kurjan

I returned an Avis Chevy Malibu with gas tank full; the system (not the agent who processed the return) incorrectly imposed a fuel service charge on my final bill.

A SUPERVISOR WAS KIND ENOUGH TO ADVISE ME THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH ALL CHEVY MALIBUS IN AVIS'S FLEET. He said he was powerless to fix the situation; all he could do was manually refund the incorrect charge.

It is absolutely unacceptable for Avis to allow this to continue. Until it is fixed, don't accept a Chevy Malibu when renting from Avis.

rasheed

From what I can tell, most Avis agents are doing this automatically. It is a major pain, but the tank is reporting not full back to the Avis electronically.

I am not sure if it is only the Malibu that has the faulty situation, but basically any car that has remote controls on the Avis app are possible for this issue I thought.

Rasheed

kurjan

The supervisor told me it was only Malibu. I've run into the problem twice; both times the agent handling the return had no clue what was going on. So it is an inconvenience for many customers.

Closingracer

I rented a Malibu a few months ago and I returned it with a full tank of gas. It was the LTZ model though which is the older model generation.

kb9522

Wouldn't rent a Malibu anyway.

Buster

I have run into this as well. I got overcharged once, and then the second time, the agent told me that it is indeed a problem with the Malibu. He said that there is something that happens with the Malibu that even when it is full and clicks off, it will never show more than 7/8 full.

GoPhils

So is it a problem with Avis recognizing a full tank as not full, or is it a problem with the Malibu thinking a not full tank is full?

rasheed

It is a problem with the Malibu electronically reporting a value of its tank status that is less than full upon car return.

Rasheed

canyoncar

Apparently this is still an ongoing issue with the 2018 models; I just experienced the exact same scenario that you all have described. Glad I saved my receipt from topping off the car outside the airport. I did not have time to deal with it at the rental office, will report back with how much hassle Avis Customer Service gives me.

Guess I'll avoid Onstar vehicles from now on due to this fuel issue and the constant location monitoring. As I was pulling up to return the car, I got a notification from the app saying "Welcome back" and telling me to use the app's return car feature. Note, the location service was turned off on my phone, so they knew where I was solely from the car's GPS. I find that to be way overreaching.

IAHtraveler

Have a look at this thread for the new details on them tracking renters. Also, it's not just OnStar vehicles. I've had other brands show the exact fuel out and level in the vehicle at any point on my rental. I forget what the brand was, but it wasn't GM. Note that when you have a car assigned in the app that has the advanced fuel gauge, the app will show the exact volume of gas in the vehicle. You can use this info to know if you want that car or not. What I want to know is: What is the delta that Avis is willing to accept without any charge? I've gone back with a delta of 0.2 gallons without any excess charges (this was not my goal. I filled up across the street from SNA and topped off the car as much as I could until the gas slopped out the overflow valve. The car still showed I had 0.2 gallons less than pickup, despite my best efforts to top up).

canyoncar

Thanks for the info. I will look out for cars that have 8/8 tank, instead of a specific gallon amount, in the app from now on.

It has been a while since I've rented from Avis. The last time I did (last summer), you could keep swapping into different cars until you decided on one and drove to the gate. This time, I was assigned an SUV, swapped to the Malibu, and I was "locked in"/the reservation became active- the app told me to drive to the gate, and the rental was moved to the "current rentals" tab. I was no longer given the option to swap or upgrade.

I'm also curious on the fuel amount discrepancy and at what point they begin charging. It also begs the question at what legal leg they have to stand on. These devices are not certified by the state weights and measures department, so how can they say you are 0.2 gallons low, when in your case the tank was overflowing... In my case they said I was 2 gallons low. If the advanced fuel gauges become more common in rental fleets, I can see this becoming more of an issue.

Oh, avis refunded the charge to me without any pushback. I guess that there is no incentive for them to fix this issue, simply collect the refueling charge from unsuspecting renters (or those on an expense account/don't care), and refund the ones that complain.