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OnStar Disabling
CF Beginner
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
RE: OnStar Disabling
To close it up, after more phone calls to OnStar & the dealer, I was faxed a waiver from the dealerthat allowed the dealer to "assist" in disabling the system "at their discretion".
After further talking with their sales manager and some discussion of what "assist" really means (his interpretation was that the dealer had "assisted" me merely by getting the waiver, my position was that the "assist" in theparagraph wordingreferred tophysically disabling the on-boardsystem), he finally tentatively agreed that the dealer could do it, after first telling me twice it'd be OnStar who would disable the system at their end. Since I had no reason at that point to rely on OnStar's word (they'd first refused to cancel the account at all& then told me only the dealer could cancel on MY CAR), I pushed for the dealer to physically disable the box in the car. When he told me they would not pay for it & didn't even know how to do it, I ended by telling him it was the final straw in a bad deal from the beginning, I'd disconnect it myself, after buying three Chevs from that dealership in 8 years they'd never sell us another car & it's the last GM product we'll buy.
Despite requiring us to pay for hardware we didn't wantas the only way to buya car my wife's been interested in since they came out, lying to us about optional activation when the OnStar was already activated, failure to provide full disclosure up front on the agreement OnStar considers binding merely by purchasing the vehicle (no warrantee, can't sue, and OnStar can sell any personal info they have on us, including VIN number, to anybody they want to) and the fact that OnStar told me once activated the system cannot be de-activated ("Didn't your dealer explain that to you?"), giving us mis-information from the service department about disconnecting the box affecting other areas of vehicle operation, OnStar's incredible arrogance in refusing to cancel the account we didn't create for a year, and the dealer trying to charge us to disconnect the box we didn't want in the first place, his ending statementwas "I don't think we did anything wrong."
Not to prolong unduly, but just FYI for those interested or who may be considering disabling the in-car hardware, my wife has been driving the thing (Ino longer want anything to do with it) to work all week with the fuse out & has detected no signs of anything unusual in displays or car performance. The green OnStar light on the right side of the mirror is out, but that's the only detectable difference.
As for the insurancequestion I've seenbrought upon other forums by responders toother dissatisfied OnStar "customers" who were asking about disabling the system, I called our State Farm agent & asked if the presence or absence of OnStar made any difference whatever, and if it expiring at the end of a year would affect our rates in any way, and the answer to both was "No."
Also, as far as warrantee issues go, there's no verbiage in the waiver that saysdisabling the hardwarewould affect the warrantee. The only mention of the warrantee in either of the two pages is that disabling the system in the car is not covered by the warrantee and any costs involved would have to be paid by me. Does not say doing so would violate it.
One area of concern, though, is that by signing the waiver I agree to hold the dealer harmless "...from any and all consequential damages and costs that may result." While I doubt that the simple process involved in removingthe box or pulling cableswould involve much chance of damage in getting in & out to do it in this case, I'm always leary of relinquishing legal recourse in blanket releases. The rest of the release I have no problem with.
One final note, just as an advisory- letting the "free" year expire only terminates your use of OnStar services. It does not de-activate anything in your vehicle, your hardware will remain perfectly functional and capable of both transmitting data (without your knowledge) and interacting with OnStar (without your knowledge)should they decide to do so.
I mention the above as useful info in making decisions regarding buying OnStar, and/or understanding what you get yourself into in buying a GM vehicle so equipped. The majority of OnStar users are satisfied with the system, and that's perfectly fine.
My position is that it should be a choice, not a forced money-maker in hardware and data miningfor GM whether new car buyers want it or not. Full disclosure up front should be mandatory, at the very least.
Shawn, I'll probably get around to digging into the side panel & disconnecting the box this weekend, just to be absolutely certain, and I appreciate your help very much.
Denis
After further talking with their sales manager and some discussion of what "assist" really means (his interpretation was that the dealer had "assisted" me merely by getting the waiver, my position was that the "assist" in theparagraph wordingreferred tophysically disabling the on-boardsystem), he finally tentatively agreed that the dealer could do it, after first telling me twice it'd be OnStar who would disable the system at their end. Since I had no reason at that point to rely on OnStar's word (they'd first refused to cancel the account at all& then told me only the dealer could cancel on MY CAR), I pushed for the dealer to physically disable the box in the car. When he told me they would not pay for it & didn't even know how to do it, I ended by telling him it was the final straw in a bad deal from the beginning, I'd disconnect it myself, after buying three Chevs from that dealership in 8 years they'd never sell us another car & it's the last GM product we'll buy.
Despite requiring us to pay for hardware we didn't wantas the only way to buya car my wife's been interested in since they came out, lying to us about optional activation when the OnStar was already activated, failure to provide full disclosure up front on the agreement OnStar considers binding merely by purchasing the vehicle (no warrantee, can't sue, and OnStar can sell any personal info they have on us, including VIN number, to anybody they want to) and the fact that OnStar told me once activated the system cannot be de-activated ("Didn't your dealer explain that to you?"), giving us mis-information from the service department about disconnecting the box affecting other areas of vehicle operation, OnStar's incredible arrogance in refusing to cancel the account we didn't create for a year, and the dealer trying to charge us to disconnect the box we didn't want in the first place, his ending statementwas "I don't think we did anything wrong."
Not to prolong unduly, but just FYI for those interested or who may be considering disabling the in-car hardware, my wife has been driving the thing (Ino longer want anything to do with it) to work all week with the fuse out & has detected no signs of anything unusual in displays or car performance. The green OnStar light on the right side of the mirror is out, but that's the only detectable difference.
As for the insurancequestion I've seenbrought upon other forums by responders toother dissatisfied OnStar "customers" who were asking about disabling the system, I called our State Farm agent & asked if the presence or absence of OnStar made any difference whatever, and if it expiring at the end of a year would affect our rates in any way, and the answer to both was "No."
Also, as far as warrantee issues go, there's no verbiage in the waiver that saysdisabling the hardwarewould affect the warrantee. The only mention of the warrantee in either of the two pages is that disabling the system in the car is not covered by the warrantee and any costs involved would have to be paid by me. Does not say doing so would violate it.
One area of concern, though, is that by signing the waiver I agree to hold the dealer harmless "...from any and all consequential damages and costs that may result." While I doubt that the simple process involved in removingthe box or pulling cableswould involve much chance of damage in getting in & out to do it in this case, I'm always leary of relinquishing legal recourse in blanket releases. The rest of the release I have no problem with.
One final note, just as an advisory- letting the "free" year expire only terminates your use of OnStar services. It does not de-activate anything in your vehicle, your hardware will remain perfectly functional and capable of both transmitting data (without your knowledge) and interacting with OnStar (without your knowledge)should they decide to do so.
I mention the above as useful info in making decisions regarding buying OnStar, and/or understanding what you get yourself into in buying a GM vehicle so equipped. The majority of OnStar users are satisfied with the system, and that's perfectly fine.
My position is that it should be a choice, not a forced money-maker in hardware and data miningfor GM whether new car buyers want it or not. Full disclosure up front should be mandatory, at the very least.
Shawn, I'll probably get around to digging into the side panel & disconnecting the box this weekend, just to be absolutely certain, and I appreciate your help very much.
Denis
CF Beginner
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
New member here. I just bought an 09 Silverado. You can disable onstar by removing the Driver Information Center fuse, # 22 (10amp) from the driver's side fuse box inside the cab. This will cause your auto dim mirror to be dim all the time. However XM will still work, and all the info for tire pressure, trip computer, is still displayed in on the instrument panel. I don't know about the blue tooth wireless calling though. Haven't tried that yet. If you really need blue tooth, you can use an earpiece.
Thanks for your help Shawnvw!!
Thanks for your help Shawnvw!!
Last edited by macshooter; May 31, 2009 at 11:15 AM. Reason: spelling
Administrator
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 7,573
Likes: 47
From: Austin, Texas
Welcome to the forum,
my only concern about removing the fuse is that a tech with well intentions putting it back.
I think if you are certain you don't want On-star is to hunt down the module and kill it (remove power) as shawn described...
I have not had to use On-star personally but have used it to have help send help to a accident location, Hit the On-Star button told them there was an accident and I needed police and EMS on the spot where I was, told the operator I was getting out of the vehicle to assist, she was still jabbering something when I got out, EMS was on the spot in no time. I didn't need to describe a location or nearest intersection.
my only concern about removing the fuse is that a tech with well intentions putting it back.
I think if you are certain you don't want On-star is to hunt down the module and kill it (remove power) as shawn described...
I have not had to use On-star personally but have used it to have help send help to a accident location, Hit the On-Star button told them there was an accident and I needed police and EMS on the spot where I was, told the operator I was getting out of the vehicle to assist, she was still jabbering something when I got out, EMS was on the spot in no time. I didn't need to describe a location or nearest intersection.
CF Veteran
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,017
Likes: 0
From: Albuquerque, NM
Shawn, in your diagram, when I saw a 50 amp fuse for this device, I nearly fell out of my chair! Anything that transmits with that much juice makes me nervous too. Oh, and that BS about lawsuits and car accidents is the usual corporate party line. And DPris, I totally agree with you and your bride about privacy. Trouble is most of these younger folks didn't grow up when we did and don't prize their privacy. My older brother is a retired federal cop and we haven't been able to find him for years (he's alive,we just don't know where). So stick to your guns and welcome to the forum.
CF Veteran
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,017
Likes: 0
From: Albuquerque, NM
in2pro, do you suppose they mistakenly got the "tundra" addition HHR? You know, the one equipped for camping and all that kind of stuff. I could see a portable generator....no, it's gotta be 5.0 amps
Last edited by Gwampa; Jun 2, 2009 at 10:16 PM.