[elegant]

Most will let the complimentary On-Star program lapse after it expires, but for those who wish to learn a little more about its features...

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Monthly OnStar Subscription!

Many OnStar subscribers pay for the service so that in the event of an accident or other emergency, they know help is only one push of the blue button away. However there are several things OnStar can do to make life easier for you on an everyday basis, especially when paired with the company’s new 4G LTE Wi Fi technology.

OnStar has their RemoteLink mobile app, a smartphone app that helps you keep OnStar right in your pocket, even when your far away from your vehicle. The app can help you find your vehicle in a big parking lot by flashing the lights and beeping the horn, send directions straight to your vehicle’s infotainment system, start your car remotely and lock and unlock your doors. The app can also tell you how much gas is in your fuel tank, your estimated miles per gallon and tell you your tire pressure. How cool is that?

Those with OnStar’s new 4G LTE subscription can use the service to do anything they would normally do at home on the computer, all while traveling en route to your destination. This includes listening to podcasts, watching movies, updating social media, surfing the web and much more.

OnStar also has their OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics service, which will send a monthly report of your vehicles state directly to your email inbox. The service will run hundreds of vehicle diagnostics and maintenance checks and tests and can save you a trip to the dealer’s service bay.

You can push the blue OnStar button anytime you like, whether you’re in dire need of help or “just want to ask a question or say hello,” OnStar says. There’s no extra cost no matter how many times you push the button, but we’d stay away from the red emergency button if your intention is to “just say hello.”

Read more: OnStar Shows How To Get The Most Out Of Your Subscription | GM Authority

 

[edvossen]

Used OnStar when rear ended. They recorded my call after pushing red emergency button.

Police came in 2 minutes. Gave jerk that hit me ticket for careless driving.

OnStar asked permission to use my call in radio ad. Received 3 checks totaling $1500. Win-Win for me.

Only regret is not asking for copy of ad. My 5 minutes of fame would be documented.

As an aside- lived in FL since '92. 8 accidents- everyone - hit from behind while stopped at a red light! Enough already.

 

[Ragtop]

Just curious ed, since so many old people live in Fl...how many that rear ended you were elderly? Is it a trend, or are they just distracted across the board? Last few times I was down to Disney, I was horrified to look out the bus windows and see so many people driving with their knees while texting. Lesson learned - Don't stop at red lights!

 

[cutnout]

Heck I see em texting, smoking, eating and not watching the road. Usually, they slow down a few miles an hour on the freeway. Most are not old. I am sure some are. I don't think a law will change em. cutnout aka Charlie.

 

[Z51Stingray]

You'd be surprised on what I've seen people doing behind the wheel when I drove a truck for a living.

If I posted here some of the things I've seen, it wouldn't be a family friendly forum anymore.

 

[mjw930]

Having lived in FL for the last 18 years I can honestly say that the issue of geriatric drivers is overblown. Up to a certain age where faculties become impaired, most older / elderly drivers are quite safe. Our biggest problem, and it's born out with insurance company statistics, are distracted drivers, mostly middle age and mostly due to doing things other than driving while they are behind the wheel.

It's not the teenagers or the elderly that scare me, it's the soccer moms with 5 kids in the car talking non stop on their cell phones doing 80 mph down the freeway.

 

[Ret9580]

"Those with OnStar’s new 4G LTE subscription can use the service to do anything they would normally do at home on the computer, all while traveling en route to your destination. This includes listening to podcasts, watching movies, updating social media, surfing the web and much more."


My God! I hope not!!!

 

[rdslon01]

You have already been rear-ended too many times already, huh?

 

[Ret9580]

You have already been rear-ended too many times already, huh?

Yep, once was enough, lost my rear seat Harley passenger for life after that one (she is okay, just hurts her back too much, not to mention the stopped at a red light phobia she has now).

 

[Chip]

It seems to me that at some point on-star communications with cars could be upgraded to provide for ECM re-flashes as needed. Why is this not possible now?

 

[WAMFL]

Distracted driving is a huge problem. Some people handle multitasking well, while others should not drive while chewing gum. For the ladder, depending upon circumstances, the courts need to be more punitive up to and including removing them from the road.

As for edvossen, rear ended eight times, I think I will be avoiding Stuart. They don,t seam to like Vets there.

 

[Suzy Cruisy]

I used the app to send directions to the car ahead of time for the first time this weekend. THAT is a cool feature I think is likely underused. Why spend time talking to the car or hitting buttons when you can just search on the app and send it along even when the car is powered down an in the garage? I'm going to use that all the time when planning my trips!

 

[Tom0021]

I used the app to send directions to the car ahead of time for the first time this weekend. THAT is a cool feature I think is likely underused. Why spend time talking to the car or hitting buttons when you can just search on the app and send it along even when the car is powered down an in the garage? I'm going to use that all the time when planning my trips!

I use that part of the app on a regular basis, I have about a month yet to decide if $200-$300 per year is worth that amount for the ease of use.

What I need to do and haven't yet is program a destination using the screen instead of OnStar.

 

[edvossen]

Most were 30-60 years old. Just don't pay attention.

Weirdest thing I've seen was on Long Island Expressway.
A woman with very long black hair was driving at 70 MPH with head completely out the window drying her hair!

I recommend to my customers to just renew Safe and Sound portion of OnStar for about $159/year.

I look at that as inexpensive insurance if I or my wife were ever in an accident and disabled on road where no traffic. If you don't answer their call when airbags go off, police and EMT will be dispatched to accident scene immediately.

 

[rohard]

I use that part of the app on a regular basis, I have about a month yet to decide if $200-$300 per year is worth that amount for the ease of use.

What I need to do and haven't yet is program a destination using the screen instead of OnStar.

I guess my question is more basic than this, I wonder why the system isn't set up to let a person use any other applications to do this? GM has locked us into using OnStar for this type of assistance rather than using other applications that are available. They even provide a program called "BringGo" for the Sonic and Spark MyLink systems for navigation. You are locked into Sirius XM for weather and traffic. To use the features above, with traffic and weather will be about $50/month if you chose the monthly plan.

On the other hand, they lock us into OnStar, and if you don't keep your OnStar subscription active, your "Remote Link" program becomes a "dumb" FOB. Those of us with 14's are even in worse shape, we have Pandora and Siri typle applications, with nothing else apparently on the horizon. To add insult to injury, to update your mapset, you will apparently have to take the car to a dealer, at an unknown cost. Real bummer. A car less than a year old, and already technically obsolete.

(PS, can you imagine the lawsuits that will be coming? First thing that happens when your Vett is in a wreck, the other side will subpoena the records from OnStar to see if you were using the 4G hotspot when the wreck occurred.)