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Renting a Y from Hertz?
- Thread starter mfindlay
- Start date
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- hertz rental Model Y
cdub
OG 2011 Leaf / 2023 Model Y LR
Getting a nice deal on Y for a week rental with a local hertz and planning to rent for a trip coming up in a few days. I am going to decline hertz offered insurance/coverage and will be using a credit card that offers primary insurance for rentals. I also don't have roadside assistance on my normal insurance policy (super expensive - about $120 a year. Isnt that crazy?)
I believe hertz provides basic roadside assistance. But what exactly do they cover....?
1 - Say I have a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. And say I have to get it towed 75 or may be 150 miles to a tire shop. Will Hertz cover it or do I have to pay a ton?
2 - Say I run out of battery and next super charger is like 30 miles away. Now will they cover towing or do I have to pay for that as well?
Makes me wonder if I should get the AAA Premier plan that covers 200 miles tows (flat tire or out of battery, I guess they dont care). It costs $125 will last a year so can use it for my person car (M3) too if needed. And thats probably a better option than adding roadside assistance to my insurance policy which will also cost almost same but have limitations on tows (15 miles, etc)?
Would appreciate the feedback!
I believe hertz provides basic roadside assistance. But what exactly do they cover....?
1 - Say I have a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. And say I have to get it towed 75 or may be 150 miles to a tire shop. Will Hertz cover it or do I have to pay a ton?
2 - Say I run out of battery and next super charger is like 30 miles away. Now will they cover towing or do I have to pay for that as well?
Makes me wonder if I should get the AAA Premier plan that covers 200 miles tows (flat tire or out of battery, I guess they dont care). It costs $125 will last a year so can use it for my person car (M3) too if needed. And thats probably a better option than adding roadside assistance to my insurance policy which will also cost almost same but have limitations on tows (15 miles, etc)?
Would appreciate the feedback!
Farmer
Member
I was in a Hertz M3 this past May and hit Valet Mode while waiting for someone. It had an already-set PIN and of course, VM locked up what it locks up. A quick call to Hertz Roadside Assistance got me over to some help desk of theirs where they released VM remotely in about 2 minutes.
I now have my own MY and see on the Tesla app that right next to the on/off switch for Valet Mode there is a button to clear the VM PIN remotely. 'Not sure what kind of interface the Hertz backroom people have to control their vast Tesla fleet, but perhaps however they implemented remote access, they are and/or they should be clearing the VM PIN remotely anytime a call VM rescue call comes in, in addition to turning VM off.
Since my May rental, I recently heard that some of the Hertz Tesla fleet now has Tesla app access being offered via the QR code (supposedly the car needs to be on software update 2023.26.1 or greater.) Perhaps for renters so lucky to get Tesla app access, guest access on the app might have remote VM controllability, so that renters can do their own remote VM cancellation, but I'm not sure.
I now have my own MY and see on the Tesla app that right next to the on/off switch for Valet Mode there is a button to clear the VM PIN remotely. 'Not sure what kind of interface the Hertz backroom people have to control their vast Tesla fleet, but perhaps however they implemented remote access, they are and/or they should be clearing the VM PIN remotely anytime a call VM rescue call comes in, in addition to turning VM off.
Since my May rental, I recently heard that some of the Hertz Tesla fleet now has Tesla app access being offered via the QR code (supposedly the car needs to be on software update 2023.26.1 or greater.) Perhaps for renters so lucky to get Tesla app access, guest access on the app might have remote VM controllability, so that renters can do their own remote VM cancellation, but I'm not sure.
Olle
Active Member
Probably my final update on this rental. I have now received the Supercharging and Road Toll bills.
- Road tolls were passed to my bill plus a convenience fee of $9.99 per day of tolls.
- Supercharging was passed through with no fees added.
Occhis
Member
$9.99 “convenience fee”? Is it possible to use your own ezpass or pay cash at the booth?
Mike_TV
Active Member
Yeah. Hertz has a "faraday cage" box on the windshield where you can slide the E-ZPass device in and it won't register via the automatic toll lanes.
I haven't tried bringing my own device from out of state to try but I'm guessing it would work.
Farmer
Member
It generally works, but not always. I brought my NH EZPass to Miami-Dade last February on a Tesla/Hertz rental. I even put the rental plate on my EZPass account temporarily. It was correctly read on a few of the Expressways there as well as the Rickenbacker Causeway to Key Biscayne, but the Dolphin Expressway for some reason didn't read it, even though the Dolphin supposedly accepts EZPass. I later got a bill for about 4 days of $9.99/day of "convenience fees" for a total of nearly $40 above and beyond the tolls (which were like $15). I called PlatePass and emailed all my charges from the other toll roads showing how they were all correctly read and PlatePass removed the fees.
So, yes, bring your own EZPass, but it's not a guarantee that it will work 100 percent. Some roads will still read the registration plate rather than the transponder and then the registration lookup may or may not pull your EZPass account first ahead of going to PlatePass to incur an amazing percentage fee.
I think PlatePass is a major rip off. I call BS on Hertz, Avis, etc. needing to use a 3rd party to administer tolls with outrageous fees. Everything is one computer system talking to another now and if that works for passing Supercharger charges through to my credit card so seamlessly, it can work for electronic tolls too.
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Has anyone had the guts to try and do a software update during a rental period? I've had two cars now that show pending updates but I haven't had the guts to push one through incase the car boots and I'm locked out or something, lol
I have an upcoming reservation in October in Los Angeles and I would REALLY love to be able to use the app... I'm hoping I just get a car that's already updated enough, but if not I can easily hot spot to the car and download an update...
Anyone want to test this? Otherwise maybe I'll do it first thing in the parking lot so if I have issues I can just walk back over the the Hertz counter and play dumb, lol
I have an upcoming reservation in October in Los Angeles and I would REALLY love to be able to use the app... I'm hoping I just get a car that's already updated enough, but if not I can easily hot spot to the car and download an update...
Anyone want to test this? Otherwise maybe I'll do it first thing in the parking lot so if I have issues I can just walk back over the the Hertz counter and play dumb, lol
Farmer
Member
I've had Hertz Teslas run software updates during the rental - several times actually, and on one week rental I think it ran two updates. I once saw in the rental agreement fine print it said not to run updates, but though I didn't run the updates myself, it ran anyway. Hertz probably put that prohibition against updates in there so that if you get disabled due to software issues, they can make you pay more (somehow.) In all my years reading Tesla blogs, forums, and YouTube videos, I have seen very few, if any, stories of Teslas becoming disabled after updates. It's probably happened, but not enough to gather many FUDsters to blow smoke about it.
Mike_TV
Active Member
Yep. Got to the hotel, parked in the garage and hit the update button. Came back later for dinner and everything was fine. Not sure what version I went from - to but no issues. Forgot to delete all my previous navigation addresses when I dropped the car off. Interesting to see what other places Hertz renters went to.
Farmer
Member
Also, it's increasingly impossible to pay cash at a toll booth as the booths have all, largely, gone away. Miami-Dade is all electronic. There were booths on the Rickenbacker Causeway, but they were closed. MA is all electronic, as is NH in the evening/night. ME keeps like 1 staffed, cash booth in each direction open on I-95/Maine Turnpike and the lines waiting to pay Can. Be. Epic. Most of all the express, toll lanes in VA that I saw a few years back were all electronic as well, IIRC.
I was more worried there was a PIN assigned or something that upon a software update or restart I might be asked to enter. I never lock my vehicle down at all so I don't know what might be possible, etc.
robertvg
Extremely Well-Known Member
robertvg
Extremely Well-Known Member
Watts_Up
Well-Known Member
I whish there was some description in the video explaining how to set the phone key when using the Tesla App.
I just had a friend over the weekend who rented a Tesla, and I noticed a QR code under the car rendering on the central display.
There was a caption below the QR code mentioning "Unlock the car with your phone" or something similar.
So I try testing this feature but I was unsuccessful doing it, see below the pictures.
The code can only be used once, but a new one is generated when locking the car with the card.
I wonder if Hertz provides any information for setting this feature? The Hertz card container is quite cumbersome,
and not be able to access the car functions using the Phone App, would not provide the full Tesla experience,
such as be able to check remoteley the charge status when Supercharging (but I don't know is this feature is available).
I just had a friend over the weekend who rented a Tesla, and I noticed a QR code under the car rendering on the central display.
There was a caption below the QR code mentioning "Unlock the car with your phone" or something similar.
So I try testing this feature but I was unsuccessful doing it, see below the pictures.
The code can only be used once, but a new one is generated when locking the car with the card.
I wonder if Hertz provides any information for setting this feature? The Hertz card container is quite cumbersome,
and not be able to access the car functions using the Phone App, would not provide the full Tesla experience,
such as be able to check remoteley the charge status when Supercharging (but I don't know is this feature is available).
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robertvg
Extremely Well-Known Member
Watts_Up
Well-Known Member
robertvg
Extremely Well-Known Member
You have to scan a QR code that shows on the screen in the rental. See the video.
