Ok I know people should know what the Onstar provides since you should of got a leaflet with your car but... I just thought Id put this out there for the sake of people who search Onstar.
(Feel free to discuss OnStar in this thread) I will upgrade this if anything changes or i miss anything

OK the blueish is what you get standard and free for the first year (safe & sound plan)
the red is optional services $$ (Directions & Connections plan)

-ONSTAR SERVICES-

-Automatic Air Bag Deployment Response
If you airbags deploy. we can contack you to ask if you need assistance.

-Emegency Services
At the touch of a button, we can contact emergency services.

-Stolen Vehicle location assistance
If your vehicle is stolen, an advisor can help authorities attempt to locate it.

-Remote door unlock
An advisor can send a signal to unlock your doors.

-GM Goodwrench remote diagnostics
We can run a remote diagnostic probe of your vehicle while you are driving.

-OnStar hands-free calling
Access to hands-free, voice-activated calling built into your vehicle.

-Roadside Assistance
If you need help on the road, we can call a nearby service provider.

-AccidentAssit
Get step-by-step by step guidence about what to do if you are in an accident.

-Remote Horn and Lights
We can activate your horn and lights to help you quickly locate your vehicle.

-Driving Directions
Get directions to any destination based on your GPS location.

-RideAssist
Call OnStar if your incapable of driving and we'll call you a taxi.

-Infomation/Convenience Services
Get service recommendations and directory infomation from an advisor

And starting June 1 or so you will be able to upload pre-planned routes from Mapquest to your car.

Don't forget...you get one free turn-by-turn navigation. Have people here tried it? How is it?

As for the other items...if you ask me, the emergency services option should be free through the life of the car. Are you telling me I can be in a serious accident, but the technology that is ALREADY installed in my car will go to waste and will not be activated simply because I don't pay hundreds of dollars per year? BS! The other options should not be free, but when it comes to life and death matters, GM should have drawn the line better. Just my two cents.

How much is it for OnStar* after the first year? Does anyone know?

Don't forget...you get one free turn-by-turn navigation. Have people here tried it? How is it?

As for the other items...if you ask me, the emergency services option should be free through the life of the car. Are you telling me I can be in a serious accident, but the technology that is ALREADY installed in my car will go to waste and will not be activated simply because I don't pay hundreds of dollars per year? BS! The other options should not be free, but when it comes to life and death matters, GM should have drawn the line better. Just my two cents.



I think it is free for the life of the car. I think a lot of them are except calling and stuff. But I may be wrong.

How much is it for OnStar* after the first year? Does anyone know?

I think Its $203 a year (16.95 a month)

200 for the safe and sound plan. and extra 100 for directions and connections. The directions feature is pretty neat. I have used it once. When I activated they gave me a month of the directions. I will probably renew this feature at some point because I like it.

I think Its $203 a year (16.95 a month)

IMHO that's a very good price for what is offered. 17 dollars a month can mean life or death in a bad situation.

I tried the turn by turn, since it is free the first month. They failed on the first download to the car, but came on line again and got it the second time. In my opinion the directions were not very well optimized. For instance, along the route I should make a left turn, however Onstar directed me to make a right turn, and then an immediate U-Turn, crazy! I have had the same result with NAVTEQ based systems at this same intersection. There is nothing unusual about the intersection, it is two major roadways.

What is missing is the best part of a real GPS system, The Estimated Time of Arrival and the remaining distance. The last NAV system I had could give the correct ETA in a 5 hour trip within 5 minutes. It is great to call someone and say I will be there at 5:00 o'clock, and be accurate about it.

For what Onstar is charging, I expect a lot more.

I have experience, several hundred hours using NAV systems from several manufacturers. I give the Onstar people 4 out of 10 stars on their effort.

As always, unless noted, answers are based on USA information.


-ONSTAR SERVICES-

-Automatic Notification of airbag deployment
If you airbags deploy. we can contack you to ask if you need assistance.

The name has changed on that one, it is now called "Automatic Air Bag Deployment Response".

Although I think the G8, as do most 2008 OnStar equipped cars, has the one better step of "Automatic Crash Response". This is similar but doesn't require air bag deployment.

-"Automatic Crash Response".
If your vehicle is involved in a moderate to severe crash, we will conact you to ask if you need assistance.




And starting June 1 or so you will be able to upload pre-planned routes from Mapquest to your car.

There is a good chance you will need the upgraded plan subscription of "Directions & Connections" to use this new addition to the "Turn-by-Turn Navigation" service.



As for the other items...if you ask me, the emergency services option should be free through the life of the car.


I think it is free for the life of the car. I think a lot of them are except calling and stuff. But I may be wrong.

If a subscription is not extended, OnStar will turn off the service. No emergency functions will remain active.



How much is it for OnStar* after the first year? Does anyone know?

I think Its $203 a year (16.95 a month)

It depends on which plan and how you elect to pay for it.

Safe & Sound is $18.95 per month for a month by month subscription billed to you credit card. Or you could pay for one year in advance for $199. Additional savings are available for two and three year subscriptions.

Directions & Connections (includes the Safe & Sound services) is $28.90 per month for a month by month subscription billed to you credit card. Or you could pay for one year in advance for $299. Additional savings are available for two and three year subscriptions.

What does it mean by "connections"?

Also, on the Canada site it's even more.

Safe & Sound
Model Year 2007 and Newer Vehicle Pricing:
$24.95/month* or $289/year (plus tax)

That IMO is the most stupid thing I have seen. Why do we need to pay 100$ more for the same features?

I like Onstar, had it on my CTS. What is new is that you can add your onstar phone to your cellphone if you have verizon...much cheaper if you make a lot of car calls than buying the minutes from GM.

I wonder if they could do the ECM update over the Onstar?

What does it mean by "connections"?

Also, on the Canada site it's even more.

Safe & Sound
Model Year 2007 and Newer Vehicle Pricing:
$24.95/month* or $289/year (plus tax)

That IMO is the most stupid thing I have seen. Why do we need to pay 100$ more for the same features?

It's our way of making up the trade deficit by screwing you guys.:wink2:

That was my understanding. If a subscription is not extended after the first year, OnStar will turn off the emergency functions. They will NOT remain active.

And that's my huge gripe with GM. Why not offer that option for free (either for the life of the car or even 5 to 10 years). I mean, the system is already built into the car, and the car would only send a signal if the car was in a really bad crash. Instead, GM forces you spend lots of $$$ extra to get the service (and how many people actually use it after the first year?).

Is $28.90 per month for Directions & Connections worth it?

I think it is free for the life of the car. I think a lot of them are except calling and stuff. But I may be wrong.

on star is $199.00 a year,by the way being a brit do they undertand u,i find they dont understand it when i say 4.very frustrating and your accent must be stronger than mine!!!!!

Is $28.90 per month for Directions & Connections worth it?

Guess it is up to each individual owner if the additional services are worth the incremental cost ($9.95@month of $100@year).

That was my understanding. If a subscription is not extended after the first year, OnStar will turn off the emergency functions. They will NOT remain active.

And that's my huge gripe with GM. Why not offer that option for free (either for the life of the car or even 5 to 10 years). I mean, the system is already built into the car, and the car would only send a signal if the car was in a really bad crash. Instead, GM forces you spend lots of $$$ extra to get the service (and how many people actually use it after the first year?). .i used my onstar for 3 years on my pontiac g6 gt!!!!!wouldnt be without it!!!!

By the way did onstar offer 100 hands free minutes for $13.95plus tax.in fact they offered me it again .!!!!usual price $39.95 plus tax .

i find they dont understand it when i say 4.very frustrating and your accent must be stronger than mine!!!!!

The older manuals would suggest putting more emphasis on the "r" at the end of "four" to improve recognition.

Once had a customer that had to have someone else load any phone number with a "2" into nametag memory for her, as the system would not recognize her "2". Not a problem with her new car.

The older manuals would suggest putting more emphasis on the "r" at the end of four to improve recognition..it works when i roll my R .they find the british accent hard to understand!!!!!

I also find British typing hard to understand, maybe it's just me?

Anyway if you lived in Canada would you pay that much for onstar? I think not.

OK, I feel that this is the thread to publish my woes with onstar.....I activated onstar and on the diagnostics got a problem that the onstar back-up battery wasn't working. I'm not sure what the backup battery achieves as the main car battery appears fairly well protected in the trunk (I guess it may be vulnerable to a rear end collision). They told me that if it wasn't working and the air bags deployed then they wouldn't know and be able to send help. So I did as they required and made an appointment with the dealer and let them know about the problem (thought I'd get the ECM/TCM update done at the same time). Well dropped the car off at the dealer yesterday at 8.30 and they informed me that they had to "find" the battery and run diagnostics. At 4.00 they called me to tell me that they'd found the battery under the rear seat and had to send out for another one and that it would be in tomorrow. They did offer me a rental through Enterprise but I didn't have the time to go and deal with that. As far as they know I'm at the mercy of my wife being dropped off places but actually I've pulled the 75 Caddy out of the garage earlier than usual and used it for to and from work. Now today they called and the battery still isn't in. On the plus side I'm driving around in the Caddy again. On the negative side my 1 month old G8GT has been off the road for 2 days so far waiting for an onstar battery! Beginning to get very frustrated.

being a brit do they undertand u

Sometimes they do sometimes they dont. My accent is full British no american at all lol.

I also find British typing hard to understand, maybe it's just me?



What? How is typeing different? unless its slang.

What is missing is the best part of a real GPS system, The Estimated Time of Arrival and the remaining distance. The last NAV system I had could give the correct ETA in a 5 hour trip within 5 minutes. It is great to call someone and say I will be there at 5:00 o'clock, and be accurate about it.

For what Onstar is charging, I expect a lot more.


At any point in time, use the command "Get My Destination". The OnStar system will respond with the current distance to your destination.

OK, I feel that this is the thread to publish my woes with onstar.....

This can happen any time a car is dropped off for service and the dealership is not prepared and parts are not available.

Once the back-up battery is engaged on the G8's OnStar system it is stays on until it is used up. The dealership could have been better preapred by having the battery before you dropped off the car.

OK, I feel that this is the thread to publish my woes with onstar.....I activated onstar and on the diagnostics got a problem that the onstar back-up battery wasn't working. I'm not sure what the backup battery achieves as the main car battery appears fairly well protected in the trunk (I guess it may be vulnerable to a rear end collision). They told me that if it wasn't working and the air bags deployed then they wouldn't know and be able to send help. So I did as they required and made an appointment with the dealer and let them know about the problem (thought I'd get the ECM/TCM update done at the same time). Well dropped the car off at the dealer yesterday at 8.30 and they informed me that they had to "find" the battery and run diagnostics. At 4.00 they called me to tell me that they'd found the battery under the rear seat and had to send out for another one and that it would be in tomorrow. They did offer me a rental through Enterprise but I didn't have the time to go and deal with that. As far as they know I'm at the mercy of my wife being dropped off places but actually I've pulled the 75 Caddy out of the garage earlier than usual and used it for to and from work. Now today they called and the battery still isn't in. On the plus side I'm driving around in the Caddy again. On the negative side my 1 month old G8GT has been off the road for 2 days so far waiting for an onstar battery! Beginning to get very frustrated.

I would say thats a result of 1) the vehicle being new and the techs not having worked on one yet and 2) the dealer should of ordered the part overnight. . . if they did then it's just a supplier issue and the dealer/you/GM are the middle man waiting for the supplier. Sucks how that sometimes gives the manufacturer/dealer a bad name.

When I activated OnStar I was connected to some dude who sounded totally stoned that was trying to sell me phone minutes. I think I told that guy No about ten times before he finally said "Have a nice day." and hung up.

I activated my OnStar with no issues. The woman I spoke with was nice and not pushy in her sales pitches. I also just used my one free trial of the turn by turn navigation last night and it was pretty good. I like that the DIC shows distance to the next turn. It did however come in and tell me I had "left the route" when I had literally been sitting still in traffic for 2-3 minutes. I just had to hit the phone button on the steering wheel and tell it to update the route and it was fine.

It was easy enough for me to get onstar activated; even went for the extra phone minutes. Still been waiting for 3 days to get the back up battery replaced. Probably lost charge when car was in dealer showroom where, by law, the battery needs to be disconnected. Expect to get car back tomorrow (back up battery arrived late today). Still not happy. Hope to get a few free oil changes!

Still been waiting for 3 days to get the back up battery replaced. Probably lost charge when car was in dealer showroom where, by law, the battery needs to be disconnected.

The OnStar backup battery doesn't loose it charge. It's charge has to be used up. It is a single use battery. It only activates when required.

One way to active, and therefore use up, the OnStar backup battery is to disconect the vehicle's battery improperly.

thanks for letting me know

I believe it's cheaper to buy 3 or 4 years worth of Onstar rather than one at a time.

I could be wrong

^^ makes sense.

IMHO that's a very good price for what is offered. 17 dollars a month can mean life or death in a bad situation.

Ok, my question is, let's say you don't renew after the first year and and you happen to get into an accident which causes the airbags to deploy. Does the OnStar do nothing since you did not renew? My thought always was that in cases of an emergency, the OnStar works regardless? Can anyone clarify?

Ok, my question is, let's say you don't renew after the first year and and you happen to get into an accident which causes the airbags to deploy. Does the OnStar do nothing since you did not renew? My thought always was that in cases of an emergency, the OnStar works regardless? Can anyone clarify?

Vito

Apparently OnStar does NOT work if you do not pay the bill. You may be bleeding profusely from that gash on your head after an accident in which your airbags deploy, but if you didn't sign up after that first free year, you're out of luck, my friend.

Thats bloody stupid!! they'v got all this fancy equipment but if you dont pay they dont care if you die. So if i call them and say im locked out can you open my doors they'll say no im sorry you didnt pay? I'm sure if the police wanted to track the car useing onstar they still could! :censored:

Thats bloody stupid!! they'v got all this fancy equipment but if you dont pay they dont care if you die. So if i call them and say im locked out can you open my doors they'll say no im sorry you didnt pay? I'm sure if the police wanted to track the car useing onstar they still could! :censored:

AT THE VERY LEAST they should keep the emergency option active. I can understand all of the features, but when it comes to matters of life and death (i.e. serious accidents), GM should not be drawing the line that it is drawing.

I pressed the unlock button on my car and nothing happed, so I used the key. Then all hell broke loose, the horn began randomly beeping, and the FOB seemed to have no effect. So I called Onstar, it took 2 minutes to connect, there was nothing they could do, so they transferred me to Pontiac, ten minutes later in sweltering Texas heat, Pontiac answered and there was nothing they could do. I was fit to be tied. Sitting in car with the horn honking loudly and randomly for 15 minutes, in a public parking lot. I could not drive on the road like that. I am rethinking my purchase and the actual usefulness of Onstar.

What if this happened when I leave for work in the morning at 5:30am? There would be neighbors with torches, and pitchforks, running me out of the place...

Currently the car has 684 miles, if this keeps up it will be gone by 700. Good luck Pontiac!

I have a cell phone, I have AAA coverage, and I have a portable GPS nav system. Not sure I need OnStar.

Well I finally got the car back after 3 1/2 days to get the onstar backup battery replaced. The dealer claims they couldn't pre-order the battery as they had to get the code. There was then a 2 day delay before fedex delivered the battery (not sure where it came from). From the post from small dealer I'm still not sure if the back up battery could have run down when the dealer disconnected the main battery when car was in showroom (they only had it for 3 days before I picked it up). Anyway, still frustrated. Thought they might offer me something other than just sympathy for 3 days off the road for a 1 month old car. They blame GM / pontiac / onstar and the need to pull the code prior to ordering the battery. Is this right?

AT THE VERY LEAST they should keep the emergency option active. I can understand all of the features, but when it comes to matters of life and death (i.e. serious accidents), GM should not be drawing the line that it is drawing.

yeah so where's Toyota's, Honda's, Ford's or Mercedes' Onstar???

They don't even give you the option. Guess GM cares more than any other car company.

From the post from small dealer I'm still not sure if the back up battery could have run down when the dealer disconnected the main battery when car was in showroom (they only had it for 3 days before I picked it up).

Why did the dealer disconnect the main battery? My car was in the showroom and still had the battery connected.

I pressed the unlock button on my car and nothing happed, so I used the key. Then all hell broke loose, the horn began randomly beeping, and the FOB seemed to have no effect. So I called Onstar, it took 2 minutes to connect, there was nothing they could do, so they transferred me to Pontiac, ten minutes later in sweltering Texas heat, Pontiac answered and there was nothing they could do. I was fit to be tied. Sitting in car with the horn honking loudly and randomly for 15 minutes, in a public parking lot. I could not drive on the road like that. I am rethinking my purchase and the actual usefulness of Onstar.

What if this happened when I leave for work in the morning at 5:30am? There would be neighbors with torches, and pitchforks, running me out of the place...

Currently the car has 684 miles, if this keeps up it will be gone by 700. Good luck Pontiac!

Did you put the key in the ignition and turn it on? That should have stopped the alarm.