New cars, they'll killing owners manuals

[Mike W.]

Just like a 72 page "privacy policy" to access my HMOs website, they're killing manuals with verbage.

The US E28 owners manual I have in PDF is 81 pages. My Datsun, the Infiniti QX4, a 2003, is 310 pages and spends a full 50 pages on seat belts and airbags. Recently my Grandson was having a problem with his 2012 Dodge pickup so I downloaded the owners manual for it. A stunning 726 pages. An informed owner of course reads the owners manual, right? Yeah, 700 pages, fat chance. Even more interesting is the lack of specifications in it. No mention of weight, length, height, width, HP, torque, gear ratios or diff ratios, etc.

So 700 pages and it doesn't tell you shit about it! I know they are in the business of making money and cars are a byproduct, but c'mon, at least tell the new owner something about it.

[Blue Shadow]

Lawyers be busy.

[Mike W.]

Yeah, they're an easy target, and not always an inappropriate one, I'm sure they had their fingers in the 50 pages on seat belts on my Datsun, but overall I'm blaming the English Majors, not the JD people. Too many of them can write one endlessly, without saying anything, but never missing a comma, and feel like they've done something. The degree is one in language, not in knowing anything about anything else, except for basic MQ courses they need to get a degree in anything.

Still, responsibility goes to the top, whatever field their education is in. I'm sure several people had to sign off on it not saying anything, before it was published. Pointing again to them making, or at least attempting to make money, not cars. Just cars as a step in the process to make money, as opposed to building a good product, say cars, and making money because they had a good product. I might be too far out there on this, like that would be a first, but I wonder if they put more effort into making cars, they might actually make more money! Wow, what a concept!

[Panici]

So 700 pages and it doesn't tell you shit about it! I know they are in the business of making money and cars are a byproduct, but c'mon, at least tell the new owner something about it.

It's always a treat to get an owners manual with an old car. I enjoyed reading through the E28 manual with the hand-drawn pictures and tips.

To your point, I was trying to reset the service intervals on my Mom's 2017 VW Tiguan after I changed the oil. The owner's manual just said take the car in when the service lights come on. I had to visit Youtube to find a video on resetting the lights.

[stuartinmn]

Is this a new phenomenon? I thought it happened to owner's manuals decades ago.

[gadget73]

sort of curious how you could possibly fill up 700+ pages in an owner's manual. There aren't that many things in a car.

[RetiredDoc]

Doesn’t everyone with an e28 keep a Bentley manual and an electrical troubleshooting manual in the car at all times?

[Mike W.]

Is this a new phenomenon? I thought it happened to owner's manuals decades ago.

Probably, but the 726 pages just dumbfounded me.

sort of curious how you could possibly fill up 700+ pages in an owner's manual. There aren't that many things in a car.

And no specs?

[RonW]

The original E28 manual had a certain idiosyncratic charm, what with the pages on calisthenics, and more pages on the propagation of electromagnetic radiation in the earth's atmosphere but no explanation on how to use the radio.

The manual for my 1973 Volvo was even smaller, and even had a simplified schematic, including the Jetronic fuel injection system.

The manual for my E46 is much larger, and a lot harder to navigate. The Bentley manual for the E46 is well over twice as long as that for the E28.

And by the way the E28 Bentley manual is $125 now. It was $50 in 1992.

[Ibmotoren]

The original E28 manual had a certain idiosyncratic charm, what with the pages on calisthenics, and more pages on the propagation of electromagnetic radiation in the earth's atmosphere but no explanation on how to use the radio.

The manual for my 1973 Volvo was even smaller, and even had a simplified schematic, including the Jetronic fuel injection system.

The manual for my E46 is much larger, and a lot harder to navigate. The Bentley manual for the E46 is well over twice as long as that for the E28.

And by the way the E28 Bentley manual is $125 now. It was $50 in 1992.

When we recently got the Bentley for my sons e46, I remember thinking it was about as big as an old hard cover Websters dictionary.
I’m guessing, like that dictionary, physical manuals in the glovebox will almost disappear in time. Our new cars will come with it buried in the infotainment system. Or available by download, for a fee. Maybe it already is that way.
In regards to the $50 in 1992. That’s about the equivalent of $100 in purchasing power today, so the difference isn’t quite so bad as it seems. In 1992 money, the new price ($125) of the e28 Bentley would be the equivalent of about $60 back then.

[BillW in StL]

I remember when I bought a cell phone and suddenly the manual was thicker than the phone.

I am a Technical Writer. And one of my basic guidelines is that the more you write, the less the user will read.

RTFM

[RossDinan6]

Then you get to the point of no manual available. I have an old MB Sprinter ('05) service truck. Bought a dongle online to talk with it and found manuals online to service it. 280,000 miles later it is in retirement, too lazy to sell it I guess. The replacement is a '16 Metris, also I have a '15 Sprinter based RV. No manuals available from the aftermarket or MB. The solution was Ebay and a $10 dollar download of MB's entire manual and parts book as well as the virtual machine necessary to run it.

While it is a bit of a PITA to deal with at least I can get the info I want without a trip to the dealer. I still need a means to communicate with these vehicles.

I may go see if I can find my old '66 F250 and light a fire under these computers.