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If you accidentally put the wrong gas in a rental car, you’re most certainly headed for a giant repair bill. Mohit Govani recently discovered just how giant after Hertz accused him of destroying the engine of a Subaru Outback. The Vehicle Incident Report (VIR) says incorrect fuel caused an astounding $9,000 in damage to the rental car.
Now, Hertz wants Govani to pay that repair bill. ASAP.
But let’s pump the brakes for a second. Govani says he was driving the rental car through Portugal last summer when it suffered a complete mechanical failure. Hertz roadside assistance towed the inoperable vehicle away and dropped him and his son off in Porto.
He didn’t know what caused the breakdown and Hertz never told him — until later.
Much, much later.
It was seven months before Hertz informed Govani that a mechanic had found the wrong gas inside the rental’s tank. That report came with photos of purple fuel being siphoned out of the Subaru and displayed in a plastic cup. It also came with a highly unusual timestamp: December 3.
That’s roughly five months after Hertz towed the rental car away on that summer day in Portugal.
So what kind of car rental shenanigans is going on here? Govani hoped I could find out — and make that $9,000 car repair bill go away.
Consumer Rescue investigates.
The coast of Portugal is not a bad place for your rental car to break down.
Taking a summer road trip from Spain to Portugal
Last summer, Govani and his son planned to take a road trip from Spain to Portugal. Their route would take them from Madrid to the coast of Portugal, eventually ending in Lisbon before flying home. It was an adventurous plan filled with tasty food, gorgeous scenery, and endless memories — and unfortunately, disastrous car rental problems.
Govani booked the Subaru Outback with Hertz, which included unlimited mileage and a one-way drop-off.
After driving several hundred miles, they stopped to fill the rental car’s gas tank and replenish their snacks. When they attempted to return to the road, the vehicle refused to go anywhere.
“The car wouldn’t restart,” Govani told me. “We were stranded for hours along the road waiting for Hertz roadside assistance to help us.”
“Hertz asked us if we wanted a replacement rental car, but we decided we didn’t,” Govani explained. “We didn’t want any more problems.”
So when the tow truck finally arrived, it loaded the disabled Subaru, and the driver dropped the two off at their hotel. Govani assumed that Hertz had everything under control. He received no paperwork from the car rental company that day, and he never followed up.
That would prove to be a terrible mistake that he would greatly regret.
Surprise! Seven months later, Hertz says you destroyed your rental car
In February, long after Govani returned home and the annoying memories of being stranded by the road had faded, he received a surprising message from Hertz.
The first in a series of demands from Hertz stated that he owed nearly $9,000 for repairs to the rental car. The messages said a mechanic had determined that he had put the wrong gas into the vehicle.
“I don’t think I put the wrong gas in the rental car, but I have no proof,” Govani told me. “How can I defend myself against this seven months later?”
Govani had no idea, but the documentation Hertz sent him contained all the information I needed to defend him.
Consumer Rescue Investigates: Did this car rental customer use the wrong fuel?
When Govani sent his initial plea for help to Consumer Rescue, Hertz had been demanding the $9,000 for weeks. He and his wife were desperate.
He was rightly concerned that insurance probably would not pay for the rental car’s damage if the cause was determined to be driver error. I also shared his suspicion that this jumbo bill would be entirely his to pay if he had mistakenly put the wrong gas into the vehicle.
In the past, when car rental customers have found themselves in similar predicaments, gas receipts have saved the day — and protected their wallets.
Related: Can Avis really bill us $8,090 after our rental car died?
I thought perhaps if Govani could dig up those gas receipts or credit card statements from all those months earlier, he might have the proof he needed. But Govani had paid cash when he fueled the rental car and didn’t get a receipt.
Faced with that dead end, I started looking closer at that mechanic’s report and that’s when Hertz’s case against Govani fell apart.
Why did it take Hertz five months to discover the wrong gas inside the vehicle?
The mechanic’s report for the Subaru was entirely in Spanish, and Hertz did not provide a translated copy. That made it easy for the couple to overlook a most important detail: the date.
The report, when translated into English says the Subaru had been towed to the shop in Sevilla, Spain on November 18. At that time it would not start. The mechanic subsequently flushed the engine and drained the fuel. He doesn’t identify what kind of gas he discovered inside the vehicle, just that it was incorrect. He ends his report by saying that the motor of the rental car would need to be replaced due to consequences of the “error de combustible.”
Related: Why is Hertz asking me to pay for damage on a rental car I never drove?
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What do the photos attached to the rental car’s VIR show?
To prove his point, the report came with photos of his efforts to repair the car without replacing the engine.
To further prove just how wrong the gas was, the mechanic poured the bright purple liquid into a plastic cup.
As you likely know, I have no expertise in car mechanics, so I don’t know what the photo was meant to prove. But I did a little research and found that some unleaded gasoline brands in Portugal are dyed purple. Specifically, BP’s unleaded “Gasolina 95” is “violeta.”
If that cup of purple liquid in the mechanic’s hand is fuel that he pulled from the Subaru, then it is likely unleaded gas from Portugal. That is the correct fuel for the rental car.
However, we really don’t know what that image is meant to convey since it didn’t include a caption or analysis.
While that photo did throw a wrench into the mechanic’s report, I didn’t think what was in that cup mattered because the car had been MIA for months. Also absent from that VIR was an explanation from Hertz about where the vehicle was during those months. As a result, I saw no reasonable way Govani could be responsible for anything found in the car rental in December.
It was time to ask our always helpful Hertz executive contact about his unusual case.
Related: Hertz is asking me to pay for damage to a rental car I didn’t cause!
The good news: Hertz agrees to drop the $9,000 rental car repair bill
After sharing the findings of my investigation with our stateside executive, she shared the details with the Hertz team across the pond.
When the case dragged on a bit too long for my liking, I sent a gentle nudge to that executive with a reminder of the human side of things.
Do you have a projected timeframe for a resolution? The verifiable dates in Hertz records make it impossible for this customer to have been responsible for the vehicle’s failure 5 months after he last saw it. So this case should be fairly easy to resolve in Mohit’s favor. This situation is causing his family immense anxiety since nearly $9K is on the line. The longer it drags on unnecessarily, the more strife it causes. Thank you!
Michelle Couch-Friedman, Consumer reporter
And that did the trick.
Govani sent me a message the next day after receiving the good news: Hertz was dropping the $9,000 charge. But…
The European team still maintained that the wrong fuel was traced to Govani. But the team acknowledged they could not prove it because there were no odometer readings to show whether the rental car had been stationary for months. Nor was there an official analysis of what kind of fuel was pulled from the vehicle all those months later.
Govani and his wife are thrilled by the outcome, but he’s still bewildered by Hertz’s continued insistence that he put the wrong gas into his rental car. But now that the $9,000 repair bill is erased he’ll be sure to be hypervigilant during future car rentals.
And you should, too. Here’s how.
How to make sure you don’t put the wrong gas in your rental car (or get accused of doing it)
It is fairly difficult to put the wrong gas into a rental car — if you’re paying attention. But it isn’t impossible. And it does happen. However, this isn’t the first time a car rental company attempted to charge a customer for a new engine after a suspected fuel mixup.
If you’re renting a car this summer, you can easily protect yourself from false accusations.
Confirm the vehicle’s gas type before taking the wheel
Before you hop in your rental car and drive off, it’s crucial that you know what kind of gas it runs on. Domestically, that’s an easy task since most rental cars operate on regular unleaded fuel. International rentals are more complicated because fueling instructions may be in another language. Additionally, many travelers are unaware that diesel is a commonly used type of gas in Europe and elsewhere.
If you failed to confirm the vehicle’s gas-type and need to fill it, the inside of the door of the gas compartment should indicate what you should be using.
- If the sticker is circular and has an E then your vehicle takes regular gas.
- A square with a letter B means you’ve got a diesel car.
Note: this applies to vehicles in Europe.
Related: Top car rental mistakes that will wreck your wallet in 2026
Don’t forget photos before and after
To help travelers dodge the most common car rental problems that hit my helpline each week, I created free vehicle inspection checklists. You can download these forms and print them out. They include a space to record the odometer readings and the gas tank levels before and after the rental as well as any physical damage to the vehicle. I would recommend that you also mark the type of gas you filled the car with during your rental.
The odometer reading is particularly useful if you’re being accused of causing damage to a rental car. You’ll want to be able to show how much mileage was showing at the time you returned the vehicle. That way, if the rental car should pop up somewhere months later with problems, if it has additional miles, you can prove you aren’t responsible.
FYI: I have solved many fake car rental damage claims using odometer readings so don’t overlook that detail.
Keep all gas receipts
Car rental customers are not often accused of putting the wrong gas into their vehicles. A far more common accusation is that the traveler didn’t top off the fuel before returning the car. This can easily add hefty fees to the cost of your rental.
By keeping a copy of your gas receipts, you’ll be able to defend yourself against any car rental gas tank shenanigans. Just snap a picture of that proof and store it away in your phone in case you need it later.
Check CarFax
CarFax is a great investigative tool you can use if you’re hit with strange accusations involving a rental car with a timeline gap. It’s not a free tool, but it isn’t expensive and if you’ve got thousands of dollars on the line, it could be money well spent.
A CarFax report in Europe costs €39.99 (currently about $57). You just need the rental car’s VIN, which can be found on your contract. The report can tell you a lot of important information about what’s been going on with that vehicle. Things like:
- Maintenance and inspection records
- Recorded damage and accidents
- Rental car history
- Mileage during those events
Ask Consumer Rescue for help
Of course, if you’ve done your best to defend yourself against damage you’re sure you didn’t cause, you can send your request for help to Consumer Rescue. We’ve been investigating and fixing consumer fiascos for over a decade. Our mediation services are always fast, friendly, and free of charge. (Michelle Couch-Friedman, Chief Fiasco Fixer and founder of Consumer Rescue)
