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General notes
34
on the functional features in question in the
respective operating instructions. These are also
available online and, depending on the equipment,
digitally in the vehicle.
Personal data
Each vehicle is marked with a unique vehicle iden-
tification number. Depending on the country, this
vehicle identification number can be used by, for
example, government authorities to determine the
identity of the owner. There are other possibilities
for using data collected from the vehicle to iden-
tify the owner or driver (e.g. the license plate
number).
The data generated or processed by control units
may therefore be personal or, under certain con-
ditions, become personal. Depending on what
vehicle data is available, it may be possible to
make inferences about e.g. your driving behavior,
location, route or use patterns.
Legal requirements for the disclosure of data
If legal regulations exist, manufacturers are gener-
ally obligated to release data stored by the manu-
facturer to the necessary extent in individual
cases at the request of state authorities. This may
be the case during the investigation of a criminal
offense, for example.
Within the framework of applicable law, state
authorities are also authorized to read out data
from vehicles themselves in specific cases. In the
event of an accident, for example, information can
be read from the air bag control unit that can help
to establish what happened.
Operating data in the vehicle
Control units process data to operate the vehicle.
This includes the following data:
Vehicle status information such as the speed,
R
longitudinal acceleration, lateral acceleration,
number of wheel revolutions or the fastened
seat belts display
Ambient conditions such as temperature, rain
R
sensor or distance sensor
As a rule, this data is volatile, is not stored beyond
the operating time and is processed only in the
vehicle itself. Control units (e.g. the vehicle key)
often contain data memories. These are used to
temporarily or permanently document information
on the vehicle condition, component stress, main-
tenance requirements or technical events and
malfunctions.
Depending on the technical equipment, the fol-
lowing data is stored:
Operating status of system components (e.g.
R
fill levels, tire pressure, battery status)
Malfunctions or faults in important system
R
components (e.g. lights, brakes)
System reactions in special driving situations
R
(e.g. air bag deployment, the intervention of
stability control systems)
information on events leading to vehicle dam-
R
age
Condition of charge of the high-voltage bat-
R
tery, estimated range
In special cases, it may be necessary to store
data that would otherwise only be volatile. This
may be the case if the vehicle has detected a mal-
function, for example.
If you use services such as repair services or
maintenance work, stored operational data can be
read out and used together with the vehicle identi-
fication number, where necessary. It can be read
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