“Welcome to Hawaii.”
A group of friends on a Hawaii girls’ trip says they rented a car through Turo and found it came with cockroaches.
Their response was to film themselves dancing, with the on-screen text, “stuck in the airport car rental lot in hawaii after getting a roach infested car from Turo with no refund.”
Sarah (@sarahboopbop) posted the 11-second TikTok video that has so far drawn more than 134,400 views. A caption reads, “@Turo DO BETTER.”
In the comments section, Sarah filled in what the video left out in a reply to someone who suggested the roaches had just wandered in, writing, “There were actually 3 cockroach traps and the owner admitted to having an infestation.”
A commenter in the same thread described the car as being “in filthy condition” and said the host “admitted the previous renters were people he had trouble with.”
In response to a request for comment, a Turo representative said in a statement, “We hold hosts to high standards of cleanliness and vehicle maintenance. We take guests’ concerns about vehicle condition seriously. As soon as the guest brought the matter to our attention, our customer support team immediately started investigating and issued a full refund. We remain committed to ensuring all guests have a clean and comfortable experience.”
The comments section split cleanly. “Welcome to Hawaii, all cars has roaches, even my truck has [them], there’s no escaping them,” wrote loganfromhawaii, in the thread’s most-liked comment at more than 1,300 likes.
Pilatesssss was having none of it, at 760 likes: “I lived on the island and NEVER had a roach in my car.”
Several people said it had happened to them too.
Thatonetiktokerrr1 wrote that a Hawaii host “got mad that I had the car towed back because I’m not driving a roach-infested car,” and that “he also admitted that he knew the car had roaches prior to me receiving it.”
A sharp reply from a host who rents cars on the islands and did not accept the premise of the video.
“Hi, Hawaii Turo host here,” wrote dejavuuvajed. “Guests understand that Hawaii roaches fly. Stop leaving the windows down at random food truck lots. Just because you saw three roaches doesn’t mean they live there. It means you pulled next to a trash can and left your windows open.”
Sarah answered, “My comment still applies. Roll up the windows, won’t be no problems.”
That didn’t stop other commenters from making the same argument. Kennybby143 wrote, “Y’all probably left food inside it while swimming. That’ll happen.”
Jonahdidathing said 10 minutes with open food is enough, adding, “Welcome to Hawai’i.”
The state does treat cockroaches as a fact of local life, but it draws a line that the argument in the comments section mostly ignored. The Hawaii Department of Health’s Vector Control Branch describes the American cockroach, the big reddish-brown one at an inch and a half, as “an outdoor cockroach that enters homes at night,” breeding outside in “sewers, cesspools, sumps, meter boxes and other damp enclosed places.”
The German cockroach is the one that sets up residence, and it is the species the department calls “the most common cockroach infesting homes.” That one hides in cracks during the day and is “observed during daylight only when home is heavily infested.”
A roach that flew in through an open window and an infestation the owner acknowledges are different problems, which may be caused by different insects.
Turo’s own rules give guests a remedy, and the timing of it matters.
“Hosts must provide you with a clean vehicle,” the company’s cleaning policy for guests reads. “When you inspect the vehicle at check-in, you have the right to refuse it and cancel your trip if you’re concerned it wasn’t cleaned. We’ll refund you for the trip or help you book another vehicle.”
The catch is that guests need to do this at check-in, according to the terms and conditions. “If you’re concerned the vehicle wasn’t cleaned, don’t accept the vehicle and don’t complete check-in for the trip,” the policy says, telling guests to photograph the condition and contact support “right away.”
Turo does write island-specific cleaning rules, so the idea that Hawaii conditions invalidate them doesn’t really add up. The same policy carries a Hawaii-only clause on red dirt, naming particular roads on four islands where caked-on soil can trigger a charge.
As for Sarah, it seems like she has been turned off the service for life. To a comment saying, “Save money, use Turo,” She replied, “Lesson learned.”
Motor1 reached out to Sarah via TikTok direct message. We’ll be sure to update this if she responds.
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