Toyota adds two safety features to 2020 lineup

Toyota Motor Corp. will begin phasing in two safety features to its upcoming vehicles for the 2020 model year, one of which will help  prevent them from rolling away when the driver has exited the vehicle.

The automaker said it will upgrade a 17-year-old system that issues a two-step alert to request the driver to turn off a long-idling engine to one that provides for automatic engine shutoff at a pre-determined interval of time with an enhanced audible and visual warning on its Smart Key System, depending on equipment.

The company promised that an additional warning delivered via its smartphone app was forthcoming.

The second upgrade, which Toyota calls Automatic Park, will automatically shift the vehicle into park or apply the electronic emergency brake in vehicles so equipped in the event the driver exits without shifting the automatic transmission into park.

A Toyota spokeswoman said the feature is activated when the driver's side door is opened and the driver's seat belt is unbuckled. The feature will be phased in beginning with the 2020 model year, Toyota says.

Toyota did not say how long it planned to take to phase in the safety features across its lineup.