One of the phrases I learned from my days as a computer programmer is: RTFM. This phrase, RTFM, is described in polite terms as: "Read the Fine Manual". Since most of us programmers were fluent in multiple programming languages, at least one spoken language and profanity, we usually substituted a better word for "Fine". Last night, I had one of these situations where the manual would have stumped me if I had read it.
When I bought my first car, the owners manual was less than 100 pages long. Most of the controls were self evident, the stalk on the left of the steering shaft controlled the lights (some cars had headlight controls elsewhere), the stalk on the right of the steering wheel controlled the wipers, and the gearbox lever was usually on the floor between the driver and passenger. Even without an owners manual, the average person could operate the vehicle in complete confidence that s/he wouldn't screw up anything important.
The Subaru Crosstrek is much different than my Datsun B-210 and my Honda Civic. Not only does the owners manual check in at over 500 pages, but the quick start guide of roughly 160 pages needs a shortcut guide of its own. Needless to say, things can get screwed up very quickly. For example, one has to turn off the collision avoidance system in order to take the car into a car wash. I have yet to figure out how to use the car's adaptive cruise control feature along with the lane centering feature to allow the car to perform limited self driving. But most of all, the device pairing process between the car and one's phone may just be the most annoying of all differences between this car and my old Civic.
Connecting Bluetooth devices is usually a simple task, and in both my Civic and the Crosstrek it is. However, I had to program in my speed dial numbers and associated voiced names (such as "RQS Mobile") each time I connected a new phone to the Civic. The Crosstrek ingests everything it can from the cell phone, and then allows the driver to hit a button and use voice commands to work much of the electronics in the car. Yet, I screwed something up that was working when I took possession of the car.
The day I took possession of my car, the salesman set up the connection between my phone and the car. All I had to do was hit the voice control button and say "Call RQS" and the car would make the phone call for me. However, my phone would continue to display a message "Repair with device to enable advanced message access feature." So I did this, and lost the ability to use voice commands to dial phone numbers. AARGH! Given that a salesman wants to keep his customers happy, I sent him an email and hope he responds quickly with a solution. Fingers crossed!
