GM's OnStar System Hacked

Makarand writes "According to this Mercury News article users of GM's OnStar system are finding that they can modify their OnStar unit to make it work with commercially available mapping software after disconnecting it from the OnStar network. Websites and message boards are rife with step-by-step instructions to personalize OnStar's navigational and communications components. When a driver requests directions from OnStar his GPS data is routed over an analog cellular network to OnStar computers and the directions are read back to the driver on the same network. The price for this service is around $400 each year. Those who tap into their OnStar systems pay no such fees."

Comments

Call me silly...

[zakezuke]

I'm not about to dismiss the geek value of this, far from it. Never the less... It seems to me based on what I read all you are doing is modifying the onstar usin so your 3rd party device can get the GPS information, rather then it sent to ONSTAR(tm). Such a mod requires you to have a vehicel with the onstar device, and some basic soldering skill.

Now... assuming you don't actually own a vehicel with the ONSTAR(tm) system onboard... is there something special about it's gps reciever that would make it worthy to find one at a junk yard and purchace one? Rather then buying your own GPS reciever, laptop, and load in the approperate maping software for your enjoyment and pleasure?

How about unlocking doors?

[Big Ryan]

Has anyone seen the OnStar commercial where the OnStar rep opens the vehicle doors remotely?

How long do you think it would take to come up with a crack that allows third parties to do the same? It would make stealing cars so much easier...

It better be a dark CITY road.

[MDMurphy]

OnStar doesn't make a big deal of it, but while they emphasis the satellite aspect, the communications is pure cellular. If there's no cell coverage, you're SOL as far as OnStar is concerned.
Granted, they use the older analog AMPS network which has better coverage than the newer PCS ones, but it still has limits on where it works.

So if you're lost, OnStar will help if you can call them. If there's no cell coverage, you'd be better off if that GPS wasn't a black box in the trunk but had some sort of display and map database.

Re:I *like* OnStar

[transient]

I like OnStar for being able to track, and stop my car if it is stolen.

This is an incredibly useful feature. My aunt had her car stolen at gunpoint a couple months ago. The police used OnStar to track down the car and bust a ring of serial car thieves that had been working in the Twin Cities for some time.

Let me know when they get out the northstar data

[drinkypoo]

From what I understand, onstar is most useful when coupled with northstar; GM's latest and greatest V8 which is chock-full of sensors and supposedly will relay all kinds of information to GM, as in your number three spark plug isn't firing, or you're starting to get detonation, and your timing is being retarded however far. This data can then be sent to the appropriate service department when they schedule your service. This way they have an idea of what to look at before you even drive in. Modern ECUs look at an amazing amount of information when deciding what to do with your fuel delivery. Consider this, a modern auto with sequential electronic fuel injection monitors intake air flow, intake air temperature, O2 output, sometimes CO output, exhaust gas temperature, throttle opening position, crank angle, and they generally have a knock detection sensor. They can advance or retard ignition and fuel delivery timing. And that's just the stuff that basically every car does now; Many cars now have variable valve timing, so they can adjust valve timing, duration, and/or lift, some have multiple-stage intake runners so they can make the intake system more restrictive to enhance low-end torque, there are cars with coil on plug ignitions which means that the ignition timing is not advanced or retarded, but simply carried out by the ECU... Hell, Subarus tie the Transmission and Engine computers (which are separate) together so that the traction control system can instruct the ECU to reduce engine output during some types of slip situations.

It would be fantastic to be able to get all that information out of the car in realtime, all the time. Especially since Northstar engines are reputedly some of the most wired engines ever, and most cars with them have Onstar, it seems like something that some people might like to take advantage of. However, those motors are usually in fantastically expensive cars, so the market probably isn't very large.

Re:Yes, but...

[epyx]

Slightly off topic..
I am a paramedic in Ohio, and the OnStar system called our dispatchers stating there was an accident with ejection, giving us the freeway the guy was on and what exit he was at. I guarantee this guy didn't hit his OnStar button, as he was shot twice and ejected, then subsequently turned into about 6 pieces of hamburger meat as he hit the exit sign.

Apparantly, OnStar calls the police and EMS to an accident when your airbag goes off, and they have a sensor to detect when you're sitting in the driver's seat. Airbag went off, senors in the seat said 'hey wait, no driver no more' and called the correct ambulance company to respond. Kind of neat when you think about it.

Put on your tin-foil hats!

[joeytsai]

Those worried about big brother may want to check out this article concerning On Star. Basically, once the FBI found out they could snoop on people (OnStar apparently has a "listen" feature) they were all over it.

Not to mention the possibilities of random strangers listening in...