ATWardIV

My family was looking at the new Lexus GX today and was told that in about a month or so Lexus would no longer offer the option. The sales rep said this was due to the fact that the majority of people who have the service never subscribe after the free trial period. Has anyone else heard this? Any information would be great!

-A.T.

MMM

It's been rumored that most customers do not renew their OnStar service contracts when their free-period expires after a year. I would tend to agree with this because OnStar is in so many different types of vehicles nowadays. Plus, besides automatic crash notification, what benefit does the system really give you if you already have a cell phone, an insurance policy, AAA membership, and an on-board navigation system?

See the following link for current info on OnStar:

http://www.itsa.org/itsnews.nsf/$All/0B2EDD05BC9E4A5985256CD30011A6ED?OpenDocument

MMM

Deep

I highly doubt it. If they're offering it in the GX now, then it seems they're expanding Lexus Link if anything. They wouldn't offer it in this new model if they were going to discontinue it.

ATWardIV

That's just it... the Lexus dealership is saying it's no longer being offered on the GX in a month or so. I asked Steve Ganz and he said, "I've heard this as well but am not sure of the outcome, try calling 800-255-3987 for Lexus customer Care, hopefully they can tell you more about it......." Something is going on..

-A.T.

DJ SprinklesNJO

i asked the spokespeople for the new RX330 what those buttons were and they said the lexus link. but the reason they said they didnt talk about it. was bc they are discontinueing it. so i guess it is true

Leeladisky

Stated that it's NOT being discontinued, in fact, it's being expanded to other vehicles. Hopefully that is accurate!

L

squarehat

A big concern with OnStar is that it runs over analog cellular, which is being phased out. There's a cutoff year whereby companies no longer have to provide analog service.

MMM

Do any of you CL members out there think that there is a true benefit to keeping the service activated? Again, aside from automatic crash notification, would you really pay $20+ a month for a system like OnStar, LexusLink, RESCUE, Tele Aid, and other such systems?

Let's not forget that Ford and Qualcomm invested a pretty penny into Wingcast, their joint telematics venture, only to find that they would close their doors a few months before their call centers were to go live for Ford and Nissan/Infiniti vehicles. All of their employees were layed off, some transferring back to Ford or Qualcomm. And Denso layed off 177 telematics employees as well, as a direct result of Wingcast's closure.

And yes, there's that transition from analog to digital cellular networks. Most legacy OnStar hardware is based on embedded AMPS (analog) cellular modules. AT&T has extended agreements with OnStar and ATX to keep their analog networks lit up - but only for a few more years. Second generation telematics hardware is based on CDMA/AMPS cellular. So, there's gonna be a transition period someday, and the big wigs at OnStar better figure out how to upgrade their existing customer base, if they so wish to continue their service.

MMM

Hugh Jorgan

I thought that the Lexus Link system was very over priced to begin with. For the price, it should have included a lifetime of that hokey analog cell service. Chevy gives it away for free on their bottom end sedans, so why did Lexus gouge me $1500 for the same thing?