Are Car Rental Companies Allowing Recalled Rental Cars to be Driven Without Repairs? NHTSA is Investigating

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA") is currently investigating rental car companies, including Enterprise Rent-A-Car, based on recent complaints by consumers stating that the rental car companies are renting cars to consumers without properly fixing issues with the cars. The issues the consumers are referring to are mainly recall repairs that need to be made to the rental vehicles but are not being done when the recalls are issued rather waiting until it is convenient for the rental companies to make the repairs to the recalled vehicles. 

The alleged delay in rental car repairs that consumers and the Center for Auto Safety have mentioned to the NHTSA are currently under investigation. This investigation is the largest investigation against rental car companies and includes millions of possible recalled vehicles that may have not been fixed. This is the first audit of this caliber that the NHTSA has conducted. The only other two audits on rental car vehicles occurred in 2009 and only involved a small number of vehicles. 

As a part of the investigation the NHTSA has requested recall information on over 3 million vehicles including recalls to Chrysler, Ford and General Motors (GM) that are favored by rental companies.  

One of the main rental car companies being investigated by the NHTSA is Enterprise Rent-A-Car which earlier this year admitted fault for an accident involving a PT Cruiser which had not had the proper repairs done on it and was rented out. The two women riding in the PT Cruiser died from when the vehicle caught fire and crashed. 

If you or a loved one were injured in a rental vehicle that you believe did not have proper repairs done on it call 718.979.4300 to speak with Staten Island injury lawyer Frank J. Dito Jr for immediate help or fill out our online contact form. 

For more information about recalled vehicles and products continue reading here.