"OnStar" Fails To Free 2-Year-Old Girl From Locked Car

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PrayersForMaura

PrayersForMaura

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Lock your keys in the car, and it's OnStar to the rescue, promising to open your doors by remote control in an emergency.

But it does not happen that way every time.

Solana Beach resident Steffan Gibbs found out the hard way after his 2-year-old daughter Eliza hit the lock button while playing with the key chain.

OnStar could not remotely unlock the doors.

"She started sweating as it progressed," said Gibbs. "She got more and more upset and reaching out for me and yelling daddy, daddy."



More: http://www.kfmb.com/stories/story.58853.html
 
So Onstar is blaming the car's owner for not upgrading, yet the vehicle is less then a year old. How much sense does that make? :waitasec: I'm glad at least the little girl is ok.
 
I am surprised to hear they had to bust the window to get her out. In Georgia when a child is locked in a car you call 911 and they send out a minor emergency unit. When my 2 yr. old got locked in my husbands truck I called 911 and a van came out with a couple of guys (I think from the fire dept?) and they just used a tool to unlock the door.
 
Its a very short article but I have to ask why was the two YO playing in the car with the doors closed?
In a car she should have been in her carseat. If dad was out doing yard work and she was in the car playing then the doors should have been open. Why did she have the keys anyhow?

I guess I am just confused as to why a two YO was playing in the car with the keys. Cars are not toddler toys and onstar uses cellular technology....
How many times have you tried to make a call and there is no reception??

I would not bet my child's safety on ONStar.
 
Amraann said:
Its a very short article but I have to ask why was the two YO playing in the car with the doors closed?
In a car she should have been in her carseat. If dad was out doing yard work and she was in the car playing then the doors should have been open. Why did she have the keys anyhow?

I guess I am just confused as to why a two YO was playing in the car with the keys. Cars are not toddler toys and onstar uses cellular technology....
How many times have you tried to make a call and there is no reception??

I would not bet my child's safety on ONStar.
Click to expand...
When my sons were that age, they loved to play in the car, much to my chagrin. And if the car was unlocked, they could open it and get in and close the doors. I discouraged this, of course, but there were times when it happened.

Still, we have an extra set of keys for such an emergency and my sons were never too long out of my sight. It would not have crossed my mind to consider an ONSTAR-type system responsible for rescuing my toddlers from their own poor choices!
 
Giving a 2 year old the keychain to play with is probably not a good idea when you have the keychain lock.

My mom has a remote start on her car and my 2 year old was playing with her keys and managed to start the car from inside the house. We didn't realize it until mom went to leave-no idea how ong it had been on but mom had been at our house the whole day! We learned that one the hard way!:slap:
 
BillyGoatGruff said:
But probably not a successful one.
Click to expand...
But they have mislead the public in the name of money. The commercials make you think they can do anything. One would not think they would need to upgrade a system less than a yr old. They are selling you an idea of safety but not the real thing.
 
Becba said:
But they have mislead the public in the name of money. The commercials make you think they can do anything. One would not think they would need to upgrade a system less than a yr old. They are selling you an idea of safety but not the real thing.
Click to expand...


They should at LEAST upgrade the system for free and give them a years service for free! Less that a year is way too early to have to expect to upgrade!


As far as the father, Poor guy. Now he is being judged.
 
I've had OnStar for over 4 years and never heard a word from them on upgrading.
 
I am wondering if, instead of using the term "upgrading", what they mean is "subscribing"?

When I bought my last Chev, it came with OnStar, first year free. After the first year, if we wanted to continue with OnStar, we would have had to pay an annual subscription fee for the service.

I am guessing this may be what happened in this case - the vehicle owner did not renew their OnStar subscription.

I also recall a couple years ago being contacted by our dealer to let us know that there was an upgrade to the OnStar system and we would have to bring our vehicle in if we wanted it - no charge. Because I had not renewed my OnStar subscription, I didn't bother.
 
Some users call the service "Big Brother" and say that the service can lead to an invasion of privacy.

OnStar says that it passes this information on to auto manufacturers to improve vehicle safety. However, critics speculate that it could also be used to:
  • clear auto manufacturers of wrongdoing
    [*]deny warranty repairs
    [*]find you at fault in an accident
    [*]increase your car insurance premiums or change your coverage
link
 
sandraladeda said:
I am wondering if, instead of using the term "upgrading", what they mean is "subscribing"?

When I bought my last Chev, it came with OnStar, first year free. After the first year, if we wanted to continue with OnStar, we would have had to pay an annual subscription fee for the service.

I am guessing this may be what happened in this case - the vehicle owner did not renew their OnStar subscription.
Click to expand...

I bet you're right. I was also under the impression that OnStar is satellite-based, not cellular. We've only used it once - my husband accidently locked the keys in it when it was in his parents' driveway. Since it's my vehicle, he didn't know the security code. His parents tried to use it once with their car when they blew a tire in rural Oklahoma and there was no service available.

I like the security of having it, it doesn't feel 'Big Brother' -ish at all. I drive sensibly and over icy and snowy country roads in the winter. And if my vehicle is stolen, they can track it.
 
ljwf22 said:
I've had OnStar for over 4 years and never heard a word from them on upgrading.
Click to expand...




Maybe they haven't mentioned it for a reason. If something happens and you question it they can say "you should have upgraded...it's not our fault that you didn't."
 
O/T Interesting use of On-Star:
A friend of mine's wife called the police "on him" after he took off in her car drunk. The police were able to go straight to him and get him off the road. He blew .28--YIKES!
He is glad she called them.
 
This dufus doesn't sound like he should be allowed to be having children.:doh:

She had the keys in the car by herself...playing...and that was OK with him...Huh? WTH is that about?

AND he waited 45 minutes before calling in the fire department?! I am sorry but as soon as ON Star failed and I saw that she was in distress....I'm breaking the window. Windows can be replaced.

What a dumba$$ to blame his poor parenting on OnStar....the child should never have had the keys in the car by herself in the first place. That is a recipe for disaster. He should feel pretty lucky that that is the worst that came out of this.

Sure am glad she's OK!
 
Hey, this is the second forum today where I have said 'I second what Ember says'. I don't have to post anymore ya keep doing it for me. :crazy:
 
curious1 said:
Hey, this is the second forum today where I have said 'I second what Ember says'. I don't have to post anymore ya keep doing it for me. :crazy:
Click to expand...
LOL, Curious....ya know great minds think alike! ...or you're as crazy as I am!...he,he,he :woohoo:
 
southcitymom said:
When my sons were that age, they loved to play in the car, much to my chagrin. And if the car was unlocked, they could open it and get in and close the doors. I discouraged this, of course, but there were times when it happened.

Still, we have an extra set of keys for such an emergency and my sons were never too long out of my sight. It would not have crossed my mind to consider an ONSTAR-type system responsible for rescuing my toddlers from their own poor choices!
Click to expand...

That is my point! .. YOU HAD AN EXTRA SET OF KEYS!
So you using your brain knew they sometimes did this and prepared for it.

I fail to believe having ONStar could be considered being prepared like having extra keys since it works on cell technology and we all KNOW that cell phone can, will and do fail sometimes.
 
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