Hertz rigs fuel gauge to move super slow?!
Dec 3, 2012, 8:49 am
#16
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 376
I can assure you Hertz is not rigging the gas gauges - they would not even begin to know how to do this.
Dec 3, 2012, 1:00 pm
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: SJC, SFO
Programs: Delta DM, IHG Spire, Hertz PC, H.com Gold^3, lowly something on others...
Posts: 1,260
Yep I always fill up about 10-30miles away from where I return it
The cars I constantly get are never fully full anyways, so I just return the favor by playing the game
This gives it time to move back up to F
I am sure they are not going to check every single car and see how much gas they can pump into it and charge every single customer
They would only do this if it's not showing F
The cars I constantly get are never fully full anyways, so I just return the favor by playing the game
This gives it time to move back up to F
I am sure they are not going to check every single car and see how much gas they can pump into it and charge every single customer
They would only do this if it's not showing F
It depends on the station but I can tell this is being enforced because for cities like PDX and SEA, all the cars I've gotten are FULL-FULL. This is actually a good thing for consumers because I have gotten cars with digital gauge that shows full at rental but I could barely get out of the airport before a lose a bar on the digital gauge.
The problem I have, doesn't have a good option for me, Hertz wins in all cases. Because the gauge is slow, they could/would bill for the gas on the receipt at the time of return. However, I am very sure by the time they clean and top off, the gauge would have returned to FULL. The cleaning person won't be able to top off much gas, but that doesn't matter, because I was already billed.
I have been a Hertz customers for well over 10 years and maintained my status in all those years. I only noticed this is becoming a very common issue recently. For some reason, all the car SNA Hertz rent out seems to have slow moving gauges. I dont have similar issue at SEA or PDX and the gas station there are equally close to the Hertz return lot.
Dec 3, 2012, 1:35 pm
#18
Moderator: National Car
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: SE MI
Programs: Delta PM, National EE, Hertz PC, Hilton DM
Posts: 2,168
First of all, like others, I don't think Hertz is systematically modifying gas gauges on their cars. Besides all of the consumer issues such a move would cause, the expense of modifying the fuel systems for hundreds of thousands of cars would certainly negate any profits to be earned from overcharging customers for an extra gallon or two of gas.
If the car is actually full when you return it, you won't get billed. If Hertz is actually doing what you say (fill up to top at time of vacuum and cleaning), and you returned the car full, you should not be charged anything regardless of what the gas gauge reads, especially if you have your receipt from a nearby gas station.
I can't see how a greeter would even be able to do what you say in the first place. Say the gauge is down 1/8, and reads 7/8, even though you just filled up. There is no way the greeter would even know how much to charge you for that 1/8; they would note it in the system as "not returned full" and then you'd be assessed the charges for what it takes to top the car off. For example, 1/8 of a tank on a Ford Taurus is not the same as on a Town and Country or a Dodge Ram. In such a scenario, what would you be billed? 2 gallons? 3 gallons? Greeter's choice? You can see how arbitrary this would be and how in practice impossible to implement. In truth, this is no different than the other reported cases on this forum of Hertz charging for fuel when it shouldn't. The same advice given in those threads holds true here. Save your receipt and the charges will be dropped in almost every case. If you're especially concerned, start taking a picture of the fuel gauge and the time stamp on there will verify the full tank.
The only possible way that this makes sense would be for them to charge whatever fuel it takes to top it off at cleaning time.
If the car is actually full when you return it, you won't get billed. If Hertz is actually doing what you say (fill up to top at time of vacuum and cleaning), and you returned the car full, you should not be charged anything regardless of what the gas gauge reads, especially if you have your receipt from a nearby gas station.
I can't see how a greeter would even be able to do what you say in the first place. Say the gauge is down 1/8, and reads 7/8, even though you just filled up. There is no way the greeter would even know how much to charge you for that 1/8; they would note it in the system as "not returned full" and then you'd be assessed the charges for what it takes to top the car off. For example, 1/8 of a tank on a Ford Taurus is not the same as on a Town and Country or a Dodge Ram. In such a scenario, what would you be billed? 2 gallons? 3 gallons? Greeter's choice? You can see how arbitrary this would be and how in practice impossible to implement. In truth, this is no different than the other reported cases on this forum of Hertz charging for fuel when it shouldn't. The same advice given in those threads holds true here. Save your receipt and the charges will be dropped in almost every case. If you're especially concerned, start taking a picture of the fuel gauge and the time stamp on there will verify the full tank.
The only possible way that this makes sense would be for them to charge whatever fuel it takes to top it off at cleaning time.
Last edited by dwbf11; Dec 3, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Dec 3, 2012, 4:05 pm
#19
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,638
The problem I have, doesn't have a good option for me, Hertz wins in all cases. Because the gauge is slow, they could/would bill for the gas on the receipt at the time of return. However, I am very sure by the time they clean and top off, the gauge would have returned to FULL. The cleaning person won't be able to top off much gas, but that doesn't matter, because I was already billed.
it sounds like you found a hertz location that has figured out it can get some easy money by taking advantage of a known mechanical issue with gas tank gauges. it is not hard to imagine that you are billed to "fill" a car whose gauge does not show the tank to be completely full, but no additional gas is added to the tank before it's rented out again (with a "full" tank, of course).
i doubt they ever top off the tank. they just take your money and hope you don't complain. if you complain enough, they'll take the fuel charge off, but expect the same routine the next time you return a car.
my advice is to document every time this happens, and complain in writing to the hertz location, hertz corporate, the SNA airport authority, and the attorney general.
Dec 8, 2012, 3:13 pm
#21
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: SJC, SFO
Programs: Delta DM, IHG Spire, Hertz PC, H.com Gold^3, lowly something on others...
Posts: 1,260
I can't see how a greeter would even be able to do what you say in the first place. Say the gauge is down 1/8, and reads 7/8, even though you just filled up. There is no way the greeter would even know how much to charge you for that 1/8; they would note it in the system as "not returned full" and then you'd be assessed the charges for what it takes to top the car off.
Hertz had a new policy earlier this year. If your drive less then 25 (or was that 50) miles during your rental, the handheld unit automatically populate the gas is not full field to "yes". The return attendant has to override and many forget to do so (accidentally or intentionally). I did a lot of rental for one day meeting, where my round trip is less than 20 miles and I have seen this happen repeatedly. In fact, one return attendant showed me the handheld screen.
What I am saying is that I've noticed Hertz has tighten up significantly in 2012 regarding gas. They are finding every way to charge you for gas, even though you filled it up. The fact is the fuel charge is buried under many line items and most people don't even notice it, unless you rent enough to know the system, or you are very careful with reading the receipt.
Dec 8, 2012, 3:35 pm
#22
Company Representative - Hertz
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 4
I work for Hertz, we would never rig a fuel gauge. If you’re refueling just before you return and presenting a receipt and the location employee still insists on charging you, that is unacceptable and a problem I will fix. Send me a private note and I will take care of the issue. For the record, our policy is if the gauge reads full, and you put gas in the car before you returned, we will not charge you for fuel. That said, many renters drive few enough miles that the gauge still reads full, but they don't put any gas in the car before returning and may expect not to be charged for the fuel used since the guage is still full. However, fuel was used and we expect the customer to either replace the fuel, or be honest with us that they did not refuel and we charge them. Believe it or not, some customers are not honest.
Dec 10, 2012, 12:56 pm
#23
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Retired in Houston, TX
Programs: Platinum-CO-DL-Priority Club WN A-list Diomond-Hilton-BW Gold-Choice Hertz Presidents Club
Posts: 305
If the gauge is slow, as on some cars, the gauge will not be on full when you start the car on pick-up. I had this happen just last week at MCI. When I left the gate, I told the attendent that the tank was not full. He marked my contract as 3/4 full, and that was how I returned it.
Dec 10, 2012, 2:30 pm
#24
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 45
My experience with topping off fuel is that if you fill the tank with the engine running, the gauge will not quickly adjust to the F setting. I have now made a habit of turning off engine before popping the gas cap open to refuel. This seems to quickly reset the computer upon restart of the engine.
Just my own obeservation.
Just my own obeservation.
Dec 10, 2012, 4:16 pm
#25
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: NYC
Programs: AS MVPG, DL KM, Bee Six, Bonvoy Plat, Avis PC, Natl Exec, Greyhound Road Rewards Z"L
Posts: 16,660
My experience with topping off fuel is that if you fill the tank with the engine running, the gauge will not quickly adjust to the F setting. I have now made a habit of turning off engine before popping the gas cap open to refuel. This seems to quickly reset the computer upon restart of the engine.
Just my own obeservation.
Just my own obeservation.
-J.
Dec 10, 2012, 5:14 pm
#26
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: ORD
Programs: AA ExPlat (2MM), Marriott LT Titanium
Posts: 291
Hertz rigs fuel gauge to move super slow?!
Noticed this for first time the other day at LAX; Nissan Altima. I told the rep I filled it even though the gauge was showing well below F. No issues with crediting me for F return.
Jun 10, 2022, 8:19 am
#27
Join Date: Jun 2022
Posts: 1
I have been having multiple issues with cars rented from SNA Hertz and I started to think it's more than just my bad luck, that Hertz is perhaps rigging the fuel gauge to move really slow, so they can bill customers for fuel even if customer fills up the tank.
I rent from SNA Hertz for work regularly. My company pays for fuel and has a policy that we must fill up the tank before returning a rental car, to avoid fuel charges from Hertz. There is a Chevron gas station at the entrance of SNA, about 2 min drive to the Hertz return lot. I would always fill up until the gas gun pops and then top off once or twice to make sure the tank is indeed full. However, even after the 2 min drive, the fuel gauge meter would still not return to FULL and sometimes can take up 30 min or more to return to the FULL position. The return attendants would refuse to mark the fuel as full even though I show them the fuel receipt from the airport Chevron that reflected more than ample amount of gas for the miles driven. I would then have to escalate to the duty manager to get the issue resolved. The return attendant would insist the car is not full but after the 30 min or longer escalation discussion with the manager, the gauge would show FULL when we re-check the vehicle. This certainly vindicates me but cost me a great deal of frustration and time and even caused me to miss one of my flights.
This issue has happened to my last 3+ rentals (of different make and model) at this SNA Hertz. My repeated escalations about this issue has caused friction between the station staff and myself. I even spoke to the station manager Ed, but he could careless, and asked what do I expect his staff to do if the gauge is not showing full. It's hard for me to argue against that but the fact the gauge takes so long to return to FULL is just a bit too convenient for his argument. I have never had a slow gauge in any of my personal vehicles. None of my friends or family had experienced it with their cars. For most of us, after you fill up the tank and restart the engine, the gauge would return to FULL or pass FULL in a matter of 5-10 seconds, not 30+ minutes.
This type of instances happen very rarely in the old days and usually ony happens to digital fuel gauges. However, this is occuring to almost all of my recent rentals at this Hertz, digital or analog gauges. I just can't imagine my luck is this bad at getting a stream of near-new car with defective fuel gauges... I even changed gas station but still have the same issue.
Has anyone else experienced similar issue as me?
I rent from SNA Hertz for work regularly. My company pays for fuel and has a policy that we must fill up the tank before returning a rental car, to avoid fuel charges from Hertz. There is a Chevron gas station at the entrance of SNA, about 2 min drive to the Hertz return lot. I would always fill up until the gas gun pops and then top off once or twice to make sure the tank is indeed full. However, even after the 2 min drive, the fuel gauge meter would still not return to FULL and sometimes can take up 30 min or more to return to the FULL position. The return attendants would refuse to mark the fuel as full even though I show them the fuel receipt from the airport Chevron that reflected more than ample amount of gas for the miles driven. I would then have to escalate to the duty manager to get the issue resolved. The return attendant would insist the car is not full but after the 30 min or longer escalation discussion with the manager, the gauge would show FULL when we re-check the vehicle. This certainly vindicates me but cost me a great deal of frustration and time and even caused me to miss one of my flights.
This issue has happened to my last 3+ rentals (of different make and model) at this SNA Hertz. My repeated escalations about this issue has caused friction between the station staff and myself. I even spoke to the station manager Ed, but he could careless, and asked what do I expect his staff to do if the gauge is not showing full. It's hard for me to argue against that but the fact the gauge takes so long to return to FULL is just a bit too convenient for his argument. I have never had a slow gauge in any of my personal vehicles. None of my friends or family had experienced it with their cars. For most of us, after you fill up the tank and restart the engine, the gauge would return to FULL or pass FULL in a matter of 5-10 seconds, not 30+ minutes.
This type of instances happen very rarely in the old days and usually ony happens to digital fuel gauges. However, this is occuring to almost all of my recent rentals at this Hertz, digital or analog gauges. I just can't imagine my luck is this bad at getting a stream of near-new car with defective fuel gauges... I even changed gas station but still have the same issue.
Has anyone else experienced similar issue as me?
Jun 10, 2022, 9:29 am
#28
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Salt Lake City
Programs: Delta, Hertz, Hilton, Marriott
Posts: 4,921
Jun 10, 2022, 1:30 pm
#29
Moderator, Hertz; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: KRK
Programs: UA 1MM, BA GGL, Hyatt Glob, Hilton Diamond and others
Posts: 12,689
As this thread is a decade old (before it was bumped), I'll close it.
Jason8612 Hertz Mod
Jason8612 Hertz Mod