Lateral Accelerometer
WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2004 Mercury Monterey and 2004 Ford Freestar. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.
The lateral accelerometer measures the acceleration that corresponds to the force involved while the vehicle slides sideways. This acceleration has two forms. The first is the centrifugal acceleration generated when the vehicle travels around in a circle. The second is the acceleration due to gravity. The accelerometer only measures the acceleration along the lateral (or sideways) direction of the vehicle. On level ground there is no contribution from this acceleration. However, if the vehicle is parked sideways on a bank or incline, the sensor will measure some lateral acceleration due to gravity, even though the vehicle is not moving.