Investigations
Hertz/Vehicles Rented with Open Recalls
NHTSA Audit Query AQ22003 — open, opened 2022-12-16.
NHTSA investigation AQ22003 is a Audit Query opened on 2022-12-16 and currently open. The subject is tracked inside the Office of Defects Investigation queue. Latest activity on this investigation was logged on 2022-12-16 — NHTSA updates that field whenever an Information Request goes out, a supplement is filed, or a status change is recorded in the public docket.
An Audit Query like AQ22003 is how NHTSA checks that manufacturers are meeting their statutory obligations — things like notifying owners, reporting foreign recalls, and tracking remedy completion rates under TREAD and FMVSS requirements.
Investigators summarized the matter as follows: "NHTSA is opening this audit query to investigate whether The Hertz Corporation (Hertz) has complied with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Safety Act). The Safety Act requires, among..." Investigations are the early-warning layer of the federal auto-safety system, sitting upstream of formal recalls and defect orders. Whether this one closes without action or escalates into an Engineering Analysis, the full history stays in the ODI archive so researchers, litigators, and buyers can pull the paper trail at any time.
Investigation Summary
NHTSA is opening this audit query to investigate whether The Hertz Corporation (Hertz) has complied with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Safety Act). The Safety Act requires, among other things, that a rental company shall not rent a vehicle subject to a safety recall unless the recall remedy has been performed. 49 U.S.C. § 30120(i). NHTSA is in receipt of information that indicates Hertz rented vehicles to customers without having performed required recall repairs. Accordingly, we are opening this audit query to seek additional information concerning this issue.
About This Investigation Type
An Audit Query (AQ) is conducted to verify manufacturer compliance with safety standards and recall requirements.
Data from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Cross-references: NHTSA recall campaign API and NHTSA FARS where fatality records overlap. PlainCars does not rate or recommend vehicles. Learn more.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.