RE: OnStar Disabling

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RE: OnStar Disabling

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RE: OnStar Disabling - 7/10/2008 9:57:19 AM

DPris

Posts: 6
Joined: 7/6/2008
Status: offline

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

(in reply to DPris)