FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Consolidated "Renting an Electric Vehicle from Hertz" Thread
Old Sep 20, 2023 | 1:00 am
  #658  
wlau
15 Years on Site
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: SJC, SFO
Programs: Delta DM, IHG Spire, Hertz PC, H.com Gold^3, lowly something on others...
Posts: 1,267
Hertz (and the US) is so not ready for wide-scale EV rental. I rented several times and rules are not uniformly enforced and some stations are just very evil-spirited.

1) IAH - Polestar 2. They charged the car to about 87% and told me I can return it >=70%. I initially thought they are very kind but quickly realized there just aren't many charging stations near IAH, so they are relaxing it from the usual 80%. Just luck would have it, the hotel I stayed at had a L2 charging station owned by a private company and I was able to charge up. The Polestar 2 has a charging/battery calibration issue and sort of stopped charging at around 95% even though I set it to 100%. I left the car plugged in overnight and the next morning it reached 98% I looked at Plugshare and other apps, there just aren't many charging stations in around the area. Therefore, fossil fuel capital of our country is not very EV rental friendly. Ironically, when I returned the car, Hertz CHARGED ME GAS for the EV... I had to make some fuss to get that charge removed. Talk about finding any and everyway to tag on questionable charges.

2) LGA - Rented Bolt EVU and assigned Bolt EV. Car was not ready at my on-time arrival and I had to wait a long time. The Bolt EV's gauge is bar-based and does not give a precise read out and the bars indicate exactly 80%. The lady at the exit gate insisted the car is charged to 90% because she is clueless about how to read the gauge. The lady had a nasty attitude and I was in a hurry to leave as I had a meeting to attend, so I didn't argue with her. I did a lot prep work ahead of time for this trip and there aren't many charging stations around LGA. There is a mall and LGA's own paid parking, which means you have to pay hefty amount of money for parking while charging. Biz trip took me to Long Island side and there aren't many non-Tesla charging options along the main highways. Charging station next to the hotel was offline due apparent rebrand from ChargePoint to BP, so I had no options. I end up ate/drank at shops with charging station every day, so I can top up. On my final day, route planner suggested I go to the ONLY NY state sponsored high-speed charging station in Commack. When I arrived, 2 out of the 4 ports were not working and I didn't have enough time to wait as 2 cars are charging and they are 50kW-type of fast charging cars and both are near empty at the time. I end up driving like a grandma with AC off (during hot days), so I can squeeze out additional range. I ended up having to stop by a random 7/11 to top off the car a bit, so I rolled into LGA lot with 82%. LGA people are pretty evil in my book. Whether you go into Manhattan, Jersey or Long Island, there just aren't many charging options for you to charge up and have enough buffer to return the car >=80%.. They know this, so they give you the car charged to exactly 80% knowing there is a very high chance you will return it below 80%, so they can charge you $35 fee. Or, they will get the car back charged higher than 80% if the customer overcharge to prevent the fee. The staff was also very rude about the whole thing.

I am eco-friendly and I still would not make a habit of renting EVs in the US. We are far from ready.

Last edited by wlau; Sep 20, 2023 at 1:13 am
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