On-Star subscription

haider320 · June 16, 2015

So yesterday, I was running some errands and it was hot as hell outside. Get this crap....... i had my AC blowing at the high setting and jamming out to some tunes. All of sudden, my AC stops blowing high and my music cuts out. Some advertisement from Onstar came on. If that isn't intrusive, I don't know what is. The stupid Onstar advertisement can control my AC and music?!?

I haven't had Onstar for over a year yet it still pulls this crap. Seriously pissed me off! How do I stop these intrusive advertisements from Onstar??

nards444 · June 16, 2015

im on my 5th or 5th GM vehicle with onstar. Current 14 silverado has it but I dont pay it. I just dont see what service nets me for $300 a year. As it sits the truck has 5 year 100k roadside on it. I have a garmin and my phone has maps. I have a cell phone, if I ride with others they have cell phones, and just about every car that drives past me has a cell phone. With 14s or better you can have the app for free which unlocks and remote starts the vehicle. So again at the end of the day dont see what I am getting by paying $25 a month. If I magically lock my keys in, lose my cell phone its 3-5 locksmith visits to break even to $300.

End of the day as cool or helpful as it might be, I dont see paying for a 3rd,4th and sometimes 5th redudancy that onstar offers.

nards444 · June 16, 2015

.

You had an Onstar and warranty comment on another thread, my response apply here also. 2015 models have a basic Onstar plan for 5 years, trucks prior to 2015 does not have a 5 year basic Onstar plan. You would have to research what options still apply after your expiration date regardless if you bought used or not.

thats incorrect. 14 was the first year they offered the 5 year basic plan to use the key fob. I am on year two of my 14 silverado without paying for onstar.

As far as buying a used vehicle and the plan transferring, I dont know.

JerryCanada · June 16, 2015

My truck is not subscribed to it because like mentioned everyone has a cell phone who covers pretty much all of the features included in Onstar. I have a $80 Garmin GPS which I get out and stick to the windshield when I need directions. That's 2 months worth of subscription here in Canada. As of the app key fob, my trial has been expired for 7 months now and it still works. Find the app remote start useful as the actual key fob you almost need to be sitting in the truck for the signal to work.

The Zip · June 16, 2015

You are correct, 2014 did start the OnStar 5 yr plan. My comment on the other thread dealt with the diagnostic piece, which is not a 5 yr option on vehicles below 2015. Here is the write-up from OnStar;

"2014 vehicles Basic Plan - With limited OnStar RemoteLink® Mobile App services, you’ve got a powerful connection to your vehicle and the world around you standard for five years. For 2014 and newer vehicles, you’ll have access to select services, which include limited features of RemoteLink that let you remotely start your vehicle, and lock or unlock your doors—all from your smartphone".

"With the Basic Plan on 2015 and newer vehicles, enjoy all of the above, plus receive Monthly OnStar Diagnostics reports and Dealer Maintenance Notification to help monitor your vehicle and simplify maintenance scheduling. With 4G LTE3, you’ll have a fast and reliable connection, while your in-vehicle Wi-Fi® hotspot4 will allow you to connect up to seven devices".

hurricanoday · June 16, 2015

I honestly feel that anyone who is paying for onstar is getting straight ripped off. Especially if it is at their full price and multiple vehicles.

and they are out of their mind if they think I will pay those prices for data

galliher_nc · June 17, 2015

So yesterday, I was running some errands and it was hot as hell outside. Get this crap....... i had my AC blowing at the high setting and jamming out to some tunes. All of sudden, my AC stops blowing high and my music cuts out. Some advertisement from Onstar came on. If that isn't intrusive, I don't know what is. The stupid Onstar advertisement can control my AC and music?!?

I haven't had Onstar for over a year yet it still pulls this crap. Seriously pissed me off! How do I stop these intrusive advertisements from Onstar??

They'd be getting a profanity laden phone call from me if they pulled that crap.

galliher_nc · June 17, 2015

Onstar, no, but I might keep XM.

If Onstar would sell me a block of data (3 or 5 GB) that didn't expire at the end of the month I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I love the wifi but hate the month to month part and AT&T hasn't been an option in my area.

I have XM in all 3 vehicles. As someone else mentioned, if you do decide to keep it. Demand they invoice you and pay by check. Do NOT give them your CC #.

scott19677 · June 17, 2015

Were talking about OnStar right, not XM Radio?

Yeah, sorry. I was trying to multi task and guess I miss read. But I was still right about XM billing. Right now I don't use either OnStar or Xm.

raym0016 · June 17, 2015

Why shouldn't we give CC# to XM? What is the reasoning behind it? I have had mine on auto renew every other year for about 10 years over 2 vehicles and haven't had any issues. Granted, I didn't attempt to cancel it yet, I just transferred the subscription to the new vehicle. But if I did, I would notify XM in writing to cancel it and notify my credit card that I no longer authorize auto charges. I don't see the problem?

drcubanb · June 17, 2015

Remote App feature is super useful. Since I once locked my infant daughter in the truck with my keys. App saved my life. Because my wife would of stabbed me if I didn't open that truck ASAP.

Also I value the Automatic Crash Response feature. As someone who once got T-boned by a truck driver, this is important to me. I was luckly to have witnesses to the accident that called the police, because I was unconscious. That was before I had a wife and daughter. Now that I do, it's uber important to me to have this feature.

Navigation is dumb, and stolen vehicle locator could be useful one day. My daughter wont drive for another 15 years and im sure this service will be obsolete before Family Tracking will become useful to me.

Darmichar · June 20, 2015

So yesterday, I was running some errands and it was hot as hell outside. Get this crap....... i had my AC blowing at the high setting and jamming out to some tunes. All of sudden, my AC stops blowing high and my music cuts out. Some advertisement from Onstar came on. If that isn't intrusive, I don't know what is. The stupid Onstar advertisement can control my AC and music?!?

I haven't had Onstar for over a year yet it still pulls this crap. Seriously pissed me off! How do I stop these intrusive advertisements from Onstar??

After owning my truck for about 3 weeks, this happened to me. I immediately pushed the 'blue button' and cancelled On-Star. It completely hijacked my system, no way to shut it off. Normally I wouldn't go off the deep end on stuff like this, but it woke up my infant daughter.

Went to Twitter to try to get some kind of resolution, On-Star and Chevrolet couldn't care less. See https://twitter.com/Darmichar/status/518480770227503104 on October 4th. Told them it was pretty bad when they couldn't even give the On-Star service away for free.

I'll be damned before I PAY them for this service.

*EDIT* Also, apparently, if you cancel the service, it cancels your 5 year free thing. I've tried to log back into my account for the remote start and it won't let me.

SouthernSilveradoGuy85 · June 20, 2015

I've had OnStar ever since I bought the truck and I never had a problem with it. It does the same as if you get a call through your bluetooth so you can hear the other person. I never once had them send me an ad over the system so no big deal. I don't mind paying for it because even though I have AAA, AAA can't call the cops if you're knocked out after a wreck and it also helps that you don't have to even be specific of where you are since they have GPS in the vehicle so they know where you are. Plus I like the stolen vehicle thing. I do use the app a lot, but that's not why I'm paying for it. If I do lock my keys and cell phone in the truck I can just call OnStar from someone else's phone or a business phone and get it unlocked. It's one of those things like AAA, it's nice to have if you need it, but you hope you don't need to use it. I on the other hand hate the OnStar nav because it's basically useless. I don't like that you have to call and have someone else look up the address for you. I tried it with a business that was fairly new but not brand new and they couldn't find the exact address. I had to give them an address. Other than their crappy nav I think OnStar is a very useful tool and can be a lot of help when you need it.

Darmichar · June 20, 2015

If I do lock my keys and cell phone in the truck I can just call OnStar from someone else's phone or a business phone and get it unlocked.

One time I locked my keys in my (old) truck. Called the locksmith to see what it would cost to have him unlock the car ($95), called the auto glass place to see what the replacement window would cost ($65).

I'll let you figure out how I got into my truck to get the keys.

SouthernSilveradoGuy85 · June 20, 2015

One time I locked my keys in my (old) truck. Called the locksmith to see what it would cost to have him unlock the car ($95), called the auto glass place to see what the replacement window would cost ($65).

I'll let you figure out how I got into my truck to get the keys.

Either way you had to wait for someone. Also I'd rather not bust out my window since it makes a mess and then you have to replace the window. I'd rather pay a small fee per month to make things much easier than pay more than a full tank of gas in one shot just because I locked my keys in the truck.

My old trucks I would just get a copy made and being regular keys it would be a flat key and I kept the key in my wallet. Can't do that with the key to my '14, but never tried taking my extra key and taking the plastic off to see if it's flat.