I bet you did have some problems with your car, or you didn’t know what this button does or what’s this car fault sign suddenly appeared on the computer menu. I have some good news, the solution to your problem is right inside your car, literally meaning. Whenever you buy a new or used car each one should have the manual of the car, which is called the owner’s manual. Many automakers provide both the printed and online digital version. Some of them even present the digital manual inside their car’s system. Today I will present some benefits and how to use your car owner’s manual.
But what is this owner’s manual? Wikipedia describes it as a book or booklet containing instructions on how to use a technologically advanced product, in our strict case, the vehicle or car. This type of manual usually contains information ranging from safety and setup instructions, instruction for normal operation to maintenance and in some cases technical specifications. Please be careful and not confuse the repair manuals which usually contain schematics of how the vehicle it’s built and it’s used by technicians. This kind of manual it’s not free to download and use.
After obtaining the car, a good idea is to inspect the manual to learn as much as possible about the car. In some cases, it’s recommended to consult the owner’s manual before buying the car to get some insights about maintenance and care or it will fit your specific needs.
Road and passenger safety should be the main concern of each of us. Most of the manuals begin with this section, namely the safety tips. They describe important information about safety equipment, seats, seat belts, child restraint systems, and airbags. So before starting the engine, do it by the book and check if the seat belt, the side mirrors, and the seat height are adjusted correctly. Many of these actions are intuitive but happen from time to time that some are not. That’s why it’s always a good idea to consult the manual.
Let’s take a quick look inside a normal car. What do we see? Each vehicle has a steering wheel (but maybe in the future might not), an audio system, navigation display, air conditioning systems, buttons and so on. Depending on the package trim, many cars have different driving modes: sport, dynamic, or economical. Each of them with cons and pros to speed, fuel economy and driving experience. All these and how they work are fully explained inside the manual.
Maintenance and proper care of the car it’s an important aspect. In the short term, you can save money by changing the disposable part at the correct time, and avoid paying extra fees to a mechanical technician. Also in the long term, you increase the lifespan of the car. Imagine the car as yourself and taking good care should benefit a long time from now. But what happens when trouble arises unexpectedly? Maybe a flat tire, or maybe an unrecognized car fault sign appears, or maybe the engine sounds strange. Helpful information on how to tackle this problem is also available in the manual. In some cases, you can contact the customer service and report safety defects.
Many of us want to modify the aspect or the performance of their cars, a phenomenon known as car tuning. According to a general definition is the alteration of a car to optimize it for a various set of performance requirements from those it was designed to meet. The most common type of tuning is related to higher engine performance, dynamic handling characteristics, and visuals such as changing the car’s tire, rims, bulbs or brakes. But cars may also be modified to provide better fuel economy or smoother response. Usually, tuning is done at the expense of emissions performance, component security, and passenger comfort.
The owner’s manuals it’s a good starting point, not exhaustive like the repair manual but can help you to know to which degree the car can be upgraded or optimized. This optimization can be done from software, for example changing the driving mode to sport for a performance boost or to dynamic mode for a better experience on the wheel. That’s why a better understanding of the manual can help you in this case. Changing the hardware part or the aesthetic of the car can be a tougher job and done by an experienced mechanic.
There are some cases when the manual it’s not there as it should be, right out of the box or it’s not very useful. This happens when a used car is bought and the manual is not there, the model of the car is too old, the car owners manual is lost or it’s too hard to find a specific keyword throughout the printed version of the manual.
Each maker should have the online version of the manual. In some cases, they require user authentication to download or it’s too complicated to get what you need. A good alternative that has a great collection of owners manuals is https://ownersman.com/ a quick and dirty way to download the PDF version of the manual. It has a huge variety of over 4k owners manuals, 700 models and 41 makes (which can be seen here https://ownersman.com/makes), sorted by model and year.
