On Star & Telematics

[Audihead]

What happened to Audi having On Star & Telematics? Just got my car and it's not on it. The dealer says sometime between Feb. and now they stopped offering it on everything except the A8. When I ordered it On Star & Telematics were an option but now there not, so I didn't get it. This sucks, but my dealer is giving me money back. I should have been informed and so should the dealer about this. Anyone have any ideas?

:w:

:s4addict: -Audihead

[nene]

My opinion is that you should be happy that you don't have that crap on your vehicle.

The light is green, and does not match ambient lighting on the car. On the RS6, the battery is always dying. The On-Star system can be used apparently for cops to track you down and your speed, or something to that effect. I hate the big brother kind of thing.

Completely useless thus far, so be happy and fuhgeddabouit!

[Audihead]

I'm not over- torqued on the whole thing, but upset that the car just came in that way w/ no explaination of why they changed packages. Especially w/o informing anyone. I have never experienced this w/ any other car company that i've dealt with. I guess now that i'm part of the Audi fold, i must get used to this kind of thing. Although i don't think i should have to.:vhmmm:

:s4addict: -Audihead

[z356]

Lexus had the same issues as Audi with this service and discontinued providing it on the 04 Lexus 430 LS after making a big deal of it in its Lexus 03 models. The discontinuation was not easily explained at first by Lexus dealers, just as it surprised Audi dealers more recently. Thus, this "problem" is not an exclusive Audi issue and I would not come down hard on Audi just because of it. There is more to this story than it has been revealed. Yes, the analog built-in phone is going to be obsolete soon, but didn't OnStar and the auto manufacturers knew that ahead of time? It has to be something else.

[JAXRS6]

Hmmm...first I'm confused. I thought all RS6s produced for the US had to be manufactured by 12/31/03/. So if they stopped offering OnStar in February, does that mean dealers physically removed it from cars already in stock? Audihead, what does the overhead control panel in your car show in place of the usual three OnStar-related buttons?

Also, personally I like having OnStar. Even though the red light has come on six times (with five failed repair attempts so far & the next attempt pending), and even tho I am considering a complaint to feds about that (see my recent post in the "OnStar Redlight" thread) , the fact is the system itself has always worked. Maybe because I've never had occasion to use the failing backup battery, which only comes on if the car's regular battery fails (as could happen in a serious accident).

What's to like? Well, for one, the car's cell phone, outdated or not, sometimes works when my Sprint phone has no signal -- as when crossing Alligator Alley in southern Florida.

Second, immediate access to emergency services is a wonderful feature. I can either access it myself, or access is automatic if I'm in an accident serious enough for air bags to deploy. If such a thing happened in a remote area, ONSTAR COULD SAVE MY LIFE.

Third, during summer I sign up for the concierge service that enables me to locate gas, motels, restaurants etc. without the delay of referring to AAA books or the distraction of following a nav screen.

Finally, after seeing forum rumors about police monitoring months ago, I asked OnStar about that -- twice. Both times they assured me that OnStar is strictly a private service, with location tracking neither offered nor provided to police except in an emergency. In fact even the folks at OnStar don't monitor a car's location, or record it, unless contacted by the customer (or in an air bag emergency per above).

So, what's to complain about? The green light is a little annoying, true, and its turning to red has been problematical. Still, the system itself has never failed, and I for one am glad I have it!:)

[nene]

I don't believe the original post to be about Audi RS6. I believe the thread is about Audi in general, and I'm thinking that this person bought another Audi vehicle (non RS6).

[Audihead]

Yes nene, you are right. This problem is on a 2004 S4. I just put this out there for anyone to help answer and i appreciate the feedback. I put it in the RS6 section because most members go here first, sorry for the confusion everyone.

:s4addict: Audihead

[JKN]

The only reason on star is any good if for the very unfortunate event of "I've fallen and I can't get up". That is it. THe light sucks.. green, now red... the voice recognition doesn't work ..

Personally, I'd like the light to go away entirely.. or at least match my interior.

Also, it's got some HUGE privacy issues... see this...

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/12/10/213653.shtml

[JAXRS6]

Hmmm...well, JKN, that link is disturbing, tho I'm not sure I understand all of it. Still, I'm a pretty low-profile guy -- no criminal activities or associates, no radical or even Islamic friends, not active politically etc. -- so I can't imagine why law enforcement would want to listen in. And, as the article points out, the FBI ultimately lost in court. Thus I plan to continue to use OnStar.

Also, the voice recognition system works fine for me when I make calls from my RS6.

I do appreciate the info, tho; thanks!

[JKN]

JAXRS6:

Did you have to train your Onstar to recognize voice? Supposedly, you're able to speak the numbers and the onstar will recognize etc.

And I agree.. it's not a concern for me either.. I'm just a boring suburban guy... but it should be known for those who care about their privacy that this is a pretty non-secure medium.

Has anybody gone through the economics of onstar vs. cell phone?

I suppose I could be convinced that this is a useful part of the vehicle.. just that I've only used it once or twice to find that it recognized numbers incorrectly....

[JAXRS6]

Originally posted by JKN
JAXRS6:

Did you have to train your Onstar to recognize voice?

It's been almost a year since I picked the car up, and I honestly don't remember.

As for cost, calling via OnStar definitely is more expensive per minute than my Sprint cellular plan -- 40 cents a minute if I recall correctly. So, I tend to use it only when Sprint doesn't work due to weak signal or whatever. On the plus side, I don't pay any monthly fee for the car phone; I buy 30 minutes at a time, and if it takes me a year to use it all, that's fine; there are no monthly fees associated only with phone use.

[rs6_newyork]

number voice recognition sucks but I got it to work by speaking like an idiot - slow and ennunciation like a high school teacher.

the worst is that if there is cabin noise (bumps etc) it can "hear" a number.

Also bad - virtual advisor would play CNN news at you or whatever then sometimes "hear" the recording and stop the playback thinking you gave it the next or stop or skip command..

also i don't know how to change the volume of the onstar voice.. a volume control would be nice.

[SpinEcho]

Originally posted by rs6_newyork
also i don't know how to change the volume of the onstar voice.. a volume control would be nice.

Use the volume knob on your radio!

[rs6_newyork]

hmm i thought i tried that. I'll try it again. the different parts of onstar have very different volumes. local vs remote, the beep, etc.