Good idea to save on paper and money and that’s about, bad for everyone else. Stupid Chrysler, this has lawsuit written all over it.

99.9% of all people never read the manual anyways… be sure chrysler will take care of a line saying “customer declined the option of a printed manual in favor of a rebate, but is provided with a full manual in digital form. printed manual available at any time from a dealer near you”…

of course there will be lawsuits, the question is: who will win them… and i dont see chrysler loosing too many of them, read: none, if the do it as described above…

I’m guessing the only thing most people care about is changing the time on their clocks or setting some radio presets. The whole basic car maintenance procedures and repairs are foreign ideas to a lot of people. So it’s not going to make a bit of difference to 90% of their customers…and the other 10% will buy printed manuals. Buy a Haynes manual, and it will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about your car…

Buy a Chrysler, get a free frisbee!

What next owner’s manuals on iTunes?

I think printed brochures should be stopped. When I was a teen, I used to order every brochure from every car maker just to see the pretty pictures. Then, I would leave it laying around until I threw them away.

I feel sorry if your stuck on the side of the road,trying to fiqure out how to change a fuse or a flat, AND OOPPS I forgot my computer, WHAT IDIOTS < ! 1 Year no more ..death is inevitable

This would only be a good idea if every Chryky came with a DVD player.
Those little portable 7-inchers are probably cheaper than color ink anyway.

Next is a PDF attachment to an email!

Forget the owner’s manual DVD and just include a copy of the latest adult movie about anal sex. Hey, you just bought a Chrysler so obviously you must enjoy that kind of thing.

They should also make the manuals compatible with a DVD based navigation system, or build the manual into their MyGig systems anyway. They have plenty of space on the HDD’s.

A4, ya beat me to it. But that won’t happen ’cause it’s waaaayyy too easy…….

hopefully they still will have a short paper version with the dvd (a few page brief sort of with the basics of the car video game book size for a few of the more common question and the dvd with less common questions with more detail then the paper version. there better be a paper option thought or they are asking for trouble

but who really read the manual for the car.

A4 & Bosely……Just so you know, if you have a MyGig system in your car you are able to use it just like a DVD Player, so it is waaay too easy and brilliant at the same time. I think that it’s about time someone actually caught up with the times, and it’s kind of shocking to me that Chrysler was the first to do it. Of all the car manufactures out there I applaud them for thinking outside the box and seeing a solution that was so simple that the other car companies are going to kick them selves for not thinking of it first.

hmm…tough call…a small paper manual with troubleshooting information would be helpful, but i’m sure a lot of crap in that manual could be digitized and provided via pdf…it would suck to have an electrical problem, for example, and have no way to access any information at all in the manual…

This whole idea is brilliant……I’m still baffled that Chrysler came out with it…….the sales guys are going to love this for delivering a new car……just put in the DVD and have someone else demonstrate how to use the MyGig feature in their car…….Bravo Chrysler

Found this info on another site……..

“The DVD will be a comprehensive guide to the vehicle including the owners’ manual, vehicle and tire warranty information, navigation and entertainment system guides, as well as information on 24-hour towing assistance. It will also include video tutorials for commonly used features, such as folding down a Jeep Wrangler soft-top, operating the video entertainment system and setting electronic speed control. Owners will be able to search by topic rather than sifting through a 500-page book (or checking the index).

The printed user guide will cover the most commonly required information like finding assistance for emergency situations, changing tires, jump-starting a battery and understanding the various warning lights.”

Guess no one read the part about there being a 60-80 page user guide

Personally, Id rather have the book with me in my car so i can fix crap if im stranded, instead of guessing….. but thats just me….

but hey… make it optional…..

While it’s nice to save paper, few times I needed to check something on the car while away from home and I needed the print manual. So for situations like that we are screwed.
Since I will never buy a Chrysler, I don’t care anyway.

It’s 50/50 to me. I like the idea, because I’m one of those tech freaks, but at the same time, if your MyGig system isn’t working and you’re stranded and need more information than what is in the little 80 page reference, what do you do? By the way, I’m sure the little book will say, “For more information, please refer to the DVD,” at least once on every page.

Although I’m one that tends to learn as much about my car as possible, I don’t see a lot of others really digging this.

Last week, I taught my mother-in-law how to change the battery in her PT Cruiser. She was surprised how easy it is to do, and yet the PT Cruiser has one of the most difficult battery changing processes (you have to move the air filter out of the way). Most people just drive to Sears Automotive and have them do it, but I like to get my hands dirty. Also, she told me that by doing these things, she’s gaining confidence that she will know what to do in the event of an emergency. I think I’m slowly turning her into an enthusiast…

Now Chrysler can advertised the increased space available in their gloveboxes compared to the competition. This will come in handy with the smaller FIAT cars coming. Bravo Chrysler!! You finally have a YES box to check off on the competitive analysis chart.

Many people seem to not have read the part where Chrysler STILL includes a small paper guide for important things, stuff like changing tires or where fuses are located I would assume.

Still, I think it’s a STUPID idea. If I buy a new car and I want to figure out its functions, like how to program my stereo or take down the soft top on my Wrangler I don’t want to go home and get on the computer or sit in the back and watch it on a DVD player.

And I’m sure when those cheap morons at Chrysler say “Printed manuals will be available from dealers” they really mean I’m going to have to pay extra just to not waste my time.

I’m tired of companies passing off BS like this as “Green” so that we won’t complain too much…

Hey pull out the owners manual, I need to find out what that light on the dash is. Oh, don’t have a laptop. Too bad i guess. Silly Idea @ best.

You can always print a copy to keep in your car.

So I’m going to go from a nice neat book to maybe a couple hundred pages of paper? Staple it together? Binder? Also it says it includes videos, if there are no PDF versions how do I print that?

Yeah… No.

And how are you supposed to “read” the manual when your car is on the side of the road? Are they going to upgrade all of their cars with DVD screens in the dash so that customers can read the manual in the car? Bet not, it’s too expensive. If I were considering a Chrysler then, I would demand a nicely printed manual from the dealer.

Just look to GM for what happens when you cut corners too much to pinch a penny.

I honestly think you guys must all be over 50 from the comments, and never learned to actually read and comprehend. If your on the side of the road and it’s more then a flat tire or blown fuse, which would be covered in the printed guide that is included in the car, you’re going to need to call roadside assistance, which by the way, is included at no charge.

I’m not calling roadside assistance to teach me how to program my stereo…

This is really a poor idea. My latest nissan came with both, the traditional book, and a dvd. A year and a half later, I’ve flipped through the manual for a quick reference on some information, and the dvd is still shrink-wrapped lying around in my glovebox. At least new Nissans have glove boxes as deep as the grand canyon so the extra dvd isn’t killing my usable storage space (unlike CryCo’s reasonably small-ish glove boxes).

2Wheel, how is ordering a printed manual and returning to the dealer in three weeks when it arrives not a waste of time? I guarantee they won’t be in stock, and I’m willing to bet the paper manuals will be an extra cost.

Personally, I like the idea, and I think a digital copy should be included in the MyGig system, too. I can see how others will not like it, though.

I have to agree with Carczarndn, if you stuck on the side of the road what are the chances that you going to have the parts to fix the problem on you so the a long in depth manual wont help, and if it something you could fix chances are that it would be in the 80page manual or it common sense. a lot of the other thing like programing you radio are not imperative and you would probably have learned that if the first few days of owning the car

Not a good idea

This is very stupid. If my car breaks down in the middle of nowhere I want to be able to refer to a PRINTED manual index for basic repair– not watch a snarky 25 year old tell it to me on a DVD that I can’t play because I have no on-board LCD screen and have a dead battery to boot.

WORST IDEA EVER. While I’m all for saving trees, a printed owner’s manual is essential. There should be no debate about this, it’s a matter of safety – period.

Wow, what alot of people who don’t read!

YOU GET A 60 TO 80 PAGE PAPER MANUAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That shorter manual handles all your “stranded on the side of the road” scenarios about dead bateries and flat tires, safey info, what warning lights mean plus the basics of using the car! . The DVD is a supplement that goes into more detail..
Stop jumping to conclusions that you must have the DVD with you so you can perform engine repairs on the side of the road. If think you are going to be doing all these repairs not covered in an 80 page manual, you will need to buy a service manual and carry a massive tool kit with you anyway.

On top of that, you can order the 400 page paper manual for free if you want to carry it around with you.

smart people like me read the owners manual when i first get any car to see, how things work b4 they go wrong, and who the heck can’t figure out how any chrysler works they are the plainest, non technical cars on the road have you seen their interiors? as for manuals should be carried in cars at all times in case of emergency, goes to show you what Chrysler really cares about its customers.

Jax, I don’t know what good a printed manual is going to do the folks here. They can’t even read the article. Proof is in their idiotic posts. But of course this is an article about Chrysler, so they just bash for the sake of bashing.

mhmm yes when im stuck on the side of the road with my crappy chysler product im gunna plop the DVD into the dvd player which exists in my sebring to see whats wrong…………….