Electric Car Broken Down? Why Your EV Has To Go on a Flatbed
An electric car cannot be rope-towed or lifted by two wheels the way a petrol car can. Get it wrong and you can destroy a drive unit that costs more than the recovery of the entire vehicle. Here is what actually happens, and why the truck that turns up matters.
Do this now
- Switch the car off completely and apply the parking brake. Do not attempt to push or roll it any distance.
- If there is any smell of burning, hissing, smoke or a warning about the high-voltage battery, get everyone at least 15 metres away and call 999 first.
- When you call for recovery, say the make, model and that it is electric — it changes which truck we send. Call +44 7598 410801.
On this page
- Why an EV cannot be towed on its wheels
- What actually goes wrong with EVs
- Weight: the bit most people miss
- Transport mode, tow eyes and released brakes
- Crashed or fire-damaged EVs
- What EV recovery costs
- How to make the call go smoothly
Why an EV cannot be towed on its wheels
In a conventional car, you can put the gearbox in neutral and the wheels turn freely. An electric car has no neutral in that sense. The electric motor is permanently geared to the driven wheels through a fixed-ratio reduction gear. There is no clutch and nothing to disengage.
So when those wheels turn, the motor turns with them. And an electric motor being spun by the wheels does exactly what a generator does: it produces current. That current has nowhere sensible to go if the car's systems are shut down, damaged or the battery is not in a state to accept a charge. The realistic outcomes are overheating windings, a damaged inverter, or a drive unit that has to be replaced.
This is why virtually every manufacturer's handbook contains a flat prohibition on towing. It is not a cautious suggestion — Tesla, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, BMW, Volkswagen and the rest all specify transport with all four wheels off the ground, or on dollies at minimum.
Never do this
Do not let anyone rope-tow your EV, not even "just round the corner". Do not accept a two-wheel wheel-lift on the driven axle. On a single-motor rear-drive car the rear wheels must be off the ground; on a dual-motor car, all four must be.
What actually goes wrong with EVs
Electric cars break down less often than combustion cars, but when they do the causes are strikingly consistent — and mostly not the traction battery:
- The 12V battery. Far and away the most common EV callout. Every EV still has a small 12V lead-acid or lithium battery running the locks, screens, contactors and computers. When it dies the car is completely inert — it will not "wake up", the doors may not open and the high-voltage system cannot close its contactors. The main battery can be at 90% and the car still goes nowhere.
- Running out of charge. Less common than the jokes suggest, but it happens, particularly in winter when range drops and on unfamiliar routes when a rapid charger is out of service.
- Tyres. EVs are heavy and quiet, and almost none carry a spare wheel. A sidewall cut on a tyre with no spare is an instant recovery job. See our guide to a puncture with no spare tyre.
- Charging faults. A cable that will not release, a seized charge flap, or a failed onboard charger.
- Software. A failed over-the-air update or a systems fault that puts the car into a limp or immobilised state.
Good news
A flat 12V battery can often be jump-started, and that alone gets a large share of "dead" EVs moving again. It is the traction battery that cannot be jumped. Mention on the phone that the car is completely unresponsive — it points straight at the 12V.
Weight: the bit most people miss
Battery packs are heavy. A family EV commonly weighs between 1.8 and 2.4 tonnes, and large electric SUVs and pickups go well beyond that. That has practical consequences for recovery:
- The recovery truck's plated payload has to cover the vehicle, not just "a car". A single-car flatbed built for a hatchback may be marginal for a large electric SUV.
- Winch capacity matters too, because an EV with a locked parking brake or no power has to be dragged, not driven, onto the bed.
- Loading angles are tighter. EVs sit low, with the battery pack forming the floor of the car. Grounding the pack on a steep ramp is a serious matter — it is a structural, sealed, high-voltage component.
This is the honest reason it is worth saying "it's a Tesla Model Y" rather than "it's a car" when you ring. Sending the wrong truck wastes an hour of your evening.
Transport mode, tow eyes and released brakes
Most EVs have a documented procedure for getting them onto a truck. It usually involves a "transport", "tow" or "service" mode selected from the touchscreen, which releases the electric parking brake and allows the car to roll while keeping the drive system isolated. On some models it is a physical release in the boot or under a trim panel.
If the car has no power at all, none of that is available — which is exactly when the 12V jump comes in, or when the car has to be skated or winched with the wheels locked. A competent operator will have wheel skates for that.
Almost all EVs also have a screw-in front towing eye, usually stored with the tyre repair kit under the boot floor. Knowing where yours is saves real time at the roadside. Worth checking now rather than in the rain on the A27.
Crashed or fire-damaged EVs
A damaged high-voltage battery is a different category of job. The risk is thermal runaway, where a compromised cell heats uncontrollably and can reignite hours or even days after the initial incident. That is why crashed EVs are often kept in an open quarantine area at a set distance from other vehicles and buildings.
If your EV has been in a collision:
- Treat any orange cabling as live and do not touch it. Orange is the universal high-voltage colour code.
- Report unusual heat, popping or crackling sounds, or a sweet chemical smell immediately — these are early thermal runaway indicators.
- Expect the vehicle to go to a specific quarantine-capable site rather than a normal garage. Your insurer will usually direct this. Our guide to insurance write-off collection covers what happens next.
What EV recovery costs
Broadly the same as recovering any car of similar size, because the job is the same job — a flatbed, a winch and a driver. The variables are distance, time of day and whether specialist handling is needed.
| Job | Notes | Indicative cost |
|---|---|---|
| Local EV recovery, under 10 miles | Flatbed, standard hours | £90 – £170 |
| 12V jump start at the roadside | No recovery needed if it holds | £50 – £90 |
| Out of charge, tow to nearest rapid | Flatbed to a working charger | £90 – £180 |
| Long-distance EV transport | Priced per mile beyond local area | quote |
| Accident-damaged EV | May require quarantine-capable destination | quote |
How to make the call go smoothly
Four things, and the job is usually sorted on the first attempt:
- Make and model, so we know the weight and the transport procedure.
- Does anything on the car respond? Screens, lights, door handles — this separates a 12V fault from a traction battery fault.
- Where exactly are you? A what3words or a dropped pin beats a road name, especially in a multi-storey or an underground car park with restricted headroom.
- Where is it going? Home, a franchised dealer, or a charger. EVs frequently have to go to a specific approved workshop rather than the nearest garage.
EV stranded in Hampshire?
We recover electric and hybrid vehicles on a flatbed, with winching for cars that cannot be released into neutral. Tell us the model when you call and we'll bring the right equipment first time.
? Call +44 7598 410801Request a callback
Frequently asked questions
Can an electric car be towed at all?
Not with its driven wheels on the road. An EV must be transported on a flatbed with all driven wheels off the ground, or on dollies. Manufacturers prohibit conventional towing because spinning the motor generates current that can damage the drive unit and inverter.
Can you jump start an electric car?
You can jump start the 12V auxiliary battery, and that resolves a large proportion of EV breakdowns. You cannot jump start or externally boost the high-voltage traction battery — if that is flat, the car needs transporting to a charger.
What happens if my EV runs out of charge?
The car will slow, warn you repeatedly and then stop. It cannot be recharged at the roadside from a normal power source in any practical time, so the usual answer is a flatbed to the nearest working rapid charger or to your home charge point.
Do EVs need a special recovery truck?
They need a flatbed with adequate payload and winch capacity, and an operator who knows the transport-mode procedure for the model. Standard light-duty flatbeds handle most family EVs; larger electric SUVs and pickups may need a higher-rated truck.
Is it safe to recover an EV after a crash?
Yes, with the right precautions. The main risk is damage to the high-voltage battery, which can lead to delayed thermal runaway. Damaged EVs are handled with isolation procedures and are usually taken to a site able to quarantine them safely.