Toyota Tacoma Pre Runner Double Cab Extremely Low Miles on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Toyota Mirai, Lexus LS show off Advanced Drive assists with OTA updates, AI

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp unveiled on Thursday new models of Lexus and Mirai in Japan, equipped with advanced driver assistance, as competition heats up to develop more self-driving and connected cars. Toyota's latest launch comes as automakers, electric car startups and tech giants invest heavily in so-called active safety features. The Japanese carmaker's new driving assist technology, or Advanced Drive, features a level 2 autonomous system that helps driving, such as limiting the car in its lane, maintaining the distance from other vehicles and changing lanes under the driver's supervision on expressways or other motor-vehicle-only roads. The system can even handle lane merges, and when passing trucks its lane system will move the car further to the opposite side of its lane. The car will recommend a course of action to a driver before executing it. The system also features a camera to monitor the driver's actions and level of attentiveness, and if the driver seems unresponsive or incapacitated, the car will pull itself over. The luxury sedan Lexus LS will be on sale from Thursday, costing between about 16.3 million yen ($148,600) and 17.9 million yen ($164,000), while the second-generation Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car will be offered on April 12 at between 8.4 million ($76,900) and 8.6 million yen ($78,750). This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The new models are Toyota's first products brought to the market that provide over-the-air updates and utilize AI technology centered on deep learning, said Toyota executive James Kuffner, who is also the head of Toyota's research unit Woven Planet. "This is really an important first step in our journey towards software-first development," he said at an online briefing on Thursday, adding that the company has tried to design the software to be truly global and to provide re-usability. In the future, software features on cars will be "upgradable" and "more customizable" much like how people personalize their smartphones, Kuffner added. Fully self-driven cars are still likely to be years away, but rival General Motors early this year made a splash at the virtual Consumer Electronics Show with a fully-autonomous all-electric flying Cadillac concept, while Chinese search engine operator Baidu unveiled a partnership with local car brand Geely.

Toyota and Lexus recall models for inadvertent airbag deployment

The Basics: Toyota will recall 320,000 examples in the US of the 2003-2006 Land Cruiser, 2004-2006 4Runner, 2005-2006 Tundra and Sequoia, 2003-2006 Lexus LX470, and 2004-2006 GX470. The Problem: The curtain shield airbags that come down from the roof can inadvertently deploy shortly after vehicle startup. This is due to improper programming of the airbag control module. Injuries/Deaths: "Toyota is not aware of any crashes caused by the condition. We have received reports alleging injuries such as abrasions and ringing in ears," company spokesperson Cindy Knight told Autoblog. The Fix: Toyota and Lexus dealers will replace the airbag control module with a new part, which will have improved programming. If You Own One: Toyota and Lexus will notify affected owners by mail early this month. Related Video: Toyota and Lexus Recall Certain Land Cruiser, 4Runner, Tundra, Sequoia, LX, and GX Vehicles February 02, 2016 TORRANCE, Calif., February 2, 2016 – Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. today announced that it is conducting a safety recall of approximately 320,000 Model Year 2003-2006 Land Cruiser; 2004-2006 4Runner; 2005-2006 Tundra and Sequoia; 2003-2006 LX 470; and 2004-2006 GX 470 vehicles. The involved vehicles are equipped with side Curtain-Shield-Airbags (CSAs) which deploy from the roof in the event of certain types of crashes. Due to improper programming in the airbag control modules, there is a possibility that, under certain specific and limited conditions shortly after startup, the CSAs and seat belt pretensioners could activate when not necessary. Unexpected activation of the CSAs could increase the risk of injury to the occupant. All known owners of the involved vehicles will be notified by first class mail. Toyota and Lexus dealers will replace the airbag control module with one which has an improved programming at no cost to owners. Information about automotive recalls, including but not limited to the list of involved vehicles, is subject to change over time. For the most up-to-date Safety Recall information on Lexus, Toyota and Scion customers should check their vehicle's status by visiting http://www.toyota.com/recall and entering the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). Safety Recall inquiry by individual VIN is also available at the NHTSA site: safercar.gov/vin. For any additional questions, customer support is also available by calling Toyota Customer Service at 1-800-331-4331 or Lexus Customer Service at 1-800-255-3987.

More head-up displays are coming to a dashboard near you

With the exception of Apple products — $1,000 for a freakin' smartphone? — one great thing about tech is you typically get more for your money with each passing year. This is particularly true with automotive tech: Features like driver assists and surround-view cameras that were once exclusively available in luxury vehicles now come standard even on some economy cars. The same thing is slowly happening with head-up displays (HUD). For example, the 10-inch HUD in the 2018 Toyota Camry is one of the largest and best HUDs I've seen in any car. And a big improvement on the much smaller HUD in the latest Toyota Prius. Mazda is another mainstream brand that offers HUDs in several of its vehicles. But instead of embedding expensive components in the dash and using a special windshield, the HUDs in the Mazda3 and Mazda6 use a thin plastic lens that folds down when not in use. MINI has a similar solution, but this low-cost approach has limits in terms of size and position of the images compared to traditional HUDs that use the windshield as a screen. We're also starting to see similar lens-based aftermarket options that can be added to any car. Last year I tested a portable HUD called Navdy that taps into a car's OBD-II port to provide info on speed and RPM and uses built-in GPS and Google Maps to show the surrounding area, display speed limits and route you to your destination. Navdy also connects to an Android or iOS smartphone via Bluetooth to display data from phone calls, texts and music playing on a connected device, and it's simple to use and easily visible in almost any lighting condition. While Navdy is still available online, late last year the company ran into financial difficulties, and product support has been halted. I recently tested a new portable HUD called Hudly that's not quite fully baked and falls short of Navdy because it doesn't tap into an OBD-II port. Since a companion smartphone app for Hudly isn't scheduled to launch until next month, for now it only mirrors what's on a smartphone. So it can be used for nav and other apps, and its features are very limited. Between automakers adding HUDs in more reasonably priced cars and the aftermarket filling in the gaps for existing vehicle owners with add-ons, the technology is becoming more prevalent and affordable. And it's also getting better.