Car Manuals

[ernieb]

When I picked up the new RAV (PHEV) it got a manual which is very small and light on information.  It’s 260 pages which includes the car, Safety Sense System and the Navigation System.  It has numerous errors, US model pictures showing reverse switches and no information on configuration settings.  The glossary in the back is not alphabetical but under subject headings, before driving, driving, interior features etc., which mirrors the section subject headings at the start of the manual.  So if I need to find a subject I have to guess which section it will be under, refer to that in the glossary then go through each sub heading.

Is this the normal level of documentation that Toyota provide. 

For comparison the on line documents are much more normal in every way, the car manual is 615 pages and the Navigation is 308 pages. (very US still but accessible)  So I can get to the data I need by reference to the downloaded PDF’s.  To me it’s very cheap and I now understand why the dealer was so apologetic when he handed them over.  There seems to have been no time or effort made to provide a UK documentation set.

 

[Roy124]

You have summed up the situation well.  Were you advised to look on line or did you find it yourself.  In my case the latter and without this forum and YouTube I would be still be on the dark after a year and more. 

[Catlover]

It’s not a new thing, everyone should be concerned about the environment. Putting essentials into a paper manual and making the full manual available online (which you can save) saves trees, saves time, saves costs, saves waste.

Because the wife’s car is 2010 her car has the full manual - she hasn’t even read one page of it, not one. I reckon many a car will pass from one owner to another without even the briefer manual being looked at.

[ernieb]

@Roy124, that’s a pity I was hoping that as the car was new to the UK market it might be a one off. To be honest I’d surfed YouTube for reviews and then downloaded manuals from Toyota US.

Whilst I’m happy to read the PDF’s I prefer a paper manual when fiddling around in the car.

[IanML]

It is not just Toyota - a great number of car manuals are now structured in that absurd way, and with poor indexes.

My womenfolk don't read the manuals either.  I suspect that is true of quite a high proportion.  Perhaps reading manuals is largely a male thing.

[ernieb]

@Catlover, in principle I’d agree with what you’ve said but at least make the documentation that’s provided accessible.  With the current offering it’s impossible to find anything.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Toyota began supplying the abbreviated manuals from around 2014 or so - with the full owners manuals available via My Toyota.  You may also be able to order a paper copy of the full owners manual from your dealer - at your cost.

[Roy124]

Or even print and supply on demand. 

Why, it could even be a USP😊

They could even have the full, and updatable, manual accessible through the media system; another USP. 

Crossed with FB.  I wonder what a print shop might charge if you took a manual on a USB stick in. 

. 

[ernieb]

I will print the pages that gives the various configuration settings and keep those in the car for future reference and anything else that I think will be useful. I guess for me it was the shock of the new as all the cars I’ve ever owned have had good manuals.  My last, Subaru XV was excellent with separate manuals for the car, Navigation and the EyeSight system (the safety system was very good on the Subaru). The inability to find a topic by looking in the index really heaped coal on the fire 🔥 

Rant over, still love the car which has just clocked over 600 miles now.