Zipcar was fined $300,000 for renting out recalled vans that could lose power on the road or move while in park: NHTSA

• Zipcar let customers rent Ford Transit vans that were being recalled, the NHTSA said.
• The vans were being recalled over a safety issue that could make them lose power on the road.

Car-sharing company Zipcar has been fined $300,000 for renting out vehicles that were being recalled, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, or NHTSA, said on Monday.

The NHTSA said in a consent order that Zipcar had allowed customers to rent 2015-2017 models of the Ford Transit, after a recall had been issued for the vehicles in June 2017 over safety issues.

The concern was that "the flexible coupling between the transmission and driveshaft" of the vans could crack with extended use, causing the vehicles to potentially lose power on the road or start moving in park if the parking brake wasn't applied.

The NHTSA's consent order to Zipcar is the result of an investigation opened by the agency in 2018.

One of the agency's employees said they had rented a van from Zipcar in July 2017, only to discover the vehicle had an open recall that the car-sharing firm hadn't told them about, per NHTSA records.

The agency later concluded that Zipcar had rented out recalled Ford Transits up until 2018.

"Vehicles with open, unrepaired recalls pose a safety risk to everyone on the road. NHTSA takes violations of the Safety Act very seriously," Ann Carlson, the acting administrator for the NHTSA, said in the agency's statement.

In addition to the fine, Zipcar has been instructed to send an audit report to the NHTSA on all Zipcar vehicles with open recalls within 150 days of the consent order.

The car-sharing firm will also have to revise its staff training on recalls, and have the updates assessed by third-party lawyers and sent to the NHTSA for review.

A representative for Zipcar did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

The company told The Associated Press in a statement that fewer than 50 cars in its global fleet of 12,000 vehicles "were found in violation."

"At Zipcar, we prioritize our members' safety and take manufacturers' recalls very seriously," the company said.