Companies Rent Recalled Cars Before Fixing Them

It may be surprising to consumers, but there’s nothing illegal about a car hire company renting out recalled vehicles before they are fixed. They also aren’t obligated to tell their customers about the risk.

According to a survey commissioned by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the big 3 car rental businesses in the US have allowed tens of thousands of drivers on the road without repairing recalls since 2006. These brands include Enterprise Rent A Car (which also includes National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car), Hertz Rent-A-Car and the Avis Budget Group (which includes Avis Car Rental and Budget Car Rental).

Automakers say that car hire companies typically repair less than 33% of recalled cars in the first month after the issued recall. Even after a whole year, they only repair 50%. These figures came from General Motors and Chrysler, and the NHTSA is looking into the issue. Ford has a long history of delaying recalls but refused to share statistics.

Out of the 3 big car rental firms, the NHTSA survey found that Enterprise has the best overall performance in repairing recalls. In a study involving 10 recalls from General Motors and Chrysler between 2006 and 2010, the company had fixed an average of 65% of the vehicles subject to the recall after 90 days. Avis Budget Group had fixed 53% and Hertz only 34% under the same conditions.

The American Car Rental Association (ACRA) says this isn’t out of the ordinary. President Bob Barton says that although they don’t maintain an industry standard for recalls and all members follow their own pre-established operating guidelines, they put a hold on recalled cars so they aren’t rented until the repair work is completed. Plus, most recalls don’t require the owner to stop driving their vehicle, he noted. However, if rental companies are given an earlier notice, he added, they could respond more quickly.