How much does OnStar know?
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2008
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From: Palm Beach County, Florida
How much does OnStar know?
O.K. This might sound paranoid, and apologies if this has been posted before.........(did a quick search before writing).
Took the car out for a nice run today. Wife was along, so mostly pretty mellow driving. However, in one safe and deserted area I opened the car up a bit and felt some of my 09's performance. (No numbers here).
Arrived home today and saw an e mail from OnStar reporting on the condition of my car. So, if they can read and know what my odometer and some other operating conditions of the car are, can they also tell me how fast I've driven?
Should I be worried about my privacy here???
How much does OnStar really know???
Took the car out for a nice run today. Wife was along, so mostly pretty mellow driving. However, in one safe and deserted area I opened the car up a bit and felt some of my 09's performance. (No numbers here).
Arrived home today and saw an e mail from OnStar reporting on the condition of my car. So, if they can read and know what my odometer and some other operating conditions of the car are, can they also tell me how fast I've driven?
Should I be worried about my privacy here???
How much does OnStar really know???
Last edited by BSE1956; Apr 19, 2009 at 08:30 PM.
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St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'10
O.K. This might sound paranoid, and apologies if this has been posted before.........(did a quick search before writing).
Took the car out for a nice run today. Wife was along, so mostly pretty mellow driving. However, in one safe and deserted area I opened the car up a bit and felt some of my 09's performance. (No numbers here).
Arrived home today and saw an e mail from OnStar reporting on the condition of my car. So, it they know what my odometer and some other operating conditions of the car are, can they also tell me how fast I've driven?
Should I be worried about my privacy here???
How much does OnStar really know???
Took the car out for a nice run today. Wife was along, so mostly pretty mellow driving. However, in one safe and deserted area I opened the car up a bit and felt some of my 09's performance. (No numbers here).
Arrived home today and saw an e mail from OnStar reporting on the condition of my car. So, it they know what my odometer and some other operating conditions of the car are, can they also tell me how fast I've driven?
Should I be worried about my privacy here???
How much does OnStar really know???
Cruising
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big brother on-star
You know, you bring up a legitimate question. Can your insurance company call them up if you have an accident and find out how fast you were going?
You can also call up On-Star and ask them. I would think they have to tell you what they are collecting in regards to information. Give them a call.
You can also call up On-Star and ask them. I would think they have to tell you what they are collecting in regards to information. Give them a call.
Team Owner
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Solid info as always.You don't have a whole lot to worry about. Onstar makes contact with the car under three normal conditions. First and most common, when you push the Onstar button. Second, once per month for a scan of any DTC's stored as part of a service to owners. Third is when the vehicle is involved in an accident and then the car actually initiates the communication. They do not seek out cars either routinely nor randomly. They don't have access to the sensing and deployment module unless the car has been in an accident. There are hundreds of thousands of Onstar cars on the road. Do you really think that they care at all about what you are doing or that they even have the computing resources necessary to keep track of all of those cars?
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You don't have a whole lot to worry about. Onstar makes contact with the car under three normal conditions. First and most common, when you push the Onstar button. Second, once per month for a scan of any DTC's stored as part of a service to owners. Third is when the vehicle is involved in an accident and then the car actually initiates the communication. They do not seek out cars either routinely nor randomly. They don't have access to the sensing and deployment module unless the car has been in an accident. There are hundreds of thousands of Onstar cars on the road. Do you really think that they care at all about what you are doing or that they even have the computing resources necessary to keep track of all of those cars?
... enjoy the '09, but, be safe!
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St. Jude Donor '09 & '12, '14
Separate from on-star the Corvette has a "blackbox" which will record data prior to an accident. Speed, brake position, yaw rate, throttle position etc.
Your insurance co. working with a repair center could gather that info. Police could also if you killed someone (probably only reason they would want it)
On-star is not the problem here. Talon is right.... Drive safe.
Your insurance co. working with a repair center could gather that info. Police could also if you killed someone (probably only reason they would want it)
On-star is not the problem here. Talon is right.... Drive safe.
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St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'10
You know, you bring up a legitimate question. Can your insurance company call them up if you have an accident and find out how fast you were going?
You can also call up On-Star and ask them. I would think they have to tell you what they are collecting in regards to information. Give them a call.
You can also call up On-Star and ask them. I would think they have to tell you what they are collecting in regards to information. Give them a call.
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You know, you bring up a legitimate question. Can your insurance company call them up if you have an accident and find out how fast you were going?
You can also call up On-Star and ask them. I would think they have to tell you what they are collecting in regards to information. Give them a call.
You can also call up On-Star and ask them. I would think they have to tell you what they are collecting in regards to information. Give them a call.
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Racer
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St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'10
Coming from the Law Enforcement side, I can tell you without any doubt, because I have done it, if you are in a collision "the new word for accidents" your cars computer specifically the air bag control module can be downloaded and there are several parameters that can be recovered to include the last several seconds of lateral g, braking, speed, accelerator position, etc etc, etc. There is a window of a few seconds prior to the triggering incident that is recorded. Insurance companies have them and use them and we have them and use them. Mostly on fatal and departmental collisions. I would assume that Onstar can access more information than is divulged.
Last edited by talon90; Apr 19, 2009 at 08:49 PM.
Pro
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Exactly here is the minimum speed calculation:
speed= the square root of 30 times the distance of skid, times the friction calculation of the road surface. There are other crush calculations as well.
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You then, would assume wrong. You are correct that the sensing and deployment module which most refer to as the black box does have all of that information and has the last 30 seconds stored before impact. It records in a constant loop will overwrite all but the last 30 seconds. That ability by the way, has been in cars since the late 1990's. Onstar however does not, nor do they have access to the information contained in the SDM.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2008
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From: Palm Beach County, Florida
You don't have a whole lot to worry about. Onstar makes contact with the car under three normal conditions. First and most common, when you push the Onstar button. Second, once per month for a scan of any DTC's stored as part of a service to owners. Third is when the vehicle is involved in an accident and then the car actually initiates the communication. They do not seek out cars either routinely nor randomly. They don't have access to the sensing and deployment module unless the car has been in an accident. There are hundreds of thousands of Onstar cars on the road. Do you really think that they care at all about what you are doing or that they even have the computing resources necessary to keep track of all of those cars?
If they are able to retrieve a monthly scan I still have to wonder if they could monitor any vehicle if they really wanted to. Are you saying that they unable to do so?
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Originally Posted by Fonzijr1964
i think they can access the info stored in the cars memory. The same stuff the dealer can look at when they plug in the diagnostic tool
i think they can access the info stored in the cars memory. The same stuff the dealer can look at when they plug in the diagnostic tool
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St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'10
Appreciate the logic and information. Agreed, I'm sure they have plenty more to do than just monitor my vehicle.
If they are able to retrieve a monthly scan I still have to wonder if they could monitor any vehicle if they really wanted to. Are you saying that they unable to do so?
If they are able to retrieve a monthly scan I still have to wonder if they could monitor any vehicle if they really wanted to. Are you saying that they unable to do so?