Owner's Manual for the vehicle. With a quick reference ... - E38.org

184n
Airbags
ATC
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Deceleration sensors continuously
monitor the physical forces acting upon
the vehicle. In a severe frontal collision,
the gas generators of the driver's airbag
and the front passenger airbag are ignited.
However, the passenger-side airbag
is only triggered if an additional
sensor has recognized that the passenger
seat is occupied.
In the event of a severe side impact, the
head protection and side airbags in the
front and/or rear* are triggered.
The airbags located under the marked
covers inflate and unfold in a matter of a
few milliseconds. In this process they
tear through the rated breaking points
of the upholstered covers or press them
out.
Because the inflation process must be
virtually instantaneous, it is necessarily
accompanied by a certain amount of ignition
and inflation noise. The gas which
the system employs to inflate the airbag
is not dangerous, and the associated
smoke is quickly dissipated.
The entire process is completed within
fractions of a second.
390de048
ATC
On vehicles with automatic transmission
Adaptive Transmission Control
(ATC) uses a number of factors to calculate
the maximally efficient gear. In
this process it monitors your personal
driving style, the situation in which you
are driving, the condition of the road
and the traffic conditions.
ATC recognizes your personal driving
style from the positions and movements
of the gas pedal, declaration when
braking and lateral acceleration through
curves. Four shift characteristics – from
comfort-oriented to performance-oriented
– are available for selection by
ATC.