NoSleepTillMnhtn

I returned a local rental car on an Enterprise reservation the other day that incurred a charge for 1 gallon of gas (2021 Chevy Malibu). In all fairness, we filled it up 10 miles away at a Costco before returning, but the analog needle was still pegged far right of the Full mark.

Inquired how/why they assumed to charge 1 gallon... the branch assistant commented that their new cars have a monitor that reports the gas and mileage electronically, down to a fraction of a gallon. I imagine this is based on the consumption reported by the car's computer.

Assuming National can do this as well since they share the same cars, but I haven't seen this on a National return yet. Have any of you?

Time to invest in those inflated priced gas stations posted up outside rental lots...

aww3583

Yes. Ran into this on my last return. Check-in agent says the vehicle communicates to his hand-held check-in device via Bluetooth. Their intent is to start charging for fractions of a gallon. He recommended bringing a physical receipt from the fill-up indicating the address of the gas station. Three mile limit.

Auto Enthusiast

What happens when the closest gas station is more than 3 miles away? Ex 5 miles from White Plains to HPN.

NBNY424

Interesting- i noticed this too recently. I had rented an older Chrysler300 from Avis and returned it just on the Full line, and no charge. A week later for second half of my trip I returned a brand new Altima, and I had filled it up well past the F line but then drove about 2-3 miles. I was charged like $5 automatically despite location of the gauge, and thought they must have a new way of monitoring it.

NoSleepTillMnhtn

Does anyone market a 1 gallon, collapsible gasoline jug? We can then simply add that to our travel bags for gasoline top-offs when we get to the airport!

NoSleepTillMnhtn

This then begs the question... when you check out with a car that unknowingly has fractionally less than "full," does the system keep this in mind, or does the rental agency log it as 100% full and use this as a way to double earn... charge the returning customer for the fractional shortfall, not "top it off" during the turn-around, and effectively force the pick-up customer to add the missing gas when they fill up before returning.

xienon

With National, I've only noticed they do this for GM cars (Chevy, GMC, Cadillac). I've been charged like half a gallon several times I had GM cars when I guesstimated how much to fill up.

Avis claims they have this capability for their entire fleet.

Often1

These have been around for 4-5 years. Nothing new. Makes all the sense in the world.

kxc262

Good thing I avoid GM rental cars...

Recently completed an Avis rental with a 2021 Explorer (brand new - 3 miles) and it was still a manual fuel gauge read at return.
Had a 2020 Range Rover Velar from Avis and it was also a manual fuel gauge read at return too.

NoSleepTillMnhtn

Hmmm. That intrigues me. You've seen this before in the past 4 years at National or another company like Avis?

kxc262

Avis has been doing this for a while with digital fuel gauge monitoring.

Avis Fuel Surcharge Master Thread

btonkid12345

It would only make sense if the implementation was such where it was fair for both the agency and the renter.

It is not, in this case, until the renter can also view the fuel tank levels to 1 decimal point the same as the agency can. Currently, we cannot until return, and must trust them, instead of our eyes.

If I could see the exact fuel level at all times - including pickup - I would be happy to refuel to that level. Otherwise, it is a money grab for the agency because the gage shows full but they are saying it is not exactly full....

bocastephen

Of course this is what they're doing - you could be going out with less fuel than you think because someone returned it 1-2 gallons down and was charged, then you'll be charged if you drop it off in the same condition. Not sure how they accurately monitor gas going in, then gas going out through the fuel injectors. Do they know for sure down to the fraction of a gallon how much was added, and is that device calibrated accurately, and calibrated by who and to what standard? That could be an avenue to dispute the charge.

cayohueso

This is an avenue as most states require permits to operate a measuring device in commerce, just like the seals or stamps you see on the gas pumps and scales. If they are charging you based on they actually put in the fuel tank, then that's legit but if it's off a read-out then that would be another matter.

downinit

Time to start overfilling the tank before returning. You may damage the vapor recovery system, but at least you will not get charged for that.

Assuming a car gets 25 mpg, you would only burn up 20% of a gallon filling up 5 miles from the airport. It sounds like people are getting charged way more than they should be, and I don't see how this could hold up in court if it were properly pursued. They would also need to verify that the tank is at 100% when it goes out the door, which it almost certainly will not be. Hopefully, our nation of lawyers gets on top of this absurdity sometime soon. Telematics can certainly be quite useful for a fleet, but there needs to be legal oversight and regulations when it starts being used for commercial transactions.