New OnStar Feature Kills The Engine When Your Car Is Reported Stolen

My old Saturn isn't fortunate enough to be equipped with OnStar, which according to those that have it, is something that they can't live without. Now people that purchase a car equipped with the OnStar service have one more reason to love it. It will actually prevent your car from getting far when it is stolen.

The Stolen Vehicle Slowdown is the new service that will actually slowly kill then engine when the car has been reported as stolen. The service is completely optional on new cars, since there are plenty of paranoid people in this world. Here is exactly how the system is set to work.

Once the vehicle has been reported stolen to law enforcement, the subscriber can call OnStar and request Stolen Vehicle Location Assistance. OnStar will confirm the subscriber has not opted out of the Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service.

- OnStar will use real-time GPS technology to attempt to pinpoint the exact location of the stolen vehicle and provide this information to law enforcement to help them recover the vehicle.

- When law enforcement has established a clear line of sight of the stolen vehicle, law enforcement may request OnStar to slow it down remotely.

- Safeguards will be in place to ensure that the correct vehicle is slowed down.

- OnStar then sends a remote signal to the vehicle that interacts with the Powertrain system to reduce engine power which will slow the vehicle down gradually.

OnStar To Add Stolen Vehicle Slowdown Feature [via ohgizmo]