Which cars must never be rope-towed
Automatic gearbox, 4x4 and electric car — for these three, rope towing causes more damage than the fault itself.
Symptoms
- A car with an automatic gearbox
- Permanent 4x4 drive
- An electric or hybrid car
- Locked steering or brakes
Automatic gearbox. The oil pump runs only with the engine running. Rope-towing spins the shaft without oil — the gearbox is ruined within kilometres. The repair often costs many times the transport.
Permanent 4x4. Lifting only two wheels means a speed difference at the differential. The result is the same as with an automatic.
Electric car. Turning wheels feed the system through the motor; with a fault that creates current with nowhere to go. Manufacturers explicitly forbid towing — flatbed only.
On top of that: with the engine off there is no power steering and no brake vacuum. Even an "ordinary" car on a rope is far harder to control than you expect.
When you need a tow: with all of the above, and in practice for any tow beyond a few metres. We carry on a flatbed — all four wheels are on the trailer.
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