[olrocker]

Originally Posted by rbuzz00

Since OnStar seems to be so unpopular on this forum, it's too bad that it couldn't have been deleted when the car was initially built.

I wonder how much we all had to pay for such an unpopular addition.

It originally was a completely separate option, and the first GM car to offer it was the 1996 Cadillac Catera - the Caddy that zigs

But as it became more popular in the early 2000s with so many people buying it - remember at that time cell phones and cellular service plans were still expensive and on-screen navigation was a very primitive and very expensive technology - it became cheaper for GM to just integrate OnStar hardware on all their cars, like power windows.

Also GM advertised the heck out of it. You may remember commercials with people in accidents with airbag deployment and the OnStar checking in and the victim not being fully conscious, then the OnStar rep locates their car and gets emergency responders out to the middle of nowhere on the middle of the night. Those commercials certainly tugged on the heart strings of anyone thinking about buying a car with OnStar.

It became cheaper to make them standard on every vehicle they make than to offer it as an option and have completely different and unique parts for the same car with and without it.

It was really just a matter of production streamlining.

[rbuzz00]

Watched an interesting video today about how GM is using OnStar to make millions by selling information about your driving practices to third parties, particularly insurance companies which may affect your insurance premiums.

There are links to an article in a Corvette forum which explains in more detail how this works and how you can get rid of OnStar.

There is also a link to where you can get competitive insurance rates from a company specializing in insurance for sports/collector cars which does not raise your rates if you like to use the potential of your Camaro now and then because they do not rely on info from on star in figuring your rates. I plan on checking this out.

But this video does explain one reason why GM continues to offer OnStar on its vehicles, and it's more than the safety features it offers. There is a market for information on how you drive and according to this article GM is making millions.

https://youtu.be/LazwA6CGmYM?si=JIkLSbWV8-XtZMWs

[CamaroRSOnt]

Good info Rbuzz !!

[david_acm]

Originally Posted by rbuzz00

There is also a link to where you can get competitive insurance rates from a company specializing in insurance for sports/collector cars which does not raise your rates if you like to use the potential of your Camaro now and then because they do not rely on info from on star in figuring your rates. I plan on checking this out.

This is for those whose Camaro is not a DD

From this link
https://www.ncminsurance.com/get-a-quote/

Our policies are intended for clients who…
Want to insure their collector vehicle and NOT their primary daily driver. My collector vehicle is NOT used for errands, grocery stores, shopping malls, or other activities consistent with daily use type activities.

[CamaroRSOnt]

I found the answer on the question I had posed the other day, why if my Onstar fuse is pulled is the car still seeing Wifi signals.

Turns out they are two different systems. The Wifi signal is controlled by the radio/entertainment system and not the onboard OnStar module. They do interact through the primary data channel in the car when both are operating normally, that allows GM to flow data thru your Wifi access, say when your parked in your garage and you had provided the password to your home Wifi. The car then has a alternative path back to the GM SmartDriver server and will use it if you let it.

The OnStar module has the capability to work with AT&T cell networks, it also receives (only) data from satellites for GPS etc.. If you have a OnStar subscription or have not subscribed the car will still transfer your driving data to GM via the AT&T cell network. On a regular basis if OnStar is on and working when the car gets close to a cell site, Onstar grabs the signal and transfers the data to GM without your knowledge. If you opt out of SmartDriver or not GM has that data. Removing that fuse for OnStar stops that process.

The Wifi signal could also be used to transfer the data if the OnStar module was working (fuse in), so if you pull the fuse it isn't, it's dead in the water, not able to talk to the Wifi system as well as the cell sites.

Those that leave the fuse in but but pull the radio module physically off the OnStar chip board need to avoid allowing their Wifi to connect or that data could also be transferred via Wifi. So long as Wifi cannot connect (don't give it a password that works and tell it to connect ) then they should also be fine. No data will get to GM.