2019 FORD E-350 — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

While driving on the highway, the brakes on my rental truck began to feel mushy, and the pedal eventually went all the way to the floor. I was unable to stop and had to use the emergency brake to avoid a collision. The truck was rented from Budget Truck Rental (Serrato Enterprises Inc., 7680 Bandera Road, San Antonio, TX 78238). Upon inspection, I discovered brake fluid leaking from the left rear tire and an empty master cylinder reservoir under the hood. I made my first call to Budget Customer Service at 2:00 PM but was not towed to Abilene until 1:00 AM—leaving my family stranded for nearly two days. The next day, the repair mechanic from Rocky Mountain Truck inspected the braking system and told me this vehicle should never have been on the road due to the severe deterioration of the brake rotor and pads on both sides of the truck (photo attached). He provided me with the damaged rotor and brake pad as physical evidence of neglect and told me the vehicle would not pass any sort of inspection, also warning me to never rent from Budget again if this is how they give customers vehicles. Inside the cab, there is a maintenance log showing no service for over 20,000 miles beyond the last recorded entry at 99,000 miles, even though previous maintenance had been logged every 4,000 miles. This clearly shows a failure in standard maintenance and safety practices. The fact that my wife’s and my safety was jeopardized—and that Budget’s customer service treated this with such disregard—is unacceptable. It is alarming that only a catastrophic accident could have brought attention to such negligence in vehicle maintenance and safety oversight. I am going to these lengths due to the fact that Budget values milking a few extra miles out of a vehicle's lifespan rather than addressing the most common wear-and-tear items on a vehicle. I'm reaching out because of Budget’s failure to acknowledge the importance of vehicle safety. Budget Customer Reference Number: [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATIO

On April 22, 2022 we were driving east on Hwy 100 in Henderson, TN. We had stopped to make a left-hand turn. A vehicle claimed his brakes went out and hit us from behind going full-speed. Our driver could see he was not stopping and tried to leave the roadway. A vehicle was traveling west (coming towards us) so he couldn't turn to the left. He stated to pull off the roadway into the grass embankment, but didn't get of the road before being struck. My concern is this: our vehicle (cutaway with wheelchair lift added via state contract by Mid-south Bus in Murfreesboro, TN) immediately caught fire and burned to the ground within minutes. If there had been a wheelchair bound passenger tied down in the back of this vehicle, there would've been no way the driver could've got him/her off before being engulfed in flames. The fuel tank is located about 2.5' from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle has a metal (not fiberglass or plastic) bumper. We have lots of these vehicles. My concern is "what if this happens again an there is a passenger in that wheelchair station?"

SEVERE OVERSTEER, SWAYING AND STABILITY AT 55MPH. THIS IS A CLASS C RV ON A FORD E350 CHASSIS. IN SHORT, THE RV IS ABSOLUTELY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE WITHOUT A SUSPENSION UPGRADE.

SEVERE OVERSTEER, SWAYING AND STABILITY AT 55MPH. THIS IS A CLASS C RV ON A FORD E350 CHASSIS. IN SHORT, THE RV IS ABSOLUTELY DANGEROUS TO DRIVE WITHOUT A SUSPENSION UPGRADE.