On Star

Haufski762 · January 25

Just curious how many guys keep the service after it expires? I know they have different plans. I do enjoy the ability to lock/unlock and start the truck from my phone but I am not sure if I fully utilize everything else. My plan will be running out soon. Should I just get the cheap plan or dump it all together? Any tips on getting good deals?

bobder41 · January 25

I have kept onstar since 2004. Getting a break on my insurance and have used it several times. Once I left my dog in the truck with the motor running and she locked the doors when she hit the button. Had to call them to unlock the doors. My friend used them to track his stolen truck. The police had them turn the truck off and arrest the guy, no damage to the truck.

Haufski762 · January 25

Do you pay for the top package?

kickass audio · January 25

double check your build sheet if it came with connected service. I had my trial end and it ended the connected service feature that was part of the build sheet and I couldn't use the remote start, lock/unlock or any other commands from my phone and it also killed the AT&T 4g data on my 2023 RST. I called onstar and told them my truck was supposed to have the coverage for I think the build sheet said 3 years or 5 years something like that and they gave it to me along with 2 months of data connectivity. I've been testing turning off the data plan on my truck and use my mobile hotspot instead when my phone pairs up to the radio, data usage is pretty high for just driving around but it's typical mobile data usage for trip suggestions and traffic updates. I disabled auto map updates and auto app updates and run them usually every 2 weeks and it keeps everything working fine. With mobile hotspot it also gives me the ability to use the "hey google" feature to control everything like the temperature of the truck and what not. Without mobile hotspot or the AT&T plan for the truck you can use android auto by holding the mic button on the wheel for 5 seconds to use android auto's automation but it doesn't work as fantastic as the built in one with a data connection.

I know once my trial is totally gone I won't pay for onstar. The insurance break isn't anything more than $5 every 6 months for my premium which is a joke.

calgator73 · January 25

I pay 25 for the data plan and 9 for the basic Onstar

ember1205 · January 25

What you're essentially asking is how much value does OnStar have and does it line up with the cost of the subscription. Let me offer the following to consider:

OnStar has been around since something like the mid 90's. At the time, cell phones were still more of a luxury item than anything else so adding "telephone" services in the vehicle were of interest to many customers as it was FAR cheaper than getting a "car phone" installed. When cell phones became a mainstream thing, the phone service part lost some value. When -smartphones- became the norm, the data plans and turn-by-turn navigation became less valued. GM never changed their offering much, though. Same old tired services at rising prices.

Subscribership got so bad that GM changed the rules a few years ago and hard-bound three years of connected service into all vehicles and passed the cost along to the consumer. There was no way to opt out, and it was considered a factory-installed "option" that couldn't be removed so you couldn't argue the price of it. People still bought the vehicles, so GM decided to take away the mandatory service but still roll the price into the vehicle, increasing the margin on the vehicles.

They're likely still showing some of that revenue to support the OnStar business unit, but I'm willing to bet that their subscriber count is dropping again.

OnStar is a mostly redundant set of services compared to your smartphone at a monthly subscription price that is far too high for what little actual functionality you get.

Edited January 25 by ember1205

Gangly · January 25

I could very well be mistaken, but I believe GM was contractually obligated to continue OnStar subscription services in their vehicles. As a result of dwindling/no consumer interest in the subscription, but with a contractual requirement to continue its use in their vehicles, they began to mandate the "option" in their vehicles and tie in the price of a subscription with the purchase price of the vehicle to be able to keep from loosing money on it.

Honestly, how many people prefer OnStar's navigation over Google, Apple, Waze, etc.? 1 person in 1,000? If you're involved in a crash and want emergency response contacted, Apple and Andriod have done this for a while now. Other than emergency services, and navigation, the OnStar services are obsolete, and I would argue even those options are obsolete compared to what's readily available on our phones.

The GM app is nice, and being able to track, unlock, and remote start from a distance, etc. is nice to have, but that should be standard on higher end models, and not linked to a subscription based software.

Haufski762 · January 25

I will have to check the build sheet again to see if the connectivity option is on there. I thought I saw it.

ember1205 · January 25

3 minutes ago, Gangly said:

The GM app is nice, and being able to track, unlock, and remote start from a distance, etc. is nice to have, but that should be standard on higher end models, and not linked to a subscription based software.

The app is largely useless. Aside from sending a control (lock, unlock, or start / cancel commands), it has little value.

The tire pressure info is typically wrong as is the fuel level. Distance to empty is similarly often incorrect. The location data is not precise and this leads to problems in actually locating the vehicle if you need to. Most folks with a diesel are unable to see the DEF level. It won't tell you if the vehicle is currently locked or unlocked, running or not, etc.

The whole "Trusted Device" function they tried to add is largely worthless if you want CarPlay or Android Auto to work properly because launching either screen mirroring product kills the NFC functionality on the device to be able to auto-unlock your driver profile. The fact that they REQUIRE a driver profile now to make certain settings in the vehicle available (max volume at startup, for example) is another aberration on GM's part of genuinely not understanding how to write software. That's another whole topic to itself, though.

Vincej138 · January 25

I just kept the $15 remote access plan. Lock/unlock, start/stop and the location.

Phantom 4D · January 25

My 2023 came with 3 years of paid up ONSTAR with the mobile hot spot.

Gangly · January 25

1 hour ago, Phantom 4D said:

My 2023 came with 3 years of paid up ONSTAR with the mobile hot spot.

That's what I am referring to. I believe a severe decline in electing this as an option created a situation wherein GM made it "standard" on the purchase sheet now, and included it in the price of the purchase.

Edited January 25 by Gangly

Gangly · January 25

redundant

Edited January 25 by Gangly

ember1205 · January 25

1 hour ago, Phantom 4D said:

My 2023 came with 3 years of paid up ONSTAR with the mobile hot spot.

And my 2024 cost at least as much as yours but I got none of that. They forced it down everyone's throat and showed the price. People bitched. They hid the price and removed the service. No more griping but the price of the truck didn't go down even though the actual service was removed.