GM now offering the Factory Service Manual as a subscription?!?

[CrashTestDummy]

I've been considering getting a 2024/25 Sierra 1500 to replace our '02 2500HD, since it's getting old, and I'm thinking it'll be the last vehicle I probably buy and I'd like something with a warranty. Anyway, since I usually have factory service manuals (FSM) for every vehicle I own, I went searching the Helm website to see how much the FSM for one of these would cost. They do NOT list a FSM for 2020+ model car vehicles. Is that true?!? Can the only way you can get access to a GM FSM is to have a freaking subscription?? I really prefer paper copies I can thumb through, as electronic/PDF copies really are terrible to try to find stuff in, and you HAVE to have some tablet/phone running all the time to reference them.

This could change my thoughts on a new vehicle.

 

[homesick]

LOL, Microsoft strikes again- You can't buy products, you can only rent permission to use them. John Deere is a poster child for this.

joe

 

[PPV_2018]

Years ago (almost 10 years) my best friend bought an old computer that had TONS of awesome programs on it. I mean everything from MS office to a hard copy (not subscription based) of adobe photoshop and all their other programs. It was a gold mine. It had so many programs and everything was installed, registered, full unlocked copies. Stuff that you cannot “buy” any more, everything is now a “service” and not a “product” that you can buy.

One day i came by and asked him where is the computer?!!? He said he had to pawn it, but that he’d go get it back in a week or so. A bad stroke of luck and he couldn’t get the computer out of pawn. Lost forever. Gotta be f*ckin joking. to this day i still give him a hard time about that.

Anyways . . .

IF true that fsm is now subscription only, i suppose you could find someone that has the subscription and pay them to turn it into a pdf and sell it to you.. all 47,382 pages that is . . .

 

[RG23RST]

Why are you giving a third party your money? Just get a subscription to ACDELCO TDS and you can browse the same technical manuals as your dealership tech does. It's $22 before tax for a 3 day subscription. Download or print as PDF whatever you want in those 3 days.

 

[JayceeP]

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[homesick]

.

?

 

[JayceeP]

?

I misread the OP’s post. I thought he meant owners manuals and maintenance schedules. Assuming FSM is something entirely different?

 

[homesick]

I misread the OP’s post. I thought he meant owners manuals and maintenance schedules. Assuming FSM is something entirely different?

I was just funnin' you.

joe

 

[fondupot]

I've always used AllDataDIY.com for my tech manuals. I have one for my 2021 Yukon. I think I paid like $130 for a 3 year subscription. They're very helpful, and you can print everything off in PDF. So much info on there.

But for some reason they do not have my 2024 Silverado 2500HD. So I'm looking into an alternative. I checked ACdelco TDS and its like over $1,000 for a year.

 

[CrashTestDummy]

I misread the OP’s post. I thought he meant owners manuals and maintenance schedules. Assuming FSM is something entirely different?

You can get owner's manuals, supplements, owner's assistance manuals (all the things that you find in the glove box) in paper format, but NOT the Factory Service Manual.

https://www.helminc.com/helm/Result...24&Category=&Keyword=&Module=&selected_media=

Seems only an e-reader/PDF version is available:

https://factorymanuals.net/collections/factory-gmc-service-repair-manuals

And, as said, my experience with PDF versions of manuals, ESPECIALLY the schizophrenic way GM does their manuals, is a miserable search task in electronic form. If I'm going to HAVE to have 4 manuals open to 5 different sections, I want to be able to bounce from book to book, laid out on the workbench, not trying to search the correct page then back to where I was, etc., via PDF.

That, and we usually keep vehicles well past their warranty and having to maintain a subscription for several years does not seem financially-sound.

 

[omandave]

I have found that my local public library has access to the Chilton's Service manuals, Online version, for supporting DIY repairs and information.
My library has an online section and lists it out like this:

Automotive & Consumer

Chilton Library Get the detailed information you need to tackle vehicle maintenance and repairs. Includes step-by-step repair procedures, diagnostics, diagrams, maintenance schedules, estimate tools, and more.


I have been able to find wiring diagrams, torque valus, removal and replaicement info, DTC info, troubleshooting, it also provides the TSBs that are issued. etc... It does not provide part numbers... LOL ( I called it the Poor man's Factory Service Manual portal...)

anyway... check into your local library or your county library system and see ifyou already have "free" access to the documentation... they are about 3 years behind on model years... so a 2025 vehicle won't be available for a couple of years... my 2019 vehicles are both available...

Cheers!

 

[homesick]

I'm not a fan of aftermarket manuals.

joe

 

[PPV_2018]

I'm not a fan of aftermarket manuals.

joe

ESPECIALLY for newer vehicles.

Anyways **If** you had the pdf version available, i am sure you could take to kinko’s or something and have it printed out. Cost ya a pretty penny I’m sure. But probably not much more than what it would cost to buy a normal FSM for a late model vehicle. Better than nothing no?

 

[fondupot]

the AllDataDIY.com manuals are the official GM service manuals. Haven't steered me wrong yet.

 

[CrashTestDummy]

I'm not a fan of aftermarket manuals.

joe

Ditto. Although I've found plenty of mistakes in the OEM FSMs, most of the issues I have with aftermarket manuals is omission of information. Stuff's just plain not there.

 

[nomech]

I'd like to have the FSM in PDF format assuming it is indexed (searchable) properly. It is much easier to search electronically vs a 900 page book. However, once you find the part you need in the PDF, just print that section off and keep it in the garage in case you need it again. I'd rather pay a one time cost (reasonable price) to have the FSM vs a subscription fee unless I can buy the subscription for 1 year (again, reasonable cost) and just save the full FSM as a PDF and have it forever, but I'm not sure if you'd be able to do that.

 

[Fless]

LOL, Microsoft strikes again- You can't buy products, you can only rent permission to use them. John Deere is a poster child for this.

joe

FWIW Not sure if I've posted this before but Microsoft recently started offering a static (current) version of Office Home 2024 for single PC or Mac use. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and One Note. One-time fee ($149.99), download, and no updates or ongoing technical support, similar to the old Office versions on CD:

Compare Microsoft 365 Plans & Pricing (Formerly Office 365) - Microsoft Store

Compare Microsoft 365 subscription plans and pricing (formerly Office 365). Choose from Personal, Family and Premium subscriptions with Copilot AI, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive and Designer. Works on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android. Find the right plan for your needs.

www.microsoft.com

 

[jforb]

That, and we usually keep vehicles well past their warranty and having to maintain a subscription for several years does not seem financially-sound.

With all the software in new cars, I don't know how long I want to keep the new cars...might be that they get sold off before they go too far down hill.

FWIW Not sure if I've posted this before but Microsoft recently started offering a static (current) version of Office Home 2024 for single PC or Mac use. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and One Note. One-time fee ($149.99), download, and no updates or ongoing technical support, similar to the old Office versions on CD

heh, I'm still using office 2007. It still works. I got 2016 when it came out (at a hefty discount from my wife's workplace), but I didn't like it as good as the older one. So I still use the old one.

 

[Eighthtry]

I used to buy service manuals when I bought a new car. I realized I was not really using them like I did my 74 Cutlass. I quit buying them. Now all I buy is owner manuals. My 23 GMC manual is 400+ pages and my 21 F150 is 800+ pages.

 

[CrashTestDummy]

FWIW Not sure if I've posted this before but Microsoft recently started offering a static (current) version of Office Home 2024 for single PC or Mac use. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and One Note. One-time fee ($149.99), download, and no updates or ongoing technical support, similar to the old Office versions on CD:

Compare Microsoft 365 Plans & Pricing (Formerly Office 365) - Microsoft Store

Compare Microsoft 365 subscription plans and pricing (formerly Office 365). Choose from Personal, Family and Premium subscriptions with Copilot AI, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive and Designer. Works on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android. Find the right plan for your needs.

www.microsoft.com

Off topic, but we got the new Office package for my bride's Win11 Pro laptop. It was the one system install, not the freaking subscription. It does come with security updates, which is all we need.

And to respond to another's reply, yes, I prefer the older versions, vs. M$ 'change things just because we can change things, but offer no real update in features', but you get security updates with the older versions. :-/