Towing an Electric Vehicle: What EV Owners Should Know

Updated Jul 2026 · 5 min read

An electric car is not a heavier gas car

When an electric vehicle won't move, the instinct is to call the same tow truck you'd reach for with any breakdown. But an EV asks for a bit more care than a gas car does, and the wrong kind of tow can turn a dead battery into a repair bill. Knowing what to ask for before the truck arrives saves you money and protects the most expensive part of the car.

The reason comes down to how an EV is built. On most electric cars the motor connects directly to the wheels, and those wheels keep spinning the motor whenever the car rolls. In a gas car you can drop the transmission into neutral and let the wheels turn freely. Many EVs have no true neutral in that sense, and rolling on the drive wheels can push current back through a system that isn't running. That is the situation you want to avoid.

Why flatbed is usually the answer

For most electric vehicles, a flatbed (also called a rollback) is the safest way to move the car. The whole vehicle rides up on the bed with no wheels turning, so nothing spins the motor and nothing drags on the ground.

The two towing styles that work fine for plenty of gas cars can be a problem for an EV:

• A wheel-lift tow, which raises one axle and leaves the other rolling on the road, still turns whichever wheels stay down. On a car where those wheels drive the motor, that is exactly what you don't want over any real distance.
• Flat towing, where the car is pulled with all four wheels on the ground behind another vehicle, is off the table for most EVs for the same reason.

Your owner's manual is the final word here. Some manufacturers publish specific towing instructions for their electric models, and a few allow short moves under narrow conditions. When you're standing on the shoulder without the manual in hand, assume flatbed and you'll rarely be wrong.

What to tell the dispatcher

Half the battle is the phone call. When you reach a towing company, say up front that the vehicle is fully electric. That one sentence changes which truck they send. A dispatcher who knows it's an EV can route a flatbed instead of a wheel-lift truck and skip a wasted trip.

A few details worth mentioning on that call:

• The make and model, so they can look up anything specific to your car.
• Whether the car still has any drive or will only roll, since a completely dead EV may not shift out of park on its own.
• Where the car is sitting. A low-clearance EV in a tight spot or a parking garage changes how the crew loads it.

If the car won't come out of park because its small backup battery is dead, mention that too. Many EVs still rely on a small conventional battery to power the door locks, shifter, and release, and a prepared crew will come ready to work around it.

After a crash, treat the battery with respect

A collision adds a layer most drivers never think about. The high-voltage battery that runs an electric car stores a lot of energy, and a damaged pack can pose a fire or shock risk that behaves differently from a gasoline fire. There's no need to panic, but you should keep your distance and let trained people handle the car.

If your EV has been in a serious wreck, get clear of it, keep bystanders back, and tell both the emergency responders and the tow operator that it's electric. Some towing companies that handle EVs are equipped to store a damaged pack safely and to watch it for the delayed heat that a hit battery can produce. Ask whether the company you're calling does this kind of work before you hand over the keys.

Getting your EV ready while you wait

There are a few small things you can do on the roadside that make the load quicker and safer:

• Find your car's towing or transport mode if it has one. Some EVs offer a setting that releases the parking brake and lets the wheels roll far enough to get onto a flatbed. The manual will tell you where to look.
• Turn off regenerative braking if your car lets you, since strong regen can fight the crew as they position the car.
• Clear the path. Fold the mirrors, note any ground-clearance issues, and move personal items away from the doors.

None of this is required, but it shortens the time the crew spends and lowers the chance of a scrape during loading.

Choosing a company that actually handles EVs

Not every towing outfit is set up for electric cars, and the time to find out is not when the truck pulls up with the wrong equipment. When you call, ask two plain questions: do you tow electric vehicles, and will you send a flatbed. A company used to EV work will answer without hesitation and may ask you a few questions of its own.

Around-the-clock coverage matters here as much as it does for any breakdown, because a dead EV on the shoulder is no more patient than a dead gas car. Many of the roadside and towing companies listed in this directory run around-the-clock dispatch and can send flatbed equipment. A quick call to confirm they handle electric vehicles turns a stressful wait into a routine one.

The short version: say it's electric, ask for a flatbed, check the manual if you can, and give a damaged battery plenty of room. Do those things and your EV reaches the shop the same way it left the factory, in one undamaged piece.