[TSquare]

Yes. You need an active Onstar account for VoltStats to retrieve the data from the car. But, I believe it only requires the free Basic 5 year plan. Call Onstar and see if you are eligible.

 

[SirSpammenot]

Be aware that your VoltStats data will start when you turn it on. There is no historical data available from before you owned the car.

So if you aren't familiar with OnStar... be prepared to say *no* a lot. They will try like the dickens to get cash out of you, but there is a free "basic" subscription. Voltstats.net can get the info it needs at that level, and you do need to authorize VoltStats to pull data from OnStar. The link will be broken intermittently so you also have to watch it and re-auth from time to time.

Also, the free service still lets you use the phone app's key fob functions (like remote pre-cool or pre-heat, unlock, horn) and not much else beyond data collection. https://www.onstar.com/us/en/help-support/basic-plan/services-included.html

It used to let you send addresses to the internal NAV but mine stopped supporting that a few weeks ago! In the App: no vehicle status (charging status, battery level, total range, odometer, etc.) and no Bing-maps-to-car integration (push to NAV, near-time vehicle locator), and no on-call live operator.. all nice to haves that come with a paid subscription.

Of note is the live operator thing, among the services they can do is tell you why the check engine light came on. They can ping the car over the Verizon (Gen1 Volt Onstar) data link and get a systems report back, with DTC codes! If it is bad they can schedule a tow-truck and alert the closest dealer you are coming. That is pretty swanky actually.

Lastly, search the forums here for how to buy OnStar if you want it. Basically you can get it for half of retail cost if you know how/when to ask. And fairly importantly, if you crash with the basic subscription they won't call you. Or the cops. Or anyone. That is a service you subscribe to.