NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Audit Query AQ22-003: Hertz/Vehicles Rented with Open Recalls
- Open
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Audit Query AQ22-003 on December 16, 2022; NHTSA's investigations file listed it as open on October 23, 2026. NHTSA's investigations file lists the Nissan Altima and Ford Explorer for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- AQ22-003 (also written AQ22003)
- Investigation type
- Audit Query An administrative investigation into compliance with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting Early Warning data on time or carrying out a recall.
- Status
- Open since December 16, 2022
- Opened
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturers
- Nissan North America, Inc.; Ford Motor Company
- Component
- Latches/Locks/Linkages — Hood — Latch
- Vehicles and equipment
- Nissan Altima and Ford Explorer
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Audit Query AQ22-003.
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.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Audit Query AQ22-003. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Ford
Ford Explorer
Nissan
All Nissan recallsWhat an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for AQ22-003
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.