142 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your veh icle is not equipped with an Event Da
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu
facture rs fo r the express p urpose o f capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or cras h
event. EDR's are sometimes called "crash re
corders".
Some state laws res trict the retrieval or down
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
A lthough yo ur vehicle is not equ ipped wit h an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of elect ron
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, eng ine function, emis
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electron ic control modules also record
vehicle-re lated data during norma l vehicle op
eration for diagnostic and repa ir purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac
tually recorded ove r a ve ry limited pe riod of
time and stored when a sys tem fault or other
condition is sensed by a cont ro l u nit. Some of
the data then stored may re late to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded w ith special equip
ment .
Electronic Stability
Control (ESC)
The Electronic Stability Control increases driv
ing stability.
F ig . 1 31 Center console with~ button
Intent and purpose
The Anti-Lock B ra ke System (ABS), Elec tronic
Differential Lo ck (EDL) and Anti-Slip Regula
tion System (ASR) are integrated i n the Elec
tronic Stability Control (ESC). It increases con
tro l over the vehicle in handling conditions
close to the limit of "grip", such as when ac
celerating and corner ing. It reduces the risk of
skidding under all road condit ions and at all
speeds and improves veh icle stability. When
road cond itions are poor, ESC makes it easier
to sta rt from a comp lete s top as we ll as accel
era te and drive up hills. ESC sw itches on auto
matically when yo u start the engine . It should
norma lly be activated at all times because this
ensures optimum vehicle stability .
Critical driving situations
With an overs teering vehicle ( the vehicle
tu rns too s harply and the rear wheels slide to
ward the o utsi de of a curve), ESC primarily
brakes the outside front wheel, with an
un
dersteering vehicle (the vehicle does not turn
sharp ly enough and pushes out of a curve) it
brakes the inside rear whee l or other addition
al wheels. This brake inte rvent ion is accompa
nied by noises.
If the speed of a wheel s lows down too much
relat ive to vehicle speed while braking and it
starts to lock, brake pressure to this whee l is
reduced . This adjustment process can be felt ..,.
