Question of the Day: Have You Ever Looked At Your Owner's Manual?
RF just shot me a press release that claims a Peugeot survey discovered that drivers use their owner's manuals now more than ever. According to their findings, 79 percent of customers have consulted their handbook and learned about features on their cars that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Some 93 percent of drivers have read or do read their handbook. Fully 82 percent feel it necessary to have a paper copy of the handbook rather than access the info electronically. The entire story sent alarm bells off in my head. I mean, the last time I used an owner's manual was when my 2000 Nissan Sentra's engine warning light started flashing at me (it meant my gas cap was loose). And, that's it. OK, in the interest of Truth, I did thumb through the Jeep Wrangler's book to try and figure out how to remove the top, the doors and the windscreen. But I put it down when I came across an image of a rubber mallet. You?
Cleanup driver for Team Black Metal V8olvo.
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I'm a CPA and a mild case of OCD, so the answer is YES! I read the manual in the first few days after I buy a car. Then I tuck it away in the glovebox and rarely touch it again. I've consulted the manual in my current vehicle, Mazda3, far more than any in the past. The audio system and the clock/trip computer are less than intuitive to someone who has owned nothing but Hondas in the past. Nothing is sacred, obviously, because I'd be spending even more time reading the manual for a new Civic or Accord!!! The Accord's pseduo-iDrive alone needs a separate, leather-bound instruction manual. I say leather-bound because it will need to hold up well being used on a daily basis...
Nah - the story line was crap!
I have not only read my 2007 Suzuki SX4's manual, I've downloaded both the 2007 and the 2008 version. As I'm a frequent poster on SX4Club.com, I've found a basic familiarity with each model year's manual to be quite useful when answering member questions.
Yes - online copies are not as useful when you're on the highway in a dead cell zone (Canadian Rockies, for example) and want to know the total capacity of the fuel tank to guesstimate if you can make it to the next fuel station.