The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration just opened an investigation into rental cars. He’s looking at reports that Hertz is under recall and the work was never done. “An audit query for additional information regarding this issue,” is how NHTSA explains the potentially explosive news. Hertz also owns Dollar and Thrifty car rental companies.
Which Hertz rental cars have been involved in recalls?
NHTSA says it began receiving information in 2021 that the rental company rented cars without fixing safety recall issues. “Information the agency has collected to date, including from vehicle manufacturers, indicates that repairs required under several NHTSA safety recalls were not performed before such affected vehicles were leased to Hertz customers,” NHTSA said in a statement.
Locking mechanisms and door locks are involved. NHTSA issued the Altima recall in May of 2020, and the Explorer recall dates back to 2015 and 2016.
The Explorer recall was for side impacts that cause the door latch to open. 213,000 Ford Explorers participated. On the Altima, the secondary hood latch had worn out in the loosened position. The danger was opening the hood while driving.
How did Hertz respond to the summons?
Hertz’s response states that it is “reviewing NHTSA’s request for information. We are committed to providing safe rentals for our customers.” Legally, Hertz has to comply with NHTSA subpoenas before you can rent those cars. The reasons for the strict law are clear. This is another issue that comes on the heels of false theft reports earlier this month.
On December 5, Hertz agreed to pay the agreed amount to report the stolen rentals when they returned to the system or had their original leases extended. Through internal errors, some customers who had paid their rents in full, or those who had extended contracts, were arrested for car theft. A class action lawsuit claimed that 95 percent of.
Were there complications for the detainees?
Some spent up to more than a month in jail while their cases moved through the appropriate channels. For some, the felony charge affected their employment status and hindered their abilities to work. Either through sloppy bookkeeping or failure to close leases, Hertz wrongly urged the police to investigate the rental car “theft”.
As much as Hertz should have a role in its rental fleet, it should keep track of a lot. In 2020, Hertz Global Holdings Inc. Approximately 424,000 vehicles in the rental fleet. However, Enterprise Rent-A-Car is the largest global rental network, according to .
