Does anyone else miss a paper Owner's Manual?

[Maquis]

I love mine:

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[Gatorwilly]

I mean you could always print the PDF.

Downloaded manual to one of those memory sticks.. Took to UPS store.. Nice lady there printed and spiral bound it to hard copy.. Almost 2" thick and over 400 pages.. $30 out the door and sits on my work bench .. Ya gotta have a manual, you can add notes, info, etc.. WW

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I don't miss it; I like to be able to search the contents.
I do wish the factory service manual was available as a paper, bound reference manual that is useful in the garage.

 

[JamieGeek]

Been downloading PDF of the owner's manual for years. The paper one, if the car has one, would end up in the glove box never looked at.

A lot of times I've ordered the car so I'd read the owner's manual via PDF several times by the time the car came in (especially the 2013 Focus Electric LOL).

 

[SashaLondon]

No not at all.

 

[MachEMomE]

Ya know, I'm younger (28) and while I haven't driven probably as many vehicles as some here, I completely agree. I have always tried to learn as much as I can about my car and a manual that normally comes with a car is great! I can sticky note important information for emergencies, and thumb through it if I'm bored in the car or at home. I realize as some stated I could print out my own, but it just isn't the same as the nicely printed one from the factory. Some things should stay the way they are because it IS better than the tech version.

I'm with you on that!

 

[MachEMomE]

I love mine:

LOL!

 

[JamieLV]

Count me as old-school.

 

[Kopytka]

I don't know how dynamic it actually ends up being (as this would obviously be based 100% on Ford keep it updated), but I'd think part of the beauty of it being digital would be the opportunity to continuously update as things change/move. For instance, I'm guessing some of the directions/steps to navigate to various menus and settings are now outdated (for ones that purchased/printed a copy).

Again, I know Ford sucks at even keeping the cars consistently updated - so thinking they have a team constantly updating the manual is probably a bit much - but that thought, along with the ability to search (as we've all become accustomed to), is what popped into my head (beyond just the cost savings).

 

[theriddler]

Hahaha, I did just that without looking at the page count….400+ pages later…4inches thick… man what a waste of a ream….

That's what Ford (and other manufacturers) said

 

[Vulnox]

I definitely do not. The PDF is better in every way, most significantly on searching for what I need.
That aside the end of the paper manual is the logical conclusion. Due to software updates that touch at least half of what is covered in a manual, the same people sad about paper manuals going away would just be making thread after thread about how Ford could be so incompetent as to print a manual that doesn’t even have the correct instructions for something, when the reality is just that a software update changes the function or its location and the paper manual has become almost useless.

So if we are going to have repeat threads on the topics anyway at least we don’t have to also waste paper in this outcome.

 

[leehinde]

I wish I could take all the warnings out so I could just read the thing and keep my train of thought from one actual data point to the next.

 

[Scooby24]

yup...I used to take mine to bed with me after every new car purchase and read it over before bed. Not as fun to do on the pone. Too much pinching and zooming

 

[ArthurDOB]

unfortunately ordinary paper books will also gradually become a thing of the past.

Never!

 

[ArthurDOB]

Of course, I hope that you are right? But it seems to me that this is inevitable, of course, not in the near future, but progress is gradual. Once upon a time, people used horses, now people use cars and sometimes use horses, but already as a luxury item, as a collection item. Also, paper books in the future will not be used as they are now. Perhaps some of the libraries will be preserved, but it will be more convenient for people to read all the information in digital form.

But not more desirable.

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