Hertz rental PIREP (pilot report!)

[eux118]

Are other rental companies stocking Teslas? Hertz has been under fire for screwing up when someone returns a car, then they report it as stolen and many people have been arrested erroneously. They're getting their butts sued off for doing this to hundreds of people. They continued falsely reporting thefts even after what they were doing was brought to light.

Posts like this require some context. First, there is no evidence renters of Hertz EVs were targeted. In Dec 2022, the Washington Post and other media outlets reported Hertz would pay $168 million to settle hundreds of claims by customers who reported Hertz had falsely reported to authorities vehicles they rented were stolen. Some of these claimants were arrested and jailed. Some of these renters had properly returned the vehicles weeks or months earlier or had never rented from Hertz. Hertz said that “the vast majority of these cases involve renters who were many weeks or even months overdue returning vehicles and who stopped communicating with us well beyond the scheduled due date.” Despite this statement Hertz CEO apologized and implied Hertz would fix the problems which resulted in the claims.

There are hundreds of posts on this, other forums, YouTube, and review sites of people renting Teslas from Hertz and having no problems. Include me. I rented a Model 3 for a one-week check-out. The Model 3 cost me $240.00 total. I paid Supercharging costs which incurred no upsell or added fees. I was pleased with their service and the vehicle. In fact, I'm buying a Model Y as a result of that rental.

 

[nate704]

Here is my experience renting a Tesla from Hertz.

1. Hertz website and app is very clunky. If you make reservation as a guest, and then join the gold reward member, the system cannot find your reservation with the reservation number while you are logged in as a member. You need to log out and search the reservation to find your reservation. So, I called Hertz and they cancelled my first reservation (as a guest), and the generated a new reservation, so I can see the reservation as a reward member.

2. It is extremely impossible to talk to the customer service since the customer service system either drop your call or direct you to the website, which is already not providing help. I had to choose some random option to connect to some one who could help.

3. Even if I uploaded my driver's license and selfie through the app, I had to provide them again at the pick up location. Also, they told me that express key pick up is only available after 4-5 rentals.

4. Pick up was effortless since it was on Monday morning, but the employee gave me the standard range even though I reserved/paid for the long range.

5. The car was DIRTY inside and out, and it was banged up everywhere with wheel vibration when driving (wheel/tire balance issue).

6. Driving a Tesla without a phone key was extremely inconvenient and pain since I have to manually lock and unlock with the key card.

 

[Whatstreet]

I rented a Model 3 from Hertz and my only comment about it is the charge adapter wasn't in the car. I didn't need the mobile charger, but I really did need that adapter so that I could destination charge. I had to call their service department who told me to return to the rental office and ask for the manager. I did return to the rental office and asked for the adapter and the employees said that they didn't put them in because they didn't want to lose them. I asked to talk to the manager, and I got the adapter after a twenty minute wait. Usually, I would just supercharge but I had planned to use a J1772 charger overnight.

I recommend checking for the adapter before leaving the rental office.

 

[jkdman123]

Posts like this require some context. First, there is no evidence renters of Hertz EVs were targeted. In Dec 2022, the Washington Post and other media outlets reported Hertz would pay $168 million to settle hundreds of claims by customers who reported Hertz had falsely reported to authorities vehicles they rented were stolen. Some of these claimants were arrested and jailed. Some of these renters had properly returned the vehicles weeks or months earlier or had never rented from Hertz. Hertz said that “the vast majority of these cases involve renters who were many weeks or even months overdue returning vehicles and who stopped communicating with us well beyond the scheduled due date.” Despite this statement Hertz CEO apologized and implied Hertz would fix the problems which resulted in the claims.

There are hundreds of posts on this, other forums, YouTube, and review sites of people renting Teslas from Hertz and having no problems. Include me. I rented a Model 3 for a one-week check-out. The Model 3 cost me $240.00 total. I paid Supercharging costs which incurred no upsell or added fees. I was pleased with their service and the vehicle. In fact, I'm buying a Model Y as a result of that rental.

First of all, I never stated or even implied that EV renters were 'targeted'. And the context is clear; they are either massively negligent in how they process their returned cars or they knowingly let innocent people get thrown jail in didn't care. Either one is bad juju.

Yes, they're paying out and yes, in the overall scheme of things it may be a low individual risk that they screw up *your* return and file a theft complaint against you. But the fact that they did many times and CONTINUED to do it even after they were publicly called out on it says one thing to me: use another rental company.

 

[PTCGator]

I rented a M3 SR back in May from Hertz in PHX. The price must be driven (ha) by the local market as it was as cheap or cheaper than the other the car classes I was considering. Surprisingly the MY price was over double of the M3. They also guaranteed availability of the M3.
I was surprised that the SR had a different battery composition and recommended charging protocol. The car had its mobile connector and j1772 adapter. Overall it wasn't as convenient ( none of the app based features) as driving one of our own Teslas, but it was very nice. No big hassles or issues with Hertz on pick up (car was dirty) or return.
Overall, it was a good experience. I’m renting a M3 LR from them this month.

 

[Lexdysic]

I've rented M3s from Hertz twice in the past couple of months, and both experiences were pleasant. Agree with the above posters about the biggest inconvenience is not being able to use the app functions on a phone. (Lock/unlock, climate are the 2 biggest) Since I have FSD beta, it was also quite frustrating having autopilot disengage every time I changed lanes. Also, I had to use the hotspot on my phone to use Tune In and streaming features since Hertz doesn't subscribe to premium connectivity.

I paid slightly more than a typical mid size at the Orlando airport ($58/day), and paid far less ($231 for a week) in Chicago.

It's so nice to drive a car you're familiar with, when driving on roads you aren't. I've driven ICE vehicles a few times in the past few years and it's always an adjustment. Had same experience with the return requirements on charging (70%) and also checked to make sure cables and adaptors were in the trunk. (in Chicago they were in the sub trunk)

All in all, I'd recommend at least looking into Hertz for a Tesla rental.

OTOH, I really recommend avoiding Turo!

 

[eux118]

First of all, I never stated or even implied that EV renters were 'targeted'. And the context is clear; they are either massively negligent in how they process their returned cars or they knowingly let innocent people get thrown jail in didn't care. Either one is bad juju.

Yes, they're paying out and yes, in the overall scheme of things it may be a low individual risk that they screw up *your* return and file a theft complaint against you. But the fact that they did many times and CONTINUED to do it even after they were publicly called out on it says one thing to me: use another rental company.

You make a good point it may be a low individual risk that bad juju might happen. You exercise your freedom of choice to use another rental company and explain why it matters to you. Thank you. Others will evaluate the CURRENT situation and make their choice. I notice many Hertz Tesla renters here report success with their Tesla Hertz rental. If anyone here has been jailed or accused of theft after a Hertz Tesla rental please let us know.

 

[Retired in AZ]

A trip to Chicago in April for us. We had a reservation at AVIS for an ICE with Android Auto, so we could use our phones to navigate. There were five Model Ys sitting in the rental spots, and when I had tried and failed three times to find the ICE/Android Auto setup, I told the clerk at the checkout counter that I'd rather have a Tesla. She did the deed, and we got a 2023 MY - at the 'manager's special' rate, which was lower than the ICE class I'd rented. Score!

I drove a M3 at home then, and was considering a MY as its replacement. So being able to drive one was perfect, Supercharging was included in the rental somehow, so I scored on that as well. AVIS wants you to bring it back at 80%, which is the SOC that they give you when you leave. The car came also with a J-1772 adapter, which I used at a community charger once. Don't do that in cold weather - it takes forever to get even 5% more range.

Yes you can use your card key for the rental, as stated above. No difference between rental companies on that b/c it's part of the CAR. Phone pairing was available as well - to make calls, not as a key, unfortunately. My only beef was how stiff the MY rode - nothing to do with the rental.

Check-in when we were leaving Chicago was pretty much the same as any other car. No, the agent didn't tell us to "leave the keys on the dash". She took the card from us, apparently so that it wouldn't be misplaced?

The rental had a toll pass (included in the rental!), and we got a bill for that after about two weeks. We never saw an invoice for supercharging, but I had all of the details just in case. I also used the Tesla app to find out what the per kWh was at each supercharger we visited. All prepared - and no fight after all.

I'll do it again, but I don't expect the same deal. I will try to negotiate it anyway. Nothing like pulling up to your destination in a shiny Tesla!

 

[CaptStealthy]

A trip to Chicago in April for us. We had a reservation at AVIS for an ICE with Android Auto, so we could use our phones to navigate. There were five Model Ys sitting in the rental spots, and when I had tried and failed three times to find the ICE/Android Auto setup, I told the clerk at the checkout counter that I'd rather have a Tesla. She did the deed, and we got a 2023 MY - at the 'manager's special' rate, which was lower than the ICE class I'd rented. Score!

I drove a M3 at home then, and was considering a MY as its replacement. So being able to drive one was perfect, Supercharging was included in the rental somehow, so I scored on that as well. AVIS wants you to bring it back at 80%, which is the SOC that they give you when you leave. The car came also with a J-1772 adapter, which I used at a community charger once. Don't do that in cold weather - it takes forever to get even 5% more range.

Yes you can use your card key for the rental, as stated above. No difference between rental companies on that b/c it's part of the CAR. Phone pairing was available as well - to make calls, not as a key, unfortunately. My only beef was how stiff the MY rode - nothing to do with the rental.

Check-in when we were leaving Chicago was pretty much the same as any other car. No, the agent didn't tell us to "leave the keys on the dash". She took the card from us, apparently so that it wouldn't be misplaced?

The rental had a toll pass (included in the rental!), and we got a bill for that after about two weeks. We never saw an invoice for supercharging, but I had all of the details just in case. I also used the Tesla app to find out what the per kWh was at each supercharger we visited. All prepared - and no fight after all.

I'll do it again, but I don't expect the same deal. I will try to negotiate it anyway. Nothing like pulling up to your destination in a shiny Tesla!

Dayum, maybe I should rent with Avis next time, lol

 

[Retired in AZ]

Dayum, maybe I should rent with Avis next time, lol

In the immortal words of the Alka Seltzer commercial: Try It, You'll Like It.

 

[Lexdysic]

Just had a rental in Orlando for a few days this past week. I'm not sure if it's fleet-wide, but I was able to use the app on my phone for the rental. The car asked me if I'd like to use my phone, and then provided instructions. (Security & Drivers > Add Driver)

It displayed both cars- swiping to the right/left selected whichever car I wanted to control.

I was able to use all the app functions, and being able to use the climate function in the Florida heat was huge. The walk away lock/unlock was also convenient. When I returned the car, I unlinked the app, and the rental disappeared from my phone.

I hope Hertz has unlocked this at all locations. I imagine many Tesla owners have asked for this.

 

[CaptStealthy]

Apparently that's a new thing, being able to grant app access temporarily via QR code. I read something about it being possible for service loaners too

 

[mrflorida55]

I rented a Based 2022 M3 about 10 months old with 20K miles and found out the car will only charge to about 248mi of range. Advertised range is 272 so it lost almost 10%. From what I heard LFP batteries are not sensitive to charging over 80 percent. For sure this is a rental so who knows what is happening with charging would imagine allot of supercharges. Is this expected?

 

[RayK]

At an average of 2,000 miles a month, or 100 miles every weekday, I would say that Supercharging may have been used most of the time. Yes, you can get 100 miles on a Level 2 charger in about 4 hours but I don't see the typical car renter spending that amount of time each day charging.

LFP batteries do not have the same problem with degradation when charged to 100% like their NMC cousins. I don't know if they have similar calendar aging characteristics. There are several members here that can speak to this better than I can.

What you may want to try is draining the battery down to ~10% and then doing a full recharge a couple of times. This should "recalibrate" the battery management system.

As a fairly unrelated data point, my own 2018 LR RWD with NMC battery has just almost 28K miles on it. Estimated full range is 300 miles, down about 15 miles from when it was new. That's a 5% drop. For the first year of ownership I L2 charged at work. I generally stopped at 90%. For the last 4 years I've been mainly using a CHAdeMO adapter (DC Fast at ~45kW), along with occasional use of an Urban (72kW) Supercharger - no more slow L2 charging for me. I recharge when the car is at 50% or so, and again stop at 90%.

 

[GoergeJetson]

I rented a Based 2022 M3 about 10 months old with 20K miles and found out the car will only charge to about 248mi of range. Advertised range is 272 so it lost almost 10%. From what I heard LFP batteries are not sensitive to charging over 80 percent. For sure this is a rental so who knows what is happening with charging would imagine allot of supercharges. Is this expected?

That range estimate is related to the Wh/mi that the car has seen, it's not a good indication of capacity loss. I imagine a rental car is not driven nicely so the Wh/mi is probably really poor in comparison.

 

[Jejunjm]

I’m renting from hertz what I assume is a model 3 “midsize ev like Tesla model 3” San Diego. Priceline was 250 cheaper then hertz directly (50 ish a day including taxes and fees)

1) should I still expect a mobile charger in the trunk?

2) j-1772 adapter?

3) ccs2 compatibility (should I bring my adapter?)

Thanks! Bringing my 6 yo daughter so want to minimize silliness

 

[Whatstreet]

I’m renting from hertz what I assume is a model 3 “midsize ev like Tesla model 3” San Diego. Priceline was 250 cheaper then hertz directly (50 ish a day including taxes and fees)

1) should I still expect a mobile charger in the trunk?

2) j-1772 adapter?

3) ccs2 compatibility (should I bring my adapter?)

Thanks! Bringing my 6 yo daughter so want to minimize silliness

Bring your own adapter. I have not found an adapter in any of the Tesla I have rented.

 

[McSquid]

I recently had a Model Y LR from Hertz for over a month. I must say... living with a Tesla and having to use the key card as your way of locking and unlocking the car makes the whole experience suck. If this was my 1st or only experience with a Tesla and I never knew how awesome having your mobile phone paired as a key was, I would be turned off on Teslas completely.

 

[afadeev]

I’m renting from hertz what I assume is a model 3 “midsize ev like Tesla model 3” San Diego. Priceline was 250 cheaper then hertz directly (50 ish a day including taxes and fees)

Funny you should bring this up.
I'm heading in the same direction, and had reviewed Model 3 rental pricing from Avis, National, and Hertz.
In all cases, Model 3 was priced above equivalent ICE rentals, or even other EV rentals. To me, it makes it not worth the bother.

1) should I still expect a mobile charger in the trunk?

You have to check.
Every time.
Hassle.

2) j-1772 adapter?

I would not expect it.
Bring one with you, if you think you need it.
Hassle.

3) ccs2 compatibility (should I bring my adapter?)

I would not expect it.
Bring one with you, if you think you need it.
Hassle.

Thanks! Bringing my 6 yo daughter so want to minimize silliness

For that reason, I'm renting an ICE car.

a

 

[Jejunjm]

Are all of the hertzs compatible with ccs2? Assuming I bring clunky adapter...

@afadeev check priceline/Expedia much cheaper for me at least. Hopefully I'll be be getting a tesla...