SunPass with Rental Cars

[NotTooGoofy]

After many years of going to WDW, I've finally decided to get a portable SunPass transponder strictly for convenience. I'd like to avoid the daily charge from the rental car company and often I have don't have control over which rental car company I use. For use with rental cars, are there any major pitfalls? For instance, if the rental car's license plate has the mini sticker and I have attached the portable transponder to the windshield, will both be charged the toll? Any other issues? Thanks!

 

[Chumpieboy]

As long as you register the rental car ASAP after renting it you should be fine.

 

[Capt_BJ]

for clarification

the mini sticker would not be on the plate ... the mini-sticker transponder would be attached to the front glass in the same way you should hang the 'portable'

most rental fleets use 'toll by plate' via a third party service. When the toll system does not 'see' a transponder it electronically reads the TAG number. It then searches the list of TAGS associated with a transponder. If the TAG is found the SUNPASS account is charged. Next the list of "fleet TAGS" is searched and this is where most rental company charges get routed to the third party service and is THESE guys who ZAP you a fee - how big depending on the arrangements of the particular rental company

As long as you have a physical transponder it should always be processed first. It is important to register the TAG of rental with SUNPASS in case YOUR transponder is not read for some reason - like the other day when mine fell off the glass and bounced under the seat just as I was approaching a toll plaza . . . if the TAG is attached to your account, this is the backup system ensuring you get the toll not the third party ZAPPER

https://www.sunpass.com/rentalcar

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I haven't had any problems. Just register the rental via the app.

 

[Rendar]

I haven't had any problems. Just register the rental via the app.

I have had problems with the app not registering the vehicle. If that happens just open the Sunpass website on your phones browser and register the vehicle there.

 

[seashoreCM]

Some rental cars have transponders with on-off switches. If left on, these will incur a toll charge even if you also have your own transponder.

 

[katallo]

I'm about to order one. So, how do you know if the vehicle has this switch and is on or off.

 

[nacho113]

I'm about to order one. So, how do you know if the vehicle has this switch and is on or off.

I don't believe any of the rental companies use these anymore, this was the old style that is discontinued as of Jan 1/2016.

This is what the Sunpass website has to say:

How does it work? Cameras take a photo of the rental car's license plate as it goes through the toll lane and sends a bill for the tolls to the rental company's tolling program vendor. The vendor collects the toll plus applicable service fees from the customer's credit card, and pays the toll to the road agency. The service fees are retained by the vendor, not the toll road.
SunPass Customers:
SunPass customers using a rental vehicle may have their tolls applied to their SunPass account. Customers with SunPass Portable transponders may use their transponders in their rental vehicles. (It is strongly recommended that SunPass customers access their online SunPass accounts or contact the SunPass Customer Service Center to add the rental vehicle subscription to their account for the rental period.)

 

[katallo]

Is the best process to open an account online or fill out the Application and mail it to Sunpass? We have EZ Pass at home and have linked a credit card to the account. I don't really want to do that with Sunpass since we will only use it for vacation. I was thinking of mailing a check with the application and then using Wells Fargo to replenish. The folks at Sunpass said we could call with the rental tag and they would link it before we left the airport. Any thoughts? Thanks

 

[Capt_BJ]

use the cash lanes

 

[Woodview]

I agree ........ Cash Lanes .... no fuss .... what is a 2 min delay out of your vacation time

Maybe 4 toll points = 8 min delay .

How much time does it take to make phone calls to sun pass to sort out transponders onto rental cars ?

 

[Capt_BJ]

with the phone app it takes less than a minute to add a tag to a Sunpass portable account ....

I've seen the queue for the cash with change and receipt lanes be 20+ vehicles . . .

but if you are OK with tossing exact change ... that's probably the easiest

but there is another thread on this same topic right now mentioning a person who tossed quarters and got "the bill" from the rental company for a missed toll ..... maybe a quarter bounced out ... dunno ... but it happens

 

[houseofduck]

Is the best process to open an account online or fill out the Application and mail it to Sunpass? We have EZ Pass at home and have linked a credit card to the account. I don't really want to do that with Sunpass since we will only use it for vacation. I was thinking of mailing a check with the application and then using Wells Fargo to replenish. The folks at Sunpass said we could call with the rental tag and they would link it before we left the airport. Any thoughts? Thanks

You don't have to keep the credit card attached to the account when you register online. If you want it to auto-replenish with a credit card, you can, but you don't have to save a credit card on the account. I don't have auto-replenish set on my account. Whenever I need to add cash, I do a one time credit card purchase.

 

[Donna M]

E-Z Pass, come on down to Florida!

 

[Capt_BJ]

interoperability is a government mandate and a work in progress

 

[Woodview]

What word is " Interoperability " and what does it mean ?

 

[Capt_BJ]

from Webster's: ability of a system to work with or use the parts or equipment of another system

in other words there is a requirement for ALL electronic toll systems to play nicely with each other ....

 

[violakat03]

I just used a portable transponder in a rental car two weeks ago. No problems at all. Stuck it on the windshield in the appropriate spot, logged into the mobile site and added the car to my account. It even gives you an option to check that it is a rental car, meaning you can tell it which dates that car is in your possession. Worked with no problems on my end, and no problems on Enterprise's end. They even reminded me to grab the transponder when I turned in the car.