Car care application to aid consumer-friendliness

On 2006-08-02 19:21:53 -0700, Dandelion said:

> Toyota really should give out some simple-to-use car care
> software to every car buyer. It would help regular folks a lot
> in reminding us oil change and maintenance service dates.
>
> This is a great idea to set Toyota apart from and ahead of its
> competitors.
>
> My 2 cents for Toyota's upcoming multi-billion profit.

I like the idea although I can't see the manufacturer putting it out -
maybe Chiltons or some other auto documentation company. A lot of us
that like to work on cars buy shop manuals, Haynes, CDs and so on as
well as cruise car Websites. Maybe a simple browser based how-to would
be a good idea. Take it one step further and produce a cheapo display
that would run off of your car battery and you could just follow the
instructions as you changed the oil or checked the timing or whatever.
jor
 >> Stay informed about: Car care application to aid consumer-friendliness 

On 7 Aug 2006 19:31:14 -0700, "steve-o" wrote:

>
>Dandelion wrote:
>> Toyota really should give out some simple-to-use car care
>> software to every car buyer. It would help regular folks a lot
>> in reminding us oil change and maintenance service dates.
>>
>> This is a great idea to set Toyota apart from and ahead of its
>> competitors.
>>
>> My 2 cents for Toyota's upcoming multi-billion profit.
>The manual that comes with the car is in nice easy to read print.
>the maintenance light comes on after 5,ooo miles to remind you to bring
>it in for maintenance. They have a website and phone numbers for most
>anything you could want. Some of you people really make me laugh.

Plus if you have your maintenance done at the dealer, most send out
reminders in the mail....


--

Scott in Florida

'The Land of the Free because of the Brave'
 >> Stay informed about: Car care application to aid consumer-friendliness 

"jor" wrote in message
> On 2006-08-02 19:21:53 -0700, Dandelion said:
>
>> Toyota really should give out some simple-to-use car care
>> software to every car buyer. It would help regular folks a lot
>> in reminding us oil change and maintenance service dates.
>>
>> This is a great idea to set Toyota apart from and ahead of its
>> competitors.
>>
>> My 2 cents for Toyota's upcoming multi-billion profit.
>
> I like the idea although I can't see the manufacturer putting it out -
> maybe Chiltons or some other auto documentation company. A lot of us that
> like to work on cars buy shop manuals, Haynes, CDs and so on as well as
> cruise car Websites. Maybe a simple browser based how-to would be a good
> idea. Take it one step further and produce a cheapo display that would run
> off of your car battery and you could just follow the instructions as you
> changed the oil or checked the timing or whatever.
> jor
>

The biggest drawback to a browser-based how-to is that unless you print the
pages, you have to bring your computer or laptop out to the vehicle or run
back inside to refer to for specifications. You can access on-line access
Toyota factory service manuals in PDF format for $10/day. They are
comprehensive and cover simple as well as complex tasks. They include a
good descriptions of how most systems work although they do not include
explanations of basic automotive principles, like the 4 cycles of a 4-cycle
engine or the relationship of a camshaft to a crankshaft because they assume
that a professional technician would already understand that stuff.

BTW, checking timing on a modern coil-over spark plug system is kind of a
moot point because there is no adjustment to timing.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)
 >> Stay informed about: Car care application to aid consumer-friendliness