Factory service manual

Factory service manuals (FSM) are the manuals provided by manufacturers which cover the servicing, maintenance, and repair of their products. They are not designed for the general public, however they are created by manufacturers for use at their OEM dealerships. Manufacturers have a team of technical engineers, writers as well as illustrators who compile information for these service manuals. Creation of a factory service manual is a large investment of time and money by the manufacturer. Sometimes these manuals can create months from start to finish. Because of this large investment it is understandable that they do not want to allow use of the factory service manuals by the general public.

There are companies out there that create repair manuals for the general public to purchase. Clymer and Haynes are some of the most respected and well known names in the aftermarket service manual world. These manuals are created for the do-it-yourselfer to be able to purchase to complete repairs on their own vehicles. These manuals are also generally available as online auto repair manuals as well.

Factory service manuals have seen the implementation of digitalization over the years. From the microfiche to todays easy to navigate electronic formats have made this information easier to navigate for dealerships technicians. Factory service manuals are generally the only source of information for manufacturers labor time guides. These are times that are generated through labor time studies that are used in warranty operations. Labor times are the amount of time that the manufacturer states it takes to complete a job, this is than the amount of labor time that the dealership gets paid for when completing a warranty repair.

These aftermarket manuals that are available use some available information from the FSM for topics such as torque specifications, dimensions and part numbers.

For vehicles, the following content are usually covered: body, frame & mounting, engine, suspension, driveline, brake systems, transmission/transaxle, clutch, chains, exhaust, fuel, steering, shocks, climate control, instrumentation & Warnings Systems, battery & charging systems, audio, lighting, electrical distribution, and wiring.