For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Tundra have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Tundra are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Toyota Tundra has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Tundra has standard Active Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The Tundra has a standard Pre-Collision System, which uses forward mounted sensors to warn the driver of a possible collision ahead. If the driver doesn’t react and the system determines a collision is imminent, it automatically applies the brakes at full-force in order to reduce the force of the crash or avoid it altogether. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn't offer collision warning or crash mitigation brakes.
The Tundra has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Tundra (except SR) offers an optional Parking Support Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Tundra 4x4’s optional Downhill Assist Control allows you to creep down safely. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer Downhill Assist Control.
The Toyota Tundra has Daytime Running Lights to help keep it more visible under all conditions. Canadian government studies show that driving with lights during the day reduces accidents by 11% by making vehicles more conspicuous. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer Daytime Running Lights.
The Tundra’s lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.
The Tundra (except SR) offers an optional Panoramic View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Ram 1500 Classic only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Tundra (except SR)’s optional Rear Cross Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Parking Support Brake automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Ram 1500 Classic doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.
Both the Tundra and the Ram 1500 Classic have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, rearview cameras, available four-wheel drive and blind spot warning systems.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Toyota Tundra is safer than the Ram 1500 Classic:
|
Tundra |
Ram 1500 Classic |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the Toyota Tundra Crew Cab Pickup is safer than the Ram 1500 Classic Crew Cab:
|
Tundra |
1500 Classic |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Restraints |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Head Neck Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Peak Head Forces |
0 G’s |
0 G’s |
Steering Column Movement Rearward |
0 cm |
27 cm |
Chest Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Max Chest Compression |
25 cm |
26 cm |
Hip & Thigh Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Femur Force R/L |
1.2/1.2 kN |
4.6/1.8 kN |
Hip & Thigh Injury Risk R/L |
0%/0% |
2%/0% |
Lower Leg Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
POOR |
Tibia index R/L |
.75/.42 |
1.33/.59 |
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH, results indicate that the Toyota Tundra is safer than the Ram 1500 Classic:
|
Tundra |
Ram 1500 Classic |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
|
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) performs roof strength tests. In that test the Tundra earned the top rating of “Good” because its roof supported over four times the Tundra’s weight before being crushed five inches. The Ram 1500 Classic was rated two rankings lower at “Marginal.”
For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Tundra its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Ram 1500 Classic is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick.”