Safety advocates: Rental car recalls should be regulated

— -- Raechel and Jacqueline Houck died in a fiery 2004 crash in a rental car that "was essentially a ticking time bomb," their mother, Cally Houck, says.

The vehicle — a PT Cruiser under a safety recall for a power-steering fluid problem — was not repaired and had been rented to three other renters and then the Houck sisters at an Enterprise Rent-A-Car facility in Capitola, Calif.

The power-steering fluid leaked and caught fire, Cally Houck says, causing Raechel, 24, and Jacqueline, 20, to lose control of the car, which slammed into a semi tractor-trailer.

Enterprise admitted liability, and Houck was awarded $15 million in damages by a jury two years ago. She says she will keep fighting to improve auto-rental safety until Congress makes the industry adhere to federal safety regulations.

"The rental car industry is the single largest purchaser of new cars, and the single largest source of used cars in North America, yet they have escaped all regulation and oversight from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)," Houck says.

That may be changing. Hertz and safety-advocacy group Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety have reached a historic agreement that calls for Congress to give NHTSA authority over the companies' recall-related practices and prohibit rental companies from renting, leasing or selling recalled vehicles until they are fixed.

The agreement adds momentum to an amendment with the same provisions backed by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. The senators hope to include the amendment in a massive surface transportation bill that the Senate expects to address after it reconvenes Feb. 27.

According to data provided by rental companies to USA TODAY, hundreds of thousands of the 1.6 million vehicles in their U.S. fleets are recalled annually for safety problems. Hertz and Enterprise had nearly 184,000 vehicles under recall last year. In 2010, when Toyota announced a massive recall of vehicles with accelerators that could stick, Hertz and Enterprise had 350,000 vehicles — about 22% of the industry's entire fleet — under recall.

Toyota's recall prompted auto-rental companies to develop strict practices to address recalls, says the American Car Rental Association trade group, which represents 105 rental companies.

Though Hertz is one of its members, the American Car Rental Association trade group says there is no need for federal regulation.

"When we receive a recall notice from a manufacturer, we will not re-rent that vehicle until all repairs are completed," the group says. "If a member makes an exception, it would only be when they are satisfied that the vehicle is safe to operate under the circumstances presented by the particular recall and based on information and direction provided by the manufacturer."

The trade group says rental companies complete recall work quicker than other vehicle owners, and no laws prohibit owners, taxi and limousine companies, and others who operate or lease vehicles from using them before they are repaired.

Millions of vehicles recalled

NHTSA, the federal agency that sets and enforces motor-vehicle safety standards, says 15.5 million vehicles of various model years were recalled in 2011, and 20 million were recalled in 2010.

NHTSA has jurisdiction over auto manufacturers and safety recalls, but no oversight authority over rental car companies.