Data storage and services
Your vehicle is fitted with electronic control units. Some of these are required to make sure your
vehicle remains safe while others provide support while driving (driver assist systems).
Furthermore, your vehicle is equipped with convenience and Infotainment functions, which are also
made possible using electronic control units.
Electronic control units contain data memories that can store information regarding the vehicle
status, component load levels, maintenance requirements, technical events and faults on a
temporary or permanent basis. This information generally documents the status of a component, a
module, a system or the environment, e.g.:
• Operating states of system components, e.g. filling levels, tyre pressure, battery status.
• Status messages from the vehicle or its individual components, e.g. wheel revolutions or speed,
deceleration, lateral acceleration, display of fastened seat belts.
• Faults or malfunctions in important system components, e.g. lights, brakes.
• Information on events which damaged the vehicle.
• System reactions to specific driving situations, triggering of an airbag, intervention the stability
control systems.
• Ambient conditions, e.g. temperature, rain.
As well as performing the actual control unit functions, these data are also used to detect and
rectify faults and help Volkswagen to improve vehicle functions. The majority of these data are
temporary are processed only within the vehicle itself. Only a very small amount of data is stored in
the event memories or possibly on the vehicle key.
Reading out the vehicle's event memory
There is a diagnostic interface in the vehicle interior for reading out the event memories (on-board
diagnostic system)
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If you have service work performed on your vehicle, the technical data can be read out of the
vehicle together with the vehicle identification number by service employees, e.g. workshops, or
third parties such as breakdown services. Service work includes, for example, repairs,
maintenance, warranty work or quality assurance measures. The service workshop or third party
collects, processes and uses the data. The data document the vehicle's technical status, help in
troubleshooting and in improving quality and may be sent to Volkswagen in some cases.
Furthermore, the manufacturer is subject to legal product safety requirements. To make sure it
complies with these requirements, the manufacturer requires technical data from the vehicles.
Event memories in the vehicle can be reset by a service workshop as part of repair or service work.
The event memory should only be read and reset by a qualified workshop. Additional information on
the stored data is available from qualified workshops.
After a fault has been rectified, the information in the memory pertaining to the fault is deleted.
Other memory content is overwritten on an ongoing basis.
Event data recorder
This vehicle is equipped with an event data recorder. The main task of an event data recorder is to
record data in particular accident scenarios or accident-like situations, e.g. in the event of airbags
being triggered or a collision with an obstacle on the road. These data help in analysis of how a
vehicle system behaved in these situations. The event data recorder records data relating to driving
dynamics and the restraint system for a short period of 10 s or less. This information includes, for
example:
• how various systems in your vehicle have functioned.
• whether the seat belts of the driver and front passenger were fastened.
• the extent to which the driver pressed the brake or accelerator pedal.
• how fast the vehicle was travelling.
These data help to obtain a better understanding of the circumstances in the situations where
accidents and injuries have occurred.
Data from driver assist systems are also recorded. In addition to information about whether the
systems were switched on or off, available only to a restricted extent or inactive, it is also possible
to determine whether these functions steered, accelerated or braked the vehicle in the above-
described situations. Depending on the vehicle equipment, these systems include the following:
• Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC).
• Lane keeping system (Lane Assist).
• Park Assist.
• Park Distance Control.
• Emergency braking functions (Front Assist).
The data of the event data recorder are recorded only if a particular accident-like situation occurs.
No recordings occur under normal driving conditions. Audio or video data from the vehicle interior
or vehicle surroundings are not stored. Personal data such as name, gender age or accident
location are also not recorded at any time. However, third parties such as law enforcement
agencies can use corresponding means to link the content of the event data recorder with other
sources of data and thus establish a reference to persons as part of an accident investigation.
