Hertz's AI scanning system is getting the attention of Congress
In a recent letter addressed to Hertz CEO Gil West, the United States House Oversight Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation said that it is seeking more information on the rental car company's use of AI-powered scanners to assess damage on rented vehicles following a wave of media reports that documented customer complaints over the scanners.
Specifically, the subcommittee is seeking answers about how the system works, as they found that the rental car giant doesn't seem to incorporate any human-performed inspection after the system flags damage on a vehicle.
"Some other car rental companies reportedly use AI as a tool but require human staff to review any damage flagged by the scanning system before billing customers; however, Hertz is apparently the only car rental company in the U.S. that issues damage assessments to customers without human review," wrote Subcommittee Chair Nancy Mace (R-S.C.).
The letter comes amid news reports of angry and enraged Hertz customers who have documented their less-than-stellar experiences renting vehicles with these automated AI-based systems. The Subcommittee noted in their concerns that renters were hit with exorbitant charges after they had returned their cars.
"Media reports captured some customer complaints questioning why a fully automated process often does not give customers a damage assessment until after they have left a rental location and further questioning why they experienced difficulty in speaking with a Hertz representative within the period of time before Hertz raises its damage assessment fees on customers," Mace wrote. Furthermore, it wrote that the issue could have an effect that "may impact regulatory and procurement practices of federal agencies for employees renting cars for official business."
Hertz previously said its AI-powered inspection systems were supposed to be seamless
Hertz began to roll out AI-powered vehicle scanners at some of its airport locations across the United States a few months ago, especially those at its locations in busy, high-traffic hubs like Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Newark, New Jersey, and Phoenix, ultimately aiming to install them at 100 Hertz locations by the end of 2025.
Per Hertz, its new AI-powered tools are developed in partnership with Israeli tech firm UVeye, and are designed to "significantly enhance the frequency, accuracy, and efficiency of its vehicle maintenance processes, ensuring reliable service, improved vehicle availability and transparency for its customers."
By using UVeye’s "AI-powered camera systems and machine learning algorithms" the rental car giant claimed that it is able to do automated inspections of all aspects of a rental car, including the body, glass, tires, and undercarriage for any potential damage or required replacement or maintenence, adding that by "complementing manual checks with UVeye’s technology, customers will enjoy more efficient and transparent automated checks when picking up and dropping off their vehicles."
However, customers begged to differ. On the r/HertzRentals subreddit, many users have documented their own horror stories, including one from user /u/Akkasca, who claimed that the Hertz AI scanner detected vehicle damage when there wasn't any, adding that there was no way to dispute the charges.
"[...]it was raining that morning. As I drove through their return scanner, the car was naturally wet from the rain. Just minutes later, while heading upstairs to catch the airport shuttle, I received a text from Hertz: “Damage detected.” I clicked the link and, concerned, got off the shuttle with all my luggage and went back downstairs to inspect the vehicle," they said. "The supposed damage area? Completely fine. No visible damage whatsoever. I even recorded a video on the spot to document the condition of the car. To make matters worse, no one at the Hertz location could help. Employees and managers all pointed fingers at the “AI scanner” and told me to contact customer support—they claimed they had no control over the damage claim."
Final thoughts
I have a bit of an iffy feeling with the language that Hertz and UVeye used in the press release, specifically, the part where they said, "By complementing manual checks with UVeye’s technology, customers will enjoy more efficient and transparent automated checks when picking up and dropping off their vehicles."
It leads me to believe that there is supposed to be some sort of human element involved in these kinds of inspections, and that the scans would be followed by an actual physical inspection afterward to verify if the AI-reported damage is indeed actual damage. The fact that this issue has caught the attention of Congress is a step forward toward some possible accountability. In their letter, the Subcommittee gave Hertz until August 27 for "a staff-level briefing to discuss Hertz’s expectations for how this technology will benefit its customers and how the use of AI scanning may impact Hertz’s work as a vendor to the Federal government." We'll see if something comes out of this.
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Aug 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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