The Upside of On-Star?
 

Will be picking up my car in two days, and am disinclined for many reasons to sign up for On-Star. My main objections are the principle of the thing (if you want full functionality of the vehicle, you must pay a monthly fee), and the Big Brother aspect. Those concerns aside, significant though they might be, what do those who have chosen otherwise view as the upside?

Calling once to ask for the nearest steakhouse (only time I used onstar in my 2009)

I chose 'no', as well... 1k miles in and I'm starting to hate the Google system. Random pop-ups telling me I need a subscription for some feature (that I have no idea what button I pressed to cause the pop-up), a navi system that isn't usable without a subscription, etc. Subscription as a Service (SaaS) is a horrible business model for vehicles, and I'm quit bummed my 6-figure vehicle is tied so heavily to it (I didn't expect it, and I didn't do my homework beforehand... but who should have to do that type of homework?). I love the performance aspect of the car, but since this is my daily driver I will be looking at other options come time to replace it.

The big brother aspect is still there even if you don't activate it. Chevy is still collecting your data and selling it to LexisNexis.

Same for me. I am set against SUBSCRIPTIONS.
I am surprised that they don't have some bargain price for OnStar, Google-Assistant, XM-Sirus.
They should bundle together for $125 year. Then I would throw the money away just for the hell of it.

You can go to the onstar website, review the plans, and see if any of the features appeal to you. None did to me. But if I had a 2024 that needed a data plan to support the Nav system, I might consider that. I'm not sure. I do mostly use CarPlay and Waze, and rarely use the built in Nav even on my 2021 (that does not require a data plan). So, for me, I probably would not even go for the data plan. Even if you do want to use the on board nav in a 2024, you might be able to use it without a data plan if you connect your phone in hotspot mode.

There is no upside to paying for Onstar. I wouldn't turn on for free.

Onstar has zero upside if you ask me. None. Zilch. Have never nor will I ever pay for it and will disable as much of it as possible whenever and wherever I can.

Agree Andy.

I have a 2024 HTC that I picked up Oct-6, 2023. My data plan expired but my NAV still works. I get a message every time that I need to get a data plan.
I believe it will continue to work for my New England area map that was download during the initial 3 months.
I believe I won't get any updated maps or maps or other regions in the U.S.
I would prefer the old NAV in 2020's - 2023's. I don't like the integrated maps in the 2024 NAV.
My phone Google-Maps seem to work better.

I signed up for it bundled with the data plan. Otherwise I would not pay for OS.

You must set up your MyChevrolet account (either through chevrolet.com or the app) to turn off the Smart Driver, which is what monitors your driving and reports it to LexisNexis. Once you turn it off in the website/app, it will be turned off for any future GM cars you setup with your account. Beyond that, for me I'll pay for the App Access level so built-in Google Maps will be fully functional (plus it gives me a little redundancy as that uses AT&T signal vs my phones T-Mobile). Of course, it helps that I have 62K reward points that I can use to pay for that for several years. :D

Say you fly off a cliff and your car is not visible to anyone passing by. OnStar will locate the module if it hasn't been destroyed also.

Garmin suction cupped to the window has worked for 20 years. I don't see a reason to stop now, if GM is trying to extort its well-heeled customer base.

If thieves can disable OnStar on a C8--then I don't see why I can't.

Same…. The whole infotainment system is awful. Started my car yesterday and immediately get messages telling me to subscribe to data for functionality. Then another message telling me to subscribe to Sirus.

you don’t have to press a button… the bullshit reminders are automatic. If anyone knows how to turn them off please advise asap.

The car has two pages of “app” and the only thing that works is the AN/FM radio and even that lost HD functionality.

If gm thinks nagging me is going to get me to sign up they don’t understand the customer. It’s going to get me to dump the car.

The reminders just remind me gm screwed me out of a functioning Nav.

Don’t most phones do that now? Even the Apple Watch does.that.

Yes as long as it has power from either the car main battery or the back up battery that is in the module.

"Upside"... really? Like making a repeated "donation" to an organization that doesn't give a twit about you and your potential vehicle concerns? Hmmm... :ack:

I agree with all and have never had it passed the trial period and I never used it either. 5 Corvettes, 2 Avalanches, a Silverado, a CTS, and XT5.

However, I have it now. If your new car is a 2024 it will have the new 360L radio and new technology that requires OnStar for navigation to work and I think the upper 500-990 XM radios bands.

Sure, if your hands aren't dismembered. Just saying because I would never subscribe I'll take my chances. :)

Preventing the Data Harvest
 

I've seen various threads on this. Did we decide you can do anything to prevent your data from being sent from the car to wherever it goes?

Does not activating OnStar do anything to help prevent data collection?