Full FeedSay “Buy-bye” to analog OnStar in 2008
OnStar is going to go all-digital sometime down the road, leaving any analog system users out of luck. The change primarily affects anyone who owns a pre-2002 GM vehicle, some 2002-2004 GM vehicles and some Acura, Audi, Subaru and Volkswagen vehicles with built-in OnStar. It’s a result of a small 2002 FCC decision allowing cell phone companies to shut down analog networks beginning February 2008. Dealers will upgrade some GM 2002-2004 if customers buy a three-year subscription at $199 a year. Otherwise, analog OnStar users will need to convert to digital equipment, if it is even possible for their vehicle. About half of OnStar’s 4 million subscribers still drive vehicles that cannot be upgraded. And, oh yeah, the FCC decision will affect cell phone users, too. At least a cell phone can easily be replaced - Hey, it’s yet another reason to keep readin’ Gadgetell!
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American automakers are the worst, I will never buy another american car! As far as the class action suit I have a couple of opinions: a class action suit makes headlines and costs a business money (when won by plaintiffs) BUT the consumers rarely get anything approaching a fair compensation or alternative out of the deal. for example during the dot com boom many companies were flat out lying BIGTIME about their stock’s chances of hitting it big to investors and to their own employees whom they often insisted buy shares for their retirement accounts - so when the courts finally got around to settling the class action cases (years after you’ve lost your shirt and the company execs have walked off rich) the lawyers who brought the class action get paid a huge amount and the bilked investors get to try and prove that they held shares during the time period covered and then collect pennies on the dollar for the money stolen from them. american corporations like GM make a calculated decision to just let their 500,000 analog onstar subscribers bite it because they know the cost of the class action suit verdict down the road is just a cost of doing business - they build it right into their financial model. But us consumers that have been duped into buying their products will not get anything more than a credit for a couple thousand to buy a new gm car, mark my words. I bought a $40,000 Saab in 2003 and it is no exaggeration to say the Onstar service was absolutely necessary to me, because I drive to clients all day long for work and need directions and because when my wife and kids take the car I will know they have safety first and a cellphone backup built in second. My $40,000 investment is now just over 4 years old and gm is revealing me for the sucker that I am for buying one of their products - in 3-5 years when the class action suit is finished I’ll get a coupon in the mail for a couple thousand off another gm sucker’s car, not my idea of a good deal. I’m NOT going to join the class action suit because of this reason, but I AM going to sue them individually from a slightly different legal angle so they cannot attach me to the class action suit and I’m going to win a cash judgement that can be used to buy a Lexus or Mercedes instead of the american sucker’s cars they sell.
on February 9, 2008 at 08:08 PM - LINKJust go to your local GM dealer and request that they order a conversion kit. That’s all I did. It took them a while to get it because they said a missing part was back-ordered, but a few weeks later they installed it successfully.
I’m a happy camper. Time is abit expensive at .37 cents per minute, but I only use OnStar for emergencies or small local traffic, so my time last quite a while.
on February 10, 2008 at 12:56 PM - LINKI am very glad a class action has been started, and I’d like to share my personal experience which exposes another angle not yet discussed:
the move away from analog services to digital on towers actually began in late ‘06 and accelerated in early ‘07, getting worse in late ‘07, long before the announced end of analog OnStar service
I had 3 breakdowns, 2 lockouts, and 2 family emergencies during which I had absolutely no OnStar service…..and each were well within tower reach, 5 of the 7 being in my hometown of Springfield, MO, a very flat and open geographical area, 1 in my driveway, and 1 in my office parking lot
***here’s the catch:
OnStar knew this, but did not tell its own staff, or its customers, yet they sent me and you letters promising normal coverage/service until the end of ‘07
what was happening was the owners of the towers were slowly droppijng their analog service; OnStar leases the service, of course they don’t have their own towers, so they are at the mercy of the tower owners, but OnStar knew this in March ‘07 because I spent about 10 hours on the line with all kinds of tech folks driving around and diagnosing it; and they finally confirmed it, but refused to admit it was a problem until about Nov. ‘07; still they did not make any public announcement; in the fall of ‘06, my calling minutes expired, and based on their promise I would have service as usual until the end of ‘07, I renewed their expensive calling minutes which I only used for emergencies, or when I was in a remote area and my handheld cell did not have the ‘punch’ to get a signal
it got to the point that I knew there were definite areas where I knew I could not get a signal; example: major intersection, Battlefield Road and Interstate 65 in Spfd, MO, various cell towers in view, top of a hill with 360 degree horizons, I could push the red cross emergency button for 30 minutes and no signal; nice sense of security in case I ended in a ditch unconscious somewhere…...
they have phone logs of all my calls, probably numbering in the range of 50 to 70 calls over about a year of time; that would be great to use in the class action…..
best wishes.
david ransin.
on February 10, 2008 at 04:10 PM - LINKI live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and I purchased a 2004 Audi A8L in December 2003. I have been writing to Audi Canada and Audi America since the fall of 2007 to complain about the loss of the OnStar service. On Tuesday, February 5, 2008 I received the first positive response. I got a call from a lady named Diane from Audi America. She said that Audi America was sorry for the problem but they are trying to solve at least part of it. She said that Audi has decided to embark on a research and development program. The target of the program is to find a service which will provide the 911 feature for Audis which used to have OnStar. Diane said the target was to have a substitute by the end of 2008. She apologized for the delay but said she hoped this would relieve some of my aggravation. Of course, this service would not replace the “tourist” information features of OnStar, but is intended to replace the safety feature. Diane said it would be patterned after the “Blue Tooth” service. I have heard of Blue Tooth but I know nothing about it.If anyone would like to talk to Diane the phone number she gave me is 866-892-2834. She said the number is valid in both Canada and the United States.Has anyone else received similar information?Terry Dewhurst
on February 10, 2008 at 07:59 PM - LINKI was just talking to a service writer for Buick here in Dallas. He says the OnStar caved in and made a digital retrofit for 2002 forward LeSabers. He said I was out of luck on my 2005 PA. He thought there were not enough PA to justify the upgrade. Bill in Texas
on February 27, 2008 at 06:43 PM - LINKhi
cool post
thanks for sharing the information.
on August 28, 2009 at 04:29 AM - LINK