General Motors’ telematics arm, OnStar, has quietly revised its subscription plans in the United States and Canada. The subsidiary now offers four plans — Guidance, Security, Protection and the free Basic Plan, which is one plan more than the three plans — Directions & Connections,Safe & Sound, and the free Basic Plan — that it offered before.
Overall, Guidance seems to be a replacement for Directions & Connections, and Security replaces Safe & Sound, with the price point of each plan increasing by $5 per month. Meanwhile, the entry-level Protection plan is new and only offers the Automatic Crash Response service and the Onstar FamilyLink service can be added on to either plan for $3.99 a month. To note, the new plans and pricing changes are only applicable to the U.S. and Canada markets, and do not apply to Mexico or China.
Revised OnStar Plans (2015 revision)
FEATURE / PRICE
GUIDANCE
SECURITY
PROTECTION
AUTOMATIC CRASH RESPONSE:
Y
Y
Y
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE:
Y
Y
Y
ADVISOR ACCESS:
Y
Y
Y
STOLEN VEHICLE ASSISTANCE:
Y
Y
N
REMOTE IGNITION BLOCK:
Y
Y
N
STOLEN VEHICLE SLOWDOWN:
Y
Y
N
NAVIGATION:
Y
N
N
AT YOUR SERVICE:
Y
N
N
30 HANDS-FREE CALLING MINUTES:
Y
N
N
PRICE PER MONTH (CANADA):
$39.99
$29.99
$24.99
PRICE PER YEAR (CANADA):
$399.90
$299.90
$249.90
PRICE PER MONTH (US):
$34.99
$24.99
$19.99
PRICE PER YEAR (US):
$349.90
$249.90
$199.90
OnStar Data Plans - Monthly Subscription (2015 revision)
DATA
SUBSCRIBER PRICE
NON-SUBSCRIBER PRICE
200 MB
$5.00
$10.00
1 GB
$15.00
$20.00
3 GB
$30.00
$30.00
5 GB
$50.00
$50.00
OnStar Data Plans - One-Time Purchase (2015 revision)
The following are not offered in Canada as far as I know:
1. stolen vehicle tracking — (Stolen vehicle assistance is available) OnStar in Canada does not allow the owner to track down the cars whereabouts on their own. they only share that info with police authorities if you report it stolen.
2. At your service — not offered in Canada. no ETA at this time.
3. FamilyLink — not offered in Canada. no ETA at this time.
There’s a free basic plan? Just got our renewal notice and there was no mention of that category. We wouldn’t mind a small increase for the top level plan, but this is a ton over the price from just last year. Obviously, we have some thinking to do about what this is worth.
The price increases will be a deal breaker for me when the time comes to renew my subscription. Rather going forward, this is gonna drive customers away.
Lower the price and I’m sure 95% of the people who have onstar in their vehicle will subscribe. I don’t subscribe in any of my vehicles, cause it costs way too much.
I think any of the features that GM advertise as safety features should be free. If they are going to use it in promotions to sell vehicles then make it standard and eliminate the monthly service charges.
Who decided to do this? Was it the X Turbo Tax marketing genius? We will be checking other automobile manufacturers plans when we replace our GM vehicles.
My Dealer extended my full service OnStar because they scratched my car upon delivery (And fixed it). While the peace of mind is nice, I haven’t used ANY of it ONCE in two years. $350/yr? You can’t be serious. I see TWO features that I would pay for: The Airbag E911 notify and the Stolen vehicle. Though I wouldn’t pay more than $50/yr for it.
Honestly. The rest? Have navigation in the car and if I didn’t would have my phone. (Both of which are WAY better). Parental big brother I can buy an ODBII device and plug it in for $100. Can also add GPS tracking for not much more including the cell service.
Roadside? I’ve got AAA and my WHOLE FAMILY is covered. BETTER and for CHEAPER!
Remote Start? It’s on my keychain.
Like I said, besides those TWO features, what’s the point of OnStar other than a big fat money grab?
Agreed- Onstar is completely missing the boat. They may be the “only game in town” but they miss that people don’t give a shit. PDQ- the model for any successful sale; price, delivery, quality. What am I getting for my money? There’s 3 people left in the United States that don’t have a GPS cell-phone for directions. The same 3 people are the only ones without hands-free bluetooth calling. So am I really going to pay $40 a month to be able to lock and unlock my doors, blow my horn, start my car from a mile (or 1000) away, and get an alert that I need an oil change? Shit not. I have 4 Onstar-equipped vehicles in my driveway and they aren’t even smart enough to push for multi-car discounts. I don’t know what your $pain threshold is but I’d probably be a buyer if ALL 4 cars were $50/month. The little research I’ve done shows that you can get one car for $299 for 12 months (for top-level GUIDANCE) if you push it hard enough; that’s roughly $25/month; some have supposedly even pushed that deal to 15 months. So for my 4 cars that would be roughly $100/month. Blow me.
The Free service that isn’t talked about much, is what was offered on my 2014 Sierra. As long as you download the Free OnStar App you can use your remote start, horn/lights, and lock unlock features for 5 years. I use them mostly if I can’t remember locking my truck when shopping, or starting on a hot/cold day before I leave work or a store. I certainly wouldn’t pay $200 to $300 a year for the service though. No one cares about $10 to $15 a month, but $25 to $35 and most everybody will pass.
i have a 2013 Volt and my free 3 years is about to expire. what does “Navigation” mean? if i don’t buy the Guidance package, does the Nav system in my car stop working? can i no longer enter destinations and get directions? do i just stop getting map updates? or can I just not send destinations to my car? I can’t find any info about this.
Just cancelled my Onstar last month by phone, then they offer the discount deals, they never offered a discount before that, toooo late! Just got email today with special offers, no thanks!
I CAN NOT AFFORD ON STAR EITHER.I LIVE ON A FIXED INCOME.WHEN ALL YOU GOT IS SOC. SEC. YOU CAN’T BUY THIS SERVICE AT THEIR PRICES . I CAN UNLOCK MY OWN CAR . NOW FOR MY WIFE THAT IS ANOTHER STORY .SHE LOCKS HER KEYS UP OFTEN. BUT IT IS STILL NOT WORTH WHAT THEY ARE ASKING FOR THE SERVICE. COME ON PEOPLE GET YOUR PRICES DOWN AND YOU WILL SELL MORE . IF IT WAS MY CO. I WOULD RATHER HAVE 10,000 CUSTOMERS A YEAR AT EVEN 15.00 THAN 100 AT 35.00 .DO THE MATH DUMMIES AND WAKE UP BEFORE YOU GO OUT OF BUSS.
Like all the comments above, the service is simply too costly for the few times we might actually use it each year. Anyone would have to be nuts to pay $350 per year to make a few phone calls. And virtually anyone can call 911 from any cell phone even if the phone isn’t subscribed and there isn’t a SIM card in the phone as long s the battery has power and there is a cell signal. We would pay something for a basic plan, because we can afford to, but we are not going to throw money away hand over fist for a service we have and can do without.
I just bought a 2014 silverado. I have the on star app on my phone, mostly for the remote start and lock and unlock feature. Question is, isn’t this covered under the free plan, which us free for 5 years?I upgraded my deck with a andriod deck, with free lifetime maps, so I dint use their navigation. Google maps is much simpler to use for me, but I like the remote start,lock and lock of onstar I just bought this truck last month, want want to keep those features. Also does anyone know what the lifetime payment is? I read about it, but haven’t found out how much it is. Thxs Dez
I also find for me the service is too expensive. It is my first time of having it and yes I do like it but being 80 years old and only driving less that 8000 miles a year I find it too expensive. In the time I have had the Equinox I have used the phone 4 times and directions once. So I guess unless I am offered a much better deal it will be gone.
I am contacting you today to let you know how disappointed I am with OnStar’s plan to raise my service price almost 66 %, with no improved or upgraded service.
As a senior citizen on a fixed income, an increase in price of this amount,seems to be VERY UNFAIR.
It seems to me to be a sort of BLACKMAIL. I subscribe to your service at an agreeed to price, buy minutes for the hands-free calling feature, then you inform me that my monthly cost for the service, will be increasing by almost 66% ! How is this FAIR?
Now because you have more vehicles on the road, if anything your prices, in theory, go down, not up. Just pure greed, in my opinion !
Now, as I understand it, if I decide to cancel my subscription, I will lose all the PrePaid Minutes I have purchased for the Hands-Free Calling feature, which I have already paid for and cost me almost $120.00. Is not this a type of theft ??
Now I would like to be contacted (by email), by someone who can explain to me why you are comitting extortion by raising my subscription costs almost 66 %, and if I do not agree, cancelling my account and stealing the costs,of $120, I have already paid for the PrePaid Minutes.
I just got a Buick. It has a 3 month free trial. By what I have just read I will not be purchasing On Star. When I try to make a phone call and I tell it who I want to call it seems to have a problem understanding what I am saying. So no I not wasting money for service like that.
Yes 15.00 a month would be ok and worth it especially if you was in trouble stranded in the middle of no wheres. But on a day to day basis , it’s a waste of money!
I live in a fix income and don’t have money to waste!
God Bless!
OnStar SUCKS & holds GM customers hostage with constant in-vehicle commercials if you do not renew. The available service, customer service and overall product is NOT worthy of the high pricing. Why would I pay for navigation, that does NOT include maps or intuitive rerouting, when I have that free on my phone? Why pay for roadside assistance that does not respond when needed? Why pay for vehicle locator services if I cannot access the information – only law enforcement? Why would I pay for this service when the service representatives are rude and uncooperative?
This is one arm of GM that Mary (the CEO) has not improved upon since her taking the helm. Other aspects of GM have improved with leaps and bounds… I cannot wait for this to improve too. Maybe they should sell it off to AAA or something.
I have the Directions and Connection plan. And while I do use the services, mostly directions and telephone, I find the service average. Often there are substantial delays until you get to speak to a live operator. At least twice, I have been asked to call later as there weren’t any operators available. When I look at a service, I look at the value it provides, what it is worth to me. Based on that, I will not pay more than $25.00 per month total for the Guidance Plan that will be offered. If OnStar cannot meet my price, I will not renew the service.
We are planning to keep our car for a couple more years. The remote start has horrible range, and we were thinking of putting in an aftermarket one. However, for $500 we can get two years of unlimited range remote start, no installation or aftermarket issues to deal with.
Otherwise, this is just not worth the money. $10 a month for the Basic plan? I’d pay that forever. $25? WAY too much long term.
I use on star maybe 4 times a year. That’s $ 100.00 each time I used id. Your pricing your self out of business. I know nobody there reads this nor would they care. I also will drop my account and go to AAA.
Just read the reviews on any review site and make the wise choice. Terrible customer service. Too many instances of credit card fraud of every type imaginable. For example: if there is an active account on one car, any other car at the same address will automagically be signed up on the same card without authorization or notice. Try to cancel your account? Good luck! Buy an AT&T data plan? Watch the data get eaten up when the car is turned off. Say bye-bye to those gigs. They will raise rates without notice. Un-frikkin’-believable. Don’t EVER give them any account information. You will regret it.
I was on the phone for over 30 minutes and got absolutely no where. Why do you have to make this process so hard? They give you several rates and some are higher than others. I bought a Buick for the purpose of having OnStar. I love it but I am retired and it is way too expensive. They keep quoting you rates for different amount of months and you have to figure out how much you are paying per month. You really should change this process. Some of my friends did not renew their OnStar because they hate the process of renewing you contract. I would really like to hear back from you.
The problem with so many media/communications deals is that they sell “plans” with things we don’t want–I dropped cable because I don’t watch what their plans push. I dropped ATT because their plans had things I didn’t want. If On-star let you buy minutes on a card at Walmart, more people would use it–but not if they have to buy a plan to go with it, for stuff they don’t use. This is why we see so many people driving around with a cell phone to their ear (and crashing into us or running us over).
I gave up on On-Star years ago, with the rate hikes, painfully insane process, incompetence of reps with no compassion for their elderly customers is pushing them away.
Comments
The following are not offered in Canada as far as I know:
1. stolen vehicle tracking — (Stolen vehicle assistance is available) OnStar in Canada does not allow the owner to track down the cars whereabouts on their own. they only share that info with police authorities if you report it stolen.
2. At your service — not offered in Canada. no ETA at this time.
3. FamilyLink — not offered in Canada. no ETA at this time.
You’re right. But the plans are the same… sans those features.
Also, #1 is true for the U.S. as well. But you can use the RemoteLink app to see the location of your vehicle.
There’s a free basic plan? Just got our renewal notice and there was no mention of that category. We wouldn’t mind a small increase for the top level plan, but this is a ton over the price from just last year. Obviously, we have some thinking to do about what this is worth.
What Is “Family Link”? The cost posted is $3.99?
It’s an add-on service:
http://gmauthority.com/blog/2012/03/onstar-launches-family-link-priced-at-3-99-per-month/
The price increases will be a deal breaker for me when the time comes to renew my subscription. Rather going forward, this is gonna drive customers away.
Lower the price and I’m sure 95% of the people who have onstar in their vehicle will subscribe. I don’t subscribe in any of my vehicles, cause it costs way too much.
Agreed! Way too expensive.
I think any of the features that GM advertise as safety features should be free. If they are going to use it in promotions to sell vehicles then make it standard and eliminate the monthly service charges.
Who decided to do this? Was it the X Turbo Tax marketing genius? We will be checking other automobile manufacturers plans when we replace our GM vehicles.
way too expensive.do they have any competitors with lower prices. talk about a monopoly
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way too expensive,do they have any competitors with lower price plans? and our government said Microsoft was a monopoly
I will be cancelling my plan. I think, for me, it is not worth it. I love the service but can’t afford it anymore.
My Dealer extended my full service OnStar because they scratched my car upon delivery (And fixed it). While the peace of mind is nice, I haven’t used ANY of it ONCE in two years. $350/yr? You can’t be serious. I see TWO features that I would pay for: The Airbag E911 notify and the Stolen vehicle. Though I wouldn’t pay more than $50/yr for it.
Honestly. The rest? Have navigation in the car and if I didn’t would have my phone. (Both of which are WAY better). Parental big brother I can buy an ODBII device and plug it in for $100. Can also add GPS tracking for not much more including the cell service.
Roadside? I’ve got AAA and my WHOLE FAMILY is covered. BETTER and for CHEAPER!
Remote Start? It’s on my keychain.
Like I said, besides those TWO features, what’s the point of OnStar other than a big fat money grab?
When are these fools gonna learn?
Agreed- Onstar is completely missing the boat. They may be the “only game in town” but they miss that people don’t give a shit. PDQ- the model for any successful sale; price, delivery, quality. What am I getting for my money? There’s 3 people left in the United States that don’t have a GPS cell-phone for directions. The same 3 people are the only ones without hands-free bluetooth calling. So am I really going to pay $40 a month to be able to lock and unlock my doors, blow my horn, start my car from a mile (or 1000) away, and get an alert that I need an oil change? Shit not. I have 4 Onstar-equipped vehicles in my driveway and they aren’t even smart enough to push for multi-car discounts. I don’t know what your $pain threshold is but I’d probably be a buyer if ALL 4 cars were $50/month. The little research I’ve done shows that you can get one car for $299 for 12 months (for top-level GUIDANCE) if you push it hard enough; that’s roughly $25/month; some have supposedly even pushed that deal to 15 months. So for my 4 cars that would be roughly $100/month. Blow me.
The Free service that isn’t talked about much, is what was offered on my 2014 Sierra. As long as you download the Free OnStar App you can use your remote start, horn/lights, and lock unlock features for 5 years. I use them mostly if I can’t remember locking my truck when shopping, or starting on a hot/cold day before I leave work or a store. I certainly wouldn’t pay $200 to $300 a year for the service though. No one cares about $10 to $15 a month, but $25 to $35 and most everybody will pass.
http://www.edmunds.com/car-news/gm-makes-onstar-remote-services-standard-for-many-2014-models.html
Is the free service still available?
By the way… I do care about $10 to $15 a month!
Have you ever tried negotiating with the mrs? Leave a female in charge and destroy athe reputation of a company.
Just cancelled my Onstar. Way too much money.
i have a 2013 Volt and my free 3 years is about to expire. what does “Navigation” mean? if i don’t buy the Guidance package, does the Nav system in my car stop working? can i no longer enter destinations and get directions? do i just stop getting map updates? or can I just not send destinations to my car? I can’t find any info about this.
Just cancelled my Onstar last month by phone, then they offer the discount deals, they never offered a discount before that, toooo late! Just got email today with special offers, no thanks!
I’m going to cancel my subscription soon. They are asking way too much money.
I canceled mine too, was doing yearly subscription but the price is to much. Have two vehicles capable, but neither will have it at these prices.
I CAN NOT AFFORD ON STAR EITHER.I LIVE ON A FIXED INCOME.WHEN ALL YOU GOT IS SOC. SEC. YOU CAN’T BUY THIS SERVICE AT THEIR PRICES . I CAN UNLOCK MY OWN CAR . NOW FOR MY WIFE THAT IS ANOTHER STORY .SHE LOCKS HER KEYS UP OFTEN. BUT IT IS STILL NOT WORTH WHAT THEY ARE ASKING FOR THE SERVICE. COME ON PEOPLE GET YOUR PRICES DOWN AND YOU WILL SELL MORE . IF IT WAS MY CO. I WOULD RATHER HAVE 10,000 CUSTOMERS A YEAR AT EVEN 15.00 THAN 100 AT 35.00 .DO THE MATH DUMMIES AND WAKE UP BEFORE YOU GO OUT OF BUSS.
Like all the comments above, the service is simply too costly for the few times we might actually use it each year. Anyone would have to be nuts to pay $350 per year to make a few phone calls. And virtually anyone can call 911 from any cell phone even if the phone isn’t subscribed and there isn’t a SIM card in the phone as long s the battery has power and there is a cell signal. We would pay something for a basic plan, because we can afford to, but we are not going to throw money away hand over fist for a service we have and can do without.
I just bought a 2014 silverado. I have the on star app on my phone, mostly for the remote start and lock and unlock feature. Question is, isn’t this covered under the free plan, which us free for 5 years?I upgraded my deck with a andriod deck, with free lifetime maps, so I dint use their navigation. Google maps is much simpler to use for me, but I like the remote start,lock and lock of onstar I just bought this truck last month, want want to keep those features. Also does anyone know what the lifetime payment is? I read about it, but haven’t found out how much it is. Thxs Dez
I also find for me the service is too expensive. It is my first time of having it and yes I do like it but being 80 years old and only driving less that 8000 miles a year I find it too expensive. In the time I have had the Equinox I have used the phone 4 times and directions once. So I guess unless I am offered a much better deal it will be gone.
LETTER TO ONSTAR
I am contacting you today to let you know how disappointed I am with OnStar’s plan to raise my service price almost 66 %, with no improved or upgraded service.
As a senior citizen on a fixed income, an increase in price of this amount,seems to be VERY UNFAIR.
It seems to me to be a sort of BLACKMAIL. I subscribe to your service at an agreeed to price, buy minutes for the hands-free calling feature, then you inform me that my monthly cost for the service, will be increasing by almost 66% ! How is this FAIR?
Now because you have more vehicles on the road, if anything your prices, in theory, go down, not up. Just pure greed, in my opinion !
Now, as I understand it, if I decide to cancel my subscription, I will lose all the PrePaid Minutes I have purchased for the Hands-Free Calling feature, which I have already paid for and cost me almost $120.00. Is not this a type of theft ??
Now I would like to be contacted (by email), by someone who can explain to me why you are comitting extortion by raising my subscription costs almost 66 %, and if I do not agree, cancelling my account and stealing the costs,of $120, I have already paid for the PrePaid Minutes.
I just got a Buick. It has a 3 month free trial. By what I have just read I will not be purchasing On Star. When I try to make a phone call and I tell it who I want to call it seems to have a problem understanding what I am saying. So no I not wasting money for service like that.
Yes 15.00 a month would be ok and worth it especially if you was in trouble stranded in the middle of no wheres. But on a day to day basis , it’s a waste of money!
I live in a fix income and don’t have money to waste!
God Bless!
OnStar SUCKS & holds GM customers hostage with constant in-vehicle commercials if you do not renew. The available service, customer service and overall product is NOT worthy of the high pricing. Why would I pay for navigation, that does NOT include maps or intuitive rerouting, when I have that free on my phone? Why pay for roadside assistance that does not respond when needed? Why pay for vehicle locator services if I cannot access the information – only law enforcement? Why would I pay for this service when the service representatives are rude and uncooperative?
This is one arm of GM that Mary (the CEO) has not improved upon since her taking the helm. Other aspects of GM have improved with leaps and bounds… I cannot wait for this to improve too. Maybe they should sell it off to AAA or something.
I have the Directions and Connection plan. And while I do use the services, mostly directions and telephone, I find the service average. Often there are substantial delays until you get to speak to a live operator. At least twice, I have been asked to call later as there weren’t any operators available. When I look at a service, I look at the value it provides, what it is worth to me. Based on that, I will not pay more than $25.00 per month total for the Guidance Plan that will be offered. If OnStar cannot meet my price, I will not renew the service.
We are planning to keep our car for a couple more years. The remote start has horrible range, and we were thinking of putting in an aftermarket one. However, for $500 we can get two years of unlimited range remote start, no installation or aftermarket issues to deal with.
Otherwise, this is just not worth the money. $10 a month for the Basic plan? I’d pay that forever. $25? WAY too much long term.
I use on star maybe 4 times a year. That’s $ 100.00 each time I used id. Your pricing your self out of business. I know nobody there reads this nor would they care. I also will drop my account and go to AAA.
Just read the reviews on any review site and make the wise choice. Terrible customer service. Too many instances of credit card fraud of every type imaginable. For example: if there is an active account on one car, any other car at the same address will automagically be signed up on the same card without authorization or notice. Try to cancel your account? Good luck! Buy an AT&T data plan? Watch the data get eaten up when the car is turned off. Say bye-bye to those gigs. They will raise rates without notice. Un-frikkin’-believable. Don’t EVER give them any account information. You will regret it.
I would like the nav-emergency assist- stolen vehicle but 35.00 is too high per month !!!!
What are the prices and coverage for 2016?
I was on the phone for over 30 minutes and got absolutely no where. Why do you have to make this process so hard? They give you several rates and some are higher than others. I bought a Buick for the purpose of having OnStar. I love it but I am retired and it is way too expensive. They keep quoting you rates for different amount of months and you have to figure out how much you are paying per month. You really should change this process. Some of my friends did not renew their OnStar because they hate the process of renewing you contract. I would really like to hear back from you.
The problem with so many media/communications deals is that they sell “plans” with things we don’t want–I dropped cable because I don’t watch what their plans push. I dropped ATT because their plans had things I didn’t want. If On-star let you buy minutes on a card at Walmart, more people would use it–but not if they have to buy a plan to go with it, for stuff they don’t use. This is why we see so many people driving around with a cell phone to their ear (and crashing into us or running us over).
I gave up on On-Star years ago, with the rate hikes, painfully insane process, incompetence of reps with no compassion for their elderly customers is pushing them away.