OnStar Disabling

Hello, I just purchased a new HHR, traded in my old one so I could get the solid rear quarter panel.
Now I would like to know if anyone has located the onstar unit on the hhr's yet.

I have seen posts on other forums for different vehicles, some say behind the glove box, some say in the trunk.
I will go searching all over if I have to but I would prefer to avoid all that. If anyone has found it, it sure would be appreciated.

As stated in GM's Service Information:   Right side of the rear compartment, behind the right rear wheel well
 
If you don't mind me asking, why would you want to disable the onstar system?

figures GM has nothing better to do then watch him drive around all day and moniter him I guess.....

Greetings,
I''m here simply looking for information, with no other agenda beyond removing an undesirable feature in a new car.

This week we bought an ''08 HHR. For various reasons, non of which are either illegal or paranoid, my wife & I both want the OnStar gone. We are both in our mid-50s, I''m a retired cop and she''s been with her PD for 34 years. We are law-abiding people, but come from an older generation & backgrounds that leave us unimpressed by most of the extraneous frills on the car. We like the HHR, had to pay extra to have the one with most of the configuration we wanted shipped in from 500 miles south in another state.
I am not knocking the car.

But-  we never wanted anything to do with OnStar, and while we did know a free one-year subscription was included, we understood we would be the ones to activate it. That meant we could (and did) choose not to activate it. Today, in going through the OnStar papers that came with the manual, I found several items in the "agreement" that we do not agree with, and called OnStar to make sure they cancel any form of connection with us and our car, officially. That''s when I found out the dealer had kindly activated it for us, and further that OnStar will not de-activate it until the introductory period of one year has ended. Period.
I was hung up on twice, despite using a civil tone of voice, and told there was no supervisor available to speak to about this apparently unchangeable OnStar policy.

We specified clearly with our Chebby dealer about what we wanted & did not want in this new car, and passed on other options such as satellite radio that we couldn''t care less about. We were told OnStar came standard on all GMs & we''d be stuck with it. Based on our understanding that we''d be able to not use it, we reluctantly accepted it and bought the HHR.

It''s just kinda a personal quirk. I don''t like people tiptoing through my vehicles, either physically or electronically, and want OnStar out of it. The fact that they exhibit such arrogance in telling me they''ll maintain contact with my car whether I want them to or not only increases my desire to avoid them completely.

Preliminary to getting an attorney involved, I''m hoping somebody here can give me some simple tips on how to disable OnStar in an ''08 HHR. In looking through the Internet for more info, I find a number of entries about disconnecting this or that in other model GMs, and a couple suggestions on re-wiring & soldering the module, but I don''t want to get into anything that requires snipping, cutting, soldering or other physical alterations.
I''ve seen a fuse removal mentioned for other GM models, but I''m never sure what''s integrated with what in current cars & reluctant to try that for fear it may cause the transmission to drop out. I''ve seen mention of one GM owner who removed the OnStar antenna (leaving a non-weather-resistant hole I don''t want) but the OnStar system still apparently functioned without it.

It may be hard for some to understand, but we simply do not want this in our car, and if anybody can tell me how to disable it without either damaging wiring or affecting other systems, I''d be very grateful.

Thanks.
Denis

The best way to make sure its d\c and in no way can anyone from OnStar communicate with your vehicle would be to simply pull the plugs from the OnStar Module(VCIM). This will not affect any other moudles in the vehicle. The only thing the dealer will notice is when they try to communicate with it using a scan tool, they will recieve a message saying "Could not communicate with VCIM"
Also rememebr when you d\c the VCIM, you will not be able to use the hands free calling feature as it is built into the VCIM.
If you can turn a screw driver you shouldn''t have too much problem getting at the module.
Also If you want to d\c the XM radio, you can simply pull the connectors off the digital radio reciever while your in there. Again with no adverse affect to any other component in the car
 
 
Right side of the rear compartment, behind the right rear wheel well
 

 

 




(1)
Digital Radio Receiver (U2K)

(2)
Vehicle Communication Interface Module (VCIM) (UE1)

(3)
G403

(4)
Battery Current Sensor

(5)
Battery

(6)
Inline Fuse 50 AMP

Thanks Shawn, that helps a bunch.
I''d already looked inside the small access panel on the right rear side & found it was only for the taillights, didn''t see anything that looked remotely like a removable module. Just printed your diagram & went out to look again. Didn''t even know the battery''s by the spare tire.
Guess I''ll wait till tomorrow & get the toolbox out, didn''t realize I''d have to remove that entire plastic side panel to get at it.
Just unplug any & all leads attached to the box?
I''m wondering what affect this''ll have on warrantee issues with the dealer. I did check the manual & the fuse box layout, it appears one fuse works both the satellite radio (which we don''t have) and the OnStar, removed it. That doesn''t seem to affect anything with the standard AM/FM/CD player. If that circuit only carries those two components, would it be safe to assume the easiest way to disable the OnStar would be to just pull the fuse & let the service department replace it as necessary for regular servicing so their diagnostic system won''t scream too loud?
Don''t care about losing the in-car cellphone Hands Free whatever, we''ll never use it.
Denis

Shawn,
In further talks with OnStar today that got nowhere, and then with the dealer to see what might be involved in disabling the box at their end, the service department had no answer at first & then called back later saying they couldn''t disable it without affecting other systems. Exactly what other systems might be tied together wasn''t clear, except for "It might do..." and "It could do..."
I don''t know what your level of GM involvement or expertise might be with the ''08 HHR, but are you aware of any other systems that might be affected by unplugging all cables in & out of the OnStar box?
Thanks.
Denis

In my line of work, I specialize in diagnosing and repairing OnStar systems, as well as other electronics in GM Vehicles. I can assure you that the ONLY way that Onstar is integrated into the car is through the radio. It has the ability to mute the radio, and send its own audio through the speakers. Onstar also has the ability to scan the vehicle for codes, and be able to call for help if the airbags deploy. There will be no adverse affects of disabling the Onstar system. The dealer is hesitant to do it becuase they could be held liable if there was ever an accident, and you needed help but Onstar could not contact you. That being said, there is a waiver you can sign to have them do it, or you can just do it yourself.
 
 

Thanks, Shawn.
Sent you an email.
Denis

Anybody else had this go-round in getting rid of OnStar?
Denis

To close it up, after more phone calls to OnStar & the dealer, I was faxed a waiver from the dealer that 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 the paragraph wording referred to physically disabling the on-board system), 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 want as the only way to buy a 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 statement was "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 (I no 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 insurance question I''ve seen brought up on other forums by responders to other 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 says disabling the hardware would 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 removing the box or pulling cables would 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 mining for 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