GM to stop forcing $1,500 OnStar subscriptions on all Buick, GMC buyers

DETROIT — General Motors will stop building a $1,500 OnStar subscription into the price of all Buick and GMC vehicles, instead making the safety and connectivity service standard only on high-end trims but optional on most other models.

For the 2024 model year, three years of OnStar Premium will be included on all GMC Denali trims and Buick Avenir trims and all versions of the GMC Hummer EV. Lower trims instead will come with three years of OnStar Remote Access, which links the vehicle to a mobile app. The change largely reverses a decision by the automaker in mid-2022 to package OnStar Premium with every Buick and GMC vehicle, giving buyers no ability to have the $1,500 cost removed.

A GM spokeswoman said the switch is meant to pair premium OnStar features with premium vehicle trims.

GM began including a three-year OnStar premium subscription with both connectivity and safety features in the middle of the 2023 model year as a way to add value for consumers, said Arnie Magnotta, director of sales for GM's digital business group, which includes OnStar. The subscription was listed on window stickers as a $1,500 line item until October, Magnotta said, when it was moved to the listing of standard features instead.

The total vehicle price remained the same — $1,500 more than before OnStar was included — regardless of how the subscription was listed.

Howard Drake, dealer principal of Casa Automotive Group, which sells Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles in California, said it was "really wise" of GM to reserve OnStar's premium package for the higher-end Denali and Avenir trims instead of making all buyers pay for it.

Rising prices and interest rates, coupled with scarce inventory and supply constraints, have affected some consumers' ability to purchase a new vehicle, Drake said. Making OnStar features optional again on lower trims can help alleviate some of the pricing pressure, he added.

"It was a good decision," Drake said.

The 2024 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade-V will continue to come with three years of OnStar Premium standard, as they do currently, GM said. OnStar Premium features include automatic crash response, stolen vehicle assistance, remote vehicle access and unlimited data streaming inside the vehicle. The service plan costs $50 a month or $550 a year when bought separately.

Owners of all other 2024 GMC, Buick and Cadillac models, as well as owners of all 2024 Chevrolet models, will receive three years of OnStar's Remote Access features at no extra cost. Those features include the ability to lock, unlock and start a vehicle from a smartphone, to see a vehicle's location on a map, and to remotely share routes with its navigation system.