Onstar causing limp mode?

[Finklejag]

My parents 2011 Chevy Cruze with 56,000 miles has been in the shop for a week. The car went into limp mode while my mother was driving it. It was towed to shop for diagnostic. We thought the turbo finally went because that’s a common issue with the Cruze. The shop didn’t find any problems with the turbo or engine. They said the problem was coming from the communication and control module(Onstar). They said GM doesn’t make it anymore and the shop will not install a used unit in the car. They told my parents if it goes into limp mode, just turn the car off and restart it, this will reset the unit.

Can the Onstar unit really affect the drivability of a car? This shop refunded the $140 fee for the diagnostics. With my parents buying a new Hyundai Venue, the Cruze will be used for local runs only. My mother loves the Cruze for some reason and doesn’t want to get rid of it. She’s fine driving it even if it causes problems.

 

[JohnnyG]

Did you try calling OnStar?

 

[Finklejag]

The car is 12 years old, GM and Onstar don’t care about this car.

 

[mk378]

It used to be that the car would work normally with the Onstar module unplugged and/or the Onstar fuse removed.

 

[Barkleymut]

It used to be that the car would work normally with the Onstar module unplugged and/or the Onstar fuse removed.

I would try this...also look for youtube videos or cruze specific forums

 

[wtd]

I would just unplug that module and see if the car goes into limp mode again. Modules can cause limp mode depending on how they are wired into the system. I'm not sure why GM would place this module in the system where it would cause a limp mode situation since Onstar is not a critical component. Is it possible that this module controls other parts of the system other than Onstar? A wiring diagram would be able to tell this.

 

[mk378]

Onstar does have a feature where the control center can send a command to slow down the car. This is supposed to be done only when the owner reports that the car has been stolen. I think it requires a specific exchange of codes between the PCM and the Onstar module, so it's unlikely to happen by failure.

 

[eljefino]

My 08 Silverado has the onstar module. I thought I could save some weight and "the man" tracking me so I unplugged it and "something" happened, like the truck wouldn't start, I forget now.

So I left it in there and just unplugged its antenna.

 

[97prizm]

I would just unplug that module and see if the car goes into limp mode again. Modules can cause limp mode depending on how they are wired into the system. I'm not sure why GM would place this module in the system where it would cause a limp mode situation since Onstar is not a critical component. Is it possible that this module controls other parts of the system other than Onstar? A wiring diagram would be able to tell this.

GM does really weird stuff with their wiring. When I was an emissions Inspector we'd have Escalades and Yukons come in. They were new enough to only get plugged in for the test. If the cigarette lighter fuse blew it wouldn't communicate with the emissions diagnostics on tbe obd2 plug. New fuse and it would work.