User manual literary reviews

[rondeo]

Mondaveo wrote elswhere:

'Have to say, the manual for the MC Mondeo is one of the densest and least comprehensible pieces of literature I've tried to wade through.'

My manual is part number MC19 A321 AA print 1 october 2010.

On page 19 under the heading 'Quick Start' I find:

'Note: Do not press the brake pedal when removing the key from the ignition switch.'

No reason is given. 'DON'T PRESS THAT BUTTON!"

I'm only up to page 19 of 272. Maybe I should give it a break.

[Deo]

Not to mention - IT DOESN'T HAVE A KEY!

Sent from my GTi-9305 using bloody Tapatalk

[rondeo]

Oh well here we go. Page 32:

"WARNING The radio frequency used by your remote control can be used by other short distance radio transmissions (eg amateur radios, medical eequipment, wireless headphones, remote controls and alarm systems). If the frequencies are jammed, you will not be able to use your remote control. You can lock and unlock the doors with the key."

Fine, if my remote doesn't work, I'll just shove the key in and carry on.

[aussiblue]

OK I'll bite; a boring manual to go with a boring car then?

[Mondaveo]

LOL at this thread

I dunno, I just found the writing style a bit unclear in places, and a lot of the manual seemed to be missing context, like a paragraph to introduce the feature. They give you the how for vehicle controls, but not the what or why. And all the sections that are just a heading and picture...

Lemme give you some examples of where I'm unclear.

p46, Autowipers. Looks like the stalk position to turn it on is the same as for intermittent wiper setting in the section preceding it. I guess if autowipers are fitted, you have no manual intermittent setting? What wipe speeds do the autowipers operate up to? None of this is actually explained.

p177, Opening the Bonnet. No mention that the release lever is in the passenger's footwell! Could have you stumped for hours if you fail to decipher the picture.



p185, Battery: Using Booster Cables. This is where I found it so hard to get clear. The diagram is unhelpfully labelled A, B, C and D, and I have to refer to the text to understand which vehicle is which and the order the cables are connected and hold all that in memory from one step to the next.



Contrast that with the manual for my wife's Barina. Presentation-wise, it's somewhat like amateur hour compared to the Mondeo's manual, but look! The vehicles and connection order are clearly shown in the diagram, and the steps are written in plain English!



And if you think this is trivial, I had to jump-start other vehicles twice last year, without knowing intuitively how it's done. The writeup in the Mondeo's manual left me baffled, but following the Barina manual, I could do it.



Hopefully those pictures work.

[rondeo]

p185
I think we can safely fail the USING BOOSTER CABLES. The A B C Ds look as if they were put in by an abstract painter.

p185
DO NOT CONNECT TO THE NEGATIVE TERMINAL OF THE FLAT BATTERY.
This injunction is designed to make you nervous.

Suggest: CONNECT TO THE CHASSIS GROUND POST NEAR THE FLAT BATTERY - NOT THE NEGATIVE TERMINAL ON THE BATTERY

[cobrin]

exactly you don't have access to the -ve post with the battery in the box it's in and it's location, that's why the ground post is there and easy to get to.

[rondeo]

Originally Posted by cobrin

exactly you don't have access to the -ve post with the battery in the box it's in and it's location, that's why the ground post is there and easy to get to.

That's why you run the risk of a nervous breakdown

[Mondaveo]

Page 118 introduces the ignition switch and keyless starting (in that order). The following pages then seem to describe keyless starting, followed by ignition switch. This is ar$e-about to how it should logically be presented.

Incidentally, electronic copy of the manual is available at http://www.ford.com.au/owner
Thumbs up for that one at least Ford

[Mondaveo]

Just noticed this: p144, Adaptive Cruise Control:



Going a lil' fast there, aren't you?!

[foxtrot3]

Originally Posted by Mondaveo

LOL at this thread

I dunno, I just found the writing style a bit unclear in places, and a lot of the manual seemed to be missing context, like a paragraph to introduce the feature. They give you the how for vehicle controls, but not the what or why. And all the sections that are just a heading and picture...

Lemme give you some examples of where I'm unclear.

p46, Autowipers. Looks like the stalk position to turn it on is the same as for intermittent wiper setting in the section preceding it. I guess if autowipers are fitted, you have no manual intermittent setting? What wipe speeds do the autowipers operate up to? None of this is actually explained.

p177, Opening the Bonnet. No mention that the release lever is in the passenger's footwell! Could have you stumped for hours if you fail to decipher the picture.



p185, Battery: Using Booster Cables. This is where I found it so hard to get clear. The diagram is unhelpfully labelled A, B, C and D, and I have to refer to the text to understand which vehicle is which and the order the cables are connected and hold all that in memory from one step to the next.

image

Contrast that with the manual for my wife's Barina. Presentation-wise, it's somewhat like amateur hour compared to the Mondeo's manual, but look! The vehicles and connection order are clearly shown in the diagram, and the steps are written in plain English!

image

And if you think this is trivial, I had to jump-start other vehicles twice last year, without knowing intuitively how it's done. The writeup in the Mondeo's manual left me baffled, but following the Barina manual, I could do it.



Hopefully those pictures work.

Hi. And yet they both describe the same procedure (connect red cable to each battery positive and then connect cable to donor battery negative and lastly connect black cable to connection point away from battery). Cheers MD

[foxtrot3]

Originally Posted by rondeo

p185
I think we can safely fail the USING BOOSTER CABLES. The A B C Ds look as if they were put in by an abstract painter.

p185
DO NOT CONNECT TO THE NEGATIVE TERMINAL OF THE FLAT BATTERY.
This injunction is designed to make you nervous.

Suggest: CONNECT TO THE CHASSIS GROUND POST NEAR THE FLAT BATTERY - NOT THE NEGATIVE TERMINAL ON THE BATTERY

Originally Posted by cobrin

exactly you don't have access to the -ve post with the battery in the box it's in and it's location, that's why the ground post is there and easy to get to.

Originally Posted by rondeo

That's why you run the risk of a nervous breakdown

Hi. It is a safety issue, not just because you may not be able to get to the negative terminal but because the flat battery may be "gassing out" (boiling the acid and making explosive gas, caused by loading up a flat battery). Making a spark on the terminal of a battery venting gas can be very dangerous. Cheers MD

[cobrin]

I know it's late to reply but it's worth mentioning, a flat battery won't 'gas out' during a jumpstart. Chemical storage like a car battery isn't fast acting.