What To Do When Your Rental Car is Recalled : Car Rentals

Technical service bulletins are common for people who deal with cars. Lately, there has been a huge rush of recalls for Ford vehicles, in particular and other vehicles more generally. Car rental agencies obviously feel the effects of technical service bulletins more than individual owners, and often, they and the drivers they serve are inconvenienced as a result.

While technical service bulletins are the mechanism via which car dealers, manufactures, consumers, rental agencies and others learn about defects or other problems, the system is not without imperfections. Often, auto savvy customers (such as carjunky.com visitors) are the ones that hear about a technical service bulletin and report it to the rental agency. Unfortunately, registered owners can go weeks and months before learning that they are driving unsafe cars. Fortunately, someone happens to be in the right place at the right time and hears that there is a technical service bulletin out on the car they are currently driving. This can be a bit scary, especially if there is a serious problem with the vehicle.

The best thing to do if you hear that there is a technical service bulletin out for the car you drive is to gather as much information as you can from the National Transportation and Highway Safety Agency. You should then call the dealer or manufacturer. You should then be given instruction regarding resolution of the problem or repair of your vehicle. If the dealer refuses to offer a satisfactory response you should try to get in touch with the manufacturer so that the dealer can be contacted with instructions. Carjunky.com and the NHTSA can also give you the information you need to state your case convincingly. You should not expect too many problems; however, because dealers generally will err on the side of caution, and are eager to correct any problems that compromise your safety or create liability issues.

It is also a good idea to check for technical service bulletins when you rent a car. If your rental agency refuses to replace the car, look into renting from another company. While this may cost you more money, your safety is worth the investment. File a complaint against the rental agency, if you feel the response was untimely, inappropriate or inadequate. Your safety and the safety of all who rent vehicles are on the line if you run across a rental agency that does not comply with technical service bulletin instructions.

While it’s not common for a car rental agency to miss out on a recall or technical service bulletin, mistakes do happen. So, if you find that the vehicle you are renting requires some service don’t delay in contacting your rental agency for a replacement vehicle until the current one can be made as good as new.

Technical service bulletins are issued with good reason. The system can only be effective when each person responds and acts appropriately. Do not be the weakest link in this valuable information relay system – your safety may depend on your proactive response.


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