Car rental firms race to locate recalled Toyotas, Vibes
February 13, 2010
The recalls of several Toyota models over the last month not only have sparked angst
at Toyota dealerships but also have created headaches for car rental companies that
offer the vehicles.
The nation's largest rental companies have been rushing to pull thousands of recalled
models off the road and assure renters that all the remaining cars are safe.
But it hasn't been easy. After all, rental vehicles roll in and out at a fast pace
all day long. So rounding up each recalled car, including those used for long-term
rentals, has been a chore.
Enterprise Holdings Inc., the parent company for Alamo, Enterprise and National
car rentals, owns 35,000 recalled Toyota and Pontiac Vibe vehicles out of a fleet
of about 870,000 cars.
The Toyota models have been recalled to fix unintended acceleration problems. The
Vibe shares much of its engineering with the Toyota Matrix.
Two days after Enterprise Holdings announced that its divisions would stop renting
the recalled cars, the firm had pulled 50% of the troubled cars off the road. Four
days after that, the company had rounded up a total of 83%. By now, nearly all of
its recalled rental cars are either fixed or off the road awaiting repairs.
"It is a big undertaking," Enterprise Holdings spokeswoman Laura Bryant said.
Meanwhile, the parent company of Avis and Budget rental cars began pulling 20,000
recalled models from the two companies' fleets last month.
By this week, 97% of the recalled vehicles were off the road and had begun repairs,
said John Barrows, a spokesman for Avis Budget Group Inc. The recall efforts have
not been 100% successful in part because some customers who rented Toyotas and Vibes
didn't return them right away because they either didn't know or didn't care that
the cars had been recalled.
"Some people came back and some didn't," Bryant said.
And just when it seemed the rental car industry had a handle on the problem, Toyota
announced last week that it was also recalling 437,000 Prius and Lexus hybrids worldwide
because of braking problems.
"We are still sorting through that," Bryant added.
Fairplex making convention push
The Fairplex in Pomona, home to one of the nation's largest county fairs, is known
for carnival rides, deep-fried food and pig races.
But now Los Angeles government leaders and tourism boosters hope the publicly owned
property will be recognized as a modern meeting spot for businesses.
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