Launched in 1996 and still evolving, OnStar mixes emergency response, navigation and vehicle tracking, and has drawn privacy criticism along the way.
OnStar, GM's connected-car service, bundles emergency calls, crash alerts, navigation and stolen vehicle help behind a subscription. The company was formed in 1996 by three firms and has since attracted privacy and security scrutiny. Its plan structure has been revised several times.
OnStar is a subscription telematics service owned by General Motors, offering emergency calls, crash notification, navigation and stolen vehicle help. It was formed in 1996 by GM, Electronic Data Systems and Hughes Electronics. Its plans have changed over time, and the system has faced repeated privacy and security questions.
Few connected-car services have lasted as long. OnStar began as a simple emergency link and grew into a broad platform for vehicle data, remote functions and navigation. It has moved from analog cellular networks to 4G and newer connections, and it now reaches drivers across North America and several other regions.
How did OnStar begin?
The service was built as a partnership. GM contributed vehicle design, vehicle integration and a distribution system reaching millions of cars. Electronic Data Systems added development work, information management and customer service technology, while Hughes Electronics, the creator of DirecTV, provided communications, satellite and automotive electronics.
GM North America's president, Rick Wagoner, formally introduced OnStar at the 1996 Chicago Auto Show. The first product reached customers within 11 months, arriving in the fall of 1996 on 1997 Cadillac DeVille, Seville and Eldorado models. Between 2002 and 2006 the service was also offered on Acura, Audi, Isuzu, Subaru and Volkswagen vehicles under a licensing deal.
By September 2011 the company's president put the subscriber base above six million, a figure that shows how far the subscription model had spread beyond the original Cadillac launch.
A service that began as a call button has become a window into the car, and that window has always invited questions.
How does an emergency call work?
Drivers and passengers can speak to an OnStar representative through the audio system for emergency help, vehicle diagnostics or directions. Call centres operate around the clock in Warren, Michigan, and Charlotte, North Carolina, with further centres in Ontario, Canada, Makati in the Philippines and Oshawa, Ontario.
Automatic crash notification is the feature that most people associate with the service. When an airbag deploys or another sensor detects a collision, the system sends the vehicle's condition and GPS location to a call centre. Advisors can then pass crash details to emergency medical services, including rollover status, the direction of impact and which airbags deployed.
The advisor's information can include a measure of impact intensity, which helps responders decide what equipment to bring. Subscribers can also ask for help without a crash, for example when a driver is unable to respond.
Advisors can also unlock doors for a driver who has misplaced keys or locked them inside, after checking the caller is authorised over the phone. Subscribers who opt in receive a monthly email with a diagnostic report on their vehicle.
What does stolen vehicle assistance do?
Every OnStar-equipped vehicle carries stolen vehicle tracking, which can give police the exact location, speed and direction of travel. From the 2009 model year, some GM vehicles also gained stolen vehicle slowdown, which allows the service to reduce the speed of a stolen car remotely. Customers can opt out of that function.
Remote ignition block was added in 2009 as well. It lets the service disable the ignition, so a car that is switched off cannot be restarted. The first successful slowdown came in October 2009, when police recovered a stolen Chevrolet Tahoe and arrested the suspect.
OnStar does not activate any of these stolen vehicle functions until police confirm that the vehicle has been reported stolen. That check is designed to prevent misuse of the remote features.
What does OnStar cost?
New and certified pre-owned GM vehicles come with a three-month free trial. After that, owners choose from a range of plans that bundle different services. The table below sets out the main plans. Owners pay for connected features on a monthly or annual basis, and some features are bundled into higher tiers.
| Plan | Price | Main inclusions |
|---|---|---|
| Connected Access | Free for 10 years | Vehicle diagnostics, dealer maintenance notification, driver feedback and marketplace |
| App Access | USD 15 a month | Streaming audio apps for the cabin, Alexa support, connected navigation |
| Remote Access | USD 14.99 a month or USD 149.90 a year | Phone key fob, family sharing, on-demand diagnostics, vehicle location |
| Safety and Security | USD 29.99 a month or USD 299.90 a year | Crash response, emergency services, roadside help, crisis alert, stolen vehicle help |
| Unlimited Access | USD 29.99 a month | Remote Access services plus Alexa, connected navigation and 4G LTE data |
| Remote Access plus Safety and Security | USD 39.99 a month or USD 399.90 a year | All Remote Access and Safety and Security services |
| Unlimited Access plus Safety and Security | USD 49.99 a month | All Unlimited Access and Safety and Security services |
From June 2022 GM added a three-year prepaid premium subscription to Buick, Cadillac and GMC models, valued at USD 1,500. The subscription is included in the vehicle price even if the owner never uses it. Insurance can also be affected, since some insurers offer discounts to subscribers who qualify as low-mileage drivers or who benefit from stolen vehicle recovery.
How did the analog and CDMA shutdowns affect owners?
In April 2006 GM told about 500,000 analog customers that their service would end on 31 December 2007, after the FCC stopped requiring US cell networks to run in analog mode from February 2008. Owners of 2003 to 2005 vehicles could buy an adapter of about USD 200, while older vehicles simply lost the function.
Much later, Verizon Wireless announced it would stop providing 2G and 3G CDMA service after 2022. OnStar said that vehicles built before the 2015 model year would lose access to services by the end of that year, along with some 2015 vehicles not on the newer AT&T 4G LTE network. Owners could fit an OBD-II adapter for limited app features, while others were pointed to the Guardian app.
The OnStar Guardian app launched in June 2021 for drivers in the United States and Canada. It uses the sensors in a phone, such as the accelerometer and GPS receiver, to provide some crash and emergency functions regardless of the vehicle. The OnStar Link plug-in can also work with the app to deliver most traditional services, though it lacks stolen vehicle slowdown, hands-free calling and turn-by-turn navigation. Voice contact with an advisor through the Link requires a Bluetooth-paired phone.
What hardware sits inside an OnStar car?
The OnStar hardware is a telematic control unit that combines the communications and processing needed for the service. Early generations came from several suppliers: Hughes built Gen 1, Delphi built Gen 2, and Motorola made the later Gens 4 to 6. As of 2011 the units were made by LG Electronics.
Generations 1 to 4 used analog cellular links, and Gen 6 and later units use CDMA digital networks. Generation 10 hardware added a RemoteLink phone app, which can start the car, lock and unlock it, flash the lights and sound the horn, and show diagnostic data.
The aftermarket FMV device was a different approach. It fitted into an automatically dimming rear-view mirror in most vehicles from model years 2000 to 2014 that lacked factory OnStar. Its sensors detected irregular movement and triggered a call, though the unit was not recommended for vehicles with extreme windscreen angles. In March 2014 OnStar announced that it would stop making and selling the FMV.
Has OnStar faced privacy or security criticism?
In July 2015 Samy Kamkar announced OwnStar, a device hidden near a GM vehicle that sat between the car's OnStar link and the owner's RemoteLink app. In that man-in-the-middle attack, an unauthorised person could substitute commands to locate, unlock or start the car. GM released server and app upgrades that blocked the attack by 11 August 2015.
Privacy concerns have come from data as well. In 2011 OnStar changed its terms to allow sale of location and speed information to third parties, including law enforcement agencies. Later that year it said it would keep GPS and system data from units that were not subscribed, and it reversed that plan after complaints from subscribers and privacy groups.
A 2019 experiment on a 2017 Chevrolet Volt found that the car stored call logs from the owner's phone, along with location and driving data that could be sold on. The company's privacy statement says that a call from an advisor lights a light, rings a tone and mutes the radio, so the occupant knows the car is connected.
How has OnStar been marketed?
In 2000 GM made a run of commercials starring Batman, who used OnStar to call people, check his mail and unlock the Batmobile. Those were replaced by radio spots using Real Call recordings, which were presented as genuine customer conversations with dates attached.
From 2004 to 2009 OnStar sponsored the OnStar Hotline on ESPN Radio. The Live On campaign relaunched the brand in September 2010, and later campaigns have emphasised protection and linked gadgets. Since 2008 the service has also run Santa tracking on Christmas Eve, with a charity donation made each time the feature is used.
Where else does OnStar operate?
Shanghai OnStar Telematics began offering the service in China in December 2009. Its backers were General Motors, SAIC Group and SGM together, and China Telecom supplies the wireless network for select Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet vehicles. The service was first offered in Mandarin Chinese and was planned to cover mainland China.
OnStar entered Mexico in June 2013 with the 2014 Chevrolet Cheyenne and GMC Sierra. It now covers almost all GM vehicles sold there, the main exceptions being a handful of Chevrolet models. In Brazil the service works on Chevrolet models, and in Argentina it began on 5 May 2016 with the Chevrolet Cruze assembled in Rosario.
In Canada, a 2021 arrangement with TELUS covers 4G and 5G in-vehicle mobility services, and extra mobile data plans are also provided through TELUS.
In Europe the picture changed. Vauxhall OnStar and Opel OnStar were due to stop operating after 31 December 2020, once the Opel and Vauxhall brands passed to Groupe PSA.
