Onstar
Team Owner
Joined: May 2004
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From: McKinney TX
St. Jude Donor '21-'22-'23-'24
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2009
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From: Eastern
On 2009+ it's found under the dash by the glove box as per the diagram.
On a 2005-2008 base car, it is in the Right rear compartment in the hatch area.
On A Z06 2006-2008, it is under the driver seat.
On a 2005-2008 base car, it is in the Right rear compartment in the hatch area.
On A Z06 2006-2008, it is under the driver seat.
Last edited by 4SUMERZ; Sep 20, 2016 at 07:24 PM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,147
Likes: 18
From: Thompsons Station Tennessee
Why?
I am making the assumption that OnStar is kind of a big daddy that tracks your movements. You are probably right since they have the ability to shut your car off and inform people of your location.
There was a recent robbery nearby and the robbers took the folks car TV and other stuff. The police tracked the robbers to their garage using onstar assistance!
Let us know how it works if disconnected?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,147
Likes: 18
From: Thompsons Station Tennessee
I just looked in the service manual after checking out my rear compartment and seeing nothing. It appears that you have to pull up the whole rear compartment! It would seem to me to be easier to disconnect the interface cable at the Antenna on the windshield? It mentions a coax going to the module that supplies GPS coordinates and cell phone signals.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 16,557
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From: Peoria/Phoenix AZ
C6 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
You can do it with a common paper clip. I posted that method a while back, although I wasn't aware of all the locations where GM mounted the box.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...al-method.html
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 4,425
Likes: 1,377
From: SC
Yes, but only if you jumper the correct wires. Otherwise the car won't start.
You can do it with a common paper clip. I posted that method a while back, although I wasn't aware of all the locations where GM mounted the box.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...al-method.html
You can do it with a common paper clip. I posted that method a while back, although I wasn't aware of all the locations where GM mounted the box.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...al-method.html
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From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
I removed the antenna box from our windshield years ago (you can unclip the wires, don't cut) and everything in the car still works fine except OnStar. Since OnStar can't communicate with the mother ship, I think it's essentially dead.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: corpus christi Texas
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 4,425
Likes: 1,377
From: SC
I expect the black box may still be recording vehicle speed, acceleration, throttle position, etc.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
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From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
Since it can't communicate with anything, any data stays buried. I don't believe OnStar is trying to save the information you mentioned, but the airbag sensors continually record the last few seconds of those parameters. Normally, it's getting continually overwritten by new information. In the event of an airbag deployment or near deployment, then the airbag data gets saved.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 4,425
Likes: 1,377
From: SC
Since it can't communicate with anything, any data stays buried. I don't believe OnStar is trying to save the information you mentioned, but the airbag sensors continually record the last few seconds of those parameters. Normally, it's getting continually overwritten by new information. In the event of an airbag deployment or near deployment, then the airbag data gets saved.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 25,002
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From: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
St. Jude Donor '13
I'm pretty sure that the accident-relevant information is stored in the airbag module but only if the module senses a deployment or near-deployment of the airbag(s). It saves only something like the last 4 seconds before bag deployment, anything older is covered up by the newer data.
Onstar does store some data also, but it's mostly related to the condition of the car and maintenance. I don't know if older data gets overwritten by newer data. Our Onstar has not been able to disgorge any data to the mother ship since I removed the antenna box about 6 years ago, so if the older stuff doesn't get overwritten then our Onstar must be about to explode!
Onstar does store some data also, but it's mostly related to the condition of the car and maintenance. I don't know if older data gets overwritten by newer data. Our Onstar has not been able to disgorge any data to the mother ship since I removed the antenna box about 6 years ago, so if the older stuff doesn't get overwritten then our Onstar must be about to explode!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,147
Likes: 18
From: Thompsons Station Tennessee
I don't know why you want to remove it but it appears that there is a lot of great information available regarding On Star. I have had it on a number of my cars and when the free period ran out I did not renew!
I wonder how much this system adds to the cost of the car? Why is it not offered as a option? You do not get a spare tire unless you pay extra "my last Cadillac" but they install a device that is not required by law and you have no choice but to pay for it!
I wonder how much this system adds to the cost of the car? Why is it not offered as a option? You do not get a spare tire unless you pay extra "my last Cadillac" but they install a device that is not required by law and you have no choice but to pay for it!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 6,486
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From: Las Vegas NV
Is the Onstar module where GM is storing all the data that accident investigators use to put you away for life? I'd like to get rid of that data, can't see it ever doing me any good. One of the reasons I put off buying any GM product for so long is they store more incriminating evidence than any other car company. Not that concerned with Onstar tracking me over the Jersey state line.
Truly, it doesn't really matter to me what you do with your own car -- your personal property. But if you are this concerned about the matter, I certainly hope for your sake, you don't carry a smartphone.
Also, as has been stated, the airbag controller is what stores accident data. Destroy/disconnect that at your pleasure, but all your airbags will be disabled. I'd think about the risk/benefit of that for a good long while if it were me, especially given the liability exposure you'd have if, God forbid, there were a passenger in the car with you during an accident.
"Your Honor, the plaintiff John Smith was severely injured while he was a passenger in an automobile in which the Defendant, Dr Gallop, willfully and recklessly disabled critical Federally-required airbag systems. These systems, if left intact as the factory and Federal Law require, would have greatly reduced the plaintiff's injuries during the accident"
Don't think it can happen to you?
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 4,425
Likes: 1,377
From: SC
Any real non-anecdotal evidence of this? I'm genuinely curious.
Truly, it doesn't really matter to me what you do with your own car -- your personal property. But if you are this concerned about the matter, I certainly hope for your sake, you don't carry a smartphone.
Also, as has been stated, the airbag controller is what stores accident data. Destroy/disconnect that at your pleasure, but all your airbags will be disabled. I'd think about the risk/benefit of that for a good long while if it were me, especially given the liability exposure you'd have if, God forbid, there were a passenger in the car with you during an accident.
"Your Honor, the plaintiff John Smith was severely injured while he was a passenger in an automobile in which the Defendant, Dr Gallop, willfully and recklessly disabled critical Federally-required airbag systems. These systems, if left intact as the factory and Federal Law require, would have greatly reduced the plaintiff's injuries during the accident"
Don't think it can happen to you?
Truly, it doesn't really matter to me what you do with your own car -- your personal property. But if you are this concerned about the matter, I certainly hope for your sake, you don't carry a smartphone.
Also, as has been stated, the airbag controller is what stores accident data. Destroy/disconnect that at your pleasure, but all your airbags will be disabled. I'd think about the risk/benefit of that for a good long while if it were me, especially given the liability exposure you'd have if, God forbid, there were a passenger in the car with you during an accident.
"Your Honor, the plaintiff John Smith was severely injured while he was a passenger in an automobile in which the Defendant, Dr Gallop, willfully and recklessly disabled critical Federally-required airbag systems. These systems, if left intact as the factory and Federal Law require, would have greatly reduced the plaintiff's injuries during the accident"
Don't think it can happen to you?
I would never disable a safety system like the airbags, I quite sure the Onstar box has nothing to do with air bags. I'm not convinced that the airbag module is the ONLY place data is stored.
And I do not drive with a cell phone or toll transponder.
http://www.edmunds.com/car-technolog...rash-data.html
"
Most early GM air bag modules will contain 5-15 pages of crash data. Many 2006
and newer air bag modules can contain 30-50 pages of crash data information. A
recent download from a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado produced 174 pages of crash data."
http://www.airbagcrash.com/
and newer air bag modules can contain 30-50 pages of crash data information. A
recent download from a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado produced 174 pages of crash data."
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 16,557
Likes: 2,106
From: Peoria/Phoenix AZ
C6 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
Is the Onstar module where GM is storing all the data that accident investigators use to put you away for life? I'd like to get rid of that data, can't see it ever doing me any good. One of the reasons I put off buying any GM product for so long is they store more incriminating evidence than any other car company. Not that concerned with Onstar tracking me over the Jersey state line.
Absolutely, all the car magazines have written stories on the Event Data Recorders built into modern cars. There are also plenty of articles in the general press and there have been several court cases where EDR data has played a roll in the prosecution. I just don't know where in the Corvette all the data gets stored. Most of these devices only store a few seconds of data. What data gets stored varies considerably.
I would never disable a safety system like the airbags, I quite sure the Onstar box has nothing to do with air bags. I'm not convinced that the airbag module is the ONLY place data is stored.
And I do not drive with a cell phone or toll transponder.
http://www.edmunds.com/car-technolog...rash-data.html
"
I would never disable a safety system like the airbags, I quite sure the Onstar box has nothing to do with air bags. I'm not convinced that the airbag module is the ONLY place data is stored.
And I do not drive with a cell phone or toll transponder.
http://www.edmunds.com/car-technolog...rash-data.html
"
Most early GM air bag modules will contain 5-15 pages of crash data. Many 2006
and newer air bag modules can contain 30-50 pages of crash data information. A
recent download from a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado produced 174 pages of crash data."
http://www.airbagcrash.com/and newer air bag modules can contain 30-50 pages of crash data information. A
recent download from a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado produced 174 pages of crash data."
As far as doing you any good, consider this. Oncoming car clips your front end while you were stopped waiting to turn left, setting off airbags in both cars. He spins into a pole and kills his passenger and claims you pulled out in front of him. Your data recorder shows you dead stopped for 4 seconds before contact and you win. With no recorder he wins.
