possible scam on ebay for service manuals
07-30-09 | 11:47 AM
#16
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,489
Likes: 106
From: AZ
Lexus offers a subscription service to view and print all their manuals. To find this, go to lexus.com→local dealer→Service (in header items)→Technical Service Information and then choose "Click to access these resources".
There you can find all the information you need to subscribe and use this information. Subscription is rather pricey, $15 for 2 Days, $75 for a month, and $400 for a year. Note that it is limited to PCs only and cannot be accessed with Macs. You can search, view and print. There is a rather extensive video tutorial the explain the system and how to use. It cover all Toyota products sold in the US.
I have never tried this because I have a Mac. But the $15 rate certainly teased me.
Has anyone ever used this service?
There you can find all the information you need to subscribe and use this information. Subscription is rather pricey, $15 for 2 Days, $75 for a month, and $400 for a year. Note that it is limited to PCs only and cannot be accessed with Macs. You can search, view and print. There is a rather extensive video tutorial the explain the system and how to use. It cover all Toyota products sold in the US.
I have never tried this because I have a Mac. But the $15 rate certainly teased me.
Has anyone ever used this service?
Don't buy from this guy!
08-22-09 | 05:00 PM
#20
I purchased one a while back.. I ordered the GS400 manual and got the GS300 manual. It was actually the repair manuals on pdf. I guess I can still use it for anything that's not specific to the 300. I tried to email the seller but when I went back to the auction.. he was no longer a registered user. 
08-23-09 | 04:36 PM
#21
You guys must see something I don't. For me, AllData has been money flushed down the toilet. I actually find it even more frustrating than nothing. It seems like they went out of their way to provide only the most useless information.
Example, my 2003 SC430 threw a P0057. Clearly an O2 sensor. AllData was useful in the sense that it helped me find the specific sensor.
But, it really provided only the parts of the procedure that I don't need. I know how an O2 sensor works, I know how the heater is driven, and what to expect on the sense line.
What I really needed was information on how to open the portions of the interior to get to the harness and connectors (as shown on the diagnostic sheets)! Yes, you can go the cheesy route and splice a new sensor before the tail goes through the grommet in the undercarriage, but I'm not into cheesy!.
As it turned out, the heated seats controls popped out as I probed, and I eventually figured out how to take apart the center console. But it ended up taking hours of time and experimentation.
I actually hate DIY anyway, so it was very frustrating. I'd go to the local dealer, but, well, 'suck' is too weak a word. It isn't just the cost, they inevitably sell me mountains of stuff I don't need and it takes two or three visits for them to actually repair a problem.
When the economy tanked, it got even worse. Presumably the dealer is trying to squeeze every last penny out of service. The straw for me was when they quoted my wife $2000+ to repair the ABS. I drove down and they tried to feed me the same BS. While we were debating their diagnostic prowess, I cleaned out a sensor. Problem solved.
So, I'd gladly pay for decent repair manuals - both for convenience (so I don't waste an extra day getting my vehicle to a competent dealership) and so I can get the thing repaired right!
FWIW, I'm sure that there are honest and reliable Lexus/Toyota service locations, I just don't happen to live by one. My wife loves the car and I'd like to keep it long enough to be a classic.
Example, my 2003 SC430 threw a P0057. Clearly an O2 sensor. AllData was useful in the sense that it helped me find the specific sensor.
But, it really provided only the parts of the procedure that I don't need. I know how an O2 sensor works, I know how the heater is driven, and what to expect on the sense line.
What I really needed was information on how to open the portions of the interior to get to the harness and connectors (as shown on the diagnostic sheets)! Yes, you can go the cheesy route and splice a new sensor before the tail goes through the grommet in the undercarriage, but I'm not into cheesy!.
As it turned out, the heated seats controls popped out as I probed, and I eventually figured out how to take apart the center console. But it ended up taking hours of time and experimentation.
I actually hate DIY anyway, so it was very frustrating. I'd go to the local dealer, but, well, 'suck' is too weak a word. It isn't just the cost, they inevitably sell me mountains of stuff I don't need and it takes two or three visits for them to actually repair a problem.
When the economy tanked, it got even worse. Presumably the dealer is trying to squeeze every last penny out of service. The straw for me was when they quoted my wife $2000+ to repair the ABS. I drove down and they tried to feed me the same BS. While we were debating their diagnostic prowess, I cleaned out a sensor. Problem solved.
So, I'd gladly pay for decent repair manuals - both for convenience (so I don't waste an extra day getting my vehicle to a competent dealership) and so I can get the thing repaired right!
FWIW, I'm sure that there are honest and reliable Lexus/Toyota service locations, I just don't happen to live by one. My wife loves the car and I'd like to keep it long enough to be a classic.
remember alldata is meant for professionals, any professional could disassemble the interior of the car enough to get to the floor pan and o2 sensor wiring without a manual. common sense and patience are all you really need.
the fact that you "hate DIY" and were "frustrated" tells scores about how you approached it. no sense in blaming alldata for your own lack of patience.
OEM manuals go for ~$220-350, so go knock yourself out, i personally have 2 sets of oem manuals, alldata, and some other resources.
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asnatlas
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11-02-03 07:39 PM
alldatadiy, ebay, factory, lexus, manual, manuals, pdf, post, rx330, scam, sell, selling, service, servicemanualnet, userservicemanualscom
