Posting Queries on LOC v. Using Manuals

[Rabbers]

Maybe I’m wrong but I have the impression that more and more members are tempted to use the LOC for basic questions about their cars’ functions instead of looking for answers in the owner’s manuals.  Any ideas as to why this might be?

[Moleman]

32 minutes ago, Rabbers said:

Maybe I’m wrong but I have the impression that more and more members are tempted to use the LOC for basic questions about their cars’ functions instead of looking for answers in the owner’s manuals.  Any ideas as to why this might be?

Yes I see the same. Why? The sheer size of the manuals is a factor I imagine, using a reference book (that's what it is) is a dying skill it seems, Google is your friend these days.

The manuals while technically correct can also be confusing as they often quote the required information for all versions of the same model in the same pages, but many makes do that.

Time is a factor for some people, but you could also call that being lazy. 

This forum has many people with a great amount of knowledge.

From a personal point of view I would try to seek the information first myself, and if stuck come on here.

[Malc]

over the years I'm thinking I have read where owners have found shorter more practical methods to deal with issues than offered in the immaculately worded over hundreds of pages manuals containing many 10's of '000s of words

And it's good to chat with people on here too sometimes ....  most are friendly and want to offer an insight into their cars ..  and yours ...  it's called old fashioned communication skills ..  it works and it's GOOD methinks   .......... well, most of the time 

Malc

[rayaans]

I can only put it down to laziness. On a forum you dont actively have to look at the replies until a later time whereas with a manual you actively have to look through it.

To be fair, the manual might be big but its quite easy to follow and understand.

Additionally the pdf version, you can search for words and is even quicker to navigate around than the paper one.

[Rabbers]

4 hours ago, Malc said:

My observation, Malc, regarded not the scintillating repartee with which you entertainingly often adorn these pages but mainly the sort of query that can readily be answered by references to page numbers in the appropriate owner’s manuals. 

[Malc]

5 hours ago, Moleman said:

This forum has many people with a great amount of knowledge.

I think linking into this supercedes the thoughts that one might be lazy or can't be bothered to view a manual  ..... I generally see the plus and positive side to people 

Malc

[Herbie]

Manual or Google first, then ask on here if I can't find what I need.

It annoys the carp out of me for someone to ask a question, only to find that the answer is the first or second hit in Google!

[steve2006]

Every time I start my car after a few seconds I hear a nice lady’s voice telling me something in Japanese.

I would like to turn off this feature as my wife now thinks I am having an affair with a Geisha girl after hearing the voice during a telephone call.

I have been through the 600 odd pages of both the driving and navigation manuals but still unsure which button to press, a similar button mistake a while ago with the sat nav left me stranded in Osaka when I only wanted to go to Rochdale.

I have attached a picture from my owner’s handbook although this may be the ejector seat section, any help appreciated.

[Malc]

there's some good Japanese language schools you might find useful in Derbyshire ......  just stop being lazy and learn the goddam language 

Malc

[Rabbers]

3 hours ago, steve2006 said:

Interesting that there appears to be no translation for “Rear” 🤔. Maybe local Lexus owners consider it best left unmentioned in polite company 🫢.

[Linas.P]

I generally agree with some comments - it is kind of laziness, but in other hand Lexus cars are packed to the brim with all sort of features and some owners don't even know how to describe the button, never mind to find it in manual. So I appreciate that asking on the forum is probably the most reasonable way as they don't even know what to look for in the manual. 

I may be weird, but when I bought my first IS250 I took the owners manual, brought it home and spend entire evening reading it and finding out all the features my car has, there were many moments like "oh wow I never knew car can do this". As well I have another joke - "Lexus owner manual describes all features that you car has, Toyota owner manual it describes all features your car lacks (and explains all those blank buttons)".

[Arnett]

12 hours ago, Rabbers said:

Maybe I’m wrong but I have the impression that more and more members are tempted to use the LOC for basic questions about their cars’ functions instead of looking for answers in the owner’s manuals.  Any ideas as to why this might be?

Social interaction and dopamine. 

I have ADHD the likely hood of me not getting distracted by something shiny as I pick up the manual is highly likely, the power benefit and one of the main reasons forums such as this thrive is it replaces the need to learn via stereotypical means. 

[Guest]

Can’t understand why it’s even a question, read the manual if you want although a few things may say “depending on region”, ask Google or use an Internet forum, which isn’t a surprise in today’s social media world.

People have varying degrees of knowledge in different subjects, some are busier than others and some may prefer to use different sources to answer there queries. Not aware of any law that says “thou shall consult my manual”

if someone thinks a question isn’t worth answering on a forum then simply don’t answer it.

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, Derant said:

Can’t understand why it’s even a question, read the manual if you want although a few things may say “depending on region”, ask Google or use an Internet forum, which isn’t a surprise in today’s social media world.

People have varying degrees of knowledge in different subjects, some are busier than others and some may prefer to use different sources to answer there queries. Not aware of any law that says “thou shall consult my manual”

if someone thinks a question isn’t worth answering on a forum then simply don’t answer it.

I suppose if I had taken my own advice I wouldn’t have posted an answer!!!

[Anevb]

Is it possible that people like being part of a great community and use every opportunity to ask questions just so they can interact more with likeminded people? 

[malcolmw]

I logged in to MyLexus to download a manual for our newly ordered NX. I couldn't do it as I don't own the car yet. Any ideas. I couldn't even see how to download the brochure.

(I would have looked up how to download these from the Lexus servers but ... 

[NemesisUK]

2 hours ago, malcolmw said:

I logged in to MyLexus to download a manual for our newly ordered NX. I couldn't do it as I don't own the car yet. Any ideas. I couldn't even see how to download the brochure.

(I would have looked up how to download these from the Lexus servers but ... 

You can download owner's manual from the main website for any model and year

https://www.lexus.co.uk/customer/manuals

Dowmload brochures from here

https://www.lexus.co.uk/brochure-downloads#models

 

[Rabbers]

Owners of individual models might like to check out the hour-long (or sometimes considerably longer*) video tutorials produced by Northside Lexus (available on YT or directly at northsidelexus.com) of Houston, Tx.  Though naturally based on U.S. specifications, the videos can nevertheless be instructive elsewhere, particularly before or early in one's ownership of a car.   They are presented by a "Lexus Technology Specialist", a lady called Melissa, and while opinions may vary, she does a creditable job considering the dry nature of her material.  It seems to me that the principal merit of the videos, which can be accessed in sections and, obviously, paused and replayed at will if your attention drifts, is to offer an amount of visual information that is somewhat larger than that contained in the printed summary guide Lexus once provided (and maybe still does in some languages) as a companion to the full owner's manual.  One is also enabled to pick up new or possibly unfamiliar names and terms that can then facilitate word or index searches in the manual should you want to delve deeper.

*I see that the tutorial for the 2022 NX is so long that it has been divided in two parts totalling more than four hours!

[Malc]

2 hours ago, Rabbers said:

One is also enabled to pick up new or possibly unfamiliar names and terms that can then facilitate word or index searches in the manual should you want to delve deeper.

an excellent reason to just simply ask an appropriate Q on here for some kind soul to come along and offer the best and simplest of answers .............  the beauty of this Forum and the helpfulness of it's participants 

Malc

[PCM]

I like queries that... have a conclusion. Maybe not straightaway, but updates and conclusions add so much value.

I also like queries that... remind me to do something. Got out MY Autoglym this morning. My leather seats looked clean. They weren't. Cleaned and conditioned now.

I like to read the manual and I like to hear what others think on a forum. I like to share my nominal knowledge too.

[LenT]

When I first acquired my Lexus I was slightly surprised to see that it came with two manuals, totalling about 1100 pages.  There’s no doubt that within those pages you’ll find most of the answers to questions you might ask - together with answers to questions you have yet to think of.

Sometimes - as I’ve discovered - the only answer given appears to be to take the car to a Dealer.  It’s in such cases that the highly knowledgeable members of the LOC can really come into their own.

I also suspect that merely participating in Forums such as this tends to suggest a more than average interest in matters automotive.  So sometimes the questions that come across to most of us as rather simplistic may, perhaps, need more generous and sympathetic consideration.

Equally important are the points already made about the very sociable nature of this Forum.  And we have to accept - and possibly even welcome -  that it’s just more enjoyable to ask a question than wade through a Manual.

The times I find this irritating is when I - and others - have made the effort to post a response… and we never hear from the OP again!  Usually those who act this way rarely seem to even return to comment.  How difficult is it to simply add an emoticon in recognition- even if you think the response is rubbish!

Sadly, it’s an attitude that’s probably prevalent on the Internet that wouldn’t be acceptable in a real world encounter.

[Herbie]

6 minutes ago, LenT said:

The times I find this irritating is when I - and others - have made the effort to post a response… and we never hear from the OP again!  Usually those who act this way rarely seem to even return to comment.  

That does indeed make my blood boil. Or, to keep it car-related, it grinds my gears!

[Rabbers]

In my OP I merely observed that more and more members seem to post queries about their cars on the LOC rather than consult their owner’s manuals.  In the absence of objective proof, I find it reasonable to suppose that this reflects no more than a growing tendency on the part of members to favour online media over traditional print, not that one excludes the other.  Both have their uses, and my own interest in the subject is simply that of a former marketing man who nowadays purely academically follows evolutions in media.  In this connection I thought I would add a post on how Northside, one of the largest Lexus dealerships in North America, has invested money and resources in video tutorials, thus seemingly acknowledging that their customers have not the inclination, the patience, or perhaps the mental energy, to grasp product complexities via a traditional medium such as a printed manual. 

[Dippo]

Many car forums seem to have a standard response of 'RTFM'.

[LenT]

59 minutes ago, Rabbers said:

In my OP I merely observed that more and more members seem to post queries about their cars on the LOC rather than consult their owner’s manuals.  In the absence of objective proof, I find it reasonable to suppose that this reflects no more than a growing tendency on the part of members to favour online media over traditional print, not that one excludes the other.  Both have their uses, and my own interest in the subject is simply that of a former marketing man who nowadays purely academically follows evolutions in media.  In this connection I thought I would add a post on how Northside, one of the largest Lexus dealerships in North America, has invested money and resources in video tutorials, thus seemingly acknowledging that their customers have not the inclination, the patience, or perhaps the mental energy, to grasp product complexities via a traditional medium such as a printed manual. 

I think your general point that viewing online media - by which I take it you mean video - is now preferable to reading print, is surely unarguable.  I have a collection of DIY books on wallpapering, plumbing and so on.  But if I was starting over these days, I’d be watching it being done on the internet.

There’s probably nothing in the way of car maintenance and operation that someone, somewhere hasn’t covered with a video.  In fact, Lexus has made its own contribution in that area, too.

https://m.youtube.com/c/lexusuk/videos

And of course there are now innumerable self-appointed Lexus car reviewers who will demonstrate how things are done.  But what I rather took from your initial post is the kind of query which is perhaps best illustrated by a recent enquiry about the method and merits of connecting a Battery charger.

Now while this is within my technical range, and I’m happy to pass it on, I can’t help thinking it’ll be in the car’s Manual too.  As it happens, my answer is also only going to be in the printed form, so - unless the Manual is missing - little has been gained by posting the query as opposed to using the Manual. Which was your original question.