OnStar, the satellite service designed to offer roadside assistance and all-around peace of mind, is facing a class action lawsuit from a group of consumers whose service was permanently suspended after analog cell phone networks were turned off in 2008.
The networks were shut down on January 1, 2008, as part of the Federal Communications Commission's transition from analog to digital communications. Armand Pepper, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, received a letter in 2007 informing him that his OnStar system would stop working at the end of the year, and that OnStar wouldn't be able to provide an upgrade.
Pepper, who is bringing the suit on behalf of a group of Honda owners, says he had no idea that the system would be rendered obsolete when he first purchased his Acura in 2003.
"OnStar and the companies using OnStar were continuing to represent it was viable to purchase," Pepper's lawyer, Roger Craig, told the Naples News. "They were supposed to offer people an opportunity to upgrade and they didn't do that."
Craig added that several individuals had been involved in an accident and thought their OnStar system was functioning properly at the time. "Evidently, that happened a few times," Craig said.
While OnStar is currently only available on cars manufactured by General Motors, Honda and Toyota used to install the equipment on some of their vehicles.
Pepper wasn't the only one that OnStar left out in the cold. At the time of the analog shutoff in 2008, ConsumerAffairs.com reported that scores of GM customers suddenly discovered that their OnStar systems had been shut off , and that there was no chance of receiving an upgrade.
"I've since found out that it can't be upgraded, repaired, modified, adapted or anything else," wrote Julie of Austin, Texas. "Now I have a rear view mirror with buttons that continually remind me I have a broken part in my car that GM refuses to repair."
The situation is particularly troubling given the security that OnStar ostensbly offers its subscribers. The prduct's website describes it as an "in-vehicle safety and security system created to help protect you and your family on the road." Among the system's features are roadside assistance, access to an emergency hotline, and "automatic air bag deployment response" -- which alerts authorities when the car's air bags have deployed.
Pepper's suit is brought on behalf of "all individuals and entities who, as of December 31, 2007, either owned or leased a Honda vehicle originally sold or leased on or after August 8, 2002 and equipped with analog-only OnStar equipment." The complaint estimates that "there are thousands of OnStar subscribers"in Pepper's position. The suit alleges breach of warranty, violations of various consumer protection statutes, and violations of the Magnuson-Moss Act, which governs warranties.
