never know if I don't ask though.
 
My brother has a 2017 Highlander with the stop-start system for the engine (shuts off at stop lights) which he hates. There is a button on the dash that you can disable it, but only for that start cycle. It is pretty annoying, but it's all about getting them another 0.001 mpg on the EPA rating. Honestly I'm surprised the 200-series doesn't have this function baked in, maybe the 5.7L doesn't like it. Look for it on the 300-series! Can't be permanently disabled.

Thankfully, free enterprise to the rescue. He found a little module on eBay that someone developed that somehow tricks the system and kills it. I helped him install it behind the dash, it was super easy, and he reports that it works really well.

So maybe someone will come up with a PCS killer module.
 
My brother has a 2017 Highlander with the stop-start system for the engine (shuts off at stop lights) which he hates. There is a button on the dash that you can disable it, but only for that start cycle. It is pretty annoying, but it's all about getting them another 0.001 mpg on the EPA rating. Honestly I'm surprised the 200-series doesn't have this function baked in, maybe the 5.7L doesn't like it. Look for it on the 300-series! Can't be permanently disabled.

Thankfully, free enterprise to the rescue. He found a little module on eBay that someone developed that somehow tricks the system and kills it. I helped him install it behind the dash, it was super easy, and he reports that it works really well.

So maybe someone will come up with a PCS killer module.
Yes, please! Over the years there have been enthusiasts that have come up with lots of these clever solutions for this kind of thing. It'd be cool if we found one here, wouldn't it?
 
Something not being legally mandated wouldn’t dismiss liability with deactivation if it was marketed and intended to add safety. I suppose you could waive your right to sue but I’d bet for most dealers the reward (an hour of service and your everlasting loyralty) isn’t worth the risk (multimillion dollar wrongful death settlement) to write up the documents.

Trust me.. when these systems get effective, reliable and cheap enough they will be required. Just like TPMS, seat belts, ABS, SRS, VSC, etc.
 
There was a whole thread about dealers refusing to install an OEM strut spacer due to the risk of it altering the PCS operation. Risk/reward. And that work is as simple as it gets. Disabling PCS where toyota likely didn’t code in an easy way to do so?
 
Oooof! Thanks for the vote of confidence! :D Toyota will disable it upon request. They will also disable it, whether you like it or not, if you show up with a lift kit in a Tacoma... not sure about the Land Cruiser.


All 2016 – 2018 model year Land Cruiser and 2018 model year Sequoia, Tacoma, and Tundra vehicles are equipped with a Pre-Collision System (PCS), also known as Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) as part of Toyota Safety Sense.

The Pre-Collision System (PCS) defaults its operating mode to ON after each ignition (IG) cycle. In some driving conditions, such as extended off-road use, driving with tire chains in adverse conditions, towing another vehicle, or when your vehicle is being towed, drivers should operate the vehicle with PCS OFF. Drivers may also prefer to maintain this setting after each IG cycle. If this functionality is requested, follow the procedure in this Service Bulletin to disable the PCS mode reset after each IG cycle.
 
I’d bet they have some kind of directive or permission from toyota corporate to do so.

Either way.. will disabling it also kill all the lights if parts of it are removed?
 
Yeah, a bunch of Toyota models have the ability to turn off the PCS from the steering wheel. Not the '13 land cruiser, at least from what I can find.

If you ever get a minute, open your owners manual to the pages on PCS and read all of the warnings and exceptions, and reasons why it might malfunction.
 
Ok...I cancelled my appointment and was determined to find a solution to this problem on line. I watched a dozen or two videos about PCS and Toyota safety Sense and finally stumbled across a simple quick video and it totally worked. Of course I can't find now.
1. Start engine
2. Press brake pedal
3. Push button on cruise control stock to engage to "On" (If it reads "Cruise control off" hit it again)
4. Pull up on the cruise stalk 3 times within 3 seconds
5. It should read "calibrating cruise control" or something like that (this calibration appeared to take 3-5 seconds)
6. Shut you car off
7. Re-start you car

*** PCS light and "Check Cruise Control" dash lights are gone!
I will do a follow post tomorrow to make sure it is still working and the problem is fixed. It appears that these trucks calibrate the radar / adaptive cruise control themselves. Car must be parked when preforming the above listed functions.
 
A quick follow up to this thread.

I spent 57 minutes online with ToyotaCare help desk, and there is no documented way to disable PCS in the 2013 land cruiser - not in manuals, not in tech tips, not in service bulletins, not in campaigns.

Note: There is an easy way to disable PCS on the '16+ land cruisers. They added a button.

The Toyota help desk guy said his understanding was that they added the button because they got a lot of complaints about not being able to turn PCS off during the many pages of situations they warn about in the manual.

The help desk guy said he was shocked that there isn't an easy way to turn PCS off...

He shared an anecdote where he had a customer that had his brakes keep on activating in a parking garage because of PCS!! Luckily he had a newer model and could easily disable PCS.

Note: for the '16+ there is also a Techstream setting to make it remember the setting it was on, so you don't need to turn it off again upon restart.

Screen capture from a 2018 manual:

1591631505327.png
 
What year is your truck? 13?

Correct me if Im wrong, but I didn't think the PCS system on the 13-15s had anything to do with the radar sensor. I thought it worked by sensing panic stops, basically the time between throttle input and brake input. If you move your foot from throttle to gas pedal in less than some amount of time, that's a panic stop and it kicks in PCS and just applies full brake pressure and seatbelts.

And since you can disable radar cruise on the stalk, a new grill shouldn't affect either one of these systems. Unless I'm wrong about how the older PCS system works of course.
 
Maybe, but I don't think so. I could be wrong.

As I understand it, the AEB kicks in when it sees stuff in front of the vehicle when certain conditions are met (speed, steering wheel direction, etc.).

My rig is a '13.

PCS is the pre-collision system, it is related to AEB (Automatic Emergency Braking), both are a part of the TSS (Toyota Safety Sense) system. It is also used for the Radar Cruise Control.

Putting metal stuff in front of the millimeter wave sensor in the grille absolutely messes with all of it. It shuts off the system and puts several lights in the dash. So does having a steering wheel out of alignment (like when you have KDSS lean). So does unplugging the millimeter wave sensor.
 
All it takes is one deer hopping out of the bushes in front of you late one night on the highway. Truck stops RIGHT NOW. Like, before you can even get your foot off the gas. Seat belt tensioner engages, holds you back. Saved me twice. I'm OK with that. I wish my Miata had PCS, it would have saved me from having the front end replaced last Fall.
Amen to that. TSS / AEB / PCS is one of the reasons I upgraded from my LX. Once I learned to use it I could not imagine going back.

We have a Subaru Outback with their version (Eyesight) which I personally think works better (including in stop and go traffic) but Toyota's version check's almost all my on-road boxes. My wife's new BMW does a fantastic job as well.
 
Maybe, but I don't think so. I could be wrong.

As I understand it, the AEB kicks in when it sees stuff in front of the vehicle when certain conditions are met (speed, steering wheel direction, etc.).

My rig is a '13.

PCS is the pre-collision system, it is related to AEB (Automatic Emergency Braking), both are a part of the TSS (Toyota Safety Sense) system. It is also used for the Radar Cruise Control.

Putting metal stuff in front of the millimeter wave sensor in the grille absolutely messes with all of it. It shuts off the system and puts several lights in the dash. So does having a steering wheel out of alignment (like when you have KDSS lean). So does unplugging the millimeter wave sensor.

Yeah I was wrong, it does use the camera to engage the Brake Assist...

Form the 2013 brochure....

"Pre-Collision System (PCS)[1]
Using a radar unit located in the vehicle’s front grille, PCS monitors the position of the vehicle relative to other vehicles and certain objects in the road directly ahead. If PCS determines that a collision is imminent, the Brake Assist (BA)[2] system is placed in standby mode, a warning is displayed and a buzzer sounds.
If PCS determines that a collision is unavoidable, the system will still alert the driver via a warning light, warning display and buzzer, apply the brakes and automatically retract the driver and front passenger seatbelts to help prepare for such a scenario."
 
Correct me if Im wrong, but I didn't think the PCS system on the 13-15s had anything to do with the radar sensor.

PCS is all about the radar sensor. I have had it throw an error message in a snow/ice storm "PCS SYSTEM DISABLED" on the dash, if the sensor gets covered with snow. Wipe it off, error goes away (for a few minutes). Maybe the next iteration will have a sensor heater?
 

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