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You've heard it all before but here is another sign of changing times and pet peeve number ???.

1956 Packard owners manual. Decent size print, concise information with real photographs, and about half that book is pertaining to proper maintenance and specifications. They were able to do this in 52 pages. Some years had even fewer pages and still got the needed info across

2024 Toyota Rav 4 Hybrid. Three or more owners manuals. First book up is called a quick reference guide. Small print with mostly line drawn illustrations, 77 pages including 2 pages illustrating the tiny icons that show up on the dash in place of old style warning lights. Of course if you don't have an option it is still shown in the guide so next step is figure out whether you have it or not. All well and good but sadly for usable info, almost all entries in that small book are titled with an acronym and refer you to the main owners manual for the detailed how to use it information. That particular manual which is of similar print size and layout is 584 pages. The remaining items in the reference guide refer you to a separate multimedia manual which again is small print and is 265 pages. There are other manuals covering more "advanced" features.

Yes, I know cars have tremendously advanced since Packards days but all I can say is for actual see how to work it info I hope there are lots of YouTube videos. I am starting to understand the youth obsession with videos because for an old guy, looking in a tiny print book with too many similar looking acronyms for an item to find pertinent info on the fly is not going to be quick or easy.

AMEN!!!

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As long as we are in grumpy geezer mode:

all you get these days is a small glovebox manual with "take to authorized dealer" as the remedy, where they then proceed to "remove and replace entire foreign-sourced subassembly" at near-total-the-car cost so they can sell you a new vehicle; then make a killing on your trade-in.

Ive worked on Packards for 54 years as well as all the "modern" cars Ive owned in the same timeframe...nothing beats straightforward individual systems to isolate, diagnose and fix using US customary wrenches, a multimeter and old "machine sense" logic...same for my 1954, 1962, 1979, 1983 farm machinery...after that things got stupid...even toasters (a simple resistor/thermostat) now have microprocessors in them.

Working on Packards is parallel to working on Mechanical Sculpture...except for Bijur and Ultra-Magic transmissions.

...there, now I feel better

I am definitely in grumpy geezer mode and have been for some time. Probably brought on by the fact a substantial number of brain cells are refusing to work in sync or even at the same time anymore -- or it could just be old age.

I got a chuckle out of your comment about microprocessors in toasters because it is so true. Also washing machines and refrigerators that talk telling you what you are running out of or washers saying how dirty the clothes are.

I spent 40+ years in the medical imaging industry and when I retired even the low cost machines were in the midst of transitioning to computer operation over discreet components and control switches. The main computer coordinated things but other components had on average less than a dozen microprocessors in communication with the main computer to run an entire room. Those you could at least narrow down and change a board to get operational but sometimes it was a time consuming challenge to isolate a problem down to a specific area. Today about 15 years later some of the guys still working I keep in touch with tell me it is a whole other story. Microprocessors are even more prevalent and are controlling individual functions and in addition, almost every major component has a full blown computer at its heart. Because that computer and a lot of the individual microprocessor run pieces are certified assembled items on a major failure you usually wind up changing the item. Sometimes just the computer will do it but because to keep the certification they have to go thru an extensive test process so are not considered serviceable in the field. Translation: $$$

When buying the Toyota the sales guy was pushing option packages, one of which was a special if bought with the new car deal on a 10 year cover everything in the car except tires and wiper blades service contract. Medical also pushed contracts and in some cases they saved a customers bacon but in other cases they were an expensive piece of paper. I was going to pass on the contract but when the sales guy told me this Toyota had over 200 single chip computers better known as microprocessors -- almost one running every single component -- I took notice. He said unless they are defective and fail right away they are sometimes not covered by the warranty and are on your nickel farther down the road when the warranty is over. Based on what I experienced with computer control and what my brother was quoted last month in repairing his Subaru transmission, sales guy did not have a hard sell as the price of the contract when bought with the car was less than the transmission repair.

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Not to be in grumpy youngster mode but I can guarantee that 1974 owner's manuals did not tell you how to adjust the valves. Probably would have to go back a lot longer than that to find one that did. Nor do manuals today warn to not DRINK the battery acid... of a sealed battery...

I have a 23 Highlander Hybrid which is pretty much the same car as a 24 Rav4 Hybrid. I have read nearly all the manual. The problem I have with it is that it's not user-friendly. A great deal of the info in there is fluff which makes it a real snoozefest and you can read whole sections and retain little. In other words, the manual is long, but it's also poorly written. If carmakers actually assumed that people would read such manuals, they could have made it much better.

Even 20 years ago, while not being a great deal shorter, the car manuals were more illustrative IMHO.

By the way, this is from someone who writes manuals at their day job. Guess where I get inspiration for the form of some things... that's right the Packard service manual.

To enrich the discussion, below is an excerpt from the manual for a Chaika. The car was built from 1959 to 1981.
I could not resist.

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Imagine the poor Bolshevik who had to fix Stalin's Packards...needed a translator...

I will give the microprocessor one nod: electronic fuel injection on diesels is a godsend.

On the Extended Warranty thread: my father in law had to get a new snazzy LCD flatscreen TV...at age 95, he went for the 5-year warranty...now that's confidence that you'll be able to outlast it or B$&*h at the service representative who tries to get out of it before it expires.

btw, If I remember my Dad's research 50 years ago, I think the business genius who drove Packard into the ground, Nance, sold the old year Packard body dies to the GAZ management for the Chaika as part of an Eisenhower "lets make nice" with the Soviets to show good will and throw some water on the Cold War tensions...look closely...

That was an urban legend that was proven false many years ago.

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More power to him and if he is still around may he be around longer to take advantage of all of his contract. I don't expect to still be driving long enough to use all of mine but it is one time transferrable so if one of my relatives winds up with a not too old car they can at least enjoy the remainder.