Question: After months of searching for the best deal, I finally bought a brand new car. I love driving it, but there’s a speed limit exceeded warning that drives me crazy and goes off even when I’m following the speed limit. Is there a way to turn off the speed limit exceeded alert in my new Toyota?
Answer: Newer Toyota models are equipped with the Road Sign Assist (RSA) system, which recognizes road signs using the front camera and navigation system and will warn you of your speed as well as highlight signs like stop, yield, and do not enter. This feature can be disabled without having to take your car to the dealership or mechanic.
What is Road Sign Assist?
Road Sign Assist is a technology installed in new Toyota and Lexus vehicles to assist you in driving safely. When you drive beyond the speed limit plus a threshold of 1, 3 or 5 MPH, a visual and buzzer will sound. If you drive into a road with a do not enter sign, you will also see a visual notification and the buzzer will sound.
Most new Toyotas will have Toyota Safety Sense versions 2.5 or 3.0. Toyota Safety Sense provides a range of driving assist, and RSA is available if your car is equipped for it.
How to turn off speed warning in a Toyota
Looking at your center display, between your speedometer and tachometer, do these steps:
- Press the down button to enter the settings mode.
- Use the right arrow to navigate to the ‘Road Sign Detection’ option.
- Hold the OK button for two to three seconds to access detailed settings.
- Select ‘Notification Method’.
- Choose “Above Speed Limit”
In this menu, you have three options. If you choose “No Notification”, you will not be warned if you are over the speed limit. If you choose “Only Visual”, it will show a notification on the display but it won’t make a sound. The third option is “Visual & Audio”, which you should turn off if you don’t want to see the excess speed warning.
How to turn off please obey all traffic regulations in Toyotas
If you don’t want any notifications about road signs, you can completely turn off Road Sign Assist.
- Press the down button to enter the settings mode.
- Use the right arrow to navigate to the ‘Road Sign Detection’ option.
- Press OK once to toggle between on and off.
Limitations of Road Sign Assist
Road Sign Assist has some limitations, which will be described in your manual. Here are some situations when Road Sign Assist won’t be able to give accurate advice:
- RSA signs stop displaying automatically if no sign is recognized for a certain distance or after a turn.
- RSA may not function properly if the front camera is misaligned, obstructed, or affected by inclement weather or bright light.
- RSA may fail to recognize signs that are dirty, faded, tilted, bent, or partially hidden by obstacles.
- RSA might display incorrect signs due to rapid driving scene changes or recognition of signs from adjacent lanes or side roads.
- Outdated navigation system data, sudden changes in brightness, or changes in vehicle load can affect RSA accuracy.
Xuyun Zeng is a content strategist with a wide-ranging content background including tech, journalism, cars and health care. After graduating with highest honors in journalism, Xuyun led a newspaper to win eight awards, helped start an award-winning film industry podcast and has written over a hundred articles about cars repair, state laws and insurance. Prior to joining Jerry, Xuyun worked as a freelance SEO consultant with a mission to create the best content that will help readers and grow organic traffic.
Ashley Eneriz is an editor and finance writer with over 15 years of experience in a wide range of financial topics, including car loans and insurance. In editing for Jerry, Ashley aims to make all car material reader-friendly for both the new driver and car enthusiast alike. Prior to joining Jerry, Ashley was the financial deputy editor for ConsumerAffairs. Her work is featured on Forbes, Yahoo, MSN, The Hartford and more.
