General Motors (OnStar): Difference between revisions

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|Website=https://www.gm.com, https://www.onstar.com

|Description=A multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and markets vehicles and offers in-vehicle safety, security, and information services.

}}

}}<code>General Motors (OnStar) is a multinational automotive manufacturing company and its subsidiary, OnStar, which provides in-vehicle security, emergency, and navigation services. This article assesses the company's consumer protection stance, with a primary focus on the accessibility of emergency 911 services for non-subscribers of the OnStar service.</code>

~~{{Ph~~-C-~~Int}}~~

==Consumer-impact summary==

~~{{Ph~~-~~C-CIS}}~~

Business Model

* The company's business model for its OnStar service includes paywalling a critical emergency 'SOS' button, preventing non-subscribers from using it for its primary purpose of contacting emergency services.

==Incidents==

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].

~~This is a list of all~~ consumer-protection ~~incidents this company is involved~~ in. ~~Any incidents~~ not ~~mentioned here can be found in~~ the [[:~~Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]]~~.

=== Inaccessible Emergency 'SOS' Button (1996-Present) ===

~~===Example incident one (~~''~~date~~'')~~===~~

A significant consumer protection concern has been raised regarding the functionality of the red SOS button in vehicles without an active OnStar subscription. When a non-subscriber presses the button, the system does not connect to an emergency adviser or directly to 911. Instead, it often plays a message stating that the system is not active and may connect the user to a sales adviser to purchase a subscription plan.<nowiki><ref>Auto-Vlog. (2024, January 29). "Here's How To Call 911 With An INACTIVE OnStar System" [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved August 16, 2025, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM7cqDzchjg</ref></nowiki>

~~{{Main|link~~ to ~~the main article}}~~

~~Short summary~~ of the ~~incident~~ (~~could be~~ the ~~same as~~ the ~~summary preceding the article)~~.

This practice places a direct paywall on a critical, life-saving feature. The core of the issue rests on the classification of the OnStar system as a cellular communication device. The '''Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999''' (the "911 Act") mandates that mobile service providers must transmit all 911 calls to a public safety answering point, regardless of whether the caller has a subscription.<nowiki><ref>U.S. Congress. (1999). "Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999," Public Law 106-81, 106th Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2025, from https://www.congress.gov/bill/106th-congress/senate-bill/800</ref></nowiki> It has been argued that by preventing a direct connection to emergency services via its most prominent emergency button, OnStar's behavior for non-subscribers is inconsistent with the spirit of this federal law and the established public expectation for emergency communication devices.<nowiki><ref>Lopez, J. (2020, June 30). "OnStar Hands-Free Calling Will Be Sunset in 2022". GM Authority. Retrieved August 16, 2025, from https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/06/onstar-hands-free-calling-will-be-sunset-in-2022/</ref></nowiki>

~~===Example incident two~~ (~~''date''~~)~~===~~

...

==Products==

~~{{Ph~~-C-~~P}}~~

* <code>nStar (1996): An in-vehicle telematics system. The primary consumer issue involves the paywalling of its dedicated emergency SOS button for non-subscribers.</code>

==See also==

~~{{Ph-C-SA}}~~

~~==References==~~

* [[Theme:Right to Repair]]

~~{{reflist}}~~

* [[John Deere]]

== References ==

{{reflist}}<ref>U.S. Congress. (1999). "Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999," Public Law 106-81, 106th Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2025, from https://www.congress.gov/bill/106th-congress/senate-bill/800</ref><ref>Lopez, J. (2020, June 30). "OnStar Hands-Free Calling Will Be Sunset in 2022". GM Authority. Retrieved August 16, 2025, from https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/06/onstar-hands-free-calling-will-be-sunset-in-2022/</ref>

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 |Website=https://www.gm.com, https://www.onstar.com
 |Description=A multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and markets vehicles and offers in-vehicle safety, security, and information services.
-}}
+}}<code>General Motors (OnStar) is a multinational automotive manufacturing company and its subsidiary, OnStar, which provides in-vehicle security, emergency, and navigation services. This article assesses the company's consumer protection stance, with a primary focus on the accessibility of emergency 911 services for non-subscribers of the OnStar service.</code>
-{{Ph-C-Int}}
 ==Consumer-impact summary==
-{{Ph-C-CIS}}
+Business Model
+* The company's business model for its OnStar service includes paywalling a critical emergency 'SOS' button, preventing non-subscribers from using it for its primary purpose of contacting emergency services.
 ==Incidents==
-{{Ph-C-Inc}}
+This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].
-This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].
+=== Inaccessible Emergency 'SOS' Button (1996-Present) ===
-===Example incident one (''date'')===
+A significant consumer protection concern has been raised regarding the functionality of the red SOS button in vehicles without an active OnStar subscription. When a non-subscriber presses the button, the system does not connect to an emergency adviser or directly to 911. Instead, it often plays a message stating that the system is not active and may connect the user to a sales adviser to purchase a subscription plan.<nowiki><ref>Auto-Vlog. (2024, January 29). "Here's How To Call 911 With An INACTIVE OnStar System" [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved August 16, 2025, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM7cqDzchjg</ref></nowiki>
-{{Main|link to the main article}}
-Short summary of the incident (could be the same as the summary preceding the article).
+This practice places a direct paywall on a critical, life-saving feature. The core of the issue rests on the classification of the OnStar system as a cellular communication device. The '''Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999''' (the "911 Act") mandates that mobile service providers must transmit all 911 calls to a public safety answering point, regardless of whether the caller has a subscription.<nowiki><ref>U.S. Congress. (1999). "Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999," Public Law 106-81, 106th Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2025, from https://www.congress.gov/bill/106th-congress/senate-bill/800</ref></nowiki> It has been argued that by preventing a direct connection to emergency services via its most prominent emergency button, OnStar's behavior for non-subscribers is inconsistent with the spirit of this federal law and the established public expectation for emergency communication devices.<nowiki><ref>Lopez, J. (2020, June 30). "OnStar Hands-Free Calling Will Be Sunset in 2022". GM Authority. Retrieved August 16, 2025, from https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/06/onstar-hands-free-calling-will-be-sunset-in-2022/</ref></nowiki>
-===Example incident two (''date'')===
-...
 ==Products==
-{{Ph-C-P}}
+* <code>nStar (1996): An in-vehicle telematics system. The primary consumer issue involves the paywalling of its dedicated emergency SOS button for non-subscribers.</code>
 ==See also==
-{{Ph-C-SA}}
-==References==
+* [[Theme:Right to Repair]]
-{{reflist}}
+* [[John Deere]]
+== References ==
+{{reflist}}<ref>U.S. Congress. (1999). "Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999," Public Law 106-81, 106th Congress. Retrieved August 16, 2025, from https://www.congress.gov/bill/106th-congress/senate-bill/800</ref><ref>Lopez, J. (2020, June 30). "OnStar Hands-Free Calling Will Be Sunset in 2022". GM Authority. Retrieved August 16, 2025, from https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/06/onstar-hands-free-calling-will-be-sunset-in-2022/</ref>
 [[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]