[GWN7]

Ten years ago U Haul had one of the worst safety records for their equipment. I know a woman who rented from them for a 1000 mile move. First truck the motor blew up. Second the trans went. That was a lot of extra unloading and reloading that the company never stepped up to help with the costs.

In Canada, various news agencies have found serious safety problems on U-Haul equipment. In July 2005, the Toronto Star reported statistics suggesting that about half of U-Haul vehicles in Ontario were not road-safe.[8] Shortly afterward, the Ministry of Transportation (Ontario) reported that, of 296 U-Haul vehicles inspected in the summer of 2005 (43.5% of all inspections performed), 58 (19.6%) were found to have out-of-service defects, meaning that they are not road worthy.[9] CTV followed in October 2005, conducting their own inspections across the country, and finding that all 13 rented U-Haul trucks failed to meet basic provincial safety standards.[10]

Replying to the Toronto Star, the company's Canadian officials cited its inspection policies and procedures that employees and dealers are expected to follow. In response to the CTV results, Canadian U-Haul vice-president admitted to not heeding earlier warnings to improve their vehicles' safety conditions, and said older trucks would be replaced.

In October 2006 CTV W-Five re-investigated U-Haul by renting trucks from 9 locations across Canada. The rentals were then taken to mechanics for an inspection. Of the 9 trucks rented, 7 failed basic safety standards and were not deemed roadworthy; the other 2, while roadworthy, had minor problems.[11]

On June 24, 2007, the Los Angeles Times published a story on U-Haul's safety problems titled "Driving With Rented Risks".[12] There were also related articles published such as "Upkeep Lags In U-Haul's Aging Fleet"[13] and "Key Trial Evidence Goes Missing".[