Need Roadside Assistance For Your Toyota?
The most common car on the road is also the one people most often jump in the wrong place. On a Prius the battery is not under the hood, and the terminal that is under the hood is the one to use.
24/7/365 dispatch · Insurance-verified rescuers · Flatbed capable
Toyota roadside help, dispatched nationwide
Road Rescue Network dispatches 24/7 roadside help across the Toyota range, from a Prius that will not wake up to a Tacoma with a spare it cannot lower, a Sienna that has to travel on a bed, and a Tundra out of fuel a long way from a station. Toyota is the vehicle our rescuers see most, so the patterns below are not theory, they are what the calls actually are.
Who builds a Toyota, and why it changes the rescue
Toyota builds more hybrids than anyone, and a hybrid that will not start is very often the small twelve volt battery rather than the traction pack, which is a jump start rather than a tow. Knowing which battery is dead is the difference between a fifteen minute call and moving the car, and it is the first thing worth checking on any Toyota.
Toyota Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the largest automobile manufacturer in the world, producing about 10 million vehicles per year.Toyota on Wikipedia
What a rescuer has to know before they roll on a Toyota
These are the things that go wrong when a Toyota gets whichever truck was closest instead of the right one.
On a Prius the 12V battery is in the back, and you do not jump it there
Hybrid Toyotas keep the small 12V battery in the rear rather than the engine bay, and there is a dedicated jump terminal under the hood to use instead. Clamping to the wrong thing, or trying to jump the high-voltage system, is how people turn a flat battery into an expensive fault. Almost every hybrid that will not start is the little battery, not the traction pack.
Stolen catalytic converters send Priuses to us all year
Hybrid converters are a theft target and the car is loud, legal-to-drive-on-paper and alarming to sit in afterwards. It usually still moves. Knowing that tells you whether you need a tow tonight or a shop in the morning, and we will tell you honestly which.
Tacoma and Tundra hide the spare under the bed on a winch
The spare hangs beneath the truck and is lowered by a cable winch worked through a hole in the rear bumper. In the salt belt the winch seizes and drivers cannot get to a perfectly good tire. Rescuers carry the tools to free or safely cut it down.
The current Sienna is all-wheel drive and hybrid only
That means a flatbed, not a wheel lift, and it means the 12V is what usually strands it. Owners who towed the previous generation on two wheels get caught by this.
Part-time four-wheel drive changes the tow
4Runner, Land Cruiser and 4x4 trucks with a transfer case can sometimes be moved differently from a full-time all-wheel-drive crossover, but a flatbed remains the answer that is never wrong. We default to it rather than guessing at your model year.
The Toyota calls we take
Hybrid jumpstart and 12V replacement
Jump at the correct under-hood terminal on Prius and other hybrids, load-testing and on-site replacement of the rear-mounted 12V.
Flat tire and seized spare winch
Freeing the under-bed spare on Tacoma and Tundra, fitting it, or bringing a correct-size tire.
Towing
Flatbed for all-wheel-drive, hybrid and electric Toyotas, wheel-lift where it is safe on front-drive cars.
Lockout and fuel delivery
Toyota lockouts opened without damage, and fuel brought to the vehicle.
Winch-out and recovery
Snow, ditches and soft ground, taken from rated recovery points.
How a Toyota has to be moved
Worth reading to whoever shows up, whether or not we sent them.
All-wheel-drive Toyotas, every hybrid and electric model, and the current Sienna belong on a flatbed with all four wheels off the ground. Front-wheel-drive Corollas and Camrys can be moved with the drive wheels lifted. On a hybrid, do not attempt to jump anything other than the designated terminal, and do not let anyone connect to the orange high-voltage cabling.
Toyota models we cover
Commuters, families, rideshare drivers running hybrids for the fuel economy, and trades in a Tacoma or Tundra. Every rescuer carries current general liability insurance and works to standardised response and pricing practices.
Toyota 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 Toyota 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.
Toyota roadside questions
How do you jump a Prius? I cannot find the battery.
The 12V battery is in the back, not the engine bay, and you do not jump it there. There is a dedicated positive terminal under the hood made for exactly this. Never connect anything to the orange high-voltage cabling. If the car has been sitting, the 12V is almost certainly the whole problem and the traction battery is fine.
Someone cut off my catalytic converter. Can I still drive?
Mechanically it will usually still move and it will be extremely loud. Whether you should drive it depends on distance and where you are going. Call and we will tell you straight whether this is a tow tonight or a shop appointment tomorrow rather than selling you a truck you do not need.
The spare will not come down from under my Tacoma.
The winch cable corrodes and seizes, which is normal anywhere they salt roads. A rescuer can free it or cut the carrier down safely, and will bring a matching tire if the spare underneath turns out to be flat or perished.
Can my Sienna be towed on two wheels?
Not the current one. It is all-wheel drive and hybrid, so it needs a flatbed with all four wheels off the ground. The older front-drive vans were more forgiving, which is why this catches people out.
Toyota 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 Toyota. We name the make because it is what our rescuers service.
Toyota 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.