I'm sure this has been covered before but hey ho.

 

I'm shortly to be doing some work to my octy and thought just to bolster my knowledge and add to the great information here I would go buy me a Haynes manual.(thankfully not full Haynes price).

 

OMFG what have they done?? they used to be comprehensive useful books.

 

now they are pretty much toilet paper, in fact I think a lot of toilet paper these days is better quality paper.

 

Price has gone up massively and the quality has gone down down down.

 

For example No mention of the special spline tool to remove the rear carriers to replace the rear discs. think it warrants just one short sentence on how to remove the carrier bolts, no mention of their extreme torque or incredibly difficult access.

 

Cannot believe how bad they have become. everything is almost just a passing comment. remove bolts, remove item refit in reverse order.

 

Rant Over

I agree. The Haynes manuals used to be brilliant. They've been like this for a long time now so i don't see anything changing. I own one and in emergencies it does muddle you through but not what they used to be I'm afraid.

What's ELSAWIN? Is it online?

I think a lot is they have so many makes and models to cover now. They can't spend years doing a book like yester year when cars were a lot simpler to service and maintain.

I tend to agree that the quality of Haynes manuals has gone down. To be fair they probably don't sell nearly as many manuals as they used to (not many people work on their own cars these days) so can't justify the same level of detail as they used to provide. I still find it useful on occasion, but Youtube and the internet is often a much more useful resource these days.

 

 

For example No mention of the special spline tool to remove the rear carriers to replace the rear discs. think it warrants just one short sentence on how to remove the carrier bolts, no mention of their extreme torque or incredibly difficult access.

 

True, but to be fair that sort of thing is power for the course when working on cars! 

I have one too and agree with this thread entirely. It is a real shame as the one for my old Cavalier was worth its weight in gold (more than the car some might say!!!)

The wiring diagrams were always useful but they are riddled with errors in this Octy Mk2 version (wire colours and pin numbers etc).

Edited 10 November, 20169 yr by adamal

I have one too and agree with this thread entirely. It is a real shame as the one for my old Cavalier was worth its weight in gold (more than the car some might say!!!)

The wiring diagrams were always useful but they are riddled with errors in this Octy Mk2 version (wire colours and pin numbers etc).

Harsh, when you realise that the official current flow diagrams for Octavia mk2 consist of six separate pdf documents varying from 600 to 4100 pages in length...

Yeah that's part of the problem right there. So much technology added to cars these days. And to be fair the mk2 Octavia is quite simple compared to a brand new car. How are Haynes going to cover wiring diagrams on cars with voice activation systems or parking aids for example. I wouldn't know where to start!!

Maybe it's a bit harsh given the increased electrics etc but I've been sent down a few wrong avenues so it's been a bit frustrating.

Yeah that's part of the problem right there. So much technology added to cars these days. And to be fair the mk2 Octavia is quite simple compared to a brand new car. How are Haynes going to cover wiring diagrams on cars with voice activation systems or parking aids for example. I wouldn't know where to start!!

As conventional wiring has been replaced by the CAN High and CAN Low circuits, there will potentially be less wiring in modern cars.

I found an error in the erWin/VW current flow diagram for my Polo a couple of weeks ago that cost me an hour or two of barking up a wrong tree, so it's not just Haynes.

7 Euros +VAT for an hour's downloading at erWin is an absolute bargain TBH, if you want wiring info, and just about any other info about your car.

And consequently far less that the average DIYer can do on the electrical systems

Mike

Yeah maybe that's the manufacturers plan. Sell the car first then make it so complicated the owner has to take it back to them to be repaired. Win win if you ask me.

It would be OK if taking the car back to a dealer resulted in a repair first time every time but half the the time they've no more idea than you or I and end up replacing part after part in the hope of curing the problem

It's been a long time since I've used a main dealer.......... there maybe a reason for that!!

Edited 14 November, 20169 yr by meaty101

As said, how often do you see anyone crawling under their car nowadays to do routine maintenance? Most would rather pay someone else and hence learn nothing about the workings of their car.

ha ha.

 

total classic from the manual on sunday (and I didn't look here first)

 

both rear springs broken at MOT book says use spring clamps. WTF took me 40 ,ins and 4 clamps to get one off.

 

phoned cousin whos a mechanic just after I looked in here.

 

15 mins both sides stripped new springs taking the arm bolt out etc etc

 

I looked a total ****. but Haynes are still crap as that should have been in the book.