Not only are there likely editing error omissions in some versions of the manual like you pointed out, the manual often omits things entirely. If you have two already programmed keys and want to self program additional keys, according to the manual you're S.O.L. and need to ask the dealer to pretty please program keys for hundreds in labor, when in reality there's a self programming procedure that isn't listed in any edition (2021/2022/2023) of the manual. If I had "trusted the manual" I would have been out $175 in labor to add two intelligent access (prox) keyfobs I purchased for less than $100 each - and most dealers wanted $300-$400 a keyfob + labor per keyfob to program, rather than letting me bring my own.Yes. Well. Mostly yes. Maybe 90% yes. It tells you exactly how to get the code, but the visual that goes with it is obscenely wrong. At least, it is wrong in my 2021 book. The pad to put the key on is under the rubber mat by the 12v port in the phone cubby, not in the console as demonstrated. Putting it in the console will do nothing to display the code.
Another example - he dealer I got my 23 BS BL from this time left the barcode/tags that has the backup key cutting (required to get the emergency metal laser cut blade cut without a key to clone) on the keyring, whereas most other Ford Dealers I've encountered have removed it. I don't think it's out of malice, it's just confusing that a barcode is hanging from the keyring with no obvious purpose. Similarly, dealers may not explain the Securicode keypad to new buyers. I was basically allowed to check the vehicle out on my own when I picked up with no walkaround or explanation. I was fine with that having done a lot of research but not everyone is going to be familiarized on all features of the vehicle at the dealership.
I get encouraging people to read the manual to learn about features of the vehicle that aren't obvious in presence or operation, but when someone has a specific question, I don't get some of the replies telling people to "RTM" ... even if the intention is friendly, it comes off as standoffish. At least tell people what to look up rather than just that the Owner's manual is a fount of knowledge.
I'll end my diatribe with the tale of another automaker, circa a decade ago, where I did RTM...: I was working in the larger detroit area at a time, driving for an hour each way to and from a customer to my hotel. I received a 2013 Dodge Dart as a rental, and it was the drive that cruise control was invented for on the highway. I couldn't figure it out. Eventually, I admitted defeat and reached into the glovebox of my Hertz rental to find out that apparently, in 2013, where the Dodge dart was a brand new car with a full digital screen gauge cluster many years before many luxury cars, that cruise control was an option and my steering wheel had blank plastic where the buttons should be... the manual there did teach me that it wasn't ignorance on my end, just a lack of equipment. But that was a decade ago, when Ford also accurately disclosed on-board programming procedures for their vehicles correctly in the manual rather than omitting them.
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