Onstar SUCKS!

SLO-BOB · 02-09-2007, 06:09 AM

Just got a letter from GM telling me that the Onstar system in my Yukon XL will no longer work as of January 2008. They are converting their stuff from analog to digital and it will not be backwards compliant. Very nice.

I'm not naive. I understand the economics behind planned obsolescence, but this is a real slap in the face to millions of users. The least they could do is have an update of hardware available, even if it's at the consumer's cost. Now I'll just have a bunch of totally useless buttons on my dashboard.

id10t · 02-09-2007, 06:31 AM

Ask nicely for the specs, maybe you can do somethign useful with it - like turn it into a regular cell phone, maybe a data link, etc.

SLO-BOB · 02-09-2007, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by id10t
...turn it into a regular cell phone, maybe a data link, etc.

Thanks for reminding me. AND a useless antennae stuck to my side window.

stomachmonkey · 02-09-2007, 06:47 AM

WTF, I have it in my Tahoe. Am I goin to be getting a letter as well?

Thi is not good.

Joeaksa · 02-09-2007, 06:51 AM

They can see only one thing... buy a new car. Detroit does not want anything old out there and their thinking is this manner.

One of the reasons why we own Porsches... well, most of us that is.

SLO-BOB · 02-09-2007, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by stomachmonkey
WTF, I have it in my Tahoe. Am I goin to be getting a letter as well?

Thi is not good.

If you are a registered Onstar user, yes.

I have to wonder if all Onstar users rally against this, can we get a fix from GM?

SLO-BOB · 02-09-2007, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Joeaksa
well, most of us that is.

Hmmmmmm. Who could you be referring to?

Joeaksa · 02-09-2007, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SLO-BOB
Hmmmmmm. Who could you be referring to?

People on a Porsche forum who do not have a Porsche, have never owned a Porsche and have absolutely no association to Porsche. Does that cover it?

SLO-BOB · 02-09-2007, 07:07 AM

They are blaming it on the FCC ruling that carriers are no longer required to carry the analog signal. The new digital standard will not work on our Onstar vehicles made before, and including 2007. While I understand this, I believe GM should make available a retrofit fix for the millions of Onstar equipped GM vehicles out there. Hell, if people can sue McDonalds because they are fat, why can't we sue GM to keep our Onstar working?

SLO-BOB · 02-09-2007, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Joeaksa
People on a Porsche forum who do not have a Porsche, have never owned a Porsche and have absolutely no association to Porsche. Does that cover it?

While that may be the umbrella answer, I believe you meant someone in particular. A certain girl maybe?

Just a hypothesis. I could be wrong.

Dottore · 02-09-2007, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SLO-BOB
They are blaming it on the FCC ruling that carriers are no longer required to carry the analog signal. The new digital standard will not work on our Onstar vehicles made before, and including 2007. While I understand this, I believe GM should make available a retrofit fix for the millions of Onstar equipped GM vehicles out there. Hell, if people can sue McDonalds because they are fat, why can't we sue GM to keep our Onstar working?

I think you probably could sue them. And someone will surely organize such a suit because there is big money in it.

In the GM commercials you hear here, Onstar is the principal feature they pitch. So people buy the crap car because of the Onstar - and having that feature invalidated suggests to me a fundamental breach of the agreement to purchase.

Joeaksa · 02-09-2007, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SLO-BOB
While that may be the umbrella answer, I believe you meant someone in particular. A certain girl maybe?

Just a hypothesis. I could be wrong.

Did I say it was just one person or female? No futher comment.

BTW, your comment about a class action suit to get GM to do something. Good luck. My S-type Jag below came with a CD based GPS system. Jag (read Ford) refuses to pay for a updated GPS CD for all the owners even after they told us that we would have updated GPS info every year when we bought the car.

They switched to a DVD based system in 2004 and left us out in the cold. Would love to do a class action lawsuit over it but nothing has happened yet. We are still using 1999 maps in 2007 and that is pure BS considering what we were told when we purchased the cars.

legion · 02-09-2007, 07:21 AM

I'm considering a GM car. I understand they all come with OnStar now. Is there any way to disable it? Pull a fuse?

ErVikingo · 02-09-2007, 07:27 AM

so what do we do with the antenna........ GPS?

porsche911girl · porsche911girl's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by SLO-BOB
A certain girl maybe?

Well it couldn't be me because a) I have a Porsche, b) I plan to have more Porsches, and c) I am addicted/obsessed with Porsches.

thrown_hammer · 02-09-2007, 07:31 AM

GM will fight Ford to the death to become the greatest manufacturer of rental cars ever!

stomachmonkey · 02-09-2007, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SLO-BOB
They are blaming it on the FCC ruling that carriers are no longer required to carry the analog signal. The new digital standard will not work on our Onstar vehicles made before, and including 2007. While I understand this, I believe GM should make available a retrofit fix for the millions of Onstar equipped GM vehicles out there. Hell, if people can sue McDonalds because they are fat, why can't we sue GM to keep our Onstar working?

They are no longer required to carry analog or they are required to not carry analog.

Big d, if it's' the former then that sounds like GM has a choice.

SLO-BOB · 02-09-2007, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by legion
I'm considering a GM car. I understand they all come with OnStar now. Is there any way to disable it? Pull a fuse?

Easy to disable, but if it's a 2007 model year GM car or newer, it's probably okay. The new Onstar is different, and better. Instead of basically talking to someone on the phone at Onstar, you get voice prompts much like the current navigations systems such as a Magellan.

I was considering disabling the Onstar as I wanted to install a better stereo/navigation system. However, my wife insisted I not do that because she doesn't want to lose the GPS locator and accident sensing feature, not to mention satellite lock out service.

The more I think about what we'll lose the more pissed I get!

SLO-BOB · 02-09-2007, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by stomachmonkey
They are no longer required to carry analog or they are required to not carry analog.

Big d, if it's' the former then that sounds like GM has a choice.

I don't think that it's so much GM, as the cellular networks that GM uses. I could be way off on that.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage