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I’m a new Honda owner and not familiar with how Honda does this.
Been told the official source for service manuals is https://techinfo.honda.com but the website is a bit of a dog. Can I download PDF’s? If yes, would I be able to download the entire manual with a 1-day subscription? Manuals from Helm were also suggested to me. Are these the same Honda service manuals sold by a third party [Helm]? They have a paper only 2003-2006 Honda Element manual for $75. I guess there’s a CD-ROM version on Ebay that people claim is pirated…
Another suggestion was a subscription to ALLDATAdiy.com.
What do you recommend?
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I don’t know about Honda-specific, but I can’t recommend enough to get a paper service manual. When you’re working in the heat of the moment, a book is best, and a book is not a disadvantage at any other time. The only way books are a disadvantage is if you work on so much stuff that there’s a problem providing space for all the books. You need a high-buck laser printer to print off a PDF at a toner/paper cost that competes with buying the book. Point being, books are ideal for the hobbyist. Nothing beats it when you are physically at the car, especially with wiring diagrams.
You will not regret obtaining the official factory service manual(s). Ebay, used book stores, thrift stores are good places to look for used copies. For new copies, Helm reprints manuals under license from the makers. The website you referred to, techinfo.honda.com, is legitimate. The genuine factory service manuals may also be available on CD/DVD, but be careful as there are counterfeits as well. Because the books are copyrighted, any PDFs available online for free download are either pirate copies or counterfeits. Please do not pirate the books, they are very much worth the price.
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1431414,parttype,10335
These might be copies of the factory service manual. They come in paper and CD.
[quote=”cap269″ post=138501]Yes, Bishko (like Helm) produces factory authorized reprints.[/quote]
I guess what confuses me is both Helm and Bishko appear to have the PAPER service manuals from Honda, and in addition, Bishko has them on disk. Are they all exactly the same thing?
The CD-ROM version from Bishko, I wonder if that’s PDF or a proprietary format? PDF would be nice if I could put the files on my smart phone.
[quote=”desertdude” post=138508][quote=”cap269″ post=138501]Yes, Bishko (like Helm) produces factory authorized reprints.[/quote]
I guess what confuses me is both Helm and Bishko appear to have the PAPER service manuals from Honda, and in addition, Bishko has them on disk. Are they all exactly the same thing?
The CD-ROM version from Bishko, I wonder if that’s PDF or a proprietary format? PDF would be nice if I could put the files on my smart phone.[/quote]
It is one pdf file that is indexed and searchable.
I purchased a hardcopy directly from Helm for ~$65 with shipping. It was discounted because it didn’t contain the last model year for my vehicle, which is primarily a paint and trim option. It has more information and figures than I will probably ever need.
IMHO, PDFs are fine when the document is 10 pages or less. It’s a pain to scroll through and skim longer documents, and a paper copy is easier to handle in this case. Also a circuit diagram that takes up two pages may be difficult to read in a digital format – where you have to scroll between pages. The quality of the figures and diagrams of a PDF depend on how it was created, e.g. a zoomed-in view of an image that is jaggy and difficult to read because the documents were simply scanned into a PDF. The only “disadvantage” is that book is a couple inches thick and takes up some shelf space.
[quote=”Hanneman” post=138513]I purchased a hardcopy directly from Helm for ~$65 with shipping. It was discounted because it didn’t contain the last model year for my vehicle, which is primarily a paint and trim option. It has more information and figures than I will probably ever need.
IMHO, PDFs are fine when the document is 10 pages or less. It’s a pain to scroll through and skim longer documents, and a paper copy is easier to handle in this case. Also a circuit diagram that takes up two pages may be difficult to read in a digital format – where you have to scroll between pages. The quality of the figures and diagrams of a PDF depend on how it was created, e.g. a zoomed-in view of an image that is jaggy and difficult to read because the documents were simply scanned into a PDF. The only “disadvantage” is that book is a couple inches thick and takes up some shelf space.[/quote]
I have a fairly large collection of manuals. Some were acquired long before CDs existed and paper was the only way to get them. I have old parts catalogs on paper too. For the three cars I currently own and maintain I have the factory shop manual in both paper and pdf. I find the pdf manual great for quick reference and refreshing my memory, and I use the paper manual when researching a problem because I just find that to be easier. Both formats have their use and I enjoy having the option.
I’ve learned to embrace PDF more and more. I have an HP Laserjet with cheap generic cartridges, and I get lots of free paper every Black Friday from Staples. My cost to print stuff is about half a cent per page.
A paper service manual is wonderful until something goes wrong and it gets soaked in oil, radiator fluid, or whatever.
I acquired a PDF manual from Bishko for my Honda Element.
Really, I’m not complaining (too much) just laughing at how the PDF was created. Bishko had to scan a paper service manual into PDF because Honda was apparently unwilling to supply their original PDF’s. All three volumes are combined into a single PDF weighing in at 195 MB, which bogs down older computers a little bit.
Bishko did go through and create clickable links to other sections, but I noticed a couple links are incorrect and they forgot some of the others. There’s no way to fix these links with Adobe Acrobat because the PDF is locked with a password. This is probably old news to you veteran Honda guys, but strange for me.
Yep. I mentioned in my earlier post on this topic that it was one pdf file. 195MB is actually pretty small. I have one that is 1.3GB. As for bogging down the computer, be glad you aren’t using an Alldata CD based library running on a 386 PC. That’s what I used to use in the shop, and it sometimes took 10 minutes or more to load the CD, find the desired info and get it on the screen. Ahhh, the good old days…
Yeah, I think it’s actually the video card that is choking.
I feel your pain with that 386. That’s something I don’t miss at all.
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