Thanks for the update. Definetely keep us updated because I'm seriously thinking of getting mine done and want to know what all is involved.

Wayne

 

Ok so I finially got my car upgraded today. I got a call tuesday saying my part had come in and we scheduled me to come in this morning. I had my father take it to the dealer this morning because I was at work and it took them about an hour to complete the upgrade. My dad ended up being there for two hours because they also fixed the engine compartment fire recall. After completing the upgrade they give you a book with some info on warranty and a new onstar manual. They never told my dad anything about activating it and just gave the car back with the new books. When I got home from work I pushed the blue onstar button and was immediately connected to a live person and the first thing she said was "I see your control module has been replaced." "Am I talking to the owner or the dealer?" I told her I was the owner and she got my name, phone number, and address. Then asked if I was ever a subsriber and I told her I was totally new. She then placed me on hold while she activated my control module in my car. After she came back on she transferred me to the welcome center and they gave me a basic overview and asked if I would like to add hands free calling. I said yes and got 300 minutes for $12. So by the time I was done I got 3 free months of gps directions and a year of there safe and sound plan that I paid for at the dealer. My recipt from the dealer is for $213. The only feature that she said would't work is the remote diagnostics. I guess 2002 is too old for that. However it says in the original car manual that my car has it. So I am a little confused there. Anyways the people at onstar were super nice and very professional. I actually enjoyed talking to them. They called my car beautiful lol. Anyway sorry for the long rant but I think I covered everything. If any one has any questions at all just ask and I will answer as soon as I see it.

 

So did you get a fin placed on the top of your car, did they remove your antennae on the back window if you had one? Or none of the above?

 

Hey there. They replaced my old antenna with one that looks just like it. No fins or anything was added.

 

Thanks for the update. I will have to find out if my 2004 will have the remote diagnostics because that is one of the features I like. Does this mean they cannot unlock your doors if you accidently lock your keys in? Are your 300 minutes of phone time just based on the 300 minutes or do you have to use them by a certain time?

Wayne

 

I just called Onstar to inquire about the remote diagnostics and they said that it would be available for my vehicle. I mentioned what they told you about your car and she said its vehicle specific so I guess for your year, it wasn't available. She said that if it was available when it was under the analog system, it would be available under digital.

I told her that I had bought this car used and didn't know if it had remote diagnostics and if the original owners had even activated it. She told me that it showed that it had been activated at one time.

So, when I get some extra money, I will probably get mine updated.

Let us know if you even use this service. That is one of the things holding me back. Will I ever use enough of the services to warrant spending the money.

My financee's grandmother bought a new 2008 Impala a few years ago that came with Onstar. We activated it for her but I don't think she ever used it. She didn't even use the free phone minutes hers came with. Since she didn't have a computer, we got the diagnostics report every month which was kind of neat. It told how much oil life she had and what her tire pressure was and what maintainence stuff was recommended. She didn't renew it after the year was up.

Wayne

 

I think I would have the remote diagnostics since it was available on my analog system according to the car owners manual. However when I got it activated if I understood the woman right she said I didn't have it I'm going to ask them about that tomorrow hopefully. That's a good question about the remote door unlock. I am going to have to push my button tomorrow and ask them because that is the main reason I wanted it. The 300 minutes expire after a year if you do not purchase additional minutes. However if you purchase additional minutes they roll over. So if you have 100 minutes left at the end of the year and you don't purchase more you loose them. However if you purchase lets say 300 more you would then have 400. Also after searching around I believe you can get unlimited minutes for ten bucks a month. I am going to ask them about this when I talk to them as well.

 

Thanks for the info. I am really wondering about this now. It would be nice to have the remote diagnostics. I am almost 100% sure my car had it on the analog system. I am definitely asking about it when I call. The only features I will probably mainly use is the hands free calling which I tried tonight and I absolutely love it. The voice commands work great. It understood what I said every time. The minutes are a little pricey from what I have seen online however I stumbled upon some people who say that onstar offers unlimited minutes for ten bucks a month. The lady i spoke to never offered that to me but I am asking when I call them because I may go that route. I would also probably use the remote door unlock feature. I have already locked the keys in twice since I have had it I mainly got mine upgraded because it drove me crazy that my car had a feature that didn't work. I guess I am OCD lol. I got lucky because my car is a 2002 and that is the oldest years they make conversion kits for I believe. I think it is up to each person about activating it or not. You just have to decide if its worth the money or not in your opinion.

 

I'm like you in the regards that I don't like having a feature on my car that I can't use if I want to. I would like to also have it in case the car is stolen or I have an emergency where my cell phone won't work. The hands free phone use would be cool but I wouldn't get it if it was too expensive. Let us know what they tell you about remote diagnostics and the remote door unlock feature.

Wayne

 

Ok so I found out that my car does not have the remote diagnostics. Apparently it is only available on 2003 model year and newer. So I am one year too old. However, I do have the remote door unlock feature. I still think it is weird that remote diagnostics is mentioned in the cars owners manual.......but anyway. As for the hands free calling I found out that they offer monthly plans like a cell phone. It is only $17.80 after taxes and fees for unlimited minutes a month. I thought that was a good deal and subscribed to it because to buy minutes whenever you need them is insanely priced. Here are the prices directly from the onstar website

200 Minutes Exclusive - $69.99
100 Minutes - $39.99
300 Minutes - $114.99
500 Minutes - $174.99
1000 Minutes - $299.99

So as you can see the minutes are very pricey so the monthly $17.80 unlimited minutes isn't bad. They also offered another monthly plan I think it was like 600 minutes for like $10 or something like that. I am not totally sure. But the monthly plans are not available on there website. You have to press your blue onstar button to subscribe to the monthly plans.