While Hertz speeds ahead with high-tech damage detection, customers are slamming on the brakes. The rental car giant has partnered with UVeye, an Israeli company with defense contractor roots, to implement AI scanning systems that are leaving renters fuming—and their wallets lighter. These fancy rings of cameras capture thousands of high-res images in just 20 seconds. Impressive tech? Sure. Customer-friendly? Not so much.
Hertz’s new AI scanners turn rental returns into high-tech shakedowns—impressive for business, infuriating for customers.
The scanners, originally designed to detect bombs and weapons, now hunt down every tiny scratch on your rental. That one-inch wheel scrape you never noticed? That’ll be hundreds of dollars, please. The AI doesn’t miss a thing—whether the damage actually exists or not. Multiple customers report being charged for phantom damages they swear weren’t there. Good luck arguing with a machine.
Hertz plans to roll out these eagle-eyed scanners at 100 airport locations by the end of 2025. That’s just a fraction of their 1,600 airport spots, but plenty enough to cause headaches nationwide. The company claims less than 3% of scanned vehicles show billable damage. Cold comfort if you’re in that 3%. The first systems are already in operation at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The real kicker? These AI-generated charges hit your credit card automatically. No human double-checks unless you fight back. That $190 charge for a tiny scrape? It’s already processed while you’re still trying to figure out what happened. The system flags imperfections human inspectors might miss—or might reasonably ignore as normal wear and tear. Critics argue the system demonstrates algorithmic bias against customers by removing human judgment from damage assessments.
The internet is exploding with angry renters. Reddit threads overflow with stories of bogus damage claims and vows to never rent from Hertz again. The backlash is growing louder as more travelers get stung by AI-generated fees.
For Hertz, the scanners make perfect business sense—faster inspections, more damage fees, and less human labor. For customers, it’s a technological nightmare. The advice to take pre-rental photos has never been more essential. Industry rivals Avis and Enterprise are also exploring similar technology, potentially making automated damage assessment an unavoidable reality across the rental car landscape.
Trust in Hertz is eroding faster than a rental car’s value. Their AI might be smart, but their customer relations strategy? Dumb as rocks. As the company races toward automation, their reputation may be the biggest casualty in this high-tech transformation.
