OnStar reports location and speed data to the car manufacturer. Sometimes they will sell this data to insurance companies to raise your premium, as several news stores pointed out a few weeks ago. I couldn’t really find an advantage to OnStar, (I have my phone to call emergency services) so I disabled it by pulling it’s fuse.

For my 2019 bolt, it’s f31 in the instrument panel fuse box, just down and to the left of the steering wheel. The fuse box cover comes off when you pull it hard from the bottom.

I was able to find which fuse went to OnStar in the owners manual and labeled on the inside of the fuse box cover. You should be able to find it for your model car there too if it uses OnStar.

I did have the casualty of my speaker for calls and texts. I’m not able to use it right now. I’ll see if I can dig in and reconnect it somehow, but we’ll see.

Who knows that other into they’re snitching back to GM, or what they could do in the future, so I recommend disconnecting it. Good luck!

  • WarmSoda@lemm.ee
    1323·
    9 months ago

    If you think a 2014 model car is new, you’ve got bigger issues than gps tracking.

      • the post of tom joad@sh.itjust.works
        131·
        9 months ago

        I bought a 2005 vehicle with 140k miles on it and with prices fucking thru the roof, plus all this privacy violating shit coming out i am fuckin chuffed.

        • Voyajer@lemmy.world
          42·
          9 months ago

          New as in new-to-me. Actual new from the dealer cars have such a bad value proposition that they’re not worth considering if you have the bare minimum capability to do maintenance yourself, and that is before the new fad of dealer markup nonsense that’s been happening.

      • WarmSoda@lemm.ee
        817·
        9 months ago

        A decade old car is new to you?

        Try selling one as new and let me know how that goes.

          • WarmSoda@lemm.ee
            311·
            9 months ago

            This might be a shock to you, but they’ve made cars in 2023. They even make them in 2024. They’re considered this strange thing called “new”

        • Voyajer@lemmy.world
          114·
          9 months ago

          Why would I be selling my car? An equivalent car would be over 70k for the same horsepower and mileage when mines running great.

          • WarmSoda@lemm.ee
            213·
            9 months ago

            I’m sorry, I forgot you don’t sell cars. Obviously no one else does either because you don’t.

    • BolexForSoup@kbin.social
      93·
      9 months ago

      A 2014 car is sending minimal data if any besides GPS. Yes that’s a big thing but compared to what cars have been doing the last 5 years it doesn’t even register IMO and it’s still less than your phone and computer are likely sending. I promise you there isn’t a single car from 2014 that is sending data on your sexual activity, which yes, current cars are actually doing.

      Edit: to be clear, I don’t think there was ever a lack of will on this, it just wasn’t as feasible as it is now. Hence why so much attention has been called to it over the last half year or so, especially after the Mozilla foundation’s findings. This is a relatively new issue. If you have a car from the mid 2010s, you are probably not nearly as exposed. Especially if you don’t own a higher end car from that period.