Why AWD and Electric Cars Need a Flatbed Tow in New Bedford

Published 18 September 2026

New Bedford Towing sends a flatbed for every all-wheel-drive, four-wheel-drive and electric vehicle we move, and when a driver asks why the wheel-lift would not do, the answer comes from the people who built the car: Subaru, Nissan and Tesla all say, in their own words, do not tow this with two wheels on the road.

Here is what they say, what to tell the tow company so the right truck comes the first time, what happens on the bed, and why the wrong truck is the expensive one.

A wheel-lift picks up one end of a car by its wheels and lets the other end roll, which is fine for a front-wheel-drive car lifted from the front. A flatbed tilts its deck to the pavement, winches the car up and carries it with all four wheels off the road, so nothing on the car turns.

AAA's comparison is direct: flatbeds are "ideal for all-wheel and four-wheel drive vehicles," a wheel-lift is a "poor choice for motorcycles or low-riding vehicles," and one line explains the whole question: "If you drag the front wheels, your transmission could get damaged."

The reason is the drivetrain: in an all-wheel-drive car the front and rear axles are tied together through a center differential or a transfer case, so when one axle rolls and the other hangs still, the road turns the driveline against a transmission that is not running.

Nissan's service bulletin on flat towing, dated March 19, 2018, says of 4WD and AWD vehicles with automatic transmissions, in capitals: "DO NOT Flat Tow - doing so will damage internal transmission components" and "DO NOT use a tow dolly - doing so will damage drivetrain components."

Subaru's owner's manual says never to tow an AWD model, automatic or manual, with one pair of wheels raised and the other on the ground, because the vehicle can "spin away due to the operation or deterioration of the center differential," and if the transmission has failed, "transport your vehicle on a flatbed truck."

Tesla's instructions for transporters say the same for an electric car: a flatbed "is the recommended method of transporting Model 3," and the tires must never be in a position where they can spin, because that "can lead to significant damage and overheating." With no flatbed available, wheel lifts and dollies must be used, limited to 35 miles; Tow Mode lets the tires rotate slowly, under 5 mph and for less than 30 feet, enough to winch the car onto the bed; and damage caused by improper transporting "is not covered by the warranty."

The front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive versions of the same car look identical at the curb, so say the drivetrain even if you are not asked: a dispatcher who hears "Forester" or "Model 3" knows what to send, and one who hears "a gray SUV" does not.

Five things settle the truck:

• Year, make and model, and the drivetrain - the badge on the tailgate is usually the quickest answer.
• Electric or hybrid, and whether it will power up, since that decides whether the car can be put in its tow or transport mode.
• Whether it rolls and steers. A car in park with no key, a seized brake or a folded wheel is winched up with dollies under the dead corner, and that is time on the quote.
• Where it is. A garage ceiling, a steep driveway apron or a tight side street decides where the bed can come down.
• Where it is going, and whether the shop will be open when the truck arrives.

The driver sets the truck so the deck tilts in line with the car and runs the winch line out to the tow points. The car comes up slowly; on the deck, wheel straps go over each tire and ratchet to the bed so nothing on the body carries the load, and where a frame point is used a soft strap goes around it, never a control arm or a sway bar. Two things are yours: shift to neutral only when the driver asks, because a car in neutral on a slope moves, and leave the parking brake off once the car is strapped, because the straps do the holding.

A motorcycle rides the same deck upright, rolled forward until the front wheel hits the end of the wheel chock and held with ratchet straps to the D-rings, padded with a rag where they touch paint or chrome. U-Haul's loading guide gives the rule: do not overtighten, because that "could make your suspension bottom out and damage parts when towing," and a bike with a center stand goes onto it, "the most stable way for the bike to sit on a flatbed."

Harley riders, put the bike in transport mode before the truck arrives: it disables the security system's motion detection, and otherwise, as one Harley dealer's guide puts it, the alarm "can continuously trigger during transit, slowly draining your battery."

A wheel-lift is the simpler hook-up and, for a front-wheel-drive car, the right one. On an all-wheel-drive car it saves a little on the tow and risks the transfer case or the transmission; on an electric car it risks the warranty too. The bed costs more because it is different work, quoted as one total before the truck rolls, and our flatbed service for AWD, EV and motorcycle transport explains what moves it.

In New Bedford the calls come from where cars sit: the MBTA lots at New Bedford station, 536 Acushnet Avenue, with 352 spaces, and Church Street station, 387 Church Street, with 354, and the ferry lots at State Pier, where a car waits for days while its owner is on Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket or Cuttyhunk. In winter that is where batteries quit: AAA puts a battery about 30 percent weaker at 32°F while the engine needs about 30 percent more energy to start, and 50 percent more at zero.

A dead battery in a gasoline car is a jump. An electric car that will not power up is still a flatbed job - the rule about the tires never spinning does not change because the screen is dark - and New Bedford Towing's trucks load it the same way, bed down, winch line doing the work. Then there is the bill, which is where this series began: what a tow company can legally charge in Massachusetts.