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 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
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 Silverado 1500 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 Silverado 1500 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
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 Silverado 1500 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.
Both the Tundra and the Silverado 1500 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, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available four-wheel drive, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.
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 Chevrolet Silverado 1500:
|
Tundra |
Silverado 1500 |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
225 |
410 |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
37.4% |
38% |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
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 and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Toyota Tundra is safer than the Chevrolet Silverado 1500:
|
Tundra |
Silverado 1500 |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
49 |
74 |
Chest Movement |
.6 inches |
.7 inches |
Abdominal Force |
102 lbs. |
109 lbs. |
Hip Force |
129 lbs. |
189 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
39 |
72 |
Hip Force |
123 lbs. |
269 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
10 inches |
15 inches |
Spine Acceleration |
33 G’s |
43 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Toyota Tundra Crew Cab Pickup is safer than the Silverado 1500 Crew Cab:
|
Tundra |
Silverado 1500 |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
39 |
49 |
Neck Tension |
45 lbs. |
112 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
.39 in |
.51 in |
Torso Max Deflection |
.63 in |
.71 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis Force |
491 lbs. |
558 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
51 |
158 |
Neck Tension |
45 lbs. |
178 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Shoulder Deflection |
.43 in |
1.65 in |
Shoulder Force |
178 lbs. |
446 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.24 in |
2.13 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
2 MPH |
12 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
The Toyota Tundra achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Silverado 1500 is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.