Can my car be towed, or does it need a flatbed?

Automatic gearboxes

An automatic transmission is lubricated by a pump driven by the engine. With the engine off and the wheels turning, the gearbox internals are moving without oil pressure. Short, slow tows are sometimes permitted in the handbook; a motorway-speed tow across two counties generally is not. A flatbed removes the question entirely.

Four-wheel drive

On a permanent 4WD system, lifting two wheels still drives the transfer case and differentials through the other two. Some vehicles allow it with the transfer case in neutral, most do not. Anything with a Haldex or similar coupling should be on a bed.

Electric and hybrid vehicles

Turning the wheels of most EVs spins the motor, which acts as a generator and pushes current back into a system that is meant to be shut down. Manufacturers are close to unanimous: transport on a flatbed, all four wheels off the ground. This is the case where getting it wrong is genuinely expensive.

• All four wheels off the ground
• No rope towing, even for short distances
• Tell us it is electric when you call — it changes how we load

Older manuals and front-wheel drive

A conventional manual front-wheel-drive car in neutral is the one case where a suspended tow is usually harmless. Even then, a flatbed is kinder on the tyres, the steering lock and the bodywork — and if the battery is flat, the steering lock and brake servo are not working anyway.

The short version

If your car is an automatic, four-wheel drive, electric or hybrid, it wants a flatbed. If it has a locked wheel, accident damage or a snapped driveshaft, it needs one. That covers most of what is on the road now, which is why our fleet is flatbeds rather than tow hitches.