Mercedes-Benz CLS Owner's Manual page 35

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General notes
The following provides you with general informa‐
tion regarding data processing in the vehicle.
Additional information regarding exactly which
data in your vehicle are collected, saved and
transmitted to third parties and for what pur‐
pose, can be found in the information directly
related to the functional characteristics in ques‐
tion in their respective operating instructions.
This information is also available on line and,
depending on the vehicle equipment, digitally.
Personal data
Every vehicle is identified by a unique vehicle
identification number. Depending on the coun‐
try, this vehicle identification number can be
used by, for example, governmental authorities
to determine the identity of the owner. There are
other possibilities to use data collected from the
vehicle to identify the owner or driver, such as
the licence plate number.
Therefore, data generated or processed by con‐
trol units may be attributable to a person or,
under certain conditions, become attributable to
a person. Depending on which vehicle data are
available, it may be possible to make inferences
about, for example, your driving behaviour, your
location, your route or your use patterns.
Legal requirements regarding the disclosure
of data
If legally required to do so, manufacturers are, in
individual cases, legally obliged to provide gov‐
ernmental entities, upon request and to the
extent required, data stored by the manufac‐
turer. For example, this may be the case during
the investigation of a criminal offence.
Governmental entities are themselves, in individ‐
ual cases and within the applicable legal frame‐
work, authorised to read out data from the vehi‐
cle. In the case of an accident, information that
can help with an investigation can, therefore, be
taken from the airbag control unit, for example.
Operational data in the vehicle
This is data regarding the operation of the vehi‐
cle, which have been processed by control units.
This includes the following data, for example:
vehicle status information such as the speed,
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longitudinal acceleration, lateral accelera‐
tion, number of wheel revolutions or the fas‐
tened seat belts display
ambient conditions, such as temperature,
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rain sensor or distance sensor
Generally, the use of these data is temporary;
they will not be stored beyond the period of
operation and will only be processed within the
vehicle itself. Control units often contain data
memories for vehicle keys, for example. Their
use permits the temporary or permanent docu‐
mentation of technical information about the
vehicle's operating state, component loads,
maintenance requirements and technical events
or faults.
Depending on the vehicle equipment, the follow‐
ing data are stored:
operating status of system components,
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such as fill levels, tyre pressure or battery
status
malfunctions or faults in important system
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components, such as lights or brakes
system reactions in special driving situations,
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such as airbag deployment or the interven‐
tion of stability control systems
information on events leading to vehicle
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damage