August 11, 2009 by onstarconnectioncom

OnStar Remote Ignition Block

It’s been just over three weeks since we “flipped the switch” and turned on our newest service — Remote Ignition Block. This service is available on select 2009 and newer GM vehicles. This industry-first service allows an OnStar Advisor to send a remote signal to a subscriber’s stolen vehicle to prevent it from restarting once turned off. This technology will not only help authorities recover stolen vehicles, but can also prevent dangerous high-speed pursuits from starting.

For a more in-depth look at this service, check out the video below:
YouTube Preview Image

I’ve been pleased to see the amount of discussion Ignition Block has generated on Twitter and in the blogosphere. While reading through the conversations, I noticed that some of you are concerned that this technology could be used in situations beyond stolen vehicle recovery and that it could be used without the subscriber’s consent.

To quickly clear up any misperceptions, OnStar’s focus is and always has been on helping keep drivers safe and secure on the roads. It’s for that reason that stolen vehicle recovery has been such a priority for us and we’ve developed the industry’s most expansive suite of stolen vehicle assistance services, including Stolen Vehicle Slowdown and GPS location leveraging Microsoft Virtual Earth technology. We have a set process for the activation of Ignition Block, which is completely subscriber-driven. Here’s how it works:

• An OnStar subscriber reports their vehicle stolen to authorities and requests stolen vehicle assistance from OnStar.

• Law enforcement provides confirmation to the OnStar Advisor that the vehicle is in fact stolen.

• The OnStar Advisor pinpoints the vehicle’s exact GPS location and sends a remote signal to prevent the stolen vehicle from starting the next time someone attempts to start it.

As of this morning, we’re 45 for 45 — 45 successful Ignition Block activations, and 45 successful vehicle recoveries. Every deployment has a unique story…the brand-new 2010 Camaro SS in Wayne, Penn., the 2009 Tahoe in Waipahu, Hawaii. And in most cases, the vehicles were recovered within an hour of the Advisor activating the service. I’m extremely encouraged that this technology is being adopted so rapidly, and look forward to sharing even more success stories in the weeks and months ahead.

Share your OnStar story.
Talk to other OnStar enthusiasts.

 

Tags: , ,

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.