Automotive Acronyms
Acronym Term
Definition
ABS
Anti-lock Braking
System
Prevents the wheels of the car from locking up when
the brakes are applied very hard, such as an
emergency stop. Your ability to steer and slow the car
is maintained.
A/C
Air-Conditioning
Produces cool refrigerated air into the car cabin to
allow the driver and or passengers to feel more
comfortable during uncomfortably warm, humid, or hot
trips in a vehicle.
ACC
Active Cruise
Control
Using RADAR sensors at the front of the vehicle, it
detects the distance and speed of the slower vehicle
ahead and maintains a safe appropriate following
distance.
AFM
Active Fuel
Management
It allows a V6 or V8 engine to "turn off" half of the
cylinders under light-load conditions to improve fuel
economy. Also known as VCM (Variable Cylinder
Management) or MDS (Multi Displacement System).
ANCAP
Australian New
Car Assessment
Programme
The Australasian New Car Assessment Program
provides consumers with independent information on
the level of safety provided by vehicles in the event of
a serious accident. Vehicles are crash tested and
awarded a number of stars for their safety
performance. The more stars, the better.
ATC
Active Traction
Control
Also referred as A-Trac This system applies the brake
to any spinning wheel, and sends torque to the other
wheels with grip, which is used in off-road 4WD
vehicles to gain traction on slippery surfaces.
AWD
All Wheel Drive
Can come in either permanent all wheel drive, where
all four wheels are supplied with power constantly, or
selective AWD where the driver chooses between
rear wheel drive and AWD. Many new vehicles fitted
with AWD can sense which wheels are getting traction
and supply them with more torque.
BA
Brake Assist
A system designed to assist the driver in emergency
braking, where the driver cannot apply the high pedal
force required to obtain the shortest possible braking
distance. It supplements the braking power applied if
the driver has not pushed hard enough on the brake
pedal in an emergency braking situation. Works in
conjunction with ABS.
BHP
Brake Horse
Power
Is the measure of an engine's horsepower before the
loss in power caused by the gearbox, alternator,
differential, water pump, and other auxiliary
components such as power steering pump, muffled
exhaust system. The metric equivalent is Kilowatts
(kW). 1 BHP = 0.745kW.
CRD
Common Rail
Diesel
CVT
Constant Velocity An automatic transmission using a pulley and belt
Transmission
system to provide an unlimited range of gear ratios. It
is different from the automatic transmission which has
a set number of gear ratios.
DAC
Downhill Assist
Control
DOHC
Double Overhead Two camshafts located within the cylinder head, one
Camshaft
operating the intake valves and one operating the
exhaust valves. This is now a very common engine
design.
DSG
Direct Shift
Gearbox
Is a manual gearbox in which the gearshifts are
controlled electronically by computer that pre selects
additional gears to the current driven gear. No clutch
pedal is required and the next gear can be engaged
very rapidly.
EBD
Electronic Brake
Distribution
Electronically varies the amount of force applied to
each of a vehicle's brakes, based on road conditions,
speed and loading. Controlling and distributing
appropriate brake pressure to all brakes.
ECU
Electronic Control An electronic control unit containing the hardware and
Unit
software which controls the engine management
system, transmission or body electrics.
EDC
Electronic
Damper Control
Adjusts the shock absorbers and regulates damper
forces electronically adapting to changing road, load
or driving conditions. Delivering a remarkably smooth
and comfortable ride.
EFI
Electronic Fuel
Injection
Electronically controlled fuel injectors deliver fuel
more efficiently, improving economy, emissions and
drivability. EFI systems replace carburettors as fitted
to older vehicles.
EGR
Exhaust Gas
Recirculation
EGR works by recirculating a portion of an engine's
exhaust gas back to the engine cylinders to help burn
fuel more efficiently and reduce harmful emissions.
ELR
Emergency
Allows the occupant to have free movement while
Locking Retractor buckled up, but in an emergency situation or crash the
retractor instantly locks securing the occupant. Which
are always unlocked except in emergency situations
such as rapid deceleration.
A single fuel line under high pressure supplying diesel
to all injectors for precise control. Reduces diesel
engine's noise and improves fuel economy.
Electronically controlled system designed to help the
vehicle maintain a gradual, more controlled decent on
steep or slippery off-road surfaces. A safety feature
intended for off-road use
ESP
Electronic Stability Also Known as:
Program
VSA, (Vehicle Stability Assist).
VSC, (Vehicle Stability Control).
DSC, (Dynamic Stability Control).
ESC, (Electronic Stability Control).
ESP stabilizes the vehicle by selectively braking
individual wheels and reducing engine torque to bring
the vehicle back on course. During uncontrollable,
under or over steer situations.
FSi
Fuel Stratified
Injection
FWD
Front Wheel Drive Is a form of engine/transmission layout used in motor
vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels
only.
GVW
Gross Vehicle
Weight
Is the maximum allowable total weight of a road
vehicle or trailer when loaded - including the weight of
the vehicle itself plus fuel, passengers and all cargo.
HAC
Hill Assist Control
Helps prevent the vehicle from rolling backwards or
slipping sideways when performing hill start on steep
or slippery gradients.
kW
Kilowatt
This unit is typically used to express the output power
of a vehicle’s engine, which is the metric equivalent of
Brake Horsepower.
LED
Light Emitting
Diode
Is a semiconductor light source that emits light when
an electric current is applied. Popular in vehicle
lighting as they have a much quicker response time
and last longer and can be brighter than a standard
globe.
LPG
Liquid Petroleum
Gas
LPG is an alternative fuel to petrol or diesel. The cost
per litre is cheaper than petrol but it is less fuel
efficient. LPG has a lower energy density than either
petrol or fuel-oil, so the equivalent fuel consumption is
higher.
LSD
Limited Slip
Differential
It provides improved control and traction in slippery
conditions, allowing two driving wheels to operate in
unison when one breaks traction.
Also known as:
DI ,(Direct Injection) or
GDI, (Gasoline Direct Injection).
Petrol is injected at high pressure directly into the
combustion chamber, increasing the engine's power
output while reducing fuel consumption
simultaneously.
LWB
Long Wheel Base The wheelbase is the distance between front and rear
wheels.
A long wheelbase is further apart therefore the body
of a vehicle will be longer than other model variations.
Nm
Newton metre
Is the measurement of a vehicle's engine torque.
Used to calculate power output which is the turning
force of an engine.
OEM
Original
Equipment
Manufacturer
Refers to the company that originally manufactured
the product / components fitted to a new car at the
time of manufacture.
PAS
Power Assisted
Steering
A system that provides steering assistance to the
driver of a vehicle, reducing the effort required to steer
the vehicle. Can be Hydraulic, Electric or a
combination of both.
PDC
Park Distance
Control
An acoustic warning signal lets you know how close
you are to the car or object behind you while
reversing.
RPM
Revolutions Per
Minute
The number of full rotations completed in one minute
the crankshaft has done. It is used as a measure of
rotational speed of a mechanical component.
SATNAV
Satellite
Navigation
System
It typically uses GPS navigation (Global Positioning
System) device to acquire position data to locate the
user on a road in the unit's map database. Using the
road database, the unit can give directions to other
locations along roads also in its database. Also
provides spoken, turn by turn instructions to drivers.
SiDi
Spark Ignition
Direct Injection
SIDI works by injecting fuel directly into the
combustion chamber. This process allows higher
compression resulting in improved efficiency, greatly
improved fuel economy, reduced CO2 emissions and
improved output and performance on a petrol engine.
SRS
Supplementary
Restraint System
Airbags are known as Supplemental Restraint
Systems (SRS) designed to be used in conjunction
with seatbelts. Airbags are designed to reduce
occupant injury in the event of a crash and are
deployed when the SRS sensors detect a level of
impact collision.
SWB
Short Wheel Base The front and rear axles are closer together therefore
the wheel base is shorter of the vehicle.
TCS
Traction Control
System
Traction control helps limit tyre slip in acceleration on
slippery surfaces. When the system determines that
one wheel is spinning more quickly than the others, it
automatically "pumps" the brake to that wheel to
reduce its speed and lessen wheel slip. In most
cases, individual wheel braking is enough to control
wheel slip. However, some traction-control systems
also reduce engine power to the slipping wheels.
TDi
Turbo Diesel
Injection
Is a design of turbo diesel engines, which feature
turbo charging and cylinder-direct fuel injection to
maximise performance.
TFSi
Turbo Fuel
A type of forced-aspiration ("turbo") engine where the
Stratified Injection fuel is pressure-injected straight into the combustion
chamber. Direct injection technology increases the
torque and power of spark-ignition engines, makes
them as much as 15 percent more economical and
reduces exhaust emissions.
TSi
Turbocharged
Supercharged
Injection
Incorporating both a turbo and a supercharger system
to a small capacity petrol engine that optimise fuel
efficiency and performance designed by Volkswagen.
VGT
Variable
Geometry Turbo
Used in turbo diesel engines in recent years. This
system is capable to alter the direction of exhaust flow
to optimize turbine response. It incorporates many
movable vanes in the turbine housing to guide the
exhaust flow towards the turbine. An actuator can
adjust the angle of these vanes; in turn vary the angle
of exhaust flow. Providing optimum power delivery
across a broader rev range.
VIN
Vehicle
Identification
Number
Is a unique serial number used by the automotive
industry to identify an individual motor vehicle. The
VIN format is a 17 digit alphanumeric code consisting
of 3 sections. World manufacture identifier, vehicle
description and vehicle identicator.
VVT
Variable Valve
Timing
A VVT system allows the lift, duration or timing (in
various combinations) of the intake and/or exhaust
valves to be changed while the engine is in operation.
Which results in greater efficiency and power, over a
wider range of engine RPMs.