2022 Toyota Camry Pricing and Specs

This raises a very interesting question, so I checked the status of the Camry’s AEB system with Toyota Australia. The first thing I learned was that every current-model Camry is fitted with Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB). That is, the vehicle will apply its own brakes to avoid you running into an object in front. 

So why didn’t the AEB save you this time? There are a couple of theories within Toyota. The first is that, ironically, you might not have been going fast enough. The Camry’s AEB works only at speeds over 10km/h (up to 180km/h). So, it’s still classed as City AEB. But if you were trickling along at walking pace in stop-start traffic, you might not have been going fast enough to trigger an AEB response.

But it’s also interesting that you say your foot slipped off the brake pedal. There’s speculation that the AEB system will only operate if it thinks the driver has missed an obstacle. But if you were braking, the system may have interpreted that as you being in full control and has therefore left the AEB dormant.

The Camry also has Brake-Assist (BAS) technology where the car will detect a potential crash and apply extra brake pressure if your foot isn’t already applying enough. But that system only works above 30km/h, so if you weren’t travelling that fast, again, the system might not have been called in to act. And, again, there’s the question of your foot slipping off the brake pedal at a point in proceedings where there simply wasn’t enough time for the AEB or BAS to intervene.

You can check out the Carsguide website for full safety specifications on a huge range of makes and models available in Australia. But you might find other cars in the same situation as you’ve described would have behaved exactly as your Camry did.