July 8, 2025. On June 30, Chrysler Corporation issued a recall notice for 2022-2025 Pacifica and Voyager minivans due to a potential issue with the side curtain airbags. About 250,000 vehicles are affected in the USA.

The Pacifica happens to be the predominant minivan model in Maui's car rental fleets, operated by companies including ACE, Alamo, Budget, Hertz, Enterprise, Payless, Thrifty, and others, with an estimated 3.000 units in service.

Almost immediately, the rental companies had to begin grounding these vehicles i.e. pulling them out of service. Why? Because rental car companies are legally required to address safety recalls on their vehicles before renting them out. The Safe Rental Car Act, enacted in 2015, mandates that companies with fleets of 35 or more vehicles must not rent, sell, or lease vehicles subject to a safety recall until the defect is remedied. The mandated grounding takes effect within 24 hours (for fleets under 5,000 vehicles) or 48 hours (for fleets over 5,000 vehicles) of receiving the recall notice.

As a consequence, the off-airport storage yards began filling up with idle minivans (see pic), and, the rental cost for a minivan (from companies that have vehicles not subject to the recall) shot through the roof.

Online reservation systems do show a small number of minivans available. This is the current cost for a minivan for a one-week rental beginning July 14, 2025, from Maui's Kahului Airport OGG:

Cost Company
$1,472 Ace
$2,067 Fox
$4,917 Nu

The price for a one-week rental from ACE Rentacar is $1,472 with all taxes and fees - no insurance. At Fox, it is $2,067/week. And Nu is offering minivans for a sky-high $4,917/week.

For that date, just a few days from now, there were only 4 vehicles available to rent, island-wide, all from rental companies operated off-airport.

For reference, just a few weeks ago, on June 8, 2025, our weekly price-tracker showed a "lowest price" of just $393/week for a minivan from the Kahului airport. Over the last 52 weeks, the median cost for a one-week rental from the airport was $650/week.

WHEN WILL PRICES RETURN TO NORMAL?

Looking forward, availability and cost seem to be returning to normal relatively quickly. We've checked the advance reservation system looking ahead week by week for two months.

Date Units Cost
7/14/25 4 $1,472
7/21/25 5 $1,472
7/28/25 2 $1,472
8/4/25 7 $1,302
8/11/25 10 $975
8/25/25 13 $662
9/8/25 20 $419

Based on what we're seeing now in the advance reservation system, prices hold at elevated levels for four or five weeks ahead, then in about one month from now, availability begins to increase and price begins to drop. In about two months, both are back to normal levels.

WHAT SHOULD TRAVELERS DO?

These advance prices may not be reflecting the actual time required to complete inspections and repairs and put vehicles back in service. From our experience, it can take months for the the parts required for airbag repairs to become available. Dealerships with already heavily burdened service resources may require very long lead times to schedule and complete the repairs. In other words, it may actually take much longer than just two months for prices to return to normal. It is likely that delays will cause a sharp rise in price as the reservation dates approach. Travelers are advised to secure availability and book prices well in advance.

Travelers seeking better predictability - and less possibility of last minute cancellation or change by the rental company - may look at booking alternate vehicle types, like large SUV's including Tahoe, Suburban, and Expedition, that can accommodate the same number of passengers (7 or 8) as a minivan.

HOW TO CHECK RATES AND AVAILABILITY FOR MAUI CAR RENTAL

Either click through to to our Cars & Rates section, or check our booking site at rentals.mauicarrental.biz. This site gives you access to all vehicles from eight different companies - Ace, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Payless, and Thrifty - at all their Maui locations, that include the Airport rentacar center, Kahului town locations nearby the airport, and resort locations in Kihei/Wailea, and Ka'anapali. With so many options to choose from, you are assured to find the rental car that matches your preferences and your budget for your Maui trip - and there is never a cancellation penalty if you have to change plans.

ABOUT THIS BLOG

This blog is published by Frank's Friendly Cars Maui Car Rental LLC, an independent car rental company operating in Maui, Hawaii, since 2006. Frank's offers low prices on used local cars and discount prices on new cars, with a "Lowest Price Guarantee" that assures you of getting the best deal on your rental. Visit our website at www.mauicarrental.biz, or call us at 808-280-1196.

Price Data Sources: rentalcars.com, rentals.mauicarrental.biz