# How could Hertz be so short-sighted about renting EVs?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [May 1, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017 "2024-05-01T16:06:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/41 "2024-05-03T01:11:08Z")
> [@smithsb](#):
>
> To echo others; Teslas are the worst EV to rent without a comprehensive tutorial on how to work the damn thing. We tested an older Tesla 3 (actually had turn signal stalks!!!) and couldn’t figure out how to open the frunk. The screen is everything. Imagine getting into the airport late after flight delays and bad weather and trying to figure out how to start, shift, run the wipers, open the navigation etc… while dog tired in a bleak parking garage. The Nav will find and give directions to the extensive supercharger network but you have to open an account; same with Electrify America (fastest DC chargers), Blink, and a dozen other networks. Where’s the adapter for non-supercharger stations? No instructions on how to use them or find the adapters which may be broken/missing
I rented a Tesla last October on a business trip to Houston, and this was my exact experience. Damn near drove off the highway trying to figure out how to turn on the windshield wipers scrolling through the monitor instead of watching the road. Day 2 was when I found out I didn’t need to step on the brake pedal to stop. Never figured how to lock the doors. Hotel didn’t have a charger, I got back to the airport with like 3% battery remaining, and the nav screen yelling at me that I was getting too far from a charging station (there’s one at the rental car place, I’m good, thanks).
I’ll never drive a Tesla again if I have any say about it.
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### Author:  [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/42 "2024-05-03T01:31:38Z")
I would be absolutely stranded if a company gave me an EV. I’ve never even seen one.
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/43 "2024-05-03T01:54:10Z")
I just read an article that brought up all of the points that we already made and made a couple of other ones.
The charge ports are USB-C (and also damn hard to find). Most people have USB A cords (to USB-C or lightning). There is a charge pad for phones that can use it but they can’t charge the rest of their devices.
If they were smart about it, they would have made a rental only UI interface that had the major stuff right up front and no way to get into the weeds.
> [@KCB615](#):
>
> I rented a Tesla last October on a business trip to Houston, and this was my exact experience. Damn near drove off the highway trying to figure out how to turn on the windshield wipers scrolling through the monitor instead of watching the road. Day 2 was when I found out I didn’t need to step on the brake pedal to stop. Never figured how to lock the doors. Hotel didn’t have a charger, I got back to the airport with like 3% battery remaining, and the nav screen yelling at me that I was getting too far from a charging station (there’s one at the rental car place, I’m good, thanks).
>
> I’ll never drive a Tesla again if I have any say about it.
You’re throwing away the baby with the bathwater. It’s not Tesla’s fault that Hertz had stupid implementation. The wipers are very easy. You just push a button on the left stalk and it does one wipe and brings up the menu. If you push that same button more fully, you get the wiper fluid and a few swipes plus it brings up the menu. You don’t have to go through a bunch of screens to get to it. You can also push the right button and use the voice command, “turn on wipers” and “increase wipers”, etc. Of course how the hell are you possibly going to figure that out on your own?
The doors lock automatically after you walk away. It’s not obvious at all but they do. They should have told you.
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### Author:  [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/44 "2024-05-03T04:20:34Z")
> [@hajario](#):
>
> Most people have USB A cords (to USB-C or lightning).
USB-C is the standard now. I don’t expect anything newly built to use anything else.
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/45 "2024-05-03T04:43:49Z")
Agree. It was the correct design decision for the future. But I had to buy a C to lightening and a C to C for my Tesla for my future guests. It’s not what people are typically carrying yet.
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### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/46 "2024-05-03T04:47:32Z")
> [@Ellecram](#):
>
> I would be absolutely stranded if a company gave me an EV. I’ve never even seen one.
I’m sure you have but didn’t recognize it. Probably 1/8 of the cars I see on the road are Tesla and Leafs (EVs) (and those are just the two I recognize). Another 1/4 are Priuses.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/47 "2024-05-03T11:31:54Z")
> [@needscoffee](#):
>
> I’m sure you have but didn’t recognize it.
I noticed a car with a gas filler door in an odd location. I even took a picture, it was so odd. Someone told me it was an EV.
At the gas stations I’ve been to around me there are no charging points.
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### Author:  [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/48 "2024-05-03T13:32:25Z")
Most chargers that I know of are at retail locations or hotels, not gas stations, although that is starting to change. Non-Tesla chargers are relatively subtle and don’t stand out so much.
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### Author:  [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/49 "2024-05-03T14:00:02Z")
> [@hajario](#):
>
> You just push a button on the left stalk
No stalk on the latest refresh!
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/50 "2024-05-03T14:02:19Z")
On the Model 3. The Model Y still has the stalk. There’s probably something equally simple on the current Model 3 but I don’t know what it is.
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### Author:  [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/51 "2024-05-03T14:19:00Z")
> [@hajario](#):
>
> something equally simple…but I don’t know what it is.
And that’s the whole problem. For me it’s the total dealbreaker.
I want to drive a car, not a mysterious object in which I can’t intuitively do the simplest tasks.
Turning on the lights, opening the trunk, etc shouldnt be difficult.
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/52 "2024-05-03T14:23:09Z")
It’s not difficult. It’s just different. It’s a fantastic product, just not as a rental.
Actually I do know one of the ways. You push the right button on the steering wheel and say “wipers on”.
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/53 "2024-05-03T14:25:52Z")
Ok, I just looked it up. On the new Model 3 there’s an obvious wiper button on the steering wheel.
[https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en\_us/GUID-A5C33F3D-E41D-4671-ADE5-C2FB73203323.html](https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/GUID-A5C33F3D-E41D-4671-ADE5-C2FB73203323.html)
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### Author:  [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/54 "2024-05-03T15:36:40Z")
I’m not a fan of minimal interfaces, but somehow I manage to operate both a Tesla and an iPhone. (And they don’t even play nice with each other, since there’s no AirPlay support for Teslas.)
However, one shouldn’t judge all electric vehicles by the foibles of Tesla.
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### Author:  [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/55 "2024-05-03T15:43:13Z")
When Hertz first started offering EVs I assumed they would be their own separate category. In other words they would only be giving them to customers who had specifically requested them and knew what they were getting into. But based on the descriptions of people’s experiences with renting them in this thread it almost sounds as if they were giving Teslas to random customers who had reserved a generic “Camry or similar”. Is that really what they were doing?
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/56 "2024-05-03T15:45:12Z")
My two friends who were given Teslas did not specifically ask for an EV and were surprised to get one
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/57 "2024-05-03T16:07:58Z")
That’s nuts. As much as we may _want_ there to be charging network comparable to gasoline stores, there simply _isn’t_, currently. Unless I had specifically researched where the charging stations would be on my journey beforehand, I would be dissatisfied with having an electric foisted upon me. If that actually happened to me, I would complain, _especially_ if they would not waive the $35 recharging fee. Without the fee, if I did not plan on taking long trips, I would have accepted it, and if my total expected mileage had been 200 or less I would have welcomed it since it be even more convenient than gas.
And it does explain the high accident rate, if you’re giving them to people who aren’t even mentally prepared to have to learn the new controls, let alone to newbies who do relish the thought of testing out an electric but are nonetheless not used to them.
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### Author:  [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/58 "2024-05-03T16:18:31Z")
> [@Tride](#):
>
> Most chargers that I know of are at retail locations or hotels, not gas stations, although that is starting to change. Non-Tesla chargers are relatively subtle and don’t stand out so much.
Until I bought an EV, I rarely noticed charging locations. Now I notice them all over along interstates and in larger cities.
> [@chappachula](#):
>
> I want to drive a car, not a mysterious object in which I can’t intuitively do the simplest tasks.
> Turning on the lights, opening the trunk, etc shouldnt be difficult.
We thought this as well until we bought one. We’ve found they are quite easy to use. I get in my parents or inlaws ICE with buttons and doo-dads everywhere are feel overwhelmed. It’s like sitting down in the cockpit of a 747. 🙂
When we went to test drive Teslas, the sales person asked if we wanted her to go with us on our first drive (we drove an X first, then a Y). I said “no”, give me the basics and we’ll give it a shot. It took 5 minutes or so and off we went. The one pedal driving was the biggest thing to get used to, but other than that, we didn’t have issues. I pulled over a couple times to get a better idea of the heater and navigation, but I did it. On the Y drive, we had her go along since I had a lot of questions after the first test drive, and I wanted to try FSD and have her explain what all it would do.
Hertz shouldn’t have been turning over the “key” without a couple minutes of explanation. BTW, the Y is far more “conventional” than the X since it has stalks.
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/59 "2024-05-03T16:28:10Z")
Two months ago, I thought the same thing but I wasn’t so vehement about it because I was aware of my ignorance. I took a test drive after a maybe ten minute tutorial and it was easy as can be. It’s like the first time using a smart phone. You get it immediately.
The issue is that a smart phone isn’t a two ton device moving very quickly and can kill people. They should have had a team member sit with customers and do an explanation first.
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2024, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-hertz-be-so-short-sighted-about-renting-evs/1001017/60 "2024-05-03T16:31:15Z")
> [@wguy123](#):
>
> BTW, the Y is far more “conventional” than the X since it has stalks.
The 2020 X has stalks. The learning curve was things like finding the lights (touchscreen) and realizing there is no “off” button or “lock the doors” button.
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