Digital dilemma

Owners of cars from the early 2000s are wondering whether to convert OnStar, related systems to digital technology, if they can at all

Owners of cars from the early 2000s are wondering whether to convert OnStar, related systems to digital technology, if they can at all

Leroy Burnell
The Post and Courier

Ralph Blakely of Charleston explains how he spent $1,700 on his 2003 Mercedes-Benz ML-350 to convert the telecommunications emergency and assist system from analog signal to digital, stemming from a Federal Communication Commission mandate this year.

Owners of cars from the early 2000s are wondering whether to convert OnStar, related systems to digital technology, if they can at all.

A notice Ralph Blakely received earlier this year concerning the Tele Aid communications and emergency system in his 2003 Mercedes ML-350 sport-utility didn't faze him much at first.

Then came the cost to replace the analog-based service he had with a digital signal: $1,700.

In a move not yet widely publicized, the federal government is phasing out analog vehicle telecommunications and emergency systems in cars by Jan. 1 in favor of digital, which takes up less bandwidth and is considered more technologically forward-looking.

Blakely of Charleston says he has no complaints with Baker Motor Co., which performed the work about a month ago.

He could have just dropped the service. But he decided to bite the bullet and get the changeover plus a lifetime subscription for a couple of reasons. He plans to keep the sport-utility indefinitely, and the Mercedes system offers security, like an insurance policy.

"Part of the reason is the safety aspect," Blakely says.

He can dial an operator from the car in an emergency, and authorities are instantly alerted if the air bags or seat belt tensioner deploys or if the car is stolen.

The system also has nonemergency perks such as a concierge service available in large cities where the driver can be notified of the closest station selling diesel, or a popular restaurant.

As for the cost, "I'm just sort of out this," says Blakely, who has driven a Mercedes for 40 years.

Pierre Renault, the Mercedes service manager at Baker Motor, says the dealership and the automaker began sending out notices to customers about the changeover early this year.

The upgrade price is about $1,600 or so with a lifetime subscription and $200 to $300 less with contracts as short as a year. "It's amazing the amount of people who have come in," says Renault, who figured owners might drop the service instead.

Actually, some car owners aren't as fortunate as Blakely.

OnStar, the widely known system for General Motors vehicles, says on its online site that electrical wiring in analog-only equipment isn't compatible with digital systems, so analog can't be upgraded.

Exceptions include vehicles with analog-digital-ready systems or so-called dual-mode systems. OnStar, which has posted detailed information about the analog systems and upgrades on its Internet site, www.onstar.com, advises owners to check with their GM dealer to see what kind of communications system they have.

The Web site does not spell out costs, but does say, "Eligible OnStar subscribers who purchase a prepaid, nonrefundable, nontransferable one-year OnStar subscription at the regular retail price will receive an equipment upgrade including parts and labor for only $15."

There's no clear dividing line between analog's heyday and digital's rising star. In fact, some early systems were digital. But analog was popular at least from about 2001 through 2004. Many systems from 2005 to the present are dual mode, accepting both analog and digital signals or digital only.