Quick Start Guide

[Roy124]

I was prompted by a Highways England survey to read up about the eCall system.  I knew there was a button but I had missed the entry in the handbook that came with the car.  I have just looked at the online PDF that is about 3 times the size of the printed version.  When I got the car, Covid precautions were just starting and my instruction from the dealer was very basic.  I learnt what I could from the manual but many items remained a mystery until the weather or winter required me to refresh how the wipers and lights worked.

The illumination of the TPS light had my wife leafing through the manual to find the meaning as I had not even known that it was a fitment.  Then, thinking on, when you hire a car you are often just given the keys and sent on your way.  It is rare to even have a manual to look at when you hire a car.  This prompted a thought that cars, like computer software, should have a quick start or ready reference guides.

Any thoughts?

[AndrueC]

I think it's a sensible idea.

[Roy124]

Just had a response from the CEO UK, he thought it a great idea and it has been passed to product Support

[FROSTYBALLS]

I suppose the one question is what level of detail should be in a quick start guide? Would a quick start guide incorporate info on things like eCall, etc, or just provide the basics to enable one to get in the car and drive away. 

[Timh21]

Some Car hire companies provide a brief quick start guide for certain models, ive had them in a couple of hire cars from Eurocar

[Catlover]

A quick start guide sounds a really good idea.  But what constitutes a Quick Start Guide?  It could mean one thing for one person and another thing for another person.

[AndrueC]

All it needs is instructions on the essentials:

• Locking/unlocking.
• Start/stop.
• Lights.
• Wipers.

The rest is either standard across all vehicles and should be known by all valid license holders or else is optional like the infotainment system.

For cars with sat nav a simple guide on how to specify a destination might be a good idea.

[Roy124]

48 minutes ago, AndrueC said:

All it needs is instructions on the essentials:

• Locking/unlocking.
• Start/stop.
• Lights.
• Wipers.

The rest is either standard across all vehicles and should be known by all valid license holders or else is optional like the infotainment system.

For cars with sat nav a simple guide on how to specify a destination might be a good idea.

That's about it though I would like cruise control instructions.  Certainly Lights and Wipers are a definite as I still have difficulty getting to grips with these even after a year.  Very much suck it and see and picking up a strange car in the dark with heavy rain and spray can be a challenge.  Getting my fog lights on was OK but getting the red fog on required me to stops and search the handbook.

While locking and starting come fairly easily, as a habit, there are catches.  For instance a nephew's BMW would not move with a door open.

It will be for product development to work decide what is essential.