Here Are Some Reader Reactions To Mandatory Buick, GMC OnStar Plan
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For the 2023 model year, all Buick and GMC vehicles will come standard with a three-year OnStar And Connected Services plan, which will be paid as part of the vehicle price and range from $905 to $1,675 depending on the vehicle model. This news was not very well received by GM Authority readers, with our original article on this change generating nearly 100 comments from current or potential GM vehicle owners expressing their displeasure with the Connected Services strategy.
One GM Authority reader, Dale Tourville, summed up many readers’ thoughts with his comment, which pointed out that most drivers will already have access to certain connected apps and features through their smartphones and may not need a separate internet connection in their vehicle.
“This is ridiculous. I have all I need with my cell phone,” Tourville said in the comments section. “$1500 is way too much for this hardware/service that is completely unnecessary. It should be optional. Trucks cost way too much these days.”
Another reader, Ken, decided this was enough to convince him to stick with Chevy trucks for the foreseeable future.
“I guess I’ll be crossing off a new GMC truck for late this year,” he said. “I have 2 newer Chevys and never used OnStar’s services. Another mistake by GM.”
We also received emails from readers who were unhappy with the introduction of the baked-in OnStar And Connected Services plan. One reader, Rick O., said he likes OnStar, but simply doesn’t like being forced to purchase it. This appears to be the general consensus, with many other readers expressing displeasure with being forced to purchase the plan, rather than disliking OnStar itself.
OnStar and Connected Services adds a separate, in-vehicle internet connection to power apps like the smartphone-based remote key fob, Alexa Built-In AI assistant, Spotify, Audiobooks, navigation (including Maps+) and more. These plans also include OnStar Safety Services, such as Automatic Crash Response, Roadside Assistance and Stolen Vehicle Assistance.
Having an internet connection will be important to the EV ownership experience, as this will enable features like GM’s Ultium Charge 360 platform and its new Plug and Charge payment system. GM also has plans to add new in-vehicle digital subscription services, many of which will likely require an internet connection. The automaker has said it expects most consumers will be willing an additional $135 a month for in-vehicle subscription features, as well.
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My windshield wipers modules went out on May 20,2022..we replace from a used auto parts..how can i get my recall..since i replaced it myself
Recalls are FREE! Why did you pay out of pocket?????
Where did they get this consumers will pay up to $135 a month for vehicle subscriptions? Netflix can’t even keep subscribers for $10-20 a month. I can tell you personally I’m willing to pay $0 a month for vehicle subscription services. It’s not enough to screw us over with high prices, you also have to try and nickel and dime consumers?
At least this makes my decision easy to get a RAM instead.
From Mercedes. To open the hood on a new Mercedes’ requires a dealership key now. No self oil changes, no oil changes by a quickie lube either. Must pay the 200% markup at the Mercedes’ dealership. I’m fine with that. I won’t buy a Mercedes, and by the sound of it, a Buick or GMC either. Bet this only last 9-12 months
That sounds like urban legend; the same rumor was around about Rolls Royce in the 1950s.
In short, I call nonsense.
This is absolutely not true about Mercedes. For years I’ve had a GMC or Chevy truck along with a Mercedes, including my 2021 GLE. I guarantee you I can open the hood, but I don’t have to because the dealer comes to my home and does mobile service when required. I did change the oil myself about 10 years ago, discovered that there is no drain plug, I had to pump the oil out like a marine engine. BTW, Mercedes does not require a monthly subscription, but every modern Mercedes has a button near the rearview mirror that will summon first responders in the event of an accident, whether you are the first or subsequent owner. If you’re serious about abandoning GM, I would highly recommend Mercedes.
Almost bought a new GMC yesterday…the 1500.00 mandatory onstar broke the deal. NoWay
This won’t last long, GM is just like all the greedy corps that soon learn the bottom line gets thinner and thinner the more you rape the customer.
The automaker has also said it expects most consumers will be willing an additional $135 a month for in-vehicle subscription features. The answer… Ever since pot was legalized, fools and their money have been easier to separate.
$135 mid more then half the monthly cost of my current vehicle . Sorry , no thanks
Anyone thinking about a class action ?
Thank god we are going into a recession. The Auto Industry will get the hard collapse and pain they deserve.
2008 2.0 time & NO GOVERNMENT BAILOUTS this time!
The auto industry has survived plenty of recessions. Even a depression.
What do you have against the auto industry as a whole?
He’s referring to the price gouging when they can that the article references. They consistently buy cheap parts that don’t last then charge you more every year for the same crap. The monthly fees and forced subscription is an absolute extra money grab.
So you have the attention span of a knat?
2009 GM & Chrysler bailout ring any bells?
Or the bailout of other automakers overseas by their governments in 2008/2009?
Perhaps you have the reading ability of a gnat. I said “the auto industry”.
In case you didn’t notice, Toyota, Ford, and plenty of others didn’t go bankrupt.
You know, “the auto industry as a whole.”
I was quite annoyed when I picked up my 21 Sierra Denali, and found the dealer had already activated OnStar. I didn’t plan on activating it. I don’t have Alexis, Google Home, etc, and I don’t need OnStar. I’m not that interested in being “connected”. I don’t really care to have GM, or anyone else know my business. I don’t need them to know when I change my oil, or tell me my tires are inflated.
GM must be having trouble with the take rate for OnStar, for them to be pulling something like this. I guess if you can’t get people to voluntarily buy something they don’t want or need, you force them to buy it.
Actually… I took Onstar up on their offer… They offered 3 months free… during the last week of the trial, I canceled… The same thing with Sirius Radio… I got three months free, went to cancel and they offered it to me for 6 months at $5 a month… I accepted… Now at the 6 months, I will go to cancel again and see if they offer me another deal… Sirius, I think is a great deal for $5 a month… Not the $40 a month they wanted… If OnStar was not so greedy, (they too wanted $40 a month), they might have more customers…
If you trade your car in after 18 months can you expect the dealer to add $750 to your trade in value? I think we all know the answer.
This site in general can have a lot of negative gm posters. But gm should take note when no one, and that includes generally positive gm posters like me say it is a dumb decision. I don’t think I saw anyone in the previous article gma posted or this article saying anything positive about the idea. Translation, no one likes it, reverse the decision before you lose some customers forever.
I think GM as well as other manufactures do focus groups by asking random people in shopping malls for their opinions. I have been a loyal GM customer who has bought 19 GM cars and trucks for myself and my kids and have not once been asked what I thought about the vehicles. Lots of questions about how the transaction at the dealer was but not about the car. For all the purchases I have used rebates from my GM credit card so GM has to have this information. They must be too busy to check who is buying their cars.
In I think 1992, I was invited to a convention center and it was GM who paid me and others. They were benchmarking the Super Coupe T-Bird owners against the new Aurora and Riviera. They had prototypes of the gm’s and a current S/C. It was pretty involved with people getting to sit in all 3 and a fairly lengthy survey I filled out about all 3. It was targeted I am pretty sure at current super coupe owners as the T-Bird was doing very well in sales. It was a cool experience to get to see prototypes. For awhile in Austin I was invited to a marketing companies focus groups on occasion. They’d do phone interviews first and if you fit, they’d invite you to an hour chat that they’d pay you to do. I think my first vette had the run flats and they were very interested in that. Could have been gm or goodyear paying them. They even went out to the car and measured the temp of the tires for some reason. Probably got too old to be in the target demographic companies are most interested in. It has been over 10 years since they’ve even called.
I think you nailed it in your response. I’ve bought 4 GMC trucks and 4 Corvettes in my lifetime. In all honesty gouging us for $1500 is going to make us consider other options.
The rprocess they need to understand is that when we buy, we are comparing one vehicle to another, we option them out so they are as similar as possible and then we test drive them. If one is not appreciably better, we are going to pick the one that isn’t trying to line their pockets with an up-charge.
Too late for that.. I for one am finished with GM and will not ever purchase another one. I know the loss of my sale will not matter one iota to them. I will not be forced to purchase any add-ons on an over inflated vehicle .
It’s hard to imagine GM being successful with forcing a customer to pay upfront for what the vast majority see little or no value in. A mobile phone which we all have can do most of this at no extra cost. GM is blinded by the current marketplace with its limited supply and high demand. I foresee GM losing market share because of this.
For myself as well as my wife, we’ve both been buying GMC’s since the 1990’s, myself buying pickups and wife buying the SUV’S. In all those purchases we never added the OnStar features. My biggest reason for not needing it is, I do still know how to use a Rand-McNally road map (some people still know what a map is) I’ve never found any feature that OnStar offers I’d require (I drive safely so no accidents, I don’t leave keys/fobs inside so no remote unlock needed, my doors are locked so not likely to be surprised by a car jacker) Granted I do live in a far more rural area than those probably requiring stated “features” OnStar mentions but, I don’t live a life requiring a computer or smartphone telling me…breath in..breath out like alot do. I suppose what I’m saying in a far fetched way is, if you one of the many millions of vehicle owners saying NO to this government TELLING YOU that you WILL go electric cars, then standup against GM forcing things on you. I’d hate to think I have to start driving those blue oval vehicles buuuuttt…
Considering they don’t even do hands free calling any more they can go eff themselves.
If Ford was considering this, and they very well might have been, they will be abandoning the idea in a hurry, given the overwhelming negative feedback. GM meanwhile, will move forward full steam ahead with it regardless. That’s the difference between Ford and GM.
I noticed that other article before, but didn’t bother to read it. I should have. I will say this up front: I like Onstar and have used it in the past. Many in my family have as well. I feel it’s a good thing and I really like the safety side of it more than anything. HOWEVER!!! This is NOT the way to go if I’m even understanding this correctly. In my past 3 GM cars, I’ve kept it till the free months ended and then didn’t renew anything because it’s just too expensive IMO.
On the flip side however, I know why they are doing this. I’ll sum it up in one short phrase. It’s the technology for all future cars being rolled out now. Many other brands are doing this. Volvo for example has a similar (but not as good) of a system that is built into the cars and it’s “free” for the first 4 years until 2023 models where some will keep it free for the 4 years. The lower priced models will only have it for 1 year and then you must pay up. Even Mazda is forcing it’s App and services on it’s customers and we dealers are being penalized if we don’t set up the app/services with the customers. It’s just plain wrong and stupid.
Remember the old saying: Be careful what you ask for, as you might just get it. Well here we are. So many people insist on all this technology in their vehicles with all kinds of connected services and huge screens. Now we are seeing the (rotten) fruit of it all.
Count me out. Nobody is going to force me to pay for stuff like this and certainly not a huge monthly subscription.
Had a friend who used OnStar a lot many years ago. One time he let his subscription run out, but he came across an incident he altruistically wanted to report (IIRC, it was an auto accident that recently transpired). He pushed the button to report it, but the operators were rude and focused on his lack of a subscription, acting as if he was bothering them. Never cared for the service since.
I’m not sure what you would have expected to happen if your service wasn’t activated.
Just use a cell phone like anyone else.
It wasn’t me and this was years ago when flip phones were still around and hands-free wasn’t the norm. I don’t have a problem with the service not in operation. Even disabling it when out of subscription would be fine, but to let the connection be made and be rude about it in the middle of an accident report is completely unnecessary. It’s a matter of priority.
A cellphone with no subscription service will still allow dialed 911 phone calls… OnStar should allow that as well… Sometimes the difference between life and death.
Thank you Dee. Good point!
Even if you are not subscribed, the red button will still connect you to emergency services.
This is actually a rip off, I use the internet in our new Tahoe for the rear media and it’s $200/year. I don’t get Onstar with it and I don’t want it, it’s stupid. It’s a money grab by GM.
We recently purchased a new loaded 2021 RST crewcab rally edition Silverado and a new loaded 2022 Camaro SS not to mention all of the previous GM vehicles we’ve owned. We have never used OnStar on a single one of them. We have been loyal to GM throughout the years but I can promise you we will by another brand rather than be forced into a contract for something as useless as OnStar. It or any other connective services being forced on us would be a deal breaker for us at $35.00 a month and at a$135.00 they’ve lost their mind and our business.
I grew up in a family buying GM vehicles. I’ve purchased many GM vehicles in my lifetime. This money grab GM has scam up just behooves me. Just shows GM has joined the scum bag ranks from India that try to scam people out of money over the internet. I was waiting on the chip shortage to iron out to purchase a new Sierra Denali, that’s out window. Hate to say it but I’ll be looking at Ford, Ram or Tundra. I’m surprised GM hasn’t included Chevrolet but that may come to pass. GM your day of reckoning will come. Goodbye GM and the whole bunch of you board members allowing this BS.
I have a 2013 tahoe I had onstar hooked up on. This month they said they will not renew my plan because 2g and 3g service shutting down. GM won’t upgrade my system. They must think I will buy new. I think they have lost their way as far as customer service goes. I have owned a Chevy for 50 years, it must be time to find better service.
When OnStar went from analog to digital, GM offered a VERY fair price to switch out the box. Only a handful of very early OnStar cars could not be so fitted.
Call your dealer and ask for parts. See if a 4G box upgrade is offered. The worst they can say is, “no”.
OnStar could save your life or someone else’s some day. Not to mention if your vehicle has an issue you can talk to an advisor and in real time get a level of severity diagnosis. Then from the app you can remote start, lock or unlock the doors, check fuel level, tire pressures, general vehicle state of health, etc from anywhere you get cell service. I don’t know about all the complainers here, but my family’s safety & security plus piece of mind is well worth the cost!! Oh, and people get car jacked in my neck of the woods every single day, just about anywhere in the Chicagoland area. Once notified, OnStar can tell the police where vehicle is at, then they can shut it down, disabling the vehicle and in most cases catch the perps on the spot!! Now what other car companies offers that standard, NOBODY!! Unless you’ve got something to hide you’re just kidding yourselves or just can’t afford it. Don’t be a hater for something that saves lives everyday!!
JH: Although I agree with nearly everything you just said, the problem is that they are (apparently) going to force it on everyone who wants to buy a Buick or GMC. That’s not right. I’ve had and used OnStar in the past. Having been a police officer for 10 years, we used it in that capacity as well. I personally feel it’s the best out there and I’d like to still have it in my Malibu, but it’s just too expensive! What they are saying here makes it a forced feature and an even more expensive one at that.
No connected service should be a requirement to purchase a vehicle. OnStar is overpriced and overrated. I personally dislike OnStar service. And GM should be ashamed for shoving it down consumers throats. I have always been a loyal customer of GM. But I will now be moving away from GM products. Consumers shouldn’t be forced to pay for a service they do not want.
When My 2018 GMC Acadia Denali gives up the ghost… it’ll be the LAST GM product I’ll buy since 1974. Don’t force stuff on Me !!!
I have no way of KNOWING this, but I suspect GM is already getting both customer complaints and complaints from the dealers.
Not going to bet on a time frame, but I will wager this whole fiasco evaporates before Thanksgiving. The US one, not the one done in metric.
I agree totally. The instant GM sees a dip in market share, because they are priced $2k higher than an equally equipped competitor, this will get rolled into the cost of a technology package or dropped back to an option. My guess is they will incorporate it into a package.
So the $900-$1500 will be part of the financed amount, once the service is up ill still be paying for it. Right when I started to like GM.
GM is setting themselves up for more failure and market share loss just as they did so many times in the past. The very definition of insanity is doing the same stupid things over and over and expecting different outcomes. Bankruptcy 2.0 can’t be too far away maybe after the upcoming recession.
If they do, I will look at RAM or Ford $135.00 a month is Extreme.