If a customer repairs a machine improperly and it causes more problems, or someone gets hurt, it can paint the manufacturer in a bad light.
The automotive industry, for which a huge aftermarket exists, has dealt with that argument before, and in general it seems the manufacturers are not responsible for anything but the defects they themselves create (hence recalls.) If anything, trying to lock things down only means the manufacturer wants to take on more responsibility, not less. Tesla is a notable exception to the tradition.
Also, as a hardware product, what happens when you make a minor revision? You send out a whole new book on Tractor v3.8973 (has slightly different brakes than 3.8972 because the brake manufacturer went out of business and Deere needed to find another).
This is a solved problem and has been for over a century; design changes mean you add a new section (or maybe just a paragraph, depending on the extent of the changes) to the manual. Here's an example from 70 years ago:
Hardcopy manuals for large and complex products often come in (sometimes multiple!) 3-ring binders, so that new material can be added easily. These days, it could be as simple as uploading a new PDF to a website.
The automotive industry, for which a huge aftermarket exists, has dealt with that argument before, and in general it seems the manufacturers are not responsible for anything but the defects they themselves create (hence recalls.) If anything, trying to lock things down only means the manufacturer wants to take on more responsibility, not less. Tesla is a notable exception to the tradition.
Also, as a hardware product, what happens when you make a minor revision? You send out a whole new book on Tractor v3.8973 (has slightly different brakes than 3.8972 because the brake manufacturer went out of business and Deere needed to find another).
This is a solved problem and has been for over a century; design changes mean you add a new section (or maybe just a paragraph, depending on the extent of the changes) to the manual. Here's an example from 70 years ago:
http://buick.oldcarmanualproject.com/manuals/1948/1948-1950%...
Hardcopy manuals for large and complex products often come in (sometimes multiple!) 3-ring binders, so that new material can be added easily. These days, it could be as simple as uploading a new PDF to a website.