One Rental Car Company's Controversial New AI Tool Could Drive Up Your Costs

The next time you return a rental car, a harmless ding might suddenly come with a hefty price tag. Hertz, a rental car company, teamed up with tech company UVeye to make lives harder for renters. UVeye is an Israeli company that originally designed scanners that could detect bombs on cars, but it now produces AI-assisted computer scanners that take thousands of photos of cars to detect irregularities. Hertz began introducing damage scanners at its airport locations in April 2025.

While you can use AI to plan the road trip of your dreams, it should come as no surprise that companies are using AI to find new ways to make consumers' lives worse. UVeye's artificial intelligence-aided damage scanner looks at every inch of your vehicle and immediately flags even microscopic scrapes. While the company is touting this as an improvement to its service, in reality it means surprise bills that puzzle customers. One driver in Atlanta received a $440 bill for a tiny scuff on a wheel, including repair, processing, and administrative fees. Others reported similar incidents, like $195 fees for barely visible dents.

That's riled up many customers — especially when the dispute process is almost entirely automated, with zero live customer service intervention. With instant billing and short "pay-now" discount windows, Hertz's customers feel pressured to pay before contesting. It's no wonder customers are upset. The company behind this tool claims it speeds up inspections and boosts accuracy, but critics see it as a thinly veiled way to exploit customers while driving up rental costs for everyday travelers.

Hertz's pivot to AI-driven inspections is raising red flags, even among seasoned travelers. Despite the lightning-fast inspection speed, the system is far from faultless. One driver reported on Reddit that the scanner misidentified a shadow as damage, and many more customers have been charged hefty sums for minor scrapes or dents that most human inspectors would ignore. That's prompting consumers to choose to rent from locations and companies that don't use AI scanners, and some have started seeking out work-around hacks to avoid renting cars altogether.

What once seemed like a tech-savvy upgrade risks becoming a liability for renters. Hertz is already not among the top rental companies when it comes to customer service and transparency, so travelers would be wise to research — and maybe even test — whether AI scanning is in use at their pickup location. Hertz only has outfitted a few airport rental locations with UVeye scanner technology — and airports are the most expensive place to rent a car, anyway — but the company is planning to roll the system out to over 100 locations in 2025. To avoid absurd fees, AI being used against you, and the hassle of dealing with Hertz's customer service, be sure to ask or find out about a company's scanning policies before you commit to a car rental, and don't forget to thoroughly inspect and photograph your vehicle at pickup. To be certain you won't need to pay any fees on your rental vehicle, be sure to get rental insurance — through your rental company, credit card, or standard auto insurance.