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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 manufacturer.
For example, this may be the case during the
investigation of a criminal offense.
Governmental entities are themselves, in individ‐
ual cases and within the applicable legal frame‐
work, authorized 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 acceleration,
number of wheel revolutions or the fastened
seat belts display
Ambient conditions, such as temperature,
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rain sensor or distance sensor
Generally, these are volatile data and will not be
stored beyond the period of operation but will
only be processed within the vehicle itself. Con‐
trol units, vehicle keys for example, often contain
data memories. Their use permits the temporary
or permanent documentation of technical infor‐
mation about the vehicle's operating state, com‐
ponent loads, maintenance requirements and
technical events or malfunctions.
Depending on the technical equipment, the fol‐
lowing data are stored:
Operating status of system components, such
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as fill levels, tire 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 intervention
of stability control systems
Information on events in which the vehicle is
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damaged
In certain cases, it may be required to store data
that would have otherwise been temporary. This
may be the case if the vehicle has detected a
malfunction, for example.
If you use services, such as repair services and
maintenance work, stored operational data as
well as the vehicle identification number can be
read out and used. They can be read out by
service network employees, such as workshops
and manufacturers or third parties, such as
breakdown services. The same is true in the case
of warranty claims and quality assurance meas‐
ures.
In general, the readout is performed via the
legally prescribed port for the diagnostics con‐
nection in the vehicle. The operational data that
are read out document technical states of the
vehicle or of individual components and assist in
the diagnosis of malfunctions, compliance with
warranty obligations and quality improvement. To
that end, these data, in particular information
about component loads, technical events, mal‐
functions and other faults may be transmitted
along with the vehicle identification number to
the manufacturer. In addition, the manufacturer is
subject to product liability. For this reason, the
manufacturer also uses operational data from the
vehicle, for example, for recalls. These data can
also be used to examine the customer's warranty
and guarantee claims.
Fault memories in the vehicle can be reset by a
service outlet or at your request as part of repair
or maintenance work.
Convenience and infotainment functions
You can store convenience settings and individual
settings in the vehicle and change or reset them
at any time.
Depending on the vehicle equipment, this
includes the following settings, for example:
Seat and steering wheel positions
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Suspension and climate control settings
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Individual settings, such as interior lighting
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Depending on the selected equipment, you can
import data into vehicle infotainment functions
yourself.
Depending on the vehicle equipment, this
includes the following data, for example:
Multimedia data, such as music, films or pho‐
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tos for playback in an integrated multimedia
system
Address book data for use in an integrated
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hands-free system or an integrated navigation
system
Entered navigation destinations
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Data on the use of Internet services
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General notes
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