Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate 2017, Owner'S Manual

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Vehicle data storage
Information from electronic control units
Electronic control units are fitted in your vehicle.
Some of these are necessary for the safe opera‐
tion of your vehicle, while some assist you when
driving (driver assistance systems). In addition,
your vehicle provides convenience and entertain‐
ment functions, which are also made possible by
electronic control units.
Electronic control units contain data memories
which can temporarily or permanently store
technical information about the vehicle's operat‐
ing status, component loads, maintenance
requirements and technical events or faults.
In general, this information documents the state
of a component part, a module, a system or the
surroundings such as:
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operating statuses of system components
(e.g. fluid levels, battery status, tyre pres‐
sure)
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status messages concerning the vehicle and
its individual components (e.g. number of
wheel revolutions/speed, deceleration, lat‐
eral acceleration, display of the fastened seat
belts)
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malfunctions or defects in important system
components (e.g. lights, brakes)
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information on vehicle damage events
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system reactions in special driving situations
(e.g. airbag deployment, intervention of sta‐
bility control systems)
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ambient conditions (e.g. temperature, rain
sensor)
In addition to providing the actual control unit
function, this data assists the manufacturer in
detecting and rectifying faults and optimising
vehicle functions. The majority of this data is
temporary and is only processed in the vehicle
itself. Only a small portion of the data is stored
in the event or fault memory.
When your vehicle is serviced, technical data
from the vehicle can be read out by service net‐
work employees or third parties. Services
include repair services, maintenance processes,
warranty events and quality assurance meas‐
ures, for example. The read out is performed via
the legally prescribed port for OBD ("on-board
diagnostics") in the vehicle. The respective
service network locations or third parties col‐
lect, process and use the data. They document
technical statuses of the vehicle, assist in find‐
ing faults and improving quality and are trans‐
mitted to the manufacturer, if necessary. Fur‐
thermore, the manufacturer is subject to prod‐
uct liability. For this, the manufacturer requires
technical data from vehicles.
Fault memories in the vehicle can be reset by a
service outlet as part of repair or maintenance
work.
They can enter data into the vehicle's conveni‐
ence and infotainment functions themselves as
part of the selected equipment.
This includes, for example:
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multimedia data such as music, films or pho‐
tos for playback in an integrated multimedia
system
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address book data for use in connection with
an integrated hands-free system or an inte‐
grated navigation system
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entered navigation destinations
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data about the use of Internet services
28 General notes