T4/T5 owners - Haynes manual

Not sure if it's been mentioned here before, but not only have Haynes had the T4 manual available for a while now, they have also got the T5 manual release date published ("March" 2015), and are taking pre-release orders!

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It doesn't cover the DSG (but then I don't think I would want to take one of those apart) and is supposed to only cover model years '03 to '10 - yet it apparently deals with the 2.0 TDi engine, which is a bit odd (but Ok with me).

|I have heard that it isn`t that good consequently the reason I haven`t ordered it, look on T4 Owners Forum for reviews.

....they are certainly quick to bring out a manual - the T5 has been going for 11 years now.
I wonder how many people really tinker with modern vehicles now, with all the complicated gadgets and electronic systems ?
The days when I did much maintenance (oil/filter change, etc) are long gone (remember topping up the dashpot on SU carbs ? ) I wouldn't attempt to dismantle anything under the bonnet, manual or not.
Nowadays our good local garage does it all. Either I'm getting old, or have too much money !

daisy mae wrote:I have heard that it isn`t that good consequently the reason I haven`t ordered it, look on T4 Owners Forum for reviews.

I hadn't actually looked - I'm after the T5 one which isn't yet finished!

I've owned and used quite a few Haynes manuals, and none have really impressed me that much, but the thing they tend to do is give you some place to start looking at things. For example if the diagnostic system tells me that there are errors associated with the EGR valve, I need to know what it looks like and where it is (despite knowing all about a supposedly similar item on my previous van).

I'm also getting to the stage where I'm less inclined to dismantle half the front of the van to get to a component that might possibly be faulty, but I do still resent the fact that garages (and especially main dealer service departments) like to diagnose problems by replacing the most expensive part first and then slowly working their way down to the cheapest. So it's good to have the ability to at least "sanity check" what they are saying before agreeing to whatever they propose to do...

Some point in that view, maybe change my mind and order one.

I have just bought one for my Clubman T4 and find it useful to understand what the garage suggest needs doing,or what needs to be done on a particular service.
   Baz