Need Roadside Assistance For Your Subaru?
A Subaru does not get towed on two wheels. Not one axle up, not on a dolly. All four off the ground or the driveline pays for it, and the compact spare has a rule of its own.
24/7/365 dispatch · Insurance-verified rescuers · Flatbed capable
Subaru roadside help, dispatched nationwide
Road Rescue Network dispatches 24/7 roadside help for Subaru. There are two facts that decide most Subaru calls and both of them are about the all-wheel-drive system: it must ride on a flatbed, and the little emergency spare is a different diameter from the other three, which the driveline notices. Rescuers are dispatched knowing both.
Who builds a Subaru, and why it changes the rescue
Subaru builds symmetrical all wheel drive into essentially everything it sells, which makes it the clearest flatbed make on this list. There is no two wheel tow that is safe to assume on a Subaru, and the centre differential is what pays for the mistake.
Subaru is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Subaru Corporation, the twenty-first largest automaker by production worldwide in 2017.Subaru on Wikipedia
What a rescuer has to know before they roll on a Subaru
These are the things that go wrong when a Subaru gets whichever truck was closest instead of the right one.
Flatbed only, with no exceptions worth taking
Symmetrical all-wheel drive sends power to all four wheels all the time. Towing a Subaru with either axle on the ground, including on a dolly, turns the driveline against itself and damages the centre differential and transmission. This is not a preference, it is the manufacturer's instruction, and it is the most common way a Subaru gets hurt during a rescue rather than before one.
The compact spare is a driveline problem, not just a slow tire
The temporary spare is smaller in diameter than the normal tires. Because all four wheels are connected, running it mismatched puts continuous strain on the centre differential. It is meant for a short, slow trip to a tire shop, not a week of commuting, and drivers routinely do not know that.
They are stuck somewhere a normal tow truck cannot reach
People buy these to go up unplowed roads, trailheads and ski access roads, and that is where they stop. Subaru recovery is disproportionately winch work in snow and mud, at the end of a road the truck has to be able to get back out of. It changes which truck we send.
Older ones have a known head-gasket story
On higher-mileage examples, overheating with coolant loss and no obvious leak is a familiar pattern. If the temperature gauge is climbing, stopping matters more than reaching the next exit, and we would rather move it than have you cook it.
The Subaru calls we take
Flatbed transport
The only correct way to move a Subaru, with all four wheels off the ground.
Winch-out and snow recovery
Unplowed roads, trailheads and ditches, with equipment that can get itself back out too.
Flat tire
Correct-size tires brought to the vehicle so you are not left running a mismatched compact spare any further than necessary.
Jumpstart, lockout and fuel
Jump and battery replacement, lockouts opened without damage, and fuel delivered.
Overheating transport
Moving a hot engine before it is a rebuild.
How a Subaru has to be moved
Worth reading to whoever shows up, whether or not we sent them.
Every all-wheel-drive Subaru goes on a flatbed with all four wheels off the ground. Not a dolly, not one axle lifted. If someone arrives with a wheel lift and tells you it will be fine for a few miles, it will not, and the repair is a centre differential and often a transmission. The compact spare is for a short, slow trip only, because the diameter mismatch loads the same driveline.
Subaru models we cover
Skiers, hikers, rural commuters and anyone who bought the car for the winter it is currently stuck in. Every rescuer carries current general liability insurance and works to standardised response and pricing practices.
Subaru roadside assistance in major US metros
Tap a metro for local rescuers, response times and recent calls. New cities are added continuously.
Statewide coverage
Browse every metro we cover in these states.
Where a Subaru gets looked at
A tow ends somewhere. These are the businesses listed in our directory in the largest metros, with a direct-dial number on every one.
Repair shops
1,044 citiesIndependent garages in the directory, listed by city. Where the vehicle goes once it is off the truck.
Tire shops
639 citiesFor the flat that cannot be plugged, and for the makes that carry no spare at all.
Parts counters
2,936 citiesBatteries, bulbs, belts and fluids, close to where the vehicle stopped.
Body and collision
1,799 citiesAfter a recovery, for the panel damage the tow was not the worst of.
Subaru roadside questions
Can my Subaru be towed on a dolly for a short distance?
No. Symmetrical all-wheel drive means all four wheels are driven all the time, so any wheels left turning on the road work the driveline against itself. It needs a flatbed with all four wheels off the ground, and that is true for a short distance as well as a long one.
How long can I drive on the compact spare?
As short a distance and as slowly as you reasonably can, straight to a tire shop. The temporary spare is a different diameter from your other tires, and because all four are connected, the mismatch puts constant strain on the centre differential. If you are far from a shop, it is cheaper to have a correct-size tire brought to you.
I am stuck on an unplowed road. Can anyone get to me?
Usually yes, and it is a very common Subaru call. Tell dispatch the road surface, how far in you are and whether anything is plowing behind you, because the truck has to be able to get out again as well as in.
Subaru and its model names are trademarks of their owner. Road Rescue Network is an independent nationwide dispatch network and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an authorised agent of Subaru. We name the make because it is what our rescuers service.
Subaru down right now?
One number reaches a live dispatcher. Tell them the model and what it is doing, and the truck that leaves is the one that can actually take your car.