Faced With Recalls, Rental Companies Sometimes Decide to Wait

The Center for Auto Safety is the nation’s premier independent, member driven, non-profit consumer advocacy organization dedicated to improving vehicle safety, quality, and fuel economy on behalf of all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.

By Christopher Jensen

4/19/11

Several major rental car companies have told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that in some cases they continue to rent vehicles that have been recalled if they believe the problem is not serious.

The companies said they were faced with so many recalls it was difficult for them to determine what a Hertz executive called “a true safety recall.”

 

But as N.H.T.S.A. sees it, there is no such thing as an unimportant recall.

 

“All safety recalls resulting from defects present an unreasonable risk to safety and we believe it is inappropriate to suggest that some defects are not risky enough to require repair,” Karen Aldana, a spokeswoman for the safety agency, said in an e-mail. “For the safety of the motoring public, all recalled vehicles should be fixed promptly.”

 

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