[zaimer]

One big difference between OnStar and our cellphones is in the event of a serious accident. OnStar has the ability to make the necessary emergency calls for you, say if your phone is damaged, thrown from the vehicle, or you simply are able to use it. As for the tracking and all of that, I'm fairly certain it is always "on"... it is just not enabled if you don't purchase the service. Most new vehicles have GPS trackers in them.

Having said all of that, I have never nor will I ever pay for OnStar. I feel the value isn't there.

[ctrlz]

OnStar is just too expensive for what it offers. It is just marginally different from a smart phone.
I never renewed, and I still get emails from GM where they are clearly communicating with my car via OnStar. "We see you are due for an oil change. Can we schedule one for you at a local dealer?" I unknowingly ran over a nail last year and woke up to a completely flat tire. There was an email from OnStar alerting me too, even though free trial was long over.
So there are some parts of this "service" you just can't get rid of. (I have read about removing the module, and don't feel like working that hard.)

OnStar is an extremely (or, should I say, EXTREMELY) profitable division of GM. It ain't going away any time soon.

[UnknownJinX]

Originally Posted by genxer

They can data mine you and sell off your locations, driving habits. Consider having more self respect. Dump it and pull the fuse.

Firstly, your smartphone already does all of that.

Secondly, the only two types of people who want this type of data I can think of are very organized criminals who somehow just really want you specifically, and cops. If you drive alone at night in the middle of nowhere in a routine way then yes, I can see criminals taking advantage of that, but that seems like a long shot in general and also rely on absolutely no other car that can pass by at any moment to pull off. The cops could better pin down where you like to do runs, but chances are, competent local police already know all the popular spots and catch plenty of people already. Those are some pretty narrow audience for a whole network of tracking devices, BTW.

I am assuming none of us normally have a sniper pointed at us at all times. I think it's a reasonable assumption to make on a Camaro forum.

If you want to talk about things like email address, phone number and address then yes, telemarketers love them, which is why I have reservations on signing up on websites, but driving habits? Not to mention, driving habits and routes require much more analysis to be useful than plugging phone numbers into automated call bots.

Originally Posted by zaimer

One big difference between OnStar and our cellphones is in the event of a serious accident. OnStar has the ability to make the necessary emergency calls for you, say if your phone is damaged, thrown from the vehicle, or you simply aren't able to use it. As for the tracking and all of that, I'm fairly certain it is always "on"... it is just not enabled if you don't purchase the service. Most new vehicles have GPS trackers in them.

Having said all of that, I have never nor will I ever pay for OnStar. I feel the value isn't there.

The safety package is the only one I currently have for the reason you said. I originally didn't think much of OnStar until I got a flat in the trial period. OnStar service won me over with that incident.

While I will admit it's kinda expensive, for safety it's at least justifiable and like insurance, no one wants to ever use it, but when you do, you always wish you have bought more coverage.

The remote package would be handy, but it's not nearly as critical and therefore far too pricey to justify.

[shoe5163]

First off you should of gotten a 3 month trial, that's what I got for all my GM cars, maybe dealer specific.



Secondly, I have the mobile access plan with hot spot and love them both for cold and hot weather. And my cell is a Spectrum cell that tries to use cell over wifi to augment its reliance on Verizon, so unlimited $20 bucks a month for the hot spot is acceptable. With my old 2012 Camaro it was free to load the smartphone app to be able to start you car now they charge for it.



Thirdly, the prices on the Onstar site are just a guide line they will negotiate with you for a better price.

[Gunkk]

Originally Posted by CanadianVetZL1

On Star - is it worth it?

No.

[nancygrl]

They used to be worth it a long time ago. Now, it sucks. I just do the free period and call them up and say I'm done.

[cellsafemode]

To disable onstar tracking and remote control possibility you have to physically remove the cell radio from the onstar module by opening it up and disconnecting the radio pcb. (or pull the fuse and lose microphone support as well)

otherwise yea, it's always watching - just waiting for the word to go ahead and initiate remote speeding ticket mode. (half joking)

I vote get rid of it. You dont need onstar.

[Timbo-1LE]

I have it, safety for my wife in her Silverado. Data mining, you all have no idea how much is captured already...

[Rock-It Man]

Of course it's worth it, for safety.

Saying you don't need it 'cause you never used it is like saying that you stopped wearing a seatbelt 'cause you have never been in a crash.

As for data mining, if you drive around with your phone on, Big Brother already knows where you are. LOL.

[cellsafemode]

Originally Posted by Rock-It Man

Of course it's worth it, for safety.

Saying you don't need it 'cause you never used it is like saying that you stopped wearing a seatbelt 'cause you have never been in a crash.

As for data mining, if you drive around with your phone on, Big Brother already knows where you are. LOL.

if onstar was that important for safety, it would be mandated by law and retro-fitted to existing vehicles.

you could also always put on a life jacket or a helmet when driving a car - because you could drive into a lake...but those aren't required either - and i'd imagine the helmet would be responsible for saving far more people from serious injury than the few instances where onstar made a difference.

There's no owner control over your internet connected vehicle - which allows remote control of your car. I'd always default that to cutting access vs not having control over it.

[UnknownJinX]

Originally Posted by cellsafemode

if onstar was that important for safety, it would be mandated by law and retro-fitted to existing vehicles.

you could also always put on a life jacket or a helmet when driving a car - because you could drive into a lake...but those aren't required either - and i'd imagine the helmet would be responsible for saving far more people from serious injury than the few instances where onstar made a difference.

There's no owner control over your internet connected vehicle - which allows remote control of your car. I'd always default that to cutting access vs not having control over it.

I think some dashcams have that functionality as well, where it will call the emergency service if it detects a crash. Not sure how that works, I am guessing it links to your phone via Bluetooth. So yeah, it can be retrofitted if you have a dashcam.

At the end of the day, it just depends on how comfortable you feel.

And remote control is a double-edged blade. It can also help you recover your stolen car by disabling ignition, but I also see some security vulnerability and potential abuse as well.

[BLACK21SS]

When I brought my SS home for the first time, I pushed the Onstar button for the welcome call while in my driveway. They never answered.

Now I need to research for where the onstar module is.

[donniedarko]

I paid for unlimited WiFi [which is actually 1000gb] which was 380 for 2 years. 15$ a month. I elected to not get OnStar.

[Number 3]

First, it depends only on your need to feel secure that IF you are in an accident that someone watching out for an airbag deployment has your back. That’s the basic and we pay for it on both cars. But that’s up to you and your family.

Next level is the ability to have OnStar decommission your vehicle if stolen.

For us, long time users since it was first available, it’s only value is for something you hope never happens. Now if you ride a motorcycle without a helmet because you have absolute certainty you will never go down? OnStar is not for you.