OnStar monitoring ECM changes?

[FUN4JT]

If this question has been posed before my apologies for the duplicity. With OnStar being able to monitor engine and drive train
status can it also monitor ECM program changes, i.e., different tunes?

[SS Drifter]

The Onstar lovers will say no and the Onstar haters will say yes. I would think that doing this would put GM in a grey area from a legal standpoint. I've disabled mine simply because I don't need Onstar and I have a better use for the Sharkfin antenna.

[2SSCAMARO]

Originally Posted by FUN4JT

If this question has been posed before my apologies for the duplicity. With OnStar being able to monitor engine and drive train
status can it also monitor ECM program changes, i.e., different tunes?

NO

But they can see your quarter mile run speeds and if they zap you with the "stolen car" feature, your ride home will be limited to 10 MPH with the flashers on!

[Gunsmoke]

how could they if all they're looking at is diagnostics. as long as you're no throwing codes. even then they wouldn't know why. don't give them so much credit. lol

[The_Blur]

OnStar does not check to see if you tuned your ECM.

[SS Matt]

This has been gone over a million times. Too many paranoid people out there. OnStar can't, doesn't, and won't look at your tune. Some people shouldn't buy cars if they are that paranoid.

[FUN4JT]

Thanks for the insight. Not overly enthusiastic about OnStar to begin with as it offers little to me so I will probably disable it.

[Bell040]

A guy at my office had OnStar come over the intercom and ask him if something was plugged onto the OBD port. He has a dash mounted tuner in a Chevy Silverado.

[JR-Vette]

Originally Posted by SS Matt

This has been gone over a million times. Too many paranoid people out there. OnStar can't, doesn't, and won't look at your tune. Some people shouldn't buy cars if they are that paranoid.

Not true,

Yes on a common basis the answer would be no but when certain error codes or conditions get flagged then GM looks deeper.

Onstar connects to both the class 1 and 2 ( GMLAN) network and can query any module (controller) just as any OBD scanner or Tech-II can.

I have had customers who got calls from GM asking why they were doing high speeds to asking why torque values were higher then stock values.

There are hundreds of parameters and any one can be checked, even my wireless OBD scanner can do it but it is simple to know GM can look for any DTC codes which means it also can request any other PID value which includes all 8 CVN code segment IDs, when PCM was flashed to how many drive cycles DTCs existed or were reset.

[Mike@DS]

I have a customer who disabled AFM with his tuner and his monthly OnStar report says his AFM system appears to have shut down due to a problem and that he should get it to a dealership for a repair....LOL.

[ratlover]

Am I the only one here that wouldn't find it funny to tell the onstar advisor that comes over the speaker why I was going well over a buck in a 1/4 or that "yes, I know the factory ECM has been recalibrated out side the factory settings, how else would I get my car to run with a blower"

Maybe I'm just sick lol

Hey, you gota pay if you want to play.

[SS Drifter]

I think the point is that they can detect clues that may indicate modifications and they can can detect information (speed or whatever) that you may prefer to keep private. Whether they do so is a never ending debate on on this forum.

[SonnyakaPig]

Originally Posted by Mike@Diablosport

I have a customer who disabled AFM with his tuner and his monthly OnStar report says his AFM system appears to have shut down due to a problem and that he should get it to a dealership for a repair....LOL.

LOL!! hahaha nice

[The_Blur]

Since my original response, while accurate, does not reflect the complex relationship between OnStar and GM, allow me to elaborate.

When you get a tune, you are violating your warranty as far as your OEM is concerned. If your tune results in a problem that would otherwise fall under your powertrain warranty, you will be responsible for it.

OnStar can tell if some things are not original. OnStar, however, does not have any obligation to report potential warranty problems to GM. Besides, it is not possible for OnStar to tell if those issues are intentional tunes or just parameters that aren't correct by some sort of mistake. Rather than acting as spies for GM, OnStar has its own management and customer service structure.

In other words, GM serves you by providing you a product: your car. OnStar serves you by providing a service: vehicle telematics.

While OnStar was founded by and is owned by GM, OnStar does not report issues to GM. OnStar only reports to you, the customer, anything that might be wrong with your vehicle. If OnStar prioritizes warranty issues for GM, then it risks losing customers. People will complain that OnStar interfered with their warranty work and caused their warranties to be void. Instead, OnStar merely tells customers that something is outside of OEM parameters and asks you to schedule an appointment with your dealership. This is a great service for people who are completely stock and have a parameter out of whack. For tuners, you did this purposefully.

OnStar is a great service and a great value. For tuners, it is a little less of a service because its diagnostics will not be accurate. You've adjusted your parameters, causing OnStar to get some strange readings from your car. OnStar does not report these readings to GM's warranty department because it doesn't make sense to do so. Doing so will cost them customers, and their customers are dependent on an unnecessary service. Selling that service requires OnStar to cater to you, meaning that anything that could threaten your relationship with OnStar, including possible warranty issues, are not going to get reported.

Does that make more sense?