2021 Ford F-150 Owner’s Manual Goes Mostly Digital – Good Riddance!

Saving tons of paper every year, literally!

2021 ford f-150 owner's manual digital

We knew that the new 2021 Ford F-150 is switching to a digital owner’s manual for every new F-150 truck, but Ford has not quantified it with the tonnage of paper saved per year. Ford says that having a complete digital and searchable version of the owner’s manual and video tutorial in the SYNC 4 system will save around 290 tons of paper per year. This is equivalent to about 122 average pickup trucks.

What do you do when the truck is malfunctioning, the infotainment screen is inoperable, or the truck’s battery is dead? Well, Ford is including a small supplemental guide in paper form. We have an early version of this F-150 Guide on this site. What if the abbreviated guide is not enough? Well, you should be able to use a mobile phone to either call for help or look up a helpful video. I recommend tuning in to the TFLtruck Youtube channel. Sorry – couldn’t resist.

ford f-150

Having a searchable digital owner’s manual is not a new idea. Many luxury vehicle makers have this available, but few mainstream and affordable vehicles are offering this. The 2021 F-150 has either an 8-inch or a 12-inch infotainment screen, and all trims levels of the new truck are included.

What do you think? Should all automakers follow suit and go paperless (or nearly paperless)? How many times have you looked through your truck’s manual in the last month or year? Let us know in the comments section below.

TFLtruck had an opportunity to speak with the 2021 Ford F-150 chief engineer, Craig Schmatz, on this “TFL Insider” episode of TFL Talkin’ Trucks podcast. We speak about the entire truck and the digital owner’s manual as well.

Andre Smirnov
Andre Smirnov is an Automotive Enthusiast, Producer, Reviewer, Videographer, Writer, Software Engineer, Husband, Father, and Friend.