"ON-STAR" QUESTIONS and CONCERNS.....

[wwotr]

I have to say that in "Theory" the purpose of "On-Star" is a good thing. Loosing your Cell Phone durring an accident or not being able to converse with someone after you've been in an accident is a great tool.
My Wifes Truck has On-Star, but we have not Subscribed/Activated it.

I have personally always had concerns, so here is my Post/Thread to the Folks here......


There was a segment on this tonight on TV.

Basically, our
Truck is equipped with Sensors, that report when you have a "Sudden De-acceleration".
Then those Sensors, report to a Computer on your vehicle that acts as it's own "Cellular Phone" and automatically calls 1 of 3
On-Star facilities, to report the accident. An On-Star Technician comes on line and because your On-Star unit is equipped with GPS Sensors, it tells that Tech where you are and gives them the closest Police, Fire Departments to contact.

The bothersome thing to me, is this Segment goes on to say that this Computer is equipped with a "Black Box" that records Speed, Braking, and the "Orientation" of the Vehicle, (on its Side, Rook, ect.).

It says that that "Black Box Information" is sent to Fire & EMT Personnel so they can figure out a Course of Action regarding your Treatment, while they are enroute to the scene of the accident.

NOW my question comes into play, is this "information" given to your Insurance Company or Law Enforcement, thus giving you a Ticket or increased Insurance Premiums, by reporting this information, and what (if any) "say" does the involved party have in having this information reported to the Police or Fire officials?

Does anyone have On-Star and was it handy for you, your friends, Spouse ect?
A

Any stories, Thoughts, Questions and Banter would be appreciated.

Roger
"RATIKLE"

[2tons of fun]

its only going to further incriminate you in a siutation because none of that info has anything to do with the other car, where it was, what it was doing, what the weather and so on.

there is a reason its called a tattle tale.

personaly i think they are a joke and an invasion of privacy. yeah yeah yeah if i got nothing to hide then it shouldnt matter, your right, but i would rather not have to deal with any of it at all.

there is a guy on youtube that has a crazy fast new cadillac, after every drag run the onstar come on and gets on his ass about his driving and so on.

[wwotr]

I agree. My Wife and I bought this used 2005 GMC Sierra, and it has On-Star on it (but not activated).
Everytime I see an "On-Star" commercial, it just irritates the **** out of me!

Monitoring a Person AFTER an accident is one thing, but calling you everytime you "exceede the Speed Limit"!!??

That IS a little too "Big Brother" for ME!!!!!!!!!!!

Roger
"RATIKLE"

[mikey531]

there is a guy on youtube that has a crazy fast new cadillac, after every drag run the onstar come on and gets on his ass about his driving and so on.[/QUOTE]

WOW and it was on the internet ?? Then it must be true ! The auto companies have been collecting crash data long before Onstar. Living in the country, I would love to have my car/truck call for help if I was injured or bleeding! Yeah I could call for help...but only if I could find my phone, and had signal, and could tell someone where I was...

[firedog]

Speaking as a 911 operator the only information given to us over the phone is the approxamate location, if there was air bag deployment, and then the given the oppertunity to speak to the occupants of the vehilce if they are responding to the onstar representive.

On a side note i have taken calls from onstar when a subject was following his stolen truck in a onstar equipped vehicle and it was easier for them to call and use onstar to track the location of where the vehicle was going.

Most of the calls recieved from onstar however are taken after other cell phone users have already reported an incident.

[unclewatts]

I always wear tin foil on my head so Onstar can't tell what I'm thinking!

[luis979motoring]

I have a STS V Cadillac, and I do a lot of spirited driving, they have never called me due to my speed or anything?

[msgross]

If you like the safety factor of On-star (which is good) then I say get it.. That one time in life when you need it and don't have will make the $199/year subscription seem null...

I have a 2005 Tahoe and haven't reactiviated mine though. I have used it to call 911 when we witnessed an accident, worked great.

BTW they did send me a service reminder once with my EXACT mileage on the card, so you know they are gathering info.

[hugger6933]

The black box as they say is not black and has nothing to do with the onstar and if it is activated. It is the air bag module located under the drivers seat. The air bag module stores the info that you speak of inculding throttle angle speed brake angle and so on. It also holds that info so in a crash it can tell the info moments leading to a crash. From what I have seen the on- star is nice to have. If you live in a poor cell service area you also get a phone number to your car[truck] that is a sattlelite driven. Jim

[wwotr]

Originally Posted by hugger6933

The black box as they say is not black and has nothing to do with the onstar and if it is activated. It is the air bag module located under the drivers seat. The air bag module stores the info that you speak of inculding throttle angle speed brake angle and so on. It also holds that info so in a crash it can tell the info moments leading to a crash. From what I have seen the on- star is nice to have. If you live in a poor cell service area you also get a phone number to your car[truck] that is a sattlelite driven. Jim

Don't get me wrong guys, I think it's a valuable tool, a great idea at a reasonable price!

I just don't trust Insuranse Companies.

My thought process was, everytime a person would get in a Moderate to Major accident, that On-Star would know about it. I always report my accidents, but I'm one of those people that like to get an actual Paycheck that I can Touch, Smell, Feel.
So in reporting an accident, I like to do it MYSELF.
I can see in the future that (if it is possible), that On-Star would have all this "Data" collected o your accidents, Driving Habits and some Congressman with too much time on their hands would try to pass a Law requiring On-Star to provide all that info to the Insurance Companies.

Where I think On-Star could make some real money would be coming up with a unit/Sensors for older vehicles that can beinstalled!

After all my *****ing/Moaning, if they did, I'd get one for my 72 GMC.


Like I said in the beggining, I like the idea and think it's a valuable tool!

Roger
"RATIKLE"

[chevy72pu]

Right on Roger. It is a valuble tool. I have had on star in both mine and my wife's vehicles since we bought them in 2003. I have never had to use them for an accident thankfully, but you never know. I have used the cell phone service through onstar when my hand held couldn't get a signal. I also have NEVER been called by onstar due to my driving actions, and I have never had a conversation with an onstar operator that I did not initiate.

I also don't trust the insurance companies. I deal with them in the health care field every day, and they will do absolutely ANYTHING to avoid paying a claim. You guys in auto repair know what I am talking about. Yet, I will still use onstar, and fight any efforts to turn over information to anyone else but me!

[old Rusty C10]

I had Onstar in my 03 Venture and found it to be poor service then. you had to speak in wierd tones to get the computer to understand english like DEW instead of TWO for the phone, plus it was expensive.
I never had an accident with the truck but I do believe that if al the information that thing gathers is satellite available then people you dont want to get your info can get it AND the government or the insurance companies can hijack that data and use it for ways to levy taxes surcharges etc on you for whatever they deem to be in their best interest... its not good
I would avoid the Onstar and any other system like it for as long as i could

[463]

it sure is handy if your ride is stolen. onstar shuts it down and calls the police as to it's location. they can unlock your ride if your locked out + check the rides stats. well worth it.

[Sub-versive]

Originally Posted by unclewatts

I always wear tin foil on my head so Onstar can't tell what I'm thinking!

Originally Posted by hugger6933

The black box as they say is not black and has nothing to do with the onstar and if it is activated. It is the air bag module located under the drivers seat. The air bag module stores the info that you speak of inculding throttle angle speed brake angle and so on. It also holds that info so in a crash it can tell the info moments leading to a crash. From what I have seen the on- star is nice to have. If you live in a poor cell service area you also get a phone number to your car[truck] that is a sattlelite driven. Jim

Indeed, all vehicles have had EDR's since the late 80's/early 90's, GM early adopting and installing them in many cars. (Event Data Recorder) They have gotten more sophisticated and now tied to more sensors. And with wireless communication, someone can monitor these in real time if a financial incentive were present, unfortunately this may come sooner than later.

Originally Posted by old Rusty C10

I never had an accident with the truck but I do believe that if al the information that thing gathers is satellite available then people you dont want to get your info can get it AND the government or the insurance companies can hijack that data and use it for ways to levy taxes surcharges etc on you for whatever they deem to be in their best interest... its not good
I would avoid the Onstar and any other system like it for as long as i could

Unfortunately, I have to agree. This will become a new revenue stream to blow on something or other.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I thought this was a little funny:

Tennessee Senator Bob Corker had this opinion of OnStar a month ago: "Each month I get the bill for OnStar and [I think], 'I don't want to pay this again.'" Then his daughter Julia was carjacked in Washington D.C. last week driving his Chevrolet Tahoe, and having been yanked out of the car by her throat, she was left lying in the street.

Thankfully, Corker's daughter was all right, and she was able to call her father who was nearby. She also remembered that the vehicle as equipped with General Motors' OnStar system, and within an hour, the service had notified the D.C. police that the Tahoe was parked at a Taco Bell seven miles away in Maryland. Corker said that the carjacking happened about 9:15 pm, and by midnight the suspects had been identified and he was headed back home with his daughter.

His opinion of OnStar now: "this is an incredible service." Follow through to the jump to hear about the ordeal in Corker's words (the OnStar talk begins at about 2:15), or check out CNN for the nitty gritty details. And for proof of the extent of Southern politesse, Corker begins the tale with "A gentleman appeared, opened the door, grabbed her by the neck... and he threw her on the pavement and drove away." A "gentleman?" Hat tip to Berto!

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/07/v...ects-apprehen/

[Classic Heartbeat]

I have on-star in my Silverado and my wife's Malibu and wouldn't have it any other way. I like the fact that on-star can find either vehicle at any time in case of emergency or if one or the other is stolen. I also like the fact that on-star is satalite technology, giving you a phone when cell phones don't have service. The bad part is, my wife also has the number. Now I can't hide!! I think that if it ever gets to a point that the inshurance companies have access to any information recorded by on-star I may change my mind. However for now I believe it's a great tool. WES

[LEEVON]

Had it for 1 year, won't go back. The voice controls are annoying but it was the horrible "turn-by-turn" service that really turned me off. It would always get disconnected, send me on the wrong road, etc. They actually called me when my subscription was almost up and asked what they could do to keep my business. I was looking for an address in Oklahoma City and told them if they could get me there without issue I'd keep it. A mile or so later it got confused and then disconnected. They called back and I just told them they blew it.

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by Classic Heartbeat

I think that if it ever gets to a point that the inshurance companies have access to any information recorded by on-star I may change my mind. However for now I believe it's a great tool. WES

I'm sure that there is some kind of "privacy policy" in print that they have to provide for subscribers. You may have even already had it given to you when you signed the agreement? Then they would have to provide a copy of any changes to that policy in the future.

[cableguy0]

Almost every single vehicle made at this point has the "black box" to record the last few seconds before a crash. Its nothing new. The data recorders run constantly but only save the info at the time of an airbag deployment.

[msgross]

they did give my wife a hard time once when she locked her keys in the car... all I remember is that she was pregnant and I heard about it

[Longhorn Man]

back in 94 or 95, before the OBD II smog controls were put into place, the EPA came up with a biger and better plan for OBD III. They ran this by the feds and was turned down. They wanted to hook up a GPS in every new car to constantly send a signal to the local DMV (or what ever your state calls it) to be watched. The GPS was initially only supposed to send info about smog controlled items, ie, the things that would turn on your check engine light ( replaced by the service engine soon light in 96... signifies OBD II systems) Then they wanted to add other things to be sent, among them, location and speed. The feds liked the idea but were concerned about the publics opinion of 'big brother' keeping an eye on them. They turned down that idea of OBD III and told them that if they wanted to put GPS suystems in cars, then make the public want the GPS.
Now we have on star. it transmits everything you can think of, and things you don't think of.
This could easily turn into a conspiracy theory story, speeding tickets issued through the mail, and you never even get pulled over, getting fined for not stopping for the accident that happened in front of you that you witnessed (most states technicly require you to stop if you witness one) and even shutting off your car if you've been at a bar for too long. All this could easily be implimented into a car with a GMS hooked up to the manigment system (compouter) of your car.
I know On Star has some neat features, but I'll get in the group that doesn't like the idea.

[cdowns]

i've gone in excess of 125mph in my hhr and nobody called me ever.. you people are reading way too much into stuff// i use the phone on a regular basis and love the hands free self contained feature i also like the monthly updates to my computer and i do get an insurance discount for having it activated

[Malo83]

Originally Posted by cdowns

i've gone in excess of 125mph in my hhr and nobody called me ever.. you people are reading way too much into stuff// i use the phone on a regular basis and love the hands free self contained feature i also like the monthly updates to my computer and i do get an insurance discount for having it activated

Have it in my 08 Malibu and I like it, have no problems using the phone service and getting updates on my Email, sounds like a lot of Paranoid people here

[oldblue1968chevy]

Yeah yeah its all great...


But I dont like it. So im with longhornman on this one...I'll keep cruzin my 68 chevy with all kinds of computers

[dammitmitchell]

onstar can also be activated to be utilized by the govment as a wiretap device.. trackin your movements etc to know if you are up to somethign illegal.. and the "new homeland security" can do that the moment you fart the wrong way near the wrong set of ears...