OnStar Warning

[WARider]

Just thought I'd warn everyone about how useless OnStar is so you don't waste your money like we did. Long story short, we decided to try it on my wife's Yukon as she drives across the mountains quite a bit. We haven't needed it for almost a year until during the big snow and ice storms we had in December. We pulled to a stop at a stop sign and the road angled towards the ditch. Well it was so icy that when we stopped we slid directly sideways onto the top edge of the ditch. We couldn't move by ourselves and people that tried to help would just about slide in with us as we would just go deeper as it was so icy. So we decided to use our OnStar as we had paid for it. When we called the rep looked up where we were located and said "oh, we can't send anyone out as it is our company policy to not dispatch anyone when it puts them in danger and with the snow and ice it will so we can't". He told us we had to call a tow truck or the police on our own as nobody was hurt. I was ticked off, let him and the supervisor know that we would be canceling as I say very little use for it when it was dry and warm out. I also told him I would be posting it on this message board and he told me that wouldn't affect their business one bit so go ahead. Not real interested in customer service! We called a tow truck and they wouldn't come without the police calling them. When we called the sherriff, his response to our OnStar issue was "yeah, I hear that quite a bit. for every one person they help, I hear of 5 others that they wouldn't". So be warned!! Big waste of money IMHO.

[Marcarl]

Great,,,now what am I going to do,,,,nobody out there to help me,,,,,,,,darn, I guess I'll have to look after myself and do things on my own after all.

Thanks for posting.

Carl

[FROG MAN]

OnStar works great if your vehicle gets stolen. They will gladly track it so the insurance company don't have to pay. Heck they might even download a log of your driving habits to the insurance company so they can adjust your rates.If your not dead or air bags deployed forget it.I canceled mine when gasoline went over $3.00 a gallon. I don't drive the Silverado enough now to justify the monthly expense.

[Midrsv]

I had Onstar on my Tahoe for 4 years. About a month before I dropped it I locked my keys in the truck and in a few minutes Onstar had it unlocked. When they switched from analog to digital service they wanted me to prepay 2 years service in order to get a discount on converting my unit to digital but would give no refund if I sold the truck before the 2 years was used up. I dropped them. In retrospect that was a damned expensive door unlock.

 

Dennis

[bongobobny]

So far I';ve been very happy with Onstar, especially the cell phone feature. I only carry the basic service but it has reminded me a couple of times to reset the oil life monitor. For towing, I just use the Onstar telephone to call AAA...

[timk]

I like the ONSTAR navigation system over the Garmin and TOMTOM units I use in my other ride and motorcycle.

[BoomerCPO]

I have OnStar and have been very happy with it. Several times I have used it to report serious accidents (I have seen on the road) and my cell phone was in a dead zone. My Insurance Co. gave me a hefty cut too because they(OnStar) can track/locate the truck if it is stolen. I especially enjoy the cell phone service which is hands-free and I can crank up the volume to really hear the incoming caller.

 

Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it IMHO.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

I thought most people were aware of the real purpose of OnStar. Maybe not. So this bears repeating. I will never own a new GM vehicle with OnStar.

 

 

http://www.tonyrogers.com/news/onstar.htm

 

http://www.subliminalnews.com/archives/000119.php

 

From the following site is this representative quote:

 

 

Should the government wish to find or track a vehicle equipped with OnStar, it is very easy for them to do so. They can also activate the OnStar and listen to any conversations occurring in the vehicle, without the driver and passengers’ knowledge. Some people tried to tell me that my concern over privacy was overly paranoid, but it turned out that the FBI actually lost a lawsuit in which it was revealed that they have been subverting the OnStar system for exactly these purposes. However, the basis of the ruling was that the FBI deprived the car owner of the normal emergency use of the OnStar system. This wouldn’t apply if they used the system to track an unsubscribed vehicle, or if they developed a means to use OnStar for tracking without disabling its normal functioning. It seems very likely that they have done this.

 

Source:

 

http://whats.all.this.brouhaha.com/2005/09/15/onstar-off/

 

 

Yall be sure to say 'HI" to the feds!

[buddy]

I know this thread is old

Figure use this one instead of opening a new thread to help keep info close incase someone wants to look for info

 

Ok I'm thinking of activating On Star on my Solstice for Peg incase she needs help

And was wondering how things are now with on star years later as for better or worse as I never had a Vech with On Star

As I'm typing this I found out I get 3mo free due to being new owner of the solstice

[bongobobny]

Ehh, still an expensive alternative to AAA membership and a cell phone...

[Yammer Dan]

I would like to have the phone but cheapest rate they offered me was over 50 cents a minute.

[Woody]

Hey Buddy, I have on star and very seldom use it, my keys were locked in the truck a couple of times it came in real handy for that. I had a glow plug go bad and when the light came on I pressed the button and they ran a diagnostic on it told me what was wrong. I like the idea that if I have an accident it would call for me since my cell phone normally lays on the console there is no telling where it will be. The minutes are way too high but I do keep a few on there just in case I need them. Also if someone steals my truck I am more likely to get it back. Good luck it is a high price to pay for peace of mind.

[Flyinfool]

The biggest thing I like about onstar is to monitor the other half's car or be able to locate her when she is lost and has no idea where she is.

It tells me about oil life, tire pressure, MPG, fuel Level.

 

The Connections and Directions is useless. You are paying $100 per year for a GPS that can't find anything. I tried it 5 times during the trial period. It was not able to find any of my destinations.

 

One destination was a house address that is third generation, not a new address.

Another was a hotel that is 15 years old, no record of "new" businesses.

The other times it tried to send me down roads that did not exist.

My old bottom of the line Garmin had no problem finding and getting me to any of them.