Check your rental cars' tire pressures!!!!
- Thread starter Stanley Rockafeller
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This is not tire related, but worth a mention. My wife received a rental car. As soon as we got it home I noticed a nice oil puddle forming. The filter was loose and the engine would have been dry in less than a day of driving.
I serviced rental cars for Firestone and some of the things you see are incredible. The phrase drive it like you stole it comes to mind.
I serviced rental cars for Firestone and some of the things you see are incredible. The phrase drive it like you stole it comes to mind.
There are diminishing returns with high tire pressures.
It's rare to go below 25, but will give a nice ride for the city.
32 is almost always OK - a nice long wearing pressure.
Many go higher, and are listed as such on the door sticker, like 35-36.
3-5 over the cold rating is good for me.
It's rare to go below 25, but will give a nice ride for the city.
32 is almost always OK - a nice long wearing pressure.
Many go higher, and are listed as such on the door sticker, like 35-36.
3-5 over the cold rating is good for me.
Its a federal requirement for newer cars to have TPMS. You won't catch me checking air pressure, or even lifting the hood on a rental car. Not my problem..
Originally Posted By: JustinH
Its a federal requirement for newer cars to have TPMS. You won't catch me checking air pressure, or even lifting the hood on a rental car. Not my problem..
If the engine blows half an hour down the road it IS your problem. And how about doing something just because it's the right thing to do? I would much rather take 2 minutes out of my day to ensure the things someone else SHOULD have done were in fact done.
And I respect mechanical equiment whether it belongs to me or someone else and hate to see any of it abused.
I used to fire some of the people who worked for me when they would say "That's not my job."
Its a federal requirement for newer cars to have TPMS. You won't catch me checking air pressure, or even lifting the hood on a rental car. Not my problem..
If the engine blows half an hour down the road it IS your problem. And how about doing something just because it's the right thing to do? I would much rather take 2 minutes out of my day to ensure the things someone else SHOULD have done were in fact done.
And I respect mechanical equiment whether it belongs to me or someone else and hate to see any of it abused.
I used to fire some of the people who worked for me when they would say "That's not my job."
I have rented several cars for long trips like the OP, and I always check the tires and oil. Two or three times, I have taken the car right back because of a nail in a tire. When they aren't leaking, the tires are usually overinflated, and the oil is usually above full.
My last rental was a Mazda 3. I flew into Denver at night and picked up the car. I had a 2-3 hour drive, and the car seemed to wander a lot. I chalked it up to being tired, no cruise, the headrest making me hunch forward, and not being used to a 75 mph speed limit. I checked the tires at my destination the next morning, and they were way overinflated. I lowered them to something just above the door sticker and the car handled fine after that.
My last rental was a Mazda 3. I flew into Denver at night and picked up the car. I had a 2-3 hour drive, and the car seemed to wander a lot. I chalked it up to being tired, no cruise, the headrest making me hunch forward, and not being used to a 75 mph speed limit. I checked the tires at my destination the next morning, and they were way overinflated. I lowered them to something just above the door sticker and the car handled fine after that.
Unless the tires look low you will not find me checking the tires of a rental car..If it burns more fuel because of that so be it..But I always check the oil.
Originally Posted By: LTVibe
Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
...I respect mechanical equipment whether it belongs to me or someone else and hate to see any of it abused.
+1
The rental companies don't respect their property, otherwise they would check this stuff before they rented it to you.
The rental companies are only renting the vehicles themselves. They buy them dirt cheap from the manufacturer, rent them for a year or so and then sell them for about the same or just barely less than what they pay. The next guy who accepts an ex-rental as a suitable used car and buys it also doesn't seem to care - so why bother?
Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
...I respect mechanical equipment whether it belongs to me or someone else and hate to see any of it abused.
+1
The rental companies don't respect their property, otherwise they would check this stuff before they rented it to you.
The rental companies are only renting the vehicles themselves. They buy them dirt cheap from the manufacturer, rent them for a year or so and then sell them for about the same or just barely less than what they pay. The next guy who accepts an ex-rental as a suitable used car and buys it also doesn't seem to care - so why bother?
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: LTVibe
Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
...I respect mechanical equipment whether it belongs to me or someone else and hate to see any of it abused.
+1
The rental companies don't respect their property...
Still doesn't matter to me.
I see no reason to abuse or neglect a vehicle even if the owners don't care. The rental companies may not have a conscience, but I do.
Originally Posted By: LTVibe
Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
...I respect mechanical equipment whether it belongs to me or someone else and hate to see any of it abused.
+1
The rental companies don't respect their property...
Still doesn't matter to me.
I see no reason to abuse or neglect a vehicle even if the owners don't care. The rental companies may not have a conscience, but I do.
Originally Posted By: LTVibe
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: LTVibe
Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
...I respect mechanical equipment whether it belongs to me or someone else and hate to see any of it abused.
+1
The rental companies don't respect their property...
Still doesn't matter to me.
I see no reason to abuse or neglect a vehicle even if the owners don't care. The rental companies may not have a conscience, but I do.
Exactly. Rhetorical question here - just because the guy across the street from me was a drug dealer and didn't take care of his yard/house, does that mean I shouldn't take care of my yard/house?
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: LTVibe
Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
...I respect mechanical equipment whether it belongs to me or someone else and hate to see any of it abused.
+1
The rental companies don't respect their property...
Still doesn't matter to me.
I see no reason to abuse or neglect a vehicle even if the owners don't care. The rental companies may not have a conscience, but I do.
Exactly. Rhetorical question here - just because the guy across the street from me was a drug dealer and didn't take care of his yard/house, does that mean I shouldn't take care of my yard/house?
I rented a Chrysler T&C last summer for a 4 day, 1800 mile trip and when I got the van the RF tire was obviously low. I checked the pressures when I got home and the RF had 20 psi., so I aired it up. Luckily, I decided to throw my tire inflator in before we left. About 5 hours down the road the tire pressure warning light came on so we had to stop to reinflate the tire. It got progressively worse over the next 3 days, until I got fed up and went to a tire shop.
The tire had a plug in it, but all the nail, except the head remained in the hole, too. I ended up having to buy a new tire, but got reimbursed. I'm just glad the tire didn't blow.
The tire had a plug in it, but all the nail, except the head remained in the hole, too. I ended up having to buy a new tire, but got reimbursed. I'm just glad the tire didn't blow.
I run my SpecV with 42psi front and 39psi rear cold. There is nothing crazy with 40psi. I've seen cars running 60+ psi at the autocross and there was never a blowout
I run whatever is listed "max PSI" on the tire sidewall.
mine are max 44PSI. I rounded down and run them at 40PSI.
mine are max 44PSI. I rounded down and run them at 40PSI.
You can add me to the list of evil people who don't perform PMCS on rental vehicles. Before I leave the premises, I'll give a vehicle a walk around, to look for obvious deficiencies, but that's about it.
99% of my rentals are for less than three days. Part of the cost structure of a rental vehicle is for the rental agency to perform a pre and post vehicle inspection, to look for damage, top off fluids, etc. On my own vehicles, I do this on a weekly basis and am not going to do it extra frequently on a rental, when I already pay the agency to do it for me.
99% of my rentals are for less than three days. Part of the cost structure of a rental vehicle is for the rental agency to perform a pre and post vehicle inspection, to look for damage, top off fluids, etc. On my own vehicles, I do this on a weekly basis and am not going to do it extra frequently on a rental, when I already pay the agency to do it for me.
40 PSI isn't too bad. Probably helped your gas mileage.
Not checking the oil level in a brand new car is far from abusing the car. When I rent a car, I check the car for damage and make sure that they note any on the contract before I leave the lot.
I also pay the $20 for full american express car rental insurance. Money well spent.
I also pay the $20 for full american express car rental insurance. Money well spent.
After getting charged when I was 18 for a broken reflector on a U-Haul truck (they charged me $230 and I find out later they sell for $8, marked up retail, at truck stops) I always do a full inspection of vehicles when I pick them up. The last truck I rented (2008 E450 from Penske) the guy got REALLY annoyed when I wanted to do a walkaround. I told him I'm not paying for his screwups and the dings and dents from the last six thousand people who rented the truck. He kept trying to get me to stop looking at the clipboard and stop asking if each damage was shown on there. I also noted the dual tires were touching due to low air pressure and he told me to find my own air compressor to fill it. So I did, spent $3 in quarters to get the rears to 65 and the fronts to 60.
I gave the place I picked the truck up from HORRIBLE marks on the survey and the place I dropped it off was MUCH better. Remind me not to rent Penske trucks from car dealers. Next time I'm going to the Penske dealer and I'll return wherever. Take LOTS of pictures if you drop it off after hours. It's the only way to prove the windshield wasn't smashed when you parked it.
I gave the place I picked the truck up from HORRIBLE marks on the survey and the place I dropped it off was MUCH better. Remind me not to rent Penske trucks from car dealers. Next time I'm going to the Penske dealer and I'll return wherever. Take LOTS of pictures if you drop it off after hours. It's the only way to prove the windshield wasn't smashed when you parked it.
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