I have wondered if this was possible myself. I think you should contact onstar, see if they will let you subscribe with that unti, and then make it happen.

You will be the pioneer of this mod. as far as we know here on the forum.

DO IT!!!!!!!

 

well to answer the original question i think it would be nearly impossible to retrofit a non onstar car w/onstar and have all the features.

now then, as a cop, we have had several success stories with onstar. from stolen cars to wrecks to medical problems. you have to weigh your own life situation to see if its worth it or not though. best one i remember was a tahoe that flipped up on the north side of the city on a street rarely driven around midnight when it happened. it was also on its roof off in the trees about 75ft away from the roadway. the few that drove by never saw it to call in. but we got the onstar call and tracked it down and the 17 yr old girl driving and did have her seatbelt on and was hanging upside down in the seat. she was knocked out in the accident. most certainly would have been a different outcome had we not been notified and got out there in time to air flight her to a hospital where she came out ok. we had a carjacking where the victims car was traced to a parking lot off a state hwy. officers pulled in and notice the car back into a space and black out. officers were able to sneak around from the other side and teh badguys thought we had left but as we approached onstar activated the horn honking alarm and caught them off guard enough we got em w/no problem. onstar also unlocked the doors for us. they help us is all im sayin.

 

Maybe this guy in the Hummer was a criminal and deserved to be convicted...

 

I think no matter who you are, you may never expect things to happen that are out of the ordinary, but they do happen...

bottom line...I like to have as much safety as possible, and if it is in fact possible, then why in the world wouldnt anyone want to go that extra step to protect themselves...

so I will post new info when I do infact speak with onstar...

 

You have got to stop making me laugh so hard Randy . You are the most analytic---even toned---logical person I have ever had the pleasure to speak to but when something gets you going I sit here and laugh my tail off at how you respond (unless of course you are really pissed off then I feel sorry for the other guy)..


Now---if you want to try Onstar see if EG (EnglandGreen and the Chronicals of Grond ) has any suggestions but make sure you can actually get the service first. On the other hand there is also getting a new stereo that is iPod and bluetooth compatible or (as already suggested) the navigation system that is also bluetooth compatible---you might even be able to make the bluetooth dialing voice activated..

Good luck.
Lori

 

Even if you can retrofit your car, an older Onstar computer will not do you any good after 31 Dec. Just got a notice from GM for my wife's 2001 Deville that Onstar will stop supporting analog devices at the end of this year so it will be of no use! Then they suggested buying a new Cad to be able to continue the service!!!

 

I see that you feel that you do not get all the government we pay for. I bet you feel that there can be better life through legislation. You know, more of those hard choices that are made for us, the better off we'll be. Why stop, there. Let's have the school system raise our children. 18% taxes really is not enough. Why not 85% taxes so we can have free health care, unlimited unemployeement, more programs to hand out money. Where does it stop?

Keith

 

We're already raising some people's children for them, and I wish they only took 18%.
Hey, have you heard of home integration systems? The house is all wired to a computer. We were looking at training modules for students to learn how to install these systems. Guess who has put money behind this type of program? GM. You could control, or I guess "they" could control your house functions from your car. "the future"
I have onstar, never used it.

 

What is your opinion about Lojack? When you say the carjacking was traced to a parking lot, was it Onstar that allowed it to be traced there? I didn't know Onstar could control you car like that (unlocking the doors, horn, etc). If all this is true, Onstar is probably a better deal than Lojack. Does Lojack really help cars get recovered? What's your opinion Officer!

 

wow I didnt think this thread was going to go into politics...however this is the first thread i ever started that got this much attention, so thanks

anywho, i read about the analog to digital transition that will happen effective january of 2008. The onstar computer that i have is from a 2001 impala and it is not digitial, so I hope I can sell it or get some money for it somehow...

 

Just wtf do my political views have to do with On-Star? You know what they say about the word assume, right? I will not bore you with my political views as you have me with yours.

I am amazed however that from me thinking that On-Star has value, that you can draw conclusions regarding my political persuasion.

Take your politics and express them where they belong, either on a soapbox or here

 

ONSTAR can do remote diagnostics if your car breaks down, unlock your doors if accidently locked, notify first responders if your air bags deploy and you don't respond to their call to you, hands free phone calling, GPS navigation and locating of your vehicle, remote disabling if the vehicle is stolen, provide you directions to destinations, and more.
Look at the ONSTAR website for information...
http://www.onstar.com/us_english/jsp...jsp?useFlash=N

 

I have had OnStar in two vehicles. We still have one car with it. In both cars they came with it I did order it that way. One car required considerable work by the dealer to keep it working. It was never reliable. Used it four times. Unlocked the car that had the keys locked in while at Disney (accident). Unlocked the car at the beach because I did not want to carry my keys. (Ment to). Engine light on – diagnosed it and said good to drive but get it serviced soon I think the owner’s manual said the same. My wife was in a neighborhood and a lady she knew pulled into her garage and the Expedition with Cruise Control fire issues erupted in to flames. Pushed the emergency button and left the car to help the family get out of the house. How come she was not in an OnStar commercial anyway? Two roadside calls and AAA beat OnStar response twice. I would not get it again.

 

I dont have it on my 99 but its on my 03 caddy and I disconnnected the antenna from the back window after I saw a commercial that gm can monitor your vehicle and let you know if you cars needs attention, oil change , check engine lite, whatever. Ive had my caddy back to the f-n dealer 4 times in 2 weeks and every time it goes back they find something else to fix(still under warr.) My point is if they can monitor your car when it needservice who says they can't throw the ecm so you get that engine lite and you have to back to them for service. I know I sound parinoid but since I took the anntena off no more dic messages and engine lites. got a cell phone ? thats all you need.

 

Yes cell phones are great. When is the last time you needed to make an emergency call with no service on your cell phone? Chances are your car will have service. Oh yes go ahead and use your cell phone to unlock your wife's or daughters car door when you are a hundred miles away and they have left the keys in the car. Yes they can turn on your cell phone also without you knowing it. See anyone bitching about that? The digital upgrade is free if you get two years service with On Star.

 

On thing people do not realize about OnStar. It only uses satellites to locate your car. It does all the other features using the same systems that cell phones use. If a storm comes through like Hurricane Wilma did in South Florida a year or so back, OnStar did not work, no phone service using it either. Its dead.

 

You're correct...in my area, ONSTAR is connected to VERIZON and uses their network. You can "piggyback" your minutes to the VERIZON system as well. ONSTAR is much more powerful than a typical small cell phone and in most cases will have more abilities than a small cell phone. Modern cell phones also have GPS, but no one is whining about that.
BTW: It takes the same Superior Court or Federal Court order and affidavit for law enforcement to monitor ONSTAR as it does a telephone/cell phone/faux/BLACKBERRY/e-mail or any other electronic device (Patriot Act aside).

 

You are totally correct. ONSTAR uses 4 times the strength as normal cellphone power for its purposes. You will get coverage in with it in areas you will not with a cellphone.