Bikemade3's thread on the 407 has prompted me to have a wee think about how different cars are nowadays. Now he has the problem of not knowing how to open his boot or fix the self locking doors. Going back say 10-15 years, every cars boot probably worked the same way.
I don't know about you, but when I get a new car, I am so excited that, as with any purchase I make, I will immediately start to use it and only revert to handbook if all else fails.
But I shudder to think how someone would deal with my current Scenic if they didn't know how the keyless ignition worked, the auto headlights, the auto wipers, the auto handbrake etc, and that is only on a relatively middle of the road family MPV.
I rememeber for my last Scenic, after about 18 months I discovered it had self locking doors, RDS TA function on the radio and seat height adjustment! The reason I did this was I was stuck in an (engine switched off tailback) for 2 hours so decided to pass the time by reading the handbook!
Have you ever found out something you didn't know from your car handbook? How long after owning it did you discover this?
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I always read the handbook from cover to cover straight away.
Why put all that money into something (if it's yours and not the firm's) and not know how it works?
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Nope. When I bought it the salesman offered to show me the controls, but as I was in a hurry i passed on the tour as it was a Ford (they are all the same, basically) and I could fall back on the manual - or so I thought.
Got home took out manual for my Focus, and it turned out to be for a Fiesta! It therefore took me a trip to a dealer to find out the correct tyre pressures and how to activate the child locks. Even now (18 months later) there are still one or two warning lights that puzzle me. I am working on the basis that while they are off there is no problem, and if they come on I can ask on here!
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My dad has owned his Mini Cooper S for nearly 2 years and has only just noticed that his windscreen wipers automatically switch to intermittent when the car stops i.e when stopped at a traffic lights. They return to normal once the car speeds up again! Not sure if it would switch to intermittent in lashing rain...I guess he'll soon find out as rain's forecast for tomorrow...just in time for his round of golf ;0D
As for me...I also read my manual within hours of picking my car up....took me ages as it's nearly an inch and a half thick!
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If at first you do succeed, try not to look astonished
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>>as it's nearly an inch and a half thick!>>
As little as that...:-)
My VW Bora's leather manual cover is bursting to the seams with various manuals that cover everyday use, technical aspects, specifications etc plus the Gamma ICE system.
It's just over two inches thick.
Mind you I've have read the manuals from cover to cover.
Several times in fact as there always something you need to find out....:-)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Nope. When I bought it the salesman offered to show me the controls, but as I was in a hurry i passed on the tour
When I bought my last car the salesman offered likewise, but I passed on the tour cus I didn't want to spend any more time with the dealer than was absolutely neccesary !
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I've had a glance through it. Ever since I read the manual to my first car and it tried to teach my how to drive (gradually increase the revs whilst releasing the clutch) I've struggled to take them seriously.
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Life is complex; it has real and imaginary parts.
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I read the manual usually a week after I get the car (only had two though). I couldn't imagine reading it before driving it for the first time but by the same token you always find out hidden features when you read it.
The best manual I've ever read is for Dad's GSX-R 1000. It has some paragraph at the very beginning stating how it is one of the fastest machines on Earth and how you have to take care but you'll never experience anything like it again.
No really - it does actually say that!
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Nothing like the handbook for reading about all the gadgets I missed out on by opting for the lower spec.
Splodgeface
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The handbook for the car ---- no problem.
The handbook for the radio/cassette/cd changer, more like a novel!
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Heeeeheee. You're right. Having purchased the absolute top-spec Galant one can buy it is fun to read through the manual and see what the people who bought poverty-spec Galants don't have. It's a bit like sitting in business class and peering back at the proles in economy.
Of course, nine times out of ten I fly economy. Bah.
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Life is complex; it has real and imaginary parts.
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Actually, I lied. I don't have a VR4. Bah to that too.
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Life is complex; it has real and imaginary parts.
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Nothing like the handbook for reading about all the gadgets I missed out on by opting for the lower spec.
This is particularly amusing the other way round.
Your car may be fitted with cruise control, if so... (yes, thats me!) ;)
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I read the manual usually a week after I get the car (only had two though). I couldn't imagine reading it before driving it for the first time
>>
but by the same token you always find out hidden features when you read it.
Like how to use jumper leads on a modern car not like it used to be done.
Or as in a recent thread - how to pop the bonnet.
To answer the subject question. Yes I always RTFM even on a hire car before I venture off.
I found out the hard way in the USA. For the first week I could not find out how to undo the filler cap flap the proper way.
The answer was press the button in the glove compartment.
or
How do a turn on the internal light?
Obvious.... turn up the instrument lights and keep on turning.
Important. It sure is. The alternative is opening the door when lost in some strange location.
RTFM I say.
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What if you have No FM2R though?
Clever, Adam. I'd wondered what the name meant... :-) smokie
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What if you have No FM2R though?
See my response above. Basically make it up as you go along, a maxim that has served me well for almost all of my nearly 37 years...
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What if you have No FM2R though?
Tis a problem in a foreign land like the USA where there is often no manual for a hire car. I just bend the ear of one of the staff for the info.
In the UK just ask the nearest, kind, experienced, helpful, sales person that agreed to let you pass them wads of hard earned £s.
p.s. I recall a another very recent thread re No FM2R
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=36794
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Only read it when I have a specific item to look for.
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I'd wondered too, but as I'd already had to ask what "(RLBS)" meant, I wasn't brave enough to ask again!
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>>Clever, Adam
Not really; he asked me, so I told him.
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The manual for the Citroen C3 is rubbish, it appears to be a translation rather than written from stratch en Anglais.
There is nothing in there about the computer, so i haven't got a clue what half of the figures that you can scroll through actually mean, and it took three attempts to understand how the speed warning worked.
Luckily the dealer explained most of the important controls to us, and most of it is intuitive.
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The manual for the Citroen C3 is rubbish, it appears to be a translation rather than written from stratch en Anglais.
Ditto the manual for the Citroen Berlingo Multispace. And clearly translated by someone whose first language was not English. In fact, one page managed to escape translation at all.
Worse still, it seems to be designed to cover every variant of Berlingo made, and so just about every page features the phrase "according to model or country" or "according to specification or country".
Still, it could have been worse. Citroen could have saved even more money by just issuing a generic handbook to cover every vehicle they sell.
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My new car was delivered at 0630 a few weeks ago, and I was on the road by 0640. Spent the whole evening reading the manual though, and discovered that you have to go through a strage ritual of control stalk waggling in order to put the wipers into a position whereby you can actually change a blade.
Had I not read that, I am sure that I would have experienced frustration sometime in the coming year.
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I rarely read the manual, I enjoy the voyage of discovery.
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Ditto: I use manuals like maps, i.e. I only get 'em out after I've got lost :+D
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Usually read them after a few days of getting the car. Needed to read my mondeo one to find out how to open the bonnet!!! I was looking for a lever in the car for ages, then decided the manual was the best way forward, not owned a ford since I was 17 (10 years ago) and that was a D reg Escort, how things have changed!! :)
Lee
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My new car was delivered at 0630 a few weeks ago,and I was on the road by 0640. Spent the whole evening reading the manual though, and discovered that you have to go through a strage ritual of control stalk waggling in order to put the wipers into a position whereby you can actually change a blade. Had I not read that, I am sure that I would have experienced frustration sometime in the coming year.
Seat Altea? Toledo? or new Leon?>>
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Seat Altea? Toledo? or new Leon?>>
Close. Passat
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Sorry to take this off topic, but why do the Passat wipers have a service position? is it because thay are so tight under the bonnet?
Is the waggling the same as the Seats? i.e. ignition ON, ignition OFF, within 8 seconds press wiper stalk to the swipe once position?
Cheers
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Wipers on VAG cars are now all hidden to prevent injuries to pedestrians. Seat Altea has them tucked behind the A pillar - v clever.
I read the manual and have copies of the pages relating to emergency matters in the glovebox - i.e. operating the gear shift lever, opening the boot and opening the filler cap should electrcis fail etc.
Despite reading the manual it was only when my wife was driving the other day I found out that if the wipers are on permanently as soon as you stop they go to intermittent. I use the rain sensor wipers control more than she does so very rarely have the wipers on permanently.
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Sorry to take this off topic, but why do the Passat wipers have a service position? is it because thay are so tight under the bonnet? Is the waggling the same as the Seats? i.e. ignition ON, ignition OFF, within 8 seconds press wiper stalk to the swipe once position? Cheers
Something like that.
A friend helpfully pointed out to me a few weeks ago (when it was snowing) that my blades needed cleaning as the screen was dirty. He then attempted to force the wipers up, and was shocked at the expletives I shouted at him! The windscreen was dirty because I'd not applied screenwash!
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Yes, as soon as I get a car. My current car was 6 years old when I bought it.
Do I think the manual is well written? Yes and No. Sometimes finding the thing you want to know about is not in the index where you think it should be because they have called it something else. Most things are covered, but not in detail. Changing a rear light needs a socket set with a short extension, so many drivers would need to go to a garage for a bulb replacement.
Do I remember everything it says? No. But then I can always refer back to it if necessary.
Also bought a full Lindsay Porter manual as this is even better at describing unusual features and solving faults.
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Roger
I read frequently, but only post when I have something useful to say.
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I read the manual from cover to cover before I bought the car. (It was my sisters you see). Also read through the service book and practically every other document in the file. "Taking possession of your new Volkswagen".....well I wouldn't say new!
I found out that my car has parcel shelf storage "for when carrying tall or bulky items in addition to rear seat passengers". I don't think I?ve come across another car that has this. Also, because I?ve read through it properly, that?s why you'll not find me asking questions like "what oil do I need?".
Its quite well written, not just a translation. Although in one area, it contradicts itself. First, it states "if there are gear shift points on the speedo dial....next gear should be selected at the latest by the time the needle reaches the mark". I've worked that out to be the power peak, or 5300rpm.
Next, it'll say "Rev counter - the dotted zone on the scale shows the maximum engine speed" Ah right, that'll be 6000rpm then.
Lastly "the maximum possible speed for continuous operation is 6300 rpm"
MAKE UP YOUR MIND!!
(It appears the handbook was written with the GT in mind, where most of these are valid)
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I once had a Volvo hire car whilst on business, a 960 I think but can't remember exactly. Drove to the petrol station and realised I did not know how to open the filler cap. Checked around the passenger seat, no suitable looking lever. Checked the filler cap itself, no, definitely appears to need releasing in some way. I know, manual. Find the manual in the glovebox, next problem, what's "filler cap" in French? No idea, skim through the manual hoping to see an appropriate picture. Eventually, after what seemed like ages, I determined there was a release button in the door of all places, underneath the arm rest and next to what seemed (from the symbol) to be the boot release.
Another business trip, this time in Italy, I had a Lancia Thesis(?) with a Navigation System so fiendishly complicated that even with the manual and a smattering of Italian I never figured out to work it.
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I first dived into my manual for the new Primastar when I was returning from London having had it for 2 days.
A light came on the dash, the manual said "Contact your Nissan Dealer" - so I did.
That was the first warranty repair!
It turned out that the ECU had logged a fault caused by an intermittant connection and the engine had gone into limp home mode.
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'the manual was 1 1/2 inches thick' & the 'manual was 2 inches thick' yep we have all got those, so why in these high tech times do the manufacturers not supply a manual on CD ROM? Surely, if you have got &10/15K for a car, you have a PC? So instead of trawlng thru pages of goodness what you could search straight to the problem and find the answer. OK, not so good if you are by the side of the road but for most of the things you need to know it would be v useful, together with colour diagrams etc. Now you are all going to tell me these have been available for years on some obscure website!
Papho
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If its supplemented by a handbook, then I would say its a good idea. You could then have videos or animation of how do certain tasks, which would probably those who are not so technically minded.
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Or better still do what Audi have done - started their own Sky channel showing programmes about how the various features of their cars work.
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I have just bought a new plasma television and DVD player. It took a couple of weeks between purchase and delivery so I downloaded the manuals from the manufacturer's websites. By the time it had arrived, I understood exactly how to set them up and operate them.
Why aren't car manuals similarly available for download on manufacturer's websites? As you say, it would be far easier to search through and could even be kept on a PDA for easy access. Even really cheap £50 DVD players have manuals available for downloading so car manufacturers must be able to justify it for £20,000 worth of metal.
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Reading instructions?
Life's too short.
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Without reading the manual I would probably have never found my car's best feature - the 'curry hook' in the boot!
DrS - Spend half an hour reading the manual and save two hours trying to open the fuel filler cap and waiting for the RAC when the solenoid for the lock fails! Not me, a collegue who never reads manuals!
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Without reading the manual I would probably have never found my car's best feature - the 'curry hook' in the boot!
yes, I've found it more useful as a 'curry hook' than as a shopping bag hook. Keeps the smell out of the car too!
Best feature of my new car are the two bright red LEDs in the roof which cast a fantastic red glow downwards onto the centre console.
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Reading instructions? Life's too short.
Great attitude that. (As IT support I dream of kicking users with that mentality in the larynx)
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Mine comes with a handbook for a million things - and a CD with a portentious voice and some funky music. It talks you through the car from the driver's position "Now glance to your left and admire the way the buttons are melded into a futuristic and yet natural design that falls so easily to your fingertips..." etc etc.
It's most amusing.
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"Now glance to your left and admire the way the buttons are >> melded into a futuristic and yet natural design that falls so >> easily to your fingertips..." etc etc. It's most amusing.
Oh dear oh dear. :-D
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Read the book cover to cover went out and bought a spare bulb kit to find - the handbook had the wrong headlamp bulb listed !!
It told me some interesting facts liek the front wipers if put on intermitent it will sweep once every 7 seconds if after a sweep you turn them off and back on again in a period of 1 to 23 seconds it remembers this until you turn the engine off and uses that sweep pattern.
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>>(As IT support I dream of kicking users with that mentality in the larynx)
Why ? Surely they should have had sufficient training, and the product should be suitably intuitive, that reading an instruction manual should be unneccessary.
Bear in mind that you are IT Support and your job would be...mmm.. oh yes, supporting users. And if that's the support they feel they need, then that's what you're supposed to give.
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Reading instructions? Life's too short.
Absolutely.
And if you can't use the product without reading the manual, then its a rubbish product.
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so why in these high tech times do the manufacturers not supply a manual on CD ROM? Surely, if you have got &10/15K for a car, you have a PC?
Very few of my older friends have a PC, or have any desire to have a PC. What I would like to see is clearer and more comprehensive instructions. The climate control and radio instructions in my owners' manual leave a lot to be desired. And I have an engineering degree ~ heaven help some of my friends that left school at 14!
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L\'escargot.
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Still find the occasional thing on the car - even after three years! Only last night whilst parked up I found that when the car is locked all power is removed from things such as the glovebox and interior lights. Quite a good idea to stop unintentional battery drain.
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Yes I read the manual; irrespective of whether you should be able to use the appliance on the drive without a manual or not, I like to find out about how to work it. Mrs H also expects me to answer questions about her car, hair straighteners, food mixer etc. Give me the manual, a cuppa and some quiet time; saves lots of grief later on.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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I am gutted.
It turns out that the 5 seat Tourvan has a curry hook, but the 7 seat Ran does not.
This is a disaster. The goona did not have one, but had a handy thumbwheel for removing the rear light clusters in the boot which did stirling service as a curry hook.
< mutter >
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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It turns out that the 5 seat Tourvan has a curry hook, but the 7 seat Ran does not.
Popiton the rear wiper in an insulated bag?
Oh just thought... if you stop en route it will probably get nicked.
Sorry TVM you will have to stay an unhappy hooker.
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Do you have a phone kit fitted yet? mine makes a great "curry hook".
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I thought you had a sprog! They make good curry hooks.
"Here, you hold this, and if it spills you don't get any"
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