Renters who don't fill up on gas quite all the way to F...
 

I'm sure you've experienced this but just wanted to see how common it is here.

I've had 2 rentals in the last month where I could tell the last person try to get by with as little gas as possible so that the needle looks like it's right at F.

With most cars these days, if you actually fill up full (ie, let the gas pump auto shut off) the needle usually will be a tad bit over past the F mark, unless it's a digital gauge.

Had a Wrangler that had the needle just barely hitting F (depending on the angle, it looked like it was already to F) and as I drove only about 15min you can tell the needle gauge started dropping fast....meaning it definitely was not filled up all the way as usually it takes a while for the gas needle to start dropping.

Had a 430i convertible where it was quite clear the needle was just a tad below F....again clearly people trying to save...what $2-3 at the pump?

/end rant

Maybe they are just stopping when they hit a round number to save messing about with change when it comes to payment?

Or maybe it was employees using the cars (outside of a contract) and then stopping to drive it as soon as they saw the needle moving.

POtentially. Though the vast majority here in the US use credit cards for gas.

Sounds like a nice way to find yourself out of a job. (of course I'll defer to those who have managerial experience with rental car companies....as I don't reasonably see how employees can take the car for other uses other than within their job description)

I presume most rental locations have the parking/storage area close enough to the cleaning area/customer lots that it won't have any negligible gas use if driven withing normal employee duties/distances. Not sure how an employee can take it for a joy ride to cause significant change in gasoline levels.

At the HNL location (the 430), the return lot is right next to the cleaning stations which is right next to the parking garage that houses the cars/customer lots. At the ITO location (the Wrangler), it's such a small airport that the SAME parking lot is used for storage/customer pickup and customer return.

I've spoken to a few shift managers (not just Avis) who said they're allowed to take a car home. Not sure if that's an official perk or a regional manager allowing it. Or they could be sitting in it to keep warm in it (seen this a lot by return agents in cold weather during slower periods). Or moving employees for off-site cleanings/etc. Usually done with a mini/passenger van but not always.

Interesting. Could be a manager taking the car home I suppose. I've definitely seen cars idling (with radio/music going on) as it's waiting to be prepped/cleaned. And I can definitely understand in colder areas that employees need to keep warm in the frigid cold.

Doesn't really matter.

As part of prepping a car for a new rental, it ought to be topped up. Whether that is because the last renter did not fill the tank or only partially filled it is irrelevant. Before the car goes back out, someone fills the tank.

I completely agree that this *should* be the policy, but the rental companies know they'd lose a ton if they did they. They're better off to ignore it and only fix it if someone complains about a specific rental. For example, I got in a huge SUV earlier this week. I got 10 miles off-site and realized the gas tank was at 7/8. I know it's a gas guzzler, but 10 miles or ~0.5 gallons of gas can't drop the gauge that much. And since I was already gone, it was too late to say/do anything.

First, this thread is a criticism of consumers who do not top off the tank to Full. My point is simply that ---- appropriate or not ---- that should not affect the next consumer.
Second, the rental company would be free to charge its local outrageous price + a fee which is far from a money-loser. Someone who returns a vehicle with 0.5 gallons to top off, would be charged the 0.5 gallons at whatever the rate is + a fee, often in the $10 range.

Finally, if you find that your vehicle was not full because it drops to 7/8 or 3/4 or whatever, in just a few miles, make a point of complaining at return or sending a note to the rental company. Many locations simply credit some amount on the spot and others will eventually get around to it.

The vast majority of cars I rent have average MPG displays in the dash. I reset those and the trip odometer when I start the rental. At the end, I do the quick math on how much fuel I used, and add that back, plus usually a dollar or so.

What are you on about?

Deal mainly with National or Enterprise and they require one to return vehicle with same amount of gas as when taken out. If you return with less then either you'll be charged or not (if signed up for refuel option).

In any event a vehicle that is to be returned on "Full" (F) means just that. For my purposes and one assumes a great many others this means just that; needle or whatever reading *FULL*. If it goes a bit beyond that so much the better, but that is *NOT* any sort of mandatory condition for return.

Yes, many times have taken out a vehicle and barely gotten two blocks before needle or whatever moved off "F". So what of it? I check the gauge before heading out to make sure it agrees with what is written/entered on the receipt. If when vehicle is turned on and the needle moves off "F", that is a different matter.

When returning vehicle to Manhattan, NYC for instance nearly always fill up in New Jersey or at least outside of the city. Gas is cheaper and more easily found (gas stations are closing at a rapid clip here, as properties are sold for redevelopment into luxury housing).

For most mid-size vehicles and a good number of SUVs can get from say South New Jersey into Manhattan, park, and next day take the thing back to National and the gas gauge still reads at "F" or maybe slightly over. It is not part of my rental agreement to provide National nor the next driver with *free gas* to drive off.

On an unrelated note have given up counting how many times National or Enterprise have given me vehicles with less than a full tank (Enterprise here is famous for giving out things that are often 1/3 or 1/4 full) with the implied request to bring it back full. Yes, they say "bring it back with same amount you left with". But also is added "we will credit you for the fuel if you bring it back with more...". It isn't easy to get a vehicle filled to just 1/8, 1/4, 7/8, etc... but if the rental place isn't going to credit me back my cost of gas, will do my best to bring it back as found.

On another unrelated topic National, Enterprise and the rest nearly always charge customers a refueling surcharge either for not bringing vehicle back with proper amount of gas, or customer paid for the refueling option. However it does *NOT* always follow the vehicle will be taken and topped up.

Asked both Enterprise and National managers/counter reps about this and their answer was clear; they don't always have the staff to drive a vehicle to local gas station, so they just send it back out "as is".

Aside from maybe some airport locations not every car rental office has access to a gas pump. Nor are many always located near where one can find gas either. Meanwhile they've charged one customer for a service that was not provided. Unless the next customer does refill and receives credit for excess gas, car rental place has made *free money*. Multiply this over an entire system and or calendar year and you've got some serious money.

All fine for locations that are larger and may have pumps on site, but most smaller/mid-sized locations and local rental places do not have onsite stations, so they would have to take each vehicle offsite, fill it up and then bring it back. Seriously, not worth the effort, expense or risk (every time an employee takes a vehicle off premise, they are adding risk to the company in terms of an accident).

Don't some agreements require that if you turned down all the fuel options that you return the car at the same fuel gauge reading but you have a receipt from a gas station in "X" miles of the rental location?
Then how can you fill up in NJ and return to NY?

Of course I've only been asked for a receipt once and that was for a one day rental of 6 miles (3am arrival and all cabs had left, pre-uber).

Great point. Let's assume I pick up a car with half a tank, and later need to refuel. But, the car is not due back for several days. I buy a full tank, expecting to use another half. Return time comes and my prediction was right. No need to visit the nearest gas station, and hence no receipt within 5 miles.

That may be true for *some* master agreements, but not from National (where I do a majority of my rentals), nor even local Enterprise. Have heard that Hertz plays that kind of game, which is another reason tends to avoid.

National only cares that you bring vehicle back with same fuel as when it went out, or have taken the refueling option. This and or as some sort of courtesy the vehicle will be marked going out as "empty" or whatever and you don't have to worry.

In my years with National they have been through several owners and assorted fiscal worries. That tends to influence things on the ground IMHO. There was a time when they wouldn't give credit if you brought vehicle back with more gas than you took it out with, now at least in my experience they gladly will refund any excess. Since most of my rentals are from Manhattan or other urban locations one assumes they are glad of this because as noted above refueling is a hassle.

What is this "topped up" you are referring?

It is my understanding that while a common practice it is not wise to fill a tank after the nozzle "clicks" indicating it is full. If the gauge reads "FULL" then there is an end to things.

Again some of you seem to feel there is some sort of natural right for rented vehicles to have a "grace period" of free gas for you to drive off; this simply is not true.

Back when gas was reaching or above $5/gallon (and conveniently National was low on compact/fuel efficient vehicles but loaded with SUVs and other gas guzzlers), there was no way was going to "give away " gas to National and or next renter. I did my job; brought the vehicle back with gauge reading same as when it left. If one had to use various tricks such as coasting or whatever to minimize fuel use after refilling, so be it.

Managers get a company car. Non-management employees do not get that perk, and being caught driving a vehicle off-premises without a valid business use is grounds for termination. (And yes, I've had to fire people who have done that.)

Manager cars work differently with each company. For some, they get a car assigned to them for a week and then trade it out each week. Others simply choose something left over on the lot at the end of the day. Usually, they are restricted to the normal car classes and aren't allowed to take vans/SUVs or the various higher-level collection cars. There is a process for checking the car back in, and the car does get serviced and (if necessary) refueled, just as a customer return would be. The cars often come back a good bit below full because gas is typically included with this perk.

Business uses for detailers (and other front-end staff, like return agents, counter sales agents, etc., who might help fill in) driving cars around are limited to:

• Customer pick-ups/drop-offs
• Shuttling vehicles between locations
• Taking cars to/from the dealer or body shop for repair
• Transporting employees between locations (typically there is a dedicated "shuttle van" for this, but depending on the operation, a rental fleet vehicle may be used)

Generally, the distances driven are not enough to materially affect the fuel level in the car. Some that use a gallon or more may slip through without being refueled before rental, but it's a very small number compared to the number of vehicles rented in any given day (like a couple of percent at most). The vast majority of vehicles rented out short of a full tank are due to the previous customer not returning it completely full (but full enough to not get noticed and the car pulled for refueling).

It generally is, at least at airport locations or other locations with on-site fuel pumps. Some locations even push this further: a friend of mine managed Avis in SFO and they had fuel pumps collocated with the vacuums. Every car got refueled while it was being vacuumed, whether or not it appeared to need it. In most other places, the fuel pumps are in a separate area, and a vehicle is only taken there if the detailer pulling it around notices that the gauge is low. You can see how it sometimes gets missed--there's a human element there, and it's easily not noticed, especially when they're under the wire to work quickly and get cars turned ASAP for an empty lot with waiting customers. A well-trained crew with good oversight, though, should not regularly forget to notice the fuel gauge.

The operation I worked for had a policy that if the tank took less than one gallon, the customer was not billed. The rule was that the vehicle needed to be filled up within 10 miles of return (side note: annoyingly, several Hertz locations have recently told me the new standard is 5 miles). 10 miles can easily be half a gallon, depending on driving style. Combine that with idling time, customers not topping off, the vehicle being driven around the rental lot before being serviced, etc., and anything less than a gallon and you really can't fault the previous customer. Plus, the relatively small charge would not cover either the costs of processing and sending the invoice or receipt to the customer nor the customer service badwill that results from disputes about such matters. And TBH, when I've gotten in a car that I can tell is not quite full and have stopped to fill it up, it always takes at least 2-3 gallons, and often more, so being one gallon short is not what we're talking about here.

My preferred defense against being shorted gas is: if the needle isn't clearly well over the F mark as it should be, I stop at the first gas station I see and fill up. I then take a photo of the receipt sitting next to the odometer. Upon return at the rental office, I show that photo (and also have the receipt, if they need it) and ask for that amount to be deducted from my bill. They are always understanding and apologetic.

Incorrect. If the rental company rents you a vehicle that is marked to be full, the tank should actually be full, irrespective of what the needle says, and your obligation is also to return it actually full. A full tank means the tank is full: an 18.5-gallon tank should have 18.5 gallons of gas in it, or at least some amount between about 17.5 and 18.5 gallons.

Claiming otherwise simply contributes to the problem brought up by the OP.

Then the vehicle was not filled up before returning, and you should be credited. Take a photo showing the fuel gauge and the odometer and ask for a credit when you return.

It is quite easy to fill up in NJ at the cheap stations near the entrance of the Holland Tunnel or a short detour off NJ-495 or I-95 and still make it to the rental office within the respective 10- (or even 5-) mile limit. This should not contribute greatly to the amount of fuel used unless perhaps you are trying to drive the entire length and width of Manhattan in peak-of-peak rush hour.

When you return "over the F," you are not giving the next driver free gas. You are returning the car exactly as it should have been given to you. If you do not return it actually full, then you are stealing gas from the next customer. If it wasn't given to you that way, then you should get a credit.

It sounds like you're basing your arguments and experience on renting cars in NYC. Realize that off-airport rentals are a small fraction of total rentals. The OP here was almost certainly referring to renting on-airport, which accounts for the vast majority of all total rental volume in the United States.

Off-airport locations usually do not have on-site refueling options (it's the rare one that does), hence the "bring it back at the same level" rule. One of the most annoying things about Enterprise is that they follow that rule even when the tank is practically empty. I believe corporate policy is they're not supposed to do that if the fuel is below a certain level (half, maybe?) but that rule gets ignored when time and staff are tight (which, with Enterprise, is par for the course).

Conversely, all but the smallest airports have on-site fueling stations and all vehicles should go out full.

You are correct that just because a customer is charged a refueling fee does not mean the car is actually filled up. In theory, it works out: if the car starts its life full when it's brand new, and the next renter returns it 1/4 tank short and is charged for 1/4 tank and the following renter returns it another 1/8 short and is charged for 1/8 tank, and then a third renter returns it yet another 1/4 tank short (so now on 3/8), then the car is taken to a fueling station and 5/8 worth of a tank of gas is added to the car, equaling exactly what those three customers paid for in total. In practice, with people bringing the car back with more gas than they got and not getting credited, they do make a little money off of this. With Enterprise, though, it's not a significant contributor to their bottom line since they don't charge a huge premium over pump price (whereas most other companies charge well more than double or even triple).

Off-airport locations that practice the "return at the same level you get it at" typically do not ask for a receipt. Receipts are only asked for at locations where the tank is expected to be returned full. That has 100% matched my personal experience as well.

"Topped up" or "topped off" can colloquially mean "filled up" as well as "filling the tank beyond the nozzle automatically clicking off." I suspect Often1 meant the former.

Regarding topping off: I typically "top off" rental cars to the second click. The first click often happens if the nozzle is finicky (I've even had it click off after only putting 1 gallon in an obviously-empty tank...surely you would not then argue that that car is full!). Too many times I let it stop at the first click and got in and drove away only to see the tank was only 3/4 or 7/8 full. The second click won't hurt anything; what does potentially cause damage is repeatedly filling the tank above its normal capacity as it tends to make fuel get into the charcoal canister or carbon filter, impairing performance.

I rented at an HLE before and the car only had 50% fuel. I filled it up completely before returning the car to be on the safe side and had no issues.

Other than that, every car that I can remember that I've rented from airports had full tanks.

Well being as all this may just picked up my Christmas ride and it is only 7/8ths full. Will see how one feels about topping up on way back home. *LOL*

On many newer cars, Avis is using tools that automatically report fuel quantity remotely from the car. It doesn't work perfectly yet, but it is progress.

Thankfully, on those rare occasions where I get a less than full tank upon start of rental as long as it was properly marked on the agreement, if I bring it back full, I have automatically received a credit for that extra gas without asking.

Rasheed

If you're really unhappy with the tank not being full, you could immediately fill the tank at a station close to the rental car office as soon as you pick up the car. If you can put in 2.5 gallons, then you can complain.

I have experienced a less than full tank but that is not that common. Fortunately, not everyone is a cheapskate and fraudster.

Renting a car from midtown Manhattan is a different story. There are no gas stations in Manhattan below Harlem. At least none that I know of. The Mobil station on the west side closed long time ago.

IME, that is how Avis/Budget's computer system is programmed.

Hertz/Dollar/Thrifty's and Enterprise/Alamo/National's systems are not programmed to do that.

There are several gas stations left below 125th Street, if you know where to look.

Shell, 1855 1st Avenue at 96th

Shell, 1599 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10029

BP, FDR Drive & E 23rd St, New York, NY 10010

Mobil, 718 11th Ave, New York

Redundant

My OP was quite clear and a later poster who actually works/worked in a rental car location in a managerial position answered and discussed MANY good details/insights.

Very interesting.

Very good point. I should've done this.

I had another rental out of OGG this past Christmas weekend, and the gas gauge needle was just a tad bit below F. I should've stopped at the first gas station, took a photo and get the gas receipt for reimbursement.

I'll need to be MUCH more strict/careful about this.

jackal, I just want to say thank you for taking your time to provide true insight from someone who has actually worked in this industry and giving very helpful and interesting tidbits. I won't quote your entire post for the sake of computer screen real estate.

I will take this to heart and be VERY diligent about checking the gas gauge when I take out a car next time (which will be very soon again!). I don't know why I didn't think of this strategy but you're right...if I suspect being shorted on gas I will need to stop by the 1st station and get filled up and take photo/document the receipt/mileage/gallons spent.

I just rented a Maxima out of OGG this past weekend that I think had similar issues, but somehow that didn't occur to me at the time to use that strategy. Will keep this in mind most definitely.

I'm National EE but my personality has always been a bit more meek/deferring/not stirring trouble, but from now on I'll need to be much more careful about the gas issue since I've had at least 2 times now in the past 2 months this has happened. Could be that I'm renting alot out of the various Hawaiian islands and gasoline is definitely not the cheapest thing you can buy here, unlike pineapple. The lone gas station on the east side of Maui, in Hana, charges about $5/gallon. The Costco gas station in Kahului is nearly always full of long long lines....I can see how some renters may be in rush for a flight and just decide to return the car instead of waiting potentially 15+min to get into a pump

Thanks again. Cheers ^

this is largely a gray area IMO. Full is full. What's the difference? Maybe 1 gal max? Got cars that were barely full and probably returned some where I filled gas 10 miles outside the airport and did not bother filling 0.2 gal again ... it all averages out IMO.

I usually refill until the point I picked up the car, but a significant factor that's not being consideredis that many gas nozzles with vapor recovery do not let you fill the tank that much.
Usually the first shutoff (when you are supposed to stop filling) will occur will a gallon still possible in many cars.

Personally, I do not get that worked up over the issue. However, I do get worked up when I get a half tank of gas and the counter agent puts FULL on the contract. When that happens, I top off the tank at the nearest location (which happens to be the cheapest) and turn in the receipt at check-in. That demonstrates that the tank was not full. Since I deal with the same Hertz LE, I do NOT get any flack, especially since most of my rentals are $995-120/ week including taxes.

As for the Enterprise system, it is a rip off. It is difficult to make sure that you are not overfilling on the last fill-up of the trip.

I don't remember the last time I put gas in a rental car before returning it. Sometimes, if it was a short trip, i don't get hit with a gas charge. The needle says "full" (or close enough) and the rental car agent calls it full. Sometimes I've driven the car for a day or two and I get hit for half a tank, maybe more. Well, I used it, why not pay for it? Yeah, it would be less expensive if I found a gas station and filled it myself. Guess what? Most gas stations near airports have higher prices for the gas at the pumps. Especially if it's right off the freeway at the exit just before the airport.

I used to be religious about filling up before returning the rental car - but then I had to find the right gas station. And if I didn't know my way around, I could easily see stopping late at night in a bad section of town. So, screw it, I return it as it - and pay the higher cost per gallon. 99.9998% of the time it's a business rental and I don't get too worked up about it. The times that it's a personal rental and I might be paying a bit more for gas? Convenience.

I think it's at the Thrifty at LAX (or maybe all Thrifty lots) where the policy is that if you've driven the car less than 50 miles, you have to show them a receipt for a gallone or two of gas. I guess they figure that if you've driven at least 50 miles, the gas gauge is visibly lower than when you picked up the car and it's you should know to fill it up or be charged for not filling it up.

What bugs me: the gas stations near the airport never seem to have paper in the receipt printer at the pump.
I will admit to renting a compact car at SJC, driving it less than 12 miles, and returning it without filling up because I was running late and the needle was still above F. I owe the universe a quart of gas.
I've also returned a rental there once with less than F because I couldn't find the unlabeled black fuel door release inside the black center storage bin of an unfamiliar car at night. But I was completely up-front about it and the rental company let it slide. I can only hope they filled it before renting it since it was obvious.
I know when IND opened at the new location the closest gas station I found open was several miles away, so even filling it above F somebody probably had to put in a few extra ounces of fuel at some point.

On your personal rentals--it's your money and your time...but if gas is $2.25 out in the city, it might be $2.50 at the airport. Even if it's $3 at the airport, it's still a far cry from the $10/gal the rental agencies charge, so you're tossing quite a large sum of money away (completely needlessly). On your business rentals--if you honestly don't care about that because it's a business rental and you don't have any remorse making your company unnecessarily pay $10/gal, well, then I'll just say I hope I haven't had the opportunity to buy products from such a wasteful company that allows its employees to be so careless with their expenses.

I rent 40-50 cars a year and have literally never once had an issue finding a gas station to fill up at before return, even when I'm cutting it to the wire and returning the car 45 minutes before the flight's departure.

Avis and Budget have that policy, too, and the cut-off with them is 75 miles. I believe Hertz/Dollar/Thrifty have some form of that policy but it is not at all enforced, IME--but then again, and especially when I'm renting at LAX, I'm usually driving 200 or 500 or 1,000 miles, not 30, so that policy doesn't come up for me that often.

7/8 isn't necessarily empty
 

I rented a mid-size SUV a few weeks ago. When I got to the airport, it turned out to be a gigantic monster SUV.
The gauge clearly was under the F - and I noted this when I checked out the car. A notation was duly made by the Hertz rep.
When returning the car, I filled it all the way up. Click and click again.
And guess what? The gauge was in the same (not F) position.
I don't know if this is an SUV thing, but the tank isn't necessarily not full...
Check the gauge - take a pic with your cell phone if it looks low at checkout or soon after. Never had a problem if I noted before returning that the starting point was low.

I've had a variation on this once. U-haul, local rental. Needle on the F when I left the lot, I fill up before returning it and it takes a lot more fuel than I would have thought. Gauge: Way, way past the F. Took some arguing, they ended up knocking some off the bill. Something had to be wrong with the gauge. (It did work, I think the needle wasn't properly aligned with the markings. It's hard to picture it being a profitable scam to siphon fuel out down to the F.)

I've complained to Avis when the gas level either was slightly below "F" or declined precipitously within a mile or two of pickup - and generally Avis has given me a $3-5 credit, either on the spot when I'm returning the car or as an adjustment to the charge. As for finding a gas station to fill up before returning the car - I always ask someone from the rental agency what's closest, cheapest, and safest along my route back to the airport. The staff usually know.

Interesting. Shoulnd't do that I would think, Maybe something with that specific vehicle.

Good to know. I think again this shows the importance of stopping at the closest gas station to make sure car is filled up and if there is a few gallons short of "F."

Good tip on asking the local person for gas station advice, very well noted.

Good advice. In addition to the fill-up-after-leaving-lot thing I do that I mentioned above (only if the needle is not clearly over the F, so maybe 1 out of every 10 rentals), I also do take a photo of the gauge and odometer before leaving the lot, just in case.

I picked up a Nissan from Hertz at YYZ that was clearly 7/8 full. When I stopped at the Gold booth to let them know, and the guy said it's a known issue and yes, it's actually full. (I took a picture, of course.) Just to be sure, I also stopped at a nearby gas station about 5km after leaving the lot and it was all I could do to squeeze 4L into the car (10 clicks of the nozzle), and the gas gauge moved up just barely to just below the F mark. I returned the car downtown the next day full (with the gauge showing 7/8) after hours, and sure enough, when they opened the next day, they charged me a $25 refueling fee, despite me writing a note on the envelope that the gauge is wrong and the car is actually full. Fortunately, the Hertz PC phone line was happy to fix it without me even having to send anything to them, but it was good to have the documentation in the form of the photo from when I picked up just in case.

Slight variation to the above:

I often rent from National for three weeks at a time, and my trips take me all over TOLA, the Midwest and in the Spring, one way from Florida. So 200 - 250 rental days each year, with over 50,000 miles annually driven in SUV and minivans.

I have found on three occasions that the mileage started off really, really bad, but went back to normal after I filled up.

I am convinced that someone used E85 to save a buck or two. I will use 89 or 93, depending on cost, and I find that I can make up most of the difference in higher mileage and/or longer distances per tank. E85 gives a lower distance per tank.

Modern cars can use E85 without damaging the engine, at a trade off to lower MPG.

So if you see the needle drop in the first 50 miles, it may be the fuel used, rather than just filling up to the first click.

At least in the Midwest, one can safely fuel up 10-20 miles from the airport and make it back with the gauge showing full.

Yeah, I once rented a vehicle that had an E85 logo on the rear. I only figured out it had been filled with E85 affter I filled it myself for the second tank with E0 (regular gasoline :), and the MPG improved dramatically.