How to Tow an Electric Car (Without Destroying the Motor)

💡 Key Takeaway: Always use a flatbed tow truck for electric cars — wheel-lift and dolly towing can cause permanent drivetrain damage within a fraction of a mile. 💡 Key Takeaway: EV "tow mode" or "transport mode" only helps with loading onto a flatbed — it does NOT make flat towing behind an RV safe. 📊 Quick Fact: Improper EV towing repairs typically run $3,000–$15,000 and are rarely covered under warranty. ✅ Pro Tip: AAA Plus and Premium memberships cover 100–200 miles of flatbed towing, making them genuinely worth it for EV owners. 💡 Key Takeaway: Always tell the dispatcher you have an electric vehicle — not every tow operator carries the right equipment.

EV motors are permanently connected to the drive wheels, meaning most electric cars cannot be towed with their wheels on the ground. Unlike a traditional transmission, there's no neutral gear that physically disconnects the drivetrain.

Understanding the EV Drivetrain

When those wheels spin during a tow, the motor spins too. This immediately starts generating electricity through regenerative braking. However, that current has nowhere safe to go, so it back-feeds into the battery pack and power electronics.

⚠️ Warning: According to Tesla's service documentation, damage can begin in as little as 0.3 miles of wheels-down towing.

Think of your EV's motor as both an engine and a generator, depending on the direction of energy flow. Tow it incorrectly, and you've turned a simple breakdown into a potentially $10,000 repair.

This mechanism is fundamentally different from towing a rear-wheel-drive gas car with the front wheels up. In that scenario, the drivetrain isn't rotating at all. In an EV, there's no clean way to "disconnect" unless the manufacturer specifically built that feature in.

Flat towing an electric car — with all four wheels on the ground, connected by a tow bar to an RV — is explicitly prohibited by nearly every major manufacturer. Tesla, Rivian, Hyundai, Kia, Ford, and GM all state in their owner's manuals that flat towing is not permitted for their EVs.

The danger arises from continuous regenerative braking. At highway speed behind an RV, the driven wheels turning on pavement constantly engage regenerative braking. This means sustained back-EMF current floods the inverter and battery management system with unregulated voltage. The result is almost always:

• Motor winding failure
• Inverter board destruction
• Severe battery degradation

Neither of these outcomes is cheap to fix.

A small number of plug-in hybrids with front-wheel-drive-only configurations technically allow dolly towing of the front wheels while the rear axle (which carries the electric motor) stays off the ground. However, you must verify this with your specific manufacturer before attempting anything. Never assume.

If you're an RV owner shopping for a dinghy car, this information is crucial. Check out our comprehensive flat towing guide before making a purchase decision — not after.

A flatbed tow truck, with all four wheels completely off the ground, is the only universally approved towing method for electric cars. Every major EV manufacturer — including Tesla, Rivian, Ford, Hyundai, BMW, and GM — specifies flatbed-only recovery in their towing guidelines. AAA echoes this position in their EV roadside assistance guidance.

Here's exactly what that process should look like:

Before the Flatbed Arrives

• Activate Transport Mode or Tow Mode: If your vehicle has this feature, activate it (more on that below).
• Manual Parking Brake Release: If the 12V auxiliary battery is dead, consult your manual for the manual parking brake release procedure. This is usually accessed via a small panel in the trunk or under a seat.
• Tesla Specifics: For Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, the manual release is a red strap located behind the rear seat bottom cushion.
• Ensure Visibility: Keep hazard lights on. If you're on a highway, stay behind the barrier if one is present for your safety.

When the Operator Arrives

• Confirm Flatbed: Confirm they have a flatbed — not a wheel-lift or a dolly setup.
• Identify Lift Points: Point out the vehicle's lift points. Most EVs have reinforced jacking pads that prevent damage to the battery enclosure. The Ford F-150 Lightning, for example, has specific jack pad locations stamped in the rocker panel.
• Verify Full Lift: Make sure all four wheels are fully on the deck before any straps are applied.

Use our flat tow checker tool to quickly verify whether your specific EV model is approved for any ground-contact towing. Enter your EV's make, model, and year to get instant manufacturer towing guidance.

Yes, improperly towing an electric car causes significant and often irreversible motor damage, and the damage can happen fast. When the drive wheels rotate, the permanently-coupled motor acts as an uncontrolled generator, producing electrical current with nowhere to go. That current overheats the motor windings, fries the inverter's IGBT power transistors, and pushes unregulated voltage into the battery management system (BMS).

The Cost of Improper Towing

Real repair numbers are sobering. Based on dealer service data and owner forum reports aggregated by EV communities, drivetrain damage from improper towing typically costs between $3,000 and $15,000 to fix. Warranty coverage is almost always denied because it falls under owner misuse.

Consider this worked example: Say your Chevy Bolt EUV gets towed two miles wheel-down by a well-meaning operator using a wheel-lift truck. The rear motor has been spinning at 60 mph equivalent for those two miles. The inverter — which on the Bolt EUV runs at 360V DC — has been absorbing uncontrolled current with no active thermal management running. You could be looking at a full drive unit replacement, which GM dealers price at roughly $8,000–$11,000 for parts and labor alone.

The kicker? If your 12V system is alive, your instrument cluster may not show any warning until the damage is already done.

Several modern EVs include a dedicated transport or tow mode. Here's what's available across common models, based on current manufacturer documentation:

Source: Respective manufacturer owner's manuals and towing supplements, 2023–2025 model years.

💡 Key Takeaway: This is a critical distinction: tow mode does not authorize flat towing. It's purely a tool for safe flatbed loading — releasing the parking brake, disabling the automatic hold, and allowing the wheels to roll slowly onto the deck. The moment those wheels spin at road speed, you're back in dangerous territory regardless of mode.

For details on how different tow trucks handle EV recovery, see our types of tow trucks guide.

Flatbed towing an EV typically runs $125–$350 for a local tow of 5–15 miles. Long-distance towing averages $3–$7 per mile beyond that. EVs often cost 10–20% more to tow than equivalent gas vehicles for two primary reasons:

1. Increased Weight: Most EVs weigh 4,500–6,500 lbs, compared to 3,200–4,000 lbs for comparable ICE sedans.
2. Specialized Equipment: They require a flatbed, which costs more to dispatch than a wheel-lift truck.

A Rivian R1S can tip the scales at 7,150 lbs. That's not a standard flatbed job — you need a heavy-duty flatbed rated for that gross weight, which narrows your operator pool and bumps the price further.

Long-distance towing — for example, if you run out of charge on a rural highway in Montana, 80 miles from the nearest dealer — can easily run $400–$700 out of pocket.

✅ Pro Tip: AAA Plus membership covers 100 miles of towing; AAA Premier covers one tow of up to 200 miles a year. For EV owners, that upgrade is genuinely worth doing the math on.

Use our towing cost calculator to estimate what a specific tow might run you in your area, or check our towing costs guide for a full breakdown.

📊 Quick Fact: According to AAA's 2023 annual data, they responded to over 464,000 EV-related service calls, with roughly 32% involving battery or charging issues — the most common reason EVs need a tow.

If your electric car breaks down on the highway, move as far right onto the shoulder as you can, activate your hazard lights, and call for a flatbed tow truck specifically. Don't just call any towing service — tell the dispatcher immediately that you have an electric vehicle requiring flatbed-only recovery.

Here's the specific sequence:

Immediate Actions for Safety

1. Pull over safely: If you have any remaining range, coast to an exit or, at minimum, a wide shoulder.
2. Stay safe: Stay in or behind the vehicle depending on shoulder width and traffic speed. NHTSA data shows a significant percentage of roadside fatalities involve people standing behind their vehicles on active shoulders.
3. Call for flatbed service: If you have roadside assistance through AAA, specify EV flatbed when you call.
4. Activate tow/transport mode: Do this if your vehicle supports it (see table above).
5. Manual parking brake release: If the 12V system is dead, use the manual parking brake release documented in your owner's manual before the operator arrives — don't wait for them to figure it out on the shoulder.

Special Considerations for Damaged Batteries

One honest limitation: If your high-voltage battery is critically damaged — from a collision, flood exposure, or thermal event — a standard flatbed is not sufficient. Some EV battery fires reignite hours after the initial event. In that scenario, specialized EV recovery operators use enclosed, lined carriers or water-immersion containers. Your standard tow company won't have that equipment.

⚠️ Warning: Check with your manufacturer's emergency line (Tesla: 877-798-3752; Rivian: 888-748-4261) for guidance on thermal incident recovery for critically damaged high-voltage batteries.

Understanding what to do after your car gets towed can also help you navigate the next steps once it's safely off the road.

If you're worried about being taken advantage of during a stressful breakdown, our guide on tow truck scams covers the most common tactics and how to avoid them.