To summarize my most recent trip to Crestview's se...

To summarize my most recent trip to Crestview's service department in two words: horrific nightmare. They tried to outrageously over-charge me without properly diagnosing the problem, and retaliated after I refused the repair by leaving the vehicle in a mess on pick up.

I took my vehicle to Crestview for service on the OnStar hardware system after noticing the status indicator by the 3 buttons turned red. Prior to the trip to the dealer, I called the OnStar call center, which ran a remote diagnosis and identified the problem being in the OnStar system. A follow-up automated e-mail provided the error code B1447, which was related to the back-up battery for the module. Note that the call was placed through OnStar from within the vehicle, which meant the communication system worked except when the vehicle lost power in a serious crash, the main reason to have OnStar service in the first place.

I relayed all information above to Crestview online when making the service appointment and was assured that it would be passed along to the team.

On the day of service, Crestview called and said per their diagnosis, the entire OnStar unit needed to be replace or none of the OnStar functionality would work. Furthermore, the replacement part would cost over 700. I called their bluff by mentioning the prior diagnostic session with call-center as proof that the module itself worked. I even successfully requested the vehicle location through Cadillac / OnStar mobile app right after the phone call; this required connectivity to the vehicle. On top of that, the module does not cost 700 even if a unit replacement is needed. Disclosure: I am a former GM / OnStar employee and knows when it's over 8 times the actual cost.

After the back-and-forth, they came back with yet another overpriced quote to just replace the battery: over 500 dollars with 3 hours of labor. I declined the repair and waited to pick up the vehicle. When handed back to me, the rear seats were still torn down and a pick in the middle propping up the panel. Ironically, the OnStar unit is visible next to it on the right. Was it just my imagination or was it a pay back...to the customer that refused to be ripped off??

Before I left, they apologized and offered to discuss this issue some more the next day. Well, take a guess whether they called me or not...