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Way OT: Why have OnStar?

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Rauville

06-21-2005 08:59:08

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Sorry for the OT; but I have a question relating to the GM OnStar option. My Wife locked both sets of keys in her 04 Chevy truck yesterday morning. Luckily it was parked at home, so she called OnStar for their unlock service. After being questioned about the OnStar contract number and PIN number, both of which were in the locked vehicle, they finally agreed to send the unlock signal. Nothing happens...after several tries, they told her to wait for 30 minutes, and they would try again. Still nothing happens, and they finally tell her that they will send Roadside Assistance. Two hours later, still no one has showed up. OnStar then calls, and tells her they will call the dealer with the VIN, and have a key cut and delivered. Finally, a tow company driver arrives to fulfill the Roadside Assistance call. The whole episode takes almost 4 hours to accomplish what they advertise as being available as an almost instamatic service.
Just what would the advantage of paying for this service be? The first year of complimentary service is almost up, and we have to decide as to extending the contract or not. Thanks for your opinions.

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CLW

06-23-2005 09:42:07

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

I don't have OnStar, drive Ford products, however as far as locking keys in the car my wife is as good at it as anyone. She got a new car in 03 that has key pads. Great thing if you lock your keys inside or you need to get in the car and the keys are in the house. Bad thing about them is you have to buy other extras to get them. We didn't set out to get them, just happened to be on the car she liked.
CLW

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MarkB_MI

06-22-2005 00:23:18

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

GM is looking to find new sources of revenue. Both On-Star and XM Radio generate money long after the vehicle is sold, and both cost GM almost nothing to provide. It's up to you to decide whether or not they are worth what they cost. On-Star's anti-theft feature will help on insurance, and the air bag notification is a good thing if you're traveling in remote areas (assuming cell phone coverage).

On-Star is basically a cell phone, a GPS and a computer. With regards to privacy, GM can do a lot more with it than they do or will admit they can do. But the "black box" feature that will tell the police how fast you were going when you crashed, etc., is NOT part of On-Star.

I have to say that it really takes some effort to lock your keys in a new GM vehicle. The power door locks generally won't lock if you've got the keys in the ignition. A bit of advice: Make sure the "unlock policy" is set so the doors automatically unlock when you shift into park. This will ensure that even if you accidentally bump the driver's door manual lock when you get out, the passenger side door will be unlocked. The door lock on the new GM pickups is easy to bump, I've done this myself. Of course if you're in the habit of pulling the keys every time you get out you'll never lock them in the car.

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Nolan

06-22-2005 04:45:16

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to MarkB_MI, 06-22-2005 00:23:18

My wife amazes me at how hard she works to lock her keys in the car, and she's proven herself to be quite good at it.

Her successfull work around to ensure she does it is to leave the keys in the ignition or on the dashboard. She then closes the front door. Next you open the back door, reach up and lock the front door. Press the button to lock the rear door, and close.

Wala, she has now successfully locked her keys in the car. Why she works so hard at doing this, I haven't a clue. She thinks I'm very strange for locking the doors with the key.

There's probably a moral in this, but since it involves my wife, I avoid thinking about it. :)

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Kevin Bismark

06-21-2005 21:49:51

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

I wouldn"t bother with it at all, herd lots of stories that make you scratch your head after you see the ads on the TV, had some people call a radio station when they were talking about it and they had an "on-Star" person come on and inform them that they were driving too fast on the road they were on, and a few other that found out when they pushed the button that the guy on the other end knew the problem before they had told him about it, he had been listening to them talk in the car the whole time they were driving, just to much money for no reason, if you are out in the middle on no where with no cell phone coverage it doesn"t work at all anyway....

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Edchainsaw

06-21-2005 19:25:06

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

I was hit broad sided rolled over and had the bumper pulled off... NO EMERGENCY CALL -- I think it was because I told them the week before I didnt need to upgrade the service.... since I had only driven the truck 1200 miles in 7months.

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Midwest redneck

06-21-2005 17:38:07

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

I think Onstar is a big waste, it has the potential to *crew you on a lease car or truck, like when you turn it in and the dealer says "Oh lets check and see how you drove the car for the last 3 years", and he procedes to tell you that you drove 80MPh on the Eway everyday and that you didnt change the oil at the required intervals, bla, bla, bla. In my opinion Onstar is just another way for GM and big brother to monitor your whereabouts. As for locking your keys in the car, I would just say keep and extra set in your wallet and have a cell phone incase you breakdown.

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Mark - IN.

06-21-2005 16:49:23

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

I learned many years ago to keep two sets lying together, when I grab one, I grab two. One morning grabbed one for the company truck, and one for my truck, and off I went. Was cold, cold, cold winter, so locked the door, engine running, and in I went for a minute. Spare didn't exactly fit at all. Good thing didn't have electric locks and the police post was working at had a slim jim. Even then, I'd make a lousy crook, took a trooper to operate it for me.

As far as onstar goes, those commercials burn me. "Mom or Dad, would you dare risk my safety putting me in a vehical that didn't have onstar?". Kind've rubs me real wrong. There's a kid that can walk, ride a bike, catch a bus until they can offord to buy their own onstar, or don't make the mistake of asking that again.

Mark

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Bus Driver

06-21-2005 16:40:04

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

I keep a key to my vehicle in each front pants pocket (total of two) and a dummy to hand to a carjacker.

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GM guy

06-21-2005 15:31:29

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

The few conveniences it sometimes offers are only a small part of it's program. As was mentioned below,it contains a data recorder,which monitors speed,distance of trips,brake applications,seat belt usage and about 250 more things. Gm may or maynot sell this information.Yeah Right It contains a locator chip for 1 if you are lost, 2 if the vehicle is stolen,3 to tell repo people where it is if not paid for. The whole vehicle can be shut down remotely by GM or law enforcement and cannot be restarted until taken to a dealer, hooked to the main service computer there and then uplinked to GM to download the restart program..

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dr.sportster

06-21-2005 14:01:37

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

Under all my plates is an extra key.Worse case senario I need a screwdriver to unscrew plate and retrieve spare key.Cheaper than those dash buttons nobody is allowed to touch cause it cost money.

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MeAnthony

06-21-2005 14:37:24

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to dr.sportster, 06-21-2005 14:01:37

A coin from your pocket works too :.)

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RayP(MI)

06-21-2005 13:37:41

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

Since my wife bought a used car (2001) which has Onstar, I did a little research. First of all, the communication thru Onstar is not to a satellite, but thru cell phone circuits. (Verison is the company of choice, and if you're out of Verison coverage, it MAY revert to other company's coverage.) If you're in a bad place for cell coverage, your Onstar won't be worth much either. What is nasty about the cell phone in OUR Onstar is that the durn thing is analog, and the cell companies are busting their _____ to go to digital and enhanced digital service. Federal Govt has given cell companies until 2008 to phase out analog, and I have been told that GM has no intention of updating existing analog units in people's vehicles. The only satellite connections have to do with the satellite locating system, used by the military, hunters, hikers, surveyors and others who use the satellite location only. Since this is cell phone based, I'm pretty sure they're not tracking your every move, etc. Only when you call them are you connected. Advantage is that there are operators on duty 24/7, so your'e never alone as long as your phone works, and they can at that time access your vehicle, and read codes, reset locks, etc. If the airbags go off, the system is automatically connected to an Onstar operator. They have two tiers of service, and you have your choice of which you want/need. Where we're located, Verison isn't a significant player in the cell industry, has very spotty coverage. Since we have another cell carrier, and ham radios in all our cars, we've opted not to subscribe. Others need to consider their own needs.

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Matt_In

06-21-2005 13:26:39

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

Took them 2 hours to get mine open once the guy showed up to open it.

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john-mi

06-21-2005 13:04:42

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

I just wish G.M. would put as much effort into getting some decent brakes on there pickups as they do trying to sell you on-star.

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onefarmer

06-21-2005 11:45:59

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

How long before they have spam over Onstar? I get enough on email, phone, and postal.

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TomR Ont.

06-21-2005 11:26:23

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

The way I see it, we will pay $25.00 a month for the research and development of this so called must have, to save your life service.
Then unbeknown to the payee, your habits will be sold to interested commercial parties i.e. much like the junk mail we use to get when we filled out contest or raffle tickets stubs or bought a magazine subscription. Now it�s the Internet with all the unwanted ads.
Next - when they get most the bugs out of OnStar, your Insurance co will charge by the mile, you know so much for say 20,000 mile a year then whatever they can per mile.
Then when they get larger and more intelligent computers our gas tax will reduce (ha ha) and they will charge by the mile for your plates. I heard on the radio last week England is thinking of it at $1.00 - $1.50 per mile. When they do it they will probably charge far less to start and everyone will be thankful. That�s when it will become mandatory.
My 2c + tax

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06-21-2005 10:58:06

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

This on-star thing is a peice of electronics in your car that they try to convince you how useful it is. Really it is a little black box that can keep track of you driving habits, this goes to insurance companies, local law enforcement, then because of the way you drive, and how fast, your insurance rates go up. Now, how is that for a wacked out conspiracy theory???? Scares me and I am fearless.:>)

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Leland

06-21-2005 12:30:20

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to JT, 06-21-2005 10:58:06

Jt that could be a good thing here the way people in our area drive have everything linked to a satalite that may help when you get run over by a blonde talking on her cell putting on makeup and trying to put on her panty hose and eat breakfast at the same time going 90mph down veterans.

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06-21-2005 16:33:54

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Leland, 06-21-2005 12:30:20

Yes sir, you do have a vaild point, that is why I do not spend much time on that side of town.

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Mike M

06-21-2005 11:21:21

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to JT, 06-21-2005 10:58:06

I think that info is contained in the air bag sensing and diagnostic module.

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Steve(OR)

06-21-2005 10:37:24

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

Sure its a lot of hassle and could be made to work better, but could your wife have gotten the problem solved on her own and had a key made in 4 hours? If she couldn't then the service may have been worthwhile to you.

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Hermit

06-21-2005 10:37:04

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

It's like the data recorders installed in vehicles over the past few years. The companies develop technologies in hope someone will want it. They convince the vehicle folks to install them and pass the cost on the buyers, telling the purchaser it's a great idea. Of course, the hope is that the item will become popular or required and the profits roll in. The data recorder companies couldn't convince the government to require them. So the advertising now goes to the police departments and insurance companies to help track and record driver behavior for criminal procedings or to set insurance rates. As for On-Star, did you need the CB in your car or portable phone in you car or satellite phone in you car or cell phone in your car? How well can you live your life without outside influences, activities or technologies?

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Mike M

06-21-2005 10:29:18

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

Moral of the story---keep track of your keys . Just another wonderful techno gadgit no one really needs and someone is pushing it on you so they can make a buck.

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VADAVE

06-21-2005 10:05:54

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

ONSTAR is on my 04 truck. The only thing I tried to use was the phone feature--didn't work. The system could not understand the numbers as called out. To my way of thinking a hide-a-key works just fine for the rare time you lock yourself out and cell phones work great if the "so realiable" truck breaks down.
What bothers me is even though I didn't continue the subscription I don't believe the system is real turned off. So why does BIG BROTHER need to know where I am or go? Seems like another freedom that we are losing.
I asked to have the power disconnected and the antenna un-plugged--was told it couldn't be done with out tearing the interior apart.

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Hurst

06-21-2005 19:17:19

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to VADAVE, 06-21-2005 10:05:54

I would think that there has to be some sort of fuse for the system, just take it out and you are a free creature again, no longer under car-arrest.

Hurst

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BBx

06-21-2005 10:05:21

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

A keypad on the door (available as aftermarket if you don't have it from the factory) makes opening the door no problem. And cell phones make emergency communication no problem (in most areas). Don't see a need for it myself.

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Nebraska Cowman

06-21-2005 10:03:55

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

I carry a spare key in my billfold. Locked my self out of 1971 Elcamino 30 years ago and made up my mind it would never happen again.
Wanna hear a good one? Older senior lady rancher got out of her new Lincoln to open pasture gate. Wind blew the door shut and it automaticly locked. There she stood, miles from home, cold wind blowing, no keys, no cell phone, car is running and she can't get in. Do you think maybe she was a little pissed?

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edchainsaw

06-21-2005 19:35:06

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Nebraska Cowman, 06-21-2005 10:03:55

have a better story... a NC tobacco farmer bought a new truck and was taking it around to show his neighbors --- he's kinda hyper too. He drives into one farm and hops out and shuts the door and click... "he lets out a yell it locked my KEYS in it!... grabs a rock and tosses it threw the driver window---- BEFORE THE OTHER FELLOW in the passenger seat could stop him! LOL>.....

TRUE STORY SO I"M TOLD....

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dbear

06-21-2005 09:40:28

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

I find their advertising insulting! They try to make you think that it's as important to have as say brakes, setbelts, and airbags. If it truly was that great a safety feature, it would come standard on all vehicles, regardless of manufacturer, and at no extra cost!!!

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chris sweetland

06-21-2005 09:18:59

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Rauville, 06-21-2005 08:59:08

you have to be in range for the un lock to work but just think of the hassel it would have beed if you had to go to the dealer and get a new key cut and pay for it

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Pitch

06-21-2005 09:36:43

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to chris sweetland, 06-21-2005 09:18:59

To me it is another unessecary gimmick and expense. It is also handing another bit of your personal privacy over to an unknown entity on a siver platter. To some folks it may be perfectly fine and possibly even useful, but it will never be activated on one of my vehicles untill it becomes law.

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Van in AR

06-21-2005 09:49:17

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Pitch, 06-21-2005 09:36:43

It won"t be activated on any of my vehicles even after it becomes law. I don"t need someone sitting in a office knowing what highway im driving on, or what grocery store I shop at.
Van

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supermpuller

06-21-2005 14:33:18

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Van in AR, 06-21-2005 09:49:17

My wife had a flat tire it was raining so hard you could hardly see the road, punch onstar , they sent a service man out changed tire, got back on the road again in about 1 hr, this all happen 100 miles from home, it was worth the cost of onstar this time. It can also find your car if someone steals it a lot faster than the cops.

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Farmer in the Dells (WI)

06-21-2005 17:45:45

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to supermpuller, 06-21-2005 14:33:18

Guess I don't any of the problems listed earlier. Big brother or anybody else for that matter couldn't care less where me and my 85 pickup are, or how fast I'm getting there. Never lock it so I have never been locked out. Most times the keys are in the ignition so I know where they are. I'd take it to the city to "trade it off" but the value wouldn't meet my deductable anyhow. I think its a way overpriced option. You are better off with a good cell phone and service provider although in some rural areas that is still not an option. We have much better service since leaving analog for TDMX digital. Sooner or later that will be the standard. By that time something better is sure to come along.

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Stickler

06-22-2005 21:00:18

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Farmer in the Dells (WI) , 06-21-2005 17:45:45

I travel mainly in the north of manitoba canada, where cell phones don't work. I despise those automatic power door locks, I can just imagine getting locked out of your vehicle when it's 40 below outside and you're a hundred miles from the nearest town. Same with the capability for law enforcement etc to shut the vehicle down. Up here I can see someone freezing to death because they didn't pay a parking ticket and the cops shut their vehicle down on them! Who needs it? Not me!

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Tom Dooley

06-21-2005 19:49:56

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Re: Way OT: Why have OnStar? in reply to Farmer in the Dells (WI) , 06-21-2005 17:45:45

One thing that has not been mntioned. If your air bags deploy Onstar will come on and ask if you need assistance. If you are unable to answer they will send police and medical help. Would be worth it if you were unable to use a cell phone.We have used ours when a semi driver in the great state of Louisana going the wrong way on a one way ran over the top of our Buick. Ill keep our Onstar. Tom Dooley

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