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Who Has Used Their OnStar On The AV?

DarkEye

Charter Member
SM 2003
Full Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2002
Messages
122
Location
Jacksonville, FL
I have never had to use it in the 8 months that I have had my AV. I don't think I will renew OnStar when my year is up. It seems pretty useless to me.

Does anyone use the phone feature of OnStar? My area does not have it yet.

Can anyone convince me to keep it?
 
I have used it once to have them check on a SES light - turned out to be false - caused by the Whipple sucking in too much and confusing the ECM - saved me a trip to the dealer.

I haven't used the phone, but am thinking about it.

I would keep it for the security and ability to have it unlock when you leave the keys in it accidently.
 
i'm pondering the same exact thing. i've used them a couple times now, mainly for other people to check it out, and they're a great group of people that'll help out as much as they can.

during one of the calls, both my passengers and i were wondering if they could tell how far i could've gone with the gas that was in my tank. they couldnt tell, but they were so willing to take out a calculator and all...funny.
 
I have used On-Star. Some dirt bags broke into my house, stole over $30,000 in goods. Loaded them into my 2001 Dale Earnhart Monte Carlo SS and drove off. When we got home, I called On-Star and they told the cops the address where the car was and it had been parked for only 4 minutes!!!!! Totally Awesome.!!!!!

Cops swooped in, saved my car and eventually put two jerkbaits in jail and recovered 99% of my property!!!

Will I sign up again for On Star ???? Every freakin' chance I get, I will. $200 per year and I got my $30K car back with only 7 miles driven by the bad guys.

Hell yes!!!!!!

Trophyman.

(did I sound entusiastic) (too much???) (impossible).
;D
 
My bother has it on his escalade and he has used it a few times when he was lost. One time he was across the street and they told him to look around and he was there. The other time the directions were not very good. The sent us the long way and we were still lost. Had to find it on our own.

There was a story on the local news where a guy stole a escalade and was running from the police. Onstar was on him and he could not hide ;D

I don't have it so I don't miss it. Plus I have a cell phone when I need help ;D
 
Does the Onstar website have a section for users stories, if so then I think Trophyman's story should become a national commercial spot. A lot better then the two people who were lost and needed directions.

I have used mine a few times. Once I was cruising with some freinds and they wanted to know what it did. They pushed the button and the advisor came on greeting me with my name and then told me EXACTLY where we were and which way we were heading. My freinds were dumbfounded.

I also got a free 30 minutes of phone use from Onstar. I used it up in 2 days. All voice activated and never once misunderstood my commands.

I am still undecided whether or not to subscribe at the end of the year. If I have to subscribe inorder to get the vehicle tracking service then I definitly will.
 
I have used it 3 times but just to check it out,

I consider it insurance. It is there when I need it and if I ever break down press the button.
 
I have to agree with ygmn,

I haven't used mine once since I had my av, but to know it is there in case I need it is reassuring.

I will probably renew once my year is up.
 
I have used my Onstar most for the cell phone feature. It is more powerful than a portable cell phone since it is built in. Also nice to have a hands free phone while driving. And with no long distance or roaming charges it can be cheaper than a portable cell. I use the Internet feature occasionally for news and weather. And I like the peace of mind with the Onstar safety and security features. I will definitely be re-newing mine.
 
My dealer signed me up for the 30 minute phone trial, and I just went with the Safety and Security Package. I've used a couple of times before I set up the website to get answers on some questions I had. The people in the OnStar Service Center are a little Detroit, if you know what I mean, but GM Customer Service folks are very nice.

I went to MyOnStar.Com and programmed all of my news, sports, traffic reports, stock, etc. I spent a little time programming about 15 speed dial numbers and then sat back to see how much I use it.

I use the traffic A LOT. I have a point on my commute where I fire it up to find out how bad it will be today. I found out the Patriots were Superbowl bound VIA OnStar as I was skiing that day. I've gotten stock quotes a few time, but the company I work for is doing so poorly I'd just rather not listen anymore.

This leads me to the speed dialing. When my baby girl had her crisis last week OnStar was a God send. I was able to use my voice prompt speed dials to call my son's school, call the doctor's office, call my work, and keep in contact with the day care. It was great that it was all just a push button away. And while my analog system in the Avalanche worked fine in the doctor's office's parking lot. My cell phone would not work at all.

Based on my experience with my baby girl, yes I will keep adding minutes to the phone (100 minutes for 2 months for $34.99 isn't all that bad) and I plan to renew in December. However the premium services aren't worth a flip to me. I'd rather have touch screen navigation thank you (hey, you already have the GPS locator in the darn truck!)
 
I have used it when I forgot my cell phone. The handsfree audio is good. I wish they could be more compeditive with the cell pricing. I would probably use it alot more.

It would be great for checking voice mail. I tried the email option where It would read an eamil to you, but the ability to check pop3 email didn't seem to work.
 
I recieved the free 30 minutes of cell phone and like it. It is clear and easy to use, and no problems with it so far. I will probably renew at the end of the year, it is cheap insurance for any emergencies and heaven forbid, a theft.
 
Hey Chief what do you mean by a little Detroit just wondering? Were not all bad here ...
 
Well, hopefully when I take delivery of my AV, there won't be any bugs in it, but I have had some buggy cars in the past. It would have been nice to hit a button, and have some one do a computer diagnostic for me, instead of having to drive to a dealership. I think it is something I would keep, as insurance, as others have mentioned.
 
I use the cell phone feature all the time. ?I like the hand-free aspect. ?The nametag feature is wonderful. ?I keep my regular cell phone around using a pay-per-minute only plan. ?It has't been used in three months.

I also like the peace of mind: having them call if the airbags deploy, stolen vehicle tracking, etc. I get a few bucks off insurance for keeping OnStar.

On a related note, anyone else having problems with their cell phone calls fading in and out? ?When I call home, my wife says my voice goes from regular volume to a whisper, and back. It happens any time and any place, driving or stationary. ?I checked my service rep and they said that's the way OnStar is since everyting goes through one service back East.
 
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