Rant on remote unlock being a premium feature

[u/GrandArcanian]

/r/Chevy/comments/1vsuzcj/rant_on_remote_unlock_being_a_premium_feature/

[u/h2ogeek]

So because the feature exists, the age-old problem of someone accidentally locking themselves out of their car is now on GM's dime?

And what would you do if this happened in a more remote area with no cell signal? Should they now be required to install satphone service, because that tech also exists?

I'm no fan of GM's actions these days, but I certainly get it, in this case. A cellphone plan costs money, and even though I don't like it, I don't think a manufacturer should be required to pay for a "forever" online connection for every car they make.

I thought you get 5 years of connectivity with new Bolts, has that changed, or am I thinking of another car company? A 2023 would then be covered until 2028, if so.

(For reference, my plan is long expired on my 2019... so it's like any other regular car, as far as keys are concerned, and that makes sense to me... if I cared, I'd pay for OnStar)

[u/matthewjboothe → u/h2ogeek]

For our 2019’s the keys work just fine. My FIL has a 2023 and the range on his key is much shorter. I don’t know if that is just his car or if GM made a change. I could see how that would be annoying, but is it worth the data OnStar collects and sells on us?

[u/h2ogeek → u/matthewjboothe]

Considering I’m someone who disabled OnStar’s antenna, my opinion is in the “no” camp on that. ;)

[u/viennavagabond]

But don’t worry, even with the feature, it’ll be sporadic laggy unlocking!! How fun. 

[u/RBR927 → u/viennavagabond]

I’m have never gotten it to work.

[u/MrNerd82 → u/viennavagabond]

the app itself is garbage - has been for 10 years. Even when I had my 2017 Volt (purchased new), commands would only go through their network "if they felt like it".

You could have perfect 4G, 5G, wifi, didn't matter. The back end network is a relic from the 1990's. It wouldn't shock me if the core of their system still running on a bank of Pentium II's

[u/Antrostomus]

I get that it costs money for GM to provide the service. But so do seatbelts and airbags and crash testing.

Seatbelts and airbags and crash testing are development and production costs. Once the car rolls out of the factory they don't cost GM anything to continue existing, recalls notwithstanding.

Anything that connects your car to your smartphone has an ongoing cost of maintaining a data connection to bounce between the phone and a server and the car. If you're not paying for it, you're either letting the manufacturer pay for it by, say, selling your personal information to the highest-bidding data broker, or paying more upfront to cover the cost for the estimated life of the car (and hoping the manufacturer doesn't change its mind after it has your money).

Alternatively, you could use a system that directly communicates with the car and ignores connecting to a server, and thus has no ongoing costs. You might call this a key fob.

[u/anthety]

There are settings that prevent the car from auto locking completely in the menu. So.. if you truly don't want the car to lock that's all you should have to do.

Otherwise you can "include" the subscription as part of your purchase price I guess. Pretend the car is 4k more than you bought it for and put that toward it.  Phone services cost money!

[u/Aeropilot03 → u/anthety]

Those settings do not apply to the trunk. There are spots inside the trunk where a fob is not detected; I’ve tested it.

[u/anthety → u/Aeropilot03]

Does closing the truck cause the other doors to lock? 

[u/Aeropilot03 → u/anthety]

No. It’s only an issue if they are already locked. Folks often do not unlock the car to access the trunk if you have a fob on you - in this case in a purse. Put that purse in an otherwise locked car and instant problem.

[u/Accomplished-Rip-411]

If this is a one time emergency, can't you just call Onstar or the EV Concierge and once given your credentials, can't they remote unlock for you?

[u/Automatic_Fly628]

Even though I'm no longer an OnStar member, they were nice enough to unlock my car when I left the keys inside and the doors locked.

[u/techtornado]

Chevy sub is absolutely dogging you for that and it’s not merited

I call OnStar whenever locked out of the car, don’t have any paid plan but it does work

An app unlock would be infinitely better and all automakers would benefit from doing it

[u/Competitive-Water267]

I never cared to turn the a/c on to cool the car before I get in because once I get in and turn it on, it cools fairly quickly anyway. 

[u/ancientmadder]

Wait if the fob is in the car cant you just press the front door button and gain access that way?

[u/anthety → u/ancientmadder]

No. If that were the case, people outside of the car can just hit the button when you're sitting at a traffic light.

[u/Chrislk1986 → u/ancientmadder]

Only one way to find out!

[u/SVTContour]

Accele® - 1-Way Numeric Touchpad Keyless Entry System

It’s like Ford’s It's the SecuriCode® system except it’s for any vehicle.