The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that it has opened an “audit query” into allegations that the Hertz Corporation rented out vehicles that had not yet had important recall repairs performed on them.
The U.S. regulator said it will investigate whether or not the car rental company, which also owns the Dollar and Thrifty brands, complied with the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act requiring, among other things, that rental companies with more than 35 vehicles not allow customers to take vehicles subject to a safety recall unless the remedy associated with that recall has been performed.
NHTSA says that it is “in receipt of information that indicates” that Hertz did not comply with the Safety Act. So far, the organization will only specify that the claims relate to vehicles from Nissan and Ford owned by Hertz between 2018 and 2020.
Read: Five Cars Rented By President Biden’s Secret Service Detail Destroyed By Fire
Although the specific vehicles involved in the investigation are not stated, Autonews reports that some of the issues being investigated include vehicle latches and locks.
Hertz said, in a statement to the outlet, that it is committed to “providing safe rentals for our customers” and that it is “reviewing NHTSA’s request for information.” Rental companies faced severe shortages of rental vehicles between 2020 and 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic ground automotive production to a halt.
This is only the most recent potential scandal to rock Hertz. Earlier this month, the rental company agreed to pay $168 million to resolve a large number of pending claims made by customers it had filed wrongful theft reports against them. Some of the renters allege that they were pulled over, arrested, and even held at gunpoint after Hertz reported the vehicles they were driving as being stolen. The customers claim that they were in actuality entitled to have legal possession of the vehicle at the time.
