Well, Ford cars will re-possess themselves, but heaven help you, if your car gets stolen while your kid is inside and you own a VW…
https://www.motortrend.com/news/volkswagen-atlas-suv-stolen-child-inside-gps/
Absolute nightmare situation, reminds me of that movie, Repo Man.
If you want to use vehicle tracking services that are subscription based, then pay for it.
Shoulda taken that Kahu, KARR, or LoJack. 
For real though, in an emergency any auto with location services should be assisting. For convenience though, pay the man.
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My thoughts
- This happens when you offshore your customer service, they can’t go beyond the scripted answers.
- I am REALLY surprised there is no path for Law Enforcement but to call the public phone number
- When in doubt, shame them on the media.
I’ve always wondered why OnStar doesn’t have some liability…either legal or just moral. They know when a vehicle has been in a serious accident. If you’re a subscriber, they call for help. If you’re not, they let you die?
I recognize the business model doesn’t work if you provide emergency response for free as that is probably the primary reason people subscribe to OnStar (vs vehicle tracking, remote lock, etc.). But I still wonder how they reconcile the moral obligation to help with managing a P&L.
Blessings for your baby?
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Do they if youre not a subscriber? I wouldnt think they would keep paying to transmit data, keep up the cell modem, etc
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I don’t know for sure but the car is always connected to OnStar as you can speak to a rep any time, even if not a subscriber. And the data cost to transmit an accident notification is virtually nothing. I guess they could turn off notifications to avoid liability.
I would sign up for a plan to pay $300-$500 for an emergency response, but with no monthly recurring fee. But I don’t think that pricing would work for their business model.
Does OnStar allow law enforcement to get private info?
Good point. I’ve never looked it up, but I would assume that an operator would dial in to inquire, if there was indication of an accident.
I, like others, am surprised that there isn’t a better protocol for law enforcement to call in. VW’s response mentioned that some of the docs needed are a court order. You’re not going to be able to get a court order (in time?) in a situation like this. At the same time, you don’t want to give potentially sensitive info to someone who’s pretending to be law enforcement.
It definitely a lose-lose situation for everyone. You don’t want someone calling with bad intentions, so time is lost while paperwork is drawn up. Going worst-case scenario, it could be a crazy ex, who might even be a cop, trying to track someone down. All I know is that if my car with my kid in it was stolen, I would pay the $150 and not waste time arguing. You can figure out the $150 later if it matters that much.
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Actually, my current situation is a better example. I bought a 2023 Bolt for my son that had a 2 year OnStar subscription as a dealer add-on. I later discovered that the 2023s include a 3 year OnStar subscription. The dealer claims this is new and that their 2 years now adds on to the included 3 years…for a total of 5 years. This 5 year subscription is for the basic OnStar service that includes vehicle tracking and some remote features. However, it does not include automatic crash response and emergency services.
So, in this case, the OnStar service is on (for live vehicle tracking) but if you get in an accident, they will not assist unless you subscribe to a higher service plan. I’m surprised no one has tried suing OnStar for not responding to a known emergency situation. According to the reliable internet, Minnesota has a state law:
Minnesota – If you are at the scene of an emergency and you know that someone has suffered grave physical harm, or could be hurt, you have a duty to give “reasonable assistance.” Reasonable assistance can mean calling or attempting to call police or medical personnel.
They could notify 911 for no charge but provide their own response services (faster, reliable, stay on the line until help arrives, etc.) for an upgraded subscription. Or they could include emergency response in all plans, not just the upgraded plans.
Me: write a one-liner joke to “VW refuses to help locate stolen car with baby inside”
ChatGPT: I’m sorry, I cannot generate a joke in response to such a serious and concerning event.
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Me: i wanted a joke about VW demanding $150 in the bad situation, not about the situation
Someone on the other end: I apologize for misunderstanding your request earlier. Here’s a potential one-liner joke in response to VW demanding $150 in the situation:
“Looks like VW’s customer service motto is ‘Our cars may be stolen, but at least our wallets won’t be!’”
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IANAL, but the OnStar operating isn’t at the scene of the emergency and doesn’t know that someone has suffered a serious injury. The MN law seems to require that the bystander already know that a serious injury has occurred. It does not require that the bystander check for such a situation.
Just for purposes of discussion…the OnStar website states:
“Medical emergencies. Crash emergencies. Weather emergencies. We’re here for you. For all of it.”
I think one could argue they are “at the scene”. If they know your car just crashed going 80mph and all airbags deployed, it can be argued that they are at the scene and know someone likely suffered grave physical harm.
If you are not a subscriber, I guess they could argue they don’t transmit vehicle data due costs (albeit miniscule). But if you are a subscriber, but at a lower tier, the only rationale for not responding or notifying 911 is that you didn’t pay the upgrade fee.
Again, I’m not saying OnStar is legally obligated to respond, or even morally obligated to respond. I understand the business model is predicated on the subscriptions. But I am curious as to how these arguments would play out in states that require a duty to respond. And I wouldn’t want to be the CEO of OnStar being interviewed about a family that died after running off the road because no one was notified for 24 hours of the accident…when OnStar had the real time crash info. They could provide 911 notification for lower tier plans but provide OnStar’s emergency response for higher tiered plans. Or they could rework their plans so they all include emergency response. It’s just a topic that I’ve always wondered about.
But that’s actually the most important part, though, right (both legally and ethically)? I assume, if were a trial, it would be relatively straightforward to determine if vehicle data isn’t routinely transmitted in the absence of an active subscription and, perhaps equally as important, if there are any alerts that pop up on Onstar’s end, even if inactive-subscription data is transmitted.
Some vehicles apparently don’t even transmit data, regardless of subscription status (see text at the bottom):
Click on the link for more info doesn’t actually provide any more useful details.
Onstar is specifically sold as a subscription service. It would not be unreasonable for Onstar to shut off all vehicle data transmission with an inactive subscription (and, in part, specifically for the reasons you’ve mentioned).
I could see some legislation coming down the line that would require car mfrs to report accidents regardless of premiums paid, if their cars were capable. But by then more cars might have these as standard, like airbags and ABS are now (30 some years ago, those weren’t always included options). We’ll be paying for it one way or another though. Nothing is free…
VW rep should have activated the service. They’re not going to get fired for providing the service for free to law enforcement when a child is being kidnapped.
If they can’t activate without payment, ask for a manager to do it
Cops / parents should have immediately whipped out their credit cards and paid. Can’t imagine police department not reimbursing that charge. Even if they didn’t, who cares?
Half a second and the situation could have gone in a different direction, never mind half an hour
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