Towing an electric vehicle is one of the few jobs in this trade where there is essentially one correct answer. All four wheels go on the deck. Not a wheel lift, not dollies under one axle, not a short pull to the end of the street because it is only a hundred yards.
The reason is not caution for its own sake. It is what happens inside an electric drivetrain when a wheel turns and the vehicle is not awake to manage it.
Why wheels down is the wrong answer on an electric car
On most electric vehicles the drive motor is permanently connected to the wheels. There is no clutch to open and no conventional gearbox to put into neutral. If a driven wheel rolls, the motor turns.
A turning motor generates current. In normal driving that is regenerative braking and the vehicle manages it deliberately, routing energy into the pack under supervision. During a tow, with the vehicle shut down, that supervision is not necessarily active, and the manufacturer’s instruction on the overwhelming majority of electric vehicles is that the vehicle must be transported with all wheels off the ground.
There is a second reason that catches people even on short moves. Many electric vehicles hold the vehicle stationary with a parking pawl that only releases when the vehicle is powered and deliberately placed in a transport or tow mode. If the vehicle has no power, the pawl stays engaged and the wheels do not turn at all. That is not a fault, it is the design, and it changes the loading method rather than the destination.
The twelve volt battery is the most common electric vehicle call
Electric vehicles still have a conventional low voltage battery, and it does the same job it does in any other car: it wakes the vehicle up, runs the electronics, releases the contactors and lets the traction pack do anything at all.
When that battery fails, the vehicle is immobile with a full traction pack. The doors may not open normally, the screen stays dark, and the transport mode that would release the parking pawl cannot be selected, because selecting it needs the vehicle to be awake.
Heat is hard on that battery here for the same reasons it is hard on any other, which makes this a routine Las Vegas call rather than an exotic one. Many manufacturers document an external low voltage connection point precisely so a flat vehicle can be woken, and the procedure is model specific. What nobody should be doing is connecting anything to the high voltage system. That system is not a jump start candidate under any circumstances. The general version of this problem is covered on our roadside assistance page.
Where the vehicle can be lifted, and where it absolutely cannot
The traction pack on most electric vehicles is a structural slab under the floor, running most of the length between the axles. It is also the most expensive component in the car.
That geometry removes the improvisation that works on a conventional car. Jacking or supporting an electric vehicle at a convenient point under the floor can contact the pack casing, and damage there is not cosmetic. Manufacturers specify lift points for this reason, and an operator working on an unfamiliar model should be looking them up rather than guessing.
Ground clearance is usually low as a result, which brings the same break-over problem low sports cars have when loading onto a deck: the transition from ramp to deck is where a front lip or an underbody panel makes contact. Ramp extensions and deck angle solve it. The full comparison of loading methods is in our guide to flatbed versus wheel lift towing.
Electric vehicles are also heavier than comparable conventional cars, because the pack is heavy. That affects deck loading, winching effort and the skates used under wheels that will not turn. It is a reason to be specific about the model when booking rather than describing it as a mid-size car.
After a collision, or after any damage underneath
A damaged electric vehicle is handled differently from a damaged conventional one, and the difference is not negotiable.
High voltage cabling is identifiable and routed through the vehicle, and a collision that deforms the floor or the pack area is a different kind of incident from one that folds a wing. Damage to a traction pack can develop over hours rather than immediately, which is why emergency services treat a damaged electric vehicle as requiring monitoring and separation rather than as a settled scene once the vehicle has stopped.
What that means practically: nobody should be attempting to isolate, disconnect or work on the high voltage system at the roadside, the vehicle is loaded and transported as it is, and where it goes afterwards needs deciding rather than defaulting. A vehicle with underfloor damage should not be parked among other vehicles without someone competent agreeing that it is appropriate.
High value electric vehicles get the same handling standard as any other high value car, soft straps over the tires rather than chains through suspension components, which is the standard described on our exotic car towing page.
What to tell the dispatcher when towing an electric vehicle
- Make, model and year. Not “an electric car”. Transport mode procedures, lift points and pawl behaviour are model specific.
- Does the vehicle have power. Does the screen wake, do the doors respond, does anything on the dash light up. This decides whether the parking pawl can be released.
- Does it roll. If the vehicle cannot be put into transport mode, the wheels will not turn and it needs skates to come onto the deck.
- Is there damage underneath. Any impact to the floor, the pack area or a curb strike hard enough to have contacted the underside.
- Where it is going. A charge point, a dealer, a service centre or home. A depleted pack and a broken vehicle have completely different destinations, and the destination should be agreed before the truck leaves.
A vehicle that has simply run the pack down is a straightforward job on the standard passenger equipment described under light duty towing. The full set of service lines is on our towing and transport services page, and dispatch is reachable through contact us.
Frequently asked questions
Can an electric car be towed with two wheels on the ground?
No, not as a normal practice. On most electric vehicles the drive motor is permanently connected to the wheels, so any wheel that turns turns the motor, and a turning motor generates current that the vehicle is not necessarily awake to manage. The manufacturer instruction on the overwhelming majority of electric vehicles is transport with all wheels off the ground, which means a flatbed. A short distance is not an exception.
Why will my electric car not roll even in neutral?
Because many electric vehicles hold themselves stationary with a parking pawl that only releases when the vehicle is powered and deliberately put into a transport or tow mode. If the low voltage battery is flat, the vehicle cannot be woken, the mode cannot be selected and the wheels stay locked. That is the design rather than a fault, and it means the vehicle is loaded with skates rather than pulled onto the deck.
Can you jump start an electric vehicle?
The low voltage battery, in many cases yes, and the procedure is model specific because manufacturers document a particular connection point for waking a flat vehicle. The high voltage traction system, never. Nothing at the roadside should be connected to it under any circumstances. Waking the low voltage side is what allows the doors, the screen and the transport mode to work.
Is a damaged electric vehicle treated differently after a collision?
Yes. Damage to the traction pack can develop over hours rather than showing itself immediately, which is why a damaged electric vehicle is treated as needing monitoring and separation rather than as a settled scene. Nobody isolates or works on the high voltage system at the roadside. The vehicle is loaded as it is, and where it is parked afterwards needs a decision by someone competent rather than a default space.
Does the weight of an electric car change the tow?
It can. The traction pack is heavy, so an electric vehicle is generally heavier than a comparable conventional car of the same size, which affects deck loading, winching and the equipment used under wheels that will not turn. Ground clearance is also usually low because the pack sits under the floor, so loading needs attention to the break-over point between ramp and deck. Give the exact model when booking rather than a size description.