Toyota Safety Connect Services

Ray Prince
Jul 16, 2021

How do you use Toyota Safety Connect? And is it worth it? We did some deep-dive research to provide all the answers and more.

2020 Toyota Highlander - Photo by Toyota

Unexpected accidents, flat tires, dead batteries, and other mishaps on the road have been met with an increasing number of connected services. Automakers’ connective services revolve around in-car cellular systems and 24/7 live agent support services.

One leading connected service is the subscription-based Toyota Safety Connect. This service gives Toyota owners instant access to live agents–all reachable with a Safety Connect branded button on the dash. It has been heavily touted by Toyota as offering quicker response times than emergency service professionals.

Keep reading to learn more about Toyota Connect, how Toyota Safety Connect works, its subscription/fee structure, features, and compatible models.

2020 Toyota Camry - Photo by Toyota

How Does Toyota’s Safety Connect Work?

Set up as a subscription service, Toyota Safety Connect connects Toyota drivers to a 24/7 emergency response center, manned by live agents that dispatch emergency services workers to your location in the event of trouble.

Compatible vehicles have built-in cellular reception, which allows them to be tracked via GPS. This helps Toyota Safety Connect operators send help to the correct location.

Note, Toyota Safety Connect is not integrated with your dashboard. It’s all managed through a single “SOS” button, collision sensors, and the Toyota Connected Services app.

Toyota sums up its vision nicely in its two-minute Safety Connect YouTube video.

What Services Does Toyota’s Safety Connect Provide?

Toyota’s Safety Connect comes with four key services:

  • Enhanced Roadside Assistance
  • Emergency Assistance Button
  • Automatic Collision Notification
  • Stolen Vehicle Locator

Enhanced Roadside Assistance

Now standard with many automakers is a 24/7 roadside assistance service that dispatches tow trucks and emergency service vehicles to your aid. It’s a great option if you come across a flat tire, run out of gas, or similar situations on the road.

Note, your phone does not need to be paired with your vehicle to activate this service.

Enhanced Roadside Assistance - Photo by nejron / Deposit Photos

Emergency Assistance

Emergency Assistance is activated when airbags deploy or rear-end collisions occur. An SOS call from your vehicle relays the incident back to Toyota Safety Connect’s dispatchers, who work to send police officers, firefighters, or other emergency personnel to the scene.

You can also use the SOS button to reach agents for accidents you are not involved with.

Automatic Collision Notification - Photo by monkeybusiness / Deposit Photos

Automatic Collision Notification

Toyota Safety Connect’s Automatic Collision Notification feature kicks in when your vehicle detects a collision.

If airbags deploy, the system automatically dispatches a signal to a live agent, who immediately calls the driver and assesses the situation. In this case, live agents may or may not dispatch emergency services. Automatic Collision Notification is a great option for drivers who are too incapacitated or distraught to take charge.

Note, Automatic Collision Notification does not activate if airbags do not deploy or collision sensors are not activated. It is also important to mention that airbags will not deploy in all conditions.

Stolen Vehicle Locator

Toyota Safety Connect’s Stolen Vehicle Locator is arguably its most intriguing option. Once a police report is filed, an incident number is shared with Toyota’s Roadside Assistance service. From there, agents will use GPS to try to track the vehicle down. If the vehicle is found, the police will be notified.

Note, Stolen Vehicle Locator is the only service that does not rely on in-car features (SOS button and collisions sensors). Drivers must be proactive in filing the report and retrieving an incident number.

How Much Does Toyota Safety Connect Cost?

As of the time of this writing, a Toyota Safety Connect subscription costs $80 annually. It can be paid as either one annual bill or by the month.

How Do I Set Up Toyota Safety Connect on My Phone?

Toyota Safety Connect requires a Toyota Owner’s account and the Toyota Connected Services app. Simply download the app, register, and use your login credentials.

Creating a Toyota Owner’s account is a very straightforward process, performed manually or through a third party (Google and Facebook).

After that, the app will prompt you to enter an activation code before logging your VIN information. Entering your VIN information will automatically pull up your car make and model, offering the option to add a vehicle nickname and participating in a trial.

Scroll and accept several disclaimers and you will be all set.

2018 Toyota 4Runner - Photo by Toyota

Is the Toyota Safety Connect App any Good?

The Toyota Safety Connect is very intuitive, featuring a minimalist display and icon-heavy design. Topline info shows an odometer reading, Distance to Empty, and last parked location which uses a map overlay. There are also buttons for Start Engine, Lock, Unlock, and Hazard Light activation.

Starting the vehicle remotely requires a four-digit pin, followed by a ten-minute countdown before an automatic Engine Stop kicks in to preserve the vehicle’s battery. With WiFi or cell reception, your vehicle can be locked, unlocked, or started from anywhere in the world.

One of our favorite features is the Toyota Safety Connect’s Drive score (zero to 100), which is assigned based on actual real-time driving behaviors like acceleration, cornering, and braking. The smoother and safer the behavior, the higher the score.

Coming in a close second is its Recent Trip history, with map overlays for each of your most recent trips, logging everything from trip duration to the number of miles driven.

Another nifty feature with the Toyota Safety Connect app is Vehicle Finder, which marks your vehicle’s location on a GPS-enabled map. It has the same look and feel as Google Maps, down to the pulsing blue circle that indicates where a driver is standing.

2021 Toyota Sienna - Photo by Toyota

What Vehicles is Toyota Safety Connect Compatible With?

Toyota Safety Connect first arrived in 2010 and is compatible with the following vehicles:

SUVs

Cars

  • Avalon – From $35,975
  • Camry – From $24,970
  • Corolla – From $20,025
  • Prius – From $24,525
  • Prius Prime -From $28,220

Hatchbacks

  • C-HR – From $21,545

Minivans

Trucks

All in all, Toyota Safety Connect is one of the more intuitive, responsive connected services out there. Instant access to live agents during problematic road situations could be enough to reverse an entire trip’s fortunes and save some lives in the process.

Photos: Toyota, Deposit Photos

Frequently Asked Questions

Apr 3, 2022

What is the Toyota Safety Sense package?

The Toyota Safety Sense system is used to help protect your vehicle while you are driving. There is a suite of active safety features that can help reduce the chance for accidents and the features vary from model to model.

The features can include a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure alert, automatic high beams, lane tracing assist, and road sign assist. All of these are there to help prevent accidents and keep you safe while you are driving. The most advanced of these include the pre-collision system which will brake automatically if it detects a person or object and the lane tracing assist which can help keep your car centered in its lane.

As more vehicles move towards more autonomous driving Toyota is following suit. These safety features can help keep you and your family safe while you are out on the road and help lay the groundwork for future advancements in driverless vehicles.

What does Toyota Safety Connect include?

Toyota Safety Connect is different from Toyota Safety Sense. Safety Sense is used to help keep your vehicle safe while driving, and Safety Connect is used to alert Toyota and emergency personnel in the event of any issues. The features of Toyota Safety Connect include automatic collision notifications, an emergency assistance button, enhanced roadside assistance, and a stolen vehicle locator.

These features all use a built-in cellular antenna to contact Toyota if you need help. If you are in a collision where your airbags are deployed or you are rear-ended then a person in the response center will be able to immediately reach out to you in your car. From there they can contact the authorities and let them know about the accident and your location so that help can get to you faster.

Since the system is connected to a cellular network it can also be used by Toyota to help you find a stolen vehicle. Toyota can use the GPS and cellular signals from your car to help the police locate your car. Overall it is a good system to have since it gives your car more connected features.

Can Toyota Safety Connect be turned off?

Toyota Safety Connect is offered free for one year on all new Toyota vehicles and after that, it is offered as a subscription service at $80 per year or $8 per month. If you no longer want to pay for Toyota Safety Connect you can go into your account or contact Toyota directly to let them know you would like to cancel your account.

Canceling your account will disable the features of Toyota Safety Connect, but they can always be reactivated at any point in time. If your car is stolen for example Toyota can locate the vehicle as long as you pay the $8 to activate it for at least one month. There is not any way to easily disable the system in the car.

Toyota's safety connect system is hardwired into the cars that they sell so removing it is not an easy task. It is meant to be difficult to disable so that thieves cannot remove it which can help law enforcement recover stolen vehicles.

Owner Reviews

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accountCircle Frustrated Former Toyota Owner on May 2, 2022
Read the fine print
I did not carefully read the email they sent after my 1 year free trial was up. It should have clearly stated “If you don’t renew safety sense, we will not track your car if it is stolen.” After my 13 month old car has was stolen, I renewed safety sense and I can see the odometer reading, fuel level and tire pressure, but no location. I’m sure Toyota the can see the location since it is reporting other data, but their policy is keeping me from getting my car back. They would make money if they had an extra retrieval fee.
accountCircle Valerie B on August 4, 2021
2019 Toyota Camry SE safety and reliability - top qualities that can't be beat!
I love the safety features most on this vehicle. The automatic braking has saved me from 2 fender-benders in the last few months. The lane departure system is also useful - keeping you in your lane if your attention isn't where it should be. Cruise control matches the speed of the vehicle in front of you and you can choose from three distances to keep behind to minimize the chance of collisions.
accountCircle Manara M on August 3, 2021
2020 Toyota Corolla SE has a coffee cup icon if you have been driving for too long to remind you to take a break.
The 2020 corolla Toyota offers modern safety features that ensure smooth sailing on the roads. The monitor has a backup camera that comes on as you reverse. It has features that tells you when you have gone to the next lane by beeping and will when beep if you get too close.
accountCircle Tenika M on August 6, 2021
2018 Toyota Camry: More safety features for a worry free drive.
This car has tons of safety features from recognizing when you are too close to other objects by placing a huge BRAKE on the panel or when it recognizes that you are swerving and not within your lane as well as recognizing when someone does not have on their seatbelt.
accountCircle Megan T on August 6, 2021
2020 Toyota Corolla SE backup camera needs improvement.
The car is reliable and has many great safety features. The backup camera could use improvement as the it does not beep when coming into close contact with something and the view is only straight back. Overall the car is very safe to drive and has many features.
accountCircle Karl P on July 22, 2021
2020 Toyota Corolla LE has blind spot detection.
It is advanced and has nice safety features such as blind spot detection in addition to lane changing protection when exceeding thirty-five miles per hour. It also makes it super easy to reverse as the backup camera is very detailed. It has automatic braking.
accountCircle Pam T on July 30, 2021
2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport is great.
It's a 2019, so it has all the safety features including a warning beep when backing up which tells you if another car or pedestrian is behind you, in addition to a cruise control feature, 4WD, and other safety features I'm not really familiar with as of yet.
accountCircle Gabrielle S on July 29, 2021
Outstanding 2020 Toyota Corolla L safety features.
Really awesome safety features such as warning you to slow down, pulling you back into the lane if you start to wonder off, and when driving for a long time it reminds you that it might be a great time for a break and to stop and get some coffee.
accountCircle Denise C on July 24, 2021
2020 Toyota Corolla LE has extremely useful safety features.
I love the safety features the car comes with such as lane assist, braking assist and sos button in case of emergencies (housed by it own hard plastic lid).
accountCircle Maddison N on July 29, 2021
2020 Toyota RAV4 XLE PREMIUM is a fantastic family vehicle.
This vehicle has great safety ratings, wonderful cameras and sensors! I feel very safe driving my infant around in this car and couldn't be happier with it.
accountCircle Josh D on July 27, 2021
The best 2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road out there.
It has plenty of safety features including lane departure warning, blind spot warning, parking sensors, and backup camera. It also has many airbags.
accountCircle Ellen L on July 20, 2021
2018 Toyota Camry: Loving the Toyota safety sense!
Although this is a slightly lesser model I love the Toyota safety sense, with the blind spot lights on both sides. It really helps while driving.
accountCircle Joseph C on July 22, 2021
2018 Toyota Camry lane departure is sensitive.
I like all the modern features such as all the safety features. Sometimes I turn these features off though because it may be annoying sometimes.
accountCircle Sarah Z on July 31, 2021
2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport has everything you could want in a truck.
I have all the safety features I could ask for. Blind spot monitoring, park assist, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning.
accountCircle Angelic R on July 16, 2021
2020 Toyota Corolla SE is the most reliable and dependable car.
I love all the safety features it provides. There is not a way for me to swerve. The car aligns itself if you go out of the lines.
accountCircle Luke Procter on August 3, 2021
2019 Toyota Camry dissapointment.
Safety systems are unreliable, often shutting off for no reason, and the infotainment system is almost useless and featureless.
accountCircle Phyllis L on July 17, 2021
Great features of 2020 Toyota RAV4 XLE4.
The safety features (blind spot monitoring, lane detection, and radar enforced cruise control) are our favorite features.
accountCircle Rich P on July 16, 2021
2018 Toyota Camry: great car, great safety features standard.
I love the safety feature, like lane guidance and collision avoidance, and the cameras around the vehicle.
accountCircle Laura L on August 6, 2021
2019 Toyota Camry SE is pure sophistication.
The safety features are great, especially the back up camera and other safety features.
accountCircle Danny R on July 25, 2021
Ease to drive 2019 Toyota Camry LE.
This is my first Toyota car and I cannot compliant. Come with a lot of safety systems.
accountCircle Alex R on July 17, 2021
The 2018 Camry will always be perfect.
Toyota Safety Sense is a feature that will reduce the risk of having an accident.
accountCircle Ashley F on July 22, 2021
2019 Toyota Camry LE is a great car with lots of new features.
The car drivers very well and love all the new safety features that are built in.
accountCircle Victoria S on July 23, 2021
2019 Toyota Camry XSE has amazing safety features!
SAFETY is the number 1 priority with this car and it's great!
accountCircle Victoria P on July 18, 2021
2020 Toyota Corolla SE safety features like driving itself.
It the perfect care for travelling with the safety features.
accountCircle Kyle S on August 2, 2021
Why I love my 2018 Toyota Camry SE so much.
I love the safety features and the se trim is so stylish.
accountCircle Laura P on July 25, 2021
Superior safety features make Toyota Camry choice the best to choose for 2018
I love the safety features.
avatar Ray Prince
Ray Prince is a longtime Miami-based automotive journalist who has covered trucks and muscle cars for an aftermarket e-commerce retailer and has been published on "Wide Open Roads," "Art of Gears," "Hybrid News," and "Auto Guide." Ray graduated from New York City's Queens College with a degree in Media Studies, after completing undergraduate studies at Purdue University, Complutense University of Madrid, and CIMBA in Paderno del Grappa, Italy. He has two children, Ray and Lola.
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