myChevrolet

Review by eFreeware

myChevrolet is General Motors' own app for people who drive a Chevrolet, and it exists to put the connected-car features you already pay for somewhere more convenient than a key fob. It is free, it has been on Google Play since October 2010, and it has passed ten million installs with a 4.6 average from more than 319,000 ratings. Those numbers say less about polish than about how many Chevrolet owners have a reason to keep it around.

The reason is OnStar. The app works alongside that connected service to reach your vehicle, so the useful parts are remote start, cabin temperature, finding the car and reading its vitals. If your vehicle and plan support those services, this is the handiest place to reach them; if they don't, there is little here for you. That dependency shapes everything worth saying about the app.

Starting the car and setting the temperature before you get in

The headline feature is remote start from the phone. You can also set the cabin temperature you want before you walk out, which is the part I find more interesting than the start itself. On a cold morning the difference between a car that has merely started and one that is already warm is the difference between a coat and no coat.

Both actions depend on the vehicle and the plan you are enrolled in, so the app is only as capable as the car it is paired with. The developer adds that you need a data connection, and that only some devices support it. I would treat remote start and climate setting as the core of the app, and everything else as useful support around it.

Finding the car and keeping an eye on its condition

The second job is locating the vehicle. The app shows where it is and gives walking directions to that spot, which is the sort of thing that matters in a large parking lot, at an airport garage or after a long day when you have simply forgotten which row you chose. Map coverage and the available features vary by country, so how well this works depends on where you are.

Alongside location, the app reports fuel level, tire pressure, oil life and odometer readings. None of that is dramatic, but it is the kind of information that turns a vague sense that the car needs attention into a specific one. I would expect owners who check these figures regularly to get more out of the app than those who only open it when something feels wrong.

Service scheduling and roadside help from the same screen

The app also handles two ownership chores that usually mean a phone call. You can schedule service, and you can request Roadside Assistance with a button. Having both in the same place as the vehicle status is sensible, because the moment you notice a problem is often the moment you want to act on it.

Roadside service availability and the providers behind it vary by country, so this is not a uniform feature across every market. The developer points to onstar.com for the details and limitations, which is the right place to check before you rely on it. For anyone who already uses OnStar, though, this is a straightforward convenience rather than a new commitment.

What you need before any of it works

In practice that means the app is the front end for services that have to be in place first.

That layering is worth understanding before you install. The app is free and carries no ads and no in-app purchases, so nothing here is trying to sell you something inside the app itself. The cost, where there is one, sits with the vehicle and the connected plan rather than with the download.

The owner this fits

This is built for people who already drive a Chevrolet with the relevant connected services active and who want those services on their phone. If that describes you, the app gathers remote start, climate control, location, status readings, service scheduling and roadside requests into one place, and it is hard to argue with free.

The fit is narrower than the install count suggests. Features vary by vehicle, device and plan, roadside providers vary by country, and map coverage varies by country as well. Anyone outside that combination will find the app has little to offer, not because it is badly made but because it is tied to a specific set of services.

A worthwhile companion for OnStar-connected Chevrolet owners

For the right owner, myChevrolet is a sensible addition rather than a novelty. The 4.6 average from over 319,000 ratings suggests a lot of Chevrolet drivers reach the same conclusion.

I would install it if you have a Chevrolet with OnStar services active and you want those features within reach without a separate device. If your vehicle or plan does not include them, the app has nothing to work with, and that is the whole of the caveat. Everyone else can safely leave it alone.