Is OnStar protecting your vehicle??

[v10superduty]

This is probably an anomaly but OnStar sure didn't do much for this guys GM car..

ONSTAR FAIL

Wonder if they will refund his $250 he paid for the service?

If you have a $60,000 tow vehicle you may want to just pull breaker for fuel system instead of counting on this?:W

[Halmfamily]

We had an '07 Silverado 1500 with On-Star. My wife locked the keys in the truck in our backyard and they could not unlock it as it was under a tree and they could not locate it. When I got home six hours later she was beyond mad and cancelled the service. Now I always keep a spare key hidden in the house.

[2003silverado]

Bought my 2012 Silverado in the fall of 2012. It was the first time I had a vehicle with onstar and got 6 months free as the promotional period and did not plan on renewing after it expired. It was the night before Christmas on 2012 and I pulled into a Mcdonalds in a fairly bad part of a town I was in to by a newspaper. I parked 10 feet from the newspaper box and left the truck running with our 5 pound dog in it while I ran to the box to buy the paper. 15 seconds right? The dog put his paw on the lock button and locked me out. After wasting 2 minutes trying to get the dumb dog to step on the unlock button I remembered I had onstar. I called them and within three minutes I heard the doors unlock and I was on my way.

I renewed my subscription.

[rottidawg]

I have enough monthly bills.

With my two Onstar equiped vehicles I have let the service lapse after the free first year. Only used it once on a lark and it worked fine (nearest bar in Two Dot, Montana), but to expensive for my use.

I wonder what my cost was to have that no choice device installed?
Also wonder how many actually keep it after the free year.

[Cuffs054]

BigFoot, see the problem is the plane didn't have OnStar or it would be found idling on some island. This my third vehicle with OnStar, I will NEVER be without it. It gives me great peace of mind

[Fast_Mopar]

I had the one year Onstar service when I bought my Chevy Cobalt in 2009. One day I locked my keys in the car. I called Onstar using my cell phone. I told them my car was the base model with no power locks or windows and that they probably would not be able to unlock it. The Onstar operator told me he would give it a try. Ten minutes later, my driver's door unlocked. Even though I do not have power door locks, GM hid an actuator (or whatever it is called) in the driver's door for this purpose.

[v10superduty]

wmoses wrote:

FWIW, the OP was not seen as negative by me but was informative.

I appreciate you saying that but the fellow with issue must drink way too much of the (whatever color) GM Koolaid
He seems to consistently feel he has to defend GM and point out negatives of the others.. :h

I started working at Ford dealership back in fall of 1967 and I sure don't worship them (Ford) that much.. :B

They all three brands have "ALL" had their hits and their misses :W

Some just have more of each than the others at any given time. Since all 3 are still going it must level out somehow??

[Ron3rd]

I think Onstar has value if you live in a very rural area with limited cell service. We canceled ours after the free trial period.

[Ron3rd]

"A Saskatoon real estate agent says thieves tampered with his car's OnStar tracking system."

Just about anything electronic can be disabled.

[gmcsmoke]

rockhillmanor wrote:


OnStar DID NOT WORK.

OnStar uses towers the SAME AS YOUR PHONE.

NO phone service where you are at? NO Onstar help.

so what remote part of america were they in?

https://www.onstar.com/web/portal/coveragemap?g=1

[rbtglove]

A good friend of mine slid off the road in the winter and was trapped in his SUV so that he could not reach his cell phone. On star reported the deployment of the air bags. The local sheriff office used used the GPS coordinates and rescused him. The SUV could not be seen from the road and his wife said she did not expect him back for hours. I have found only a couple of remote places the phone couldn't get out and once in NM called a tow for a guy who could not get one on his cell phone. Think I'll keep mine active.

[Lessmore]

My son's had OnStar since 2008. No problems and he uses it regularly. I had it for a year. It was helpful, no problems.

[NJRVer]

ktosv wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:
OnStar uses towers the SAME AS YOUR PHONE.

NO phone service where you are at? NO Onstar help.

Yes, they use the same towers, but the device in your vehicle is a higher wattage(?) and has a better antenna. All things being equal, you will have OnStar coverage longer than you do on a small handheld cell phone.

My experience...this summer while heading "up north" we happened to be following a drunk driver. I pick up my phone to call 911 and my phone has no coverage. I hit the OnStar emergency button and within seconds they have me connected with the county sheriff. Both my phone and OnStar function off of Verizon.

The area that we go to has limited cell coverage. I can't make a phone call from my cell phone, but I can go sit in my van and use my OnStar hands free calling and place a successful call.

Maybe it isn't perfect for everyone, but when I have needed it, OnStar works for me.

X2!
When my cell phone won't work, OnStar has always come through.
Not to mention if we are traveling in a new area and looking for a particular place..."Are there any Chik Fil A's near us??"

OnStar..."I will download the directions to your navigation"

Priceless.

[Bigfoot_affair]

I guess it proves that nothing is fool proof. How many countries does it take to find a Boeing 777 after someone turns off its transponder? No ELT?

[wmoses]

I have OnStar and have never had to use it other than to get them to unlock the vehicle once. It also tells my dealer when I need an oil change which is useful, and not irritating since I like the dealer's service people. I bought the vehicle after seeing an ad for OnStar, incidentally, but that is not what closed the deal for me. It was a good bonus. I agree it is a nice benefit. As for the phone - It gets better reception than the cell phone and I thought that was because of it working off a satellite but thanks to this thread it looks like that is not the case. Either way I don't go off the beaten path so I really don't care about coverage. All I get is the occasional wrong number.

FWIW, the OP was not seen as negative by me but was informative.

[ktosv]

rockhillmanor wrote:
OnStar uses towers the SAME AS YOUR PHONE.

NO phone service where you are at? NO Onstar help.

Yes, they use the same towers, but the device in your vehicle is a higher wattage(?) and has a better antenna. All things being equal, you will have OnStar coverage longer than you do on a small handheld cell phone.

My experience...this summer while heading "up north" we happened to be following a drunk driver. I pick up my phone to call 911 and my phone has no coverage. I hit the OnStar emergency button and within seconds they have me connected with the county sheriff. Both my phone and OnStar function off of Verizon.

The area that we go to has limited cell coverage. I can't make a phone call from my cell phone, but I can go sit in my van and use my OnStar hands free calling and place a successful call.

Maybe it isn't perfect for everyone, but when I have needed it, OnStar works for me.