What the Manuals Actually Let You Replace — a 7-Manual Survey
We read the maintenance chapters of seven archived official owner’s manuals — the older MG3, five BYDs (Atto 3, Dolphin, Seal, Sealion 7, Shark 6) and the GWM Ora — and asked one question: what does the manufacturer still document as owner work? The answer has shrunk to a short list, and knowing it saves you both wasted DIY attempts and unnecessary dealer visits.
The survey, in one table
| Item | Older MG3 (2011–24) | BYD range | GWM Ora |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light bulbs | ✔ Full 13-position chart published — we reproduce it | ✘ No chart, no procedure — sealed units; lighting section covers alignment and fogging only | ✘ Replacement referred to authorised service centres by name |
| Wiper blades | ✔ Procedure documented (sizes not published) | ✔ Procedure documented, incl. a screen-menu “wiper maintenance position” | ✔ Procedure documented (3-second stalk-hold service position) |
| Fuses | ✔ Documented | ✔ Documented — same-rating rule | ✔ Documented — puller and spare fuses live in the engine-bay fuse-box cover; diagrams on both box covers |
| Washer fluid | ✔ | ✔ (monthly check listed) | ✔ |
| 12V battery | ✔ Jump-starting documented | Rescue terminals in the frunk documented; replacement not described as owner work | Emergency-call backup battery (3-year interval) documented; main 12V not described as owner work |
| Coolant / brake fluid | Top-up documented | Level checks only — everything else workshop; HV cooling is strictly off-limits | Level checks only |
Each cell is sourced to its archived manual — nothing here is inferred from forums. Middle East editions used where an Australian download wasn’t offered (declared on the relevant model pages).
What this means in practice
- The bulb era is over. The older MG3 is the only car in our coverage whose manual still hands you a bulb chart. On everything newer, a dead exterior light is a service-centre visit — budget for it and don’t buy “compatible LED units” from marketplaces; the manuals warn against non-compliant assemblies explicitly.
- Your real toolkit on a new Chinese EV: wiper blades (use the on-screen maintenance mode — BYD and Ora both hide the wipers under the bonnet lip otherwise), fuses of the same rating, washer fluid, tyre pressures. That’s the documented list.
- Wiper sizes are published nowhere — all seven manuals document the how, none the length. Measure the old blade. Every time.
- The 12V battery sits in a documentation gap: it’s the most failure-prone part we track (see the 12V pattern) yet no manual treats replacement as owner work. In practice many owners fit AGM replacements; formally, that’s outside the book — and on some models the BMS needs a dealer update anyway, so the combined visit is the honest recommendation.
- Level checks are yours; circuits are not. BYD’s manuals draw the line precisely: look at reservoirs monthly, touch nothing orange. That line is theirs and ours.
Where the part numbers live
Where we’ve verified actual part numbers against catalogues and OE cross-references, they’re on dedicated pages with their traps documented: MG ZS oil filter and MG3 oil filter, the Chery family filter and the Jolion two-engine trap (three thread standards across the brands — the reason “fits MG” is never enough). More follow as sources are verified — never faster.