The vehicle diagnostics feature of GM’s OnStar system is not widely publicized, but it’s extremely useful. In a nutshell, OnStar emails subscribers a monthly vehicle status report, complete with service reminders and any maintenance requirements. After using the system to collect data, GM recently reported that 99.3 percent of Chevrolet vehicles enrolled in the program revealed no problems with the engine and transmission systems of those vehicles. This is an important number, as it not only demonstrates the quality of Chevy vehicles, but also the constant improvement in quality enabled by the diagnostics program.

What’s really valuable here is OnStar’s ability to collect data through the remote diagnostics feature and hand this data over to engineers, who in turn make constant improvements in quality and reliability of the vehicles at the design and engineering stages. This is just another situation proving that knowledge and information is power, facilitating improvement by recognizing weak spots.

Moreover, these numbers represent the importance of quality and reliability at Chevy and the rest of The General’s products. Chevrolet General Manager Jim Campbell said:

At Chevrolet, we have significantly reduced customer warranty claims over the past few years, as we continually strive to make the most dependable cars and trucks on the road. A key part of that success is OnStar Vehicle Diagnostics, which helps Chevrolet and our customers keep vehicles in top running condition.

This further drives the point that OnStar’s vehicle diagnostics is useful to GM, allowing for the constant improvement in quality as well as keeping customers aware of the status of their vehicles. It is a largely successful program for both parties, and one that we hope will see even further improvement by The General now and in the future.