Toyota Prius V 2012 Quick Reference Manual page 50

SAFETY AND EMERGENCY FEATURES
Star Safety System
All new Toyota vehicles come standard with the Star Safety System
combines Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Traction Control (TRAC), Anti-lock Braking
System (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist (BA) and Smart
Stop Technology (SST).
Vehicle Stability Control (VSC)
VSC helps prevent loss of traction during cornering by reducing engine power and
applying brake force to selected wheels.
Toyota's VSC monitors steering angle and the direction your vehicle is traveling.
When it senses that the front or rear wheels begin to lose traction, VSC reduces
engine power and applies braking to selected wheels. This helps restore traction
and vehicle control.
Traction Control (TRAC)
VSC helps prevent loss of traction during cornering by reducing engine power, and
Traction Control helps maintain traction on loose gravel and wet, icy, or uneven
surfaces by applying brake force to the spinning wheel(s).
Toyota's TRAC sensors are activated when one of the drive wheels starts to slip.
TRAC limits engine output and applies the brakes to the spinning wheel. This
transfers power to the wheels that still have traction to help you drive safely.
Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS)
ABS helps prevent brakes from locking up by "pulsing" brake pressure to each
wheel. This limits brake lockup and provides the maximum brake effectiveness for
the current road conditions.
Toyota's ABS sensors detect which wheels are locking up and limits wheel lockup by
"pulsing" each wheel's brakes independently. Pulsing releases brake pressure
repeatedly for fractions of a second. This helps the tires attain the maximum
traction that the current road conditions will allow, helping you stay in control.
Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD)
Toyota's ABS technology has Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) to help
maintain stability and balance when braking. Abrupt stops cause the vehicle to tilt
forward, reducing the braking power of the rear wheels. EBD responds to sudden
stops by redistributing brake force to maximize the braking effectiveness of all
four wheels.
Brake Assist (BA)
Brake Assist is designed to detect sudden or "panic" braking, and then add braking
pressure to decrease the vehicle's stopping distance. When there's only a split
second to react, Brake Assist can add additional brake pressure more quickly than
just the driver alone can.
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