Breakdowns don't schedule themselves
Every year, tens of millions of drivers end up on the shoulder waiting for help — AAA alone answers roughly 30 million roadside calls annually, and the leading causes are stubbornly ordinary: dead batteries, flat tires, and keys locked inside. None of it takes an old car or bad luck. It takes a Tuesday.
The moment it happens, you're really facing two problems. The first is who comes to get you — that's what roadside assistance is for, and there are more ways to get it than most people realize. The second is quieter and bites just as hard: can you actually find your coverage, your policy number, and your car's details while standing on the shoulder? This guide covers both.
What roadside assistance actually covers
Plans differ in the details, but nearly all of them include the same core services:
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Towing — with a mileage capThe big one. Basic plans often cover a short tow (5–15 miles or "to the nearest shop"); pricier tiers stretch to 100 miles or more. Past the cap, you pay per mile — which is why the cap is the first number to check.
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Battery jump-startThe most common call of all. Some services will also test the battery and sell you a replacement on the spot.
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Flat tire change — using your spareThey'll swap the flat for your spare. No usable spare (increasingly common — many new cars ship without one) means a tow instead, so know which camp your car is in before you need to.
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Lockout service & fuel deliveryGetting you back into a locked car, and bringing a couple gallons of gas when the needle wins. Usually capped at a dollar amount per incident.
The fine print worth reading: most plans limit you to 3–5 service calls per year, and coverage is either attached to a person (auto clubs — you're covered in any car) or to a vehicle (insurance add-ons — the car is covered, whoever drives it). That distinction decides which option below fits your household.
Four ways to get covered
1. An auto club membership. AAA is the household name; Better World Club is the usual alternative. You pay an annual fee, the coverage follows you into any car — yours, a rental, a friend's — and higher tiers buy longer tows. Calls to a club never touch your insurance record, which matters more than people think (see the FAQ).
2. An add-on to your car insurance. Most major insurers sell roadside coverage for a few dollars per vehicle per month — often the cheapest option on paper. Two caveats: it covers the car rather than you, and with some carriers each service call is logged on your claims history, where a pattern can follow you at renewal time.
3. Coverage you may already have. Nearly every automaker includes roadside assistance for the length of the new-car warranty — commonly 3–5 years (Hyundai goes to 5 years with unlimited miles; Honda matches its 3-year/36,000-mile warranty). Some credit cards include or discount roadside service too. Before buying anything, check what's already in your wallet and warranty booklet: paying twice for the same tow is the most common mistake in this category. The manufacturer hotlines are listed below.
4. Pay-per-use apps. On-demand services dispatch a truck when you need one, no membership required. You'll pay full price per incident, but if you drive a newer car short distances and haven't called a tow truck in a decade, paying only when it happens can beat an annual fee you never use.
The short version: new car under warranty — you're likely already covered, note when it expires. Older car, long commutes, or multiple drivers in the family — a club membership or insurer add-on earns its fee with a single tow. Comparing service-log apps for that older car? We've done that homework in our car maintenance app comparison.
Automaker roadside assistance numbers
Every major manufacturer staffs a 24/7 roadside line for vehicles still under coverage. Have your VIN ready — it's how they verify you're covered — plus your location and plate. Save your brand's number in your phone before you need it (numbers current as of July 2026; your owner's manual is the final word):
| Brand | 24/7 roadside line |
|---|---|
| BMW | 1-800-831-1117 |
| Chevrolet | 1-800-243-8872 |
| Chrysler / Dodge / Jeep / Ram | 1-800-521-2779 |
| Ford | 1-800-241-3673 |
| Honda | 1-866-864-5211 |
| Hyundai | 1-800-243-7766 |
| Kia | 1-800-333-4542 |
| Lexus | 1-800-255-3987 |
| Mazda | 1-800-866-1998 |
| Mercedes-Benz | 1-800-367-6372 |
| Nissan | 1-800-225-2476 |
| Subaru | 1-800-782-2783 |
| Tesla | 1-877-798-3752 |
| Toyota | 1-800-444-4195 |
| Volkswagen | 1-800-411-6688 |
If your factory coverage has expired, most of these lines can still dispatch help — you'll just pay out of pocket for the service, which is the cue to line up one of the options above.
Coverage is useless if you can't find it
Here's the part no plan brochure mentions: the call only goes smoothly if you can produce the details. Standing on the shoulder with traffic whipping past, you'll be asked for your membership or policy number, your year, make, and model, your plate, and — for a flat — whether you have a usable spare and what tire size you're running. If the answer to any of those lives on a crumpled card in the actual glovebox, or in a filing cabinet at home, the breakdown just got longer.
That's exactly what Squirreld's Glovebox is for. Each vehicle gets one clean record: the VIN (decoded to year/make/model for free, with one-tap lookups for tire size, wiper size, and oil type), the insurance policy number with a photo of the card, the license plate, where the title is stored, your automaker's roadside number from the table above tucked into the notes, and the full service history — so you can tell the dispatcher the battery was replaced eight months ago instead of guessing. It even nudges you before the registration expires, which is not the paperwork you want to be missing when a police cruiser stops to check on you.
Two minutes of setup on a calm afternoon, and the worst Tuesday of the year becomes a two-minute phone call.
Common questions
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Is roadside assistance worth it?If your car is out of its factory warranty, you drive long distances, or a surprise $150–$300 tow bill would sting, yes — a club membership or insurance add-on usually costs less per year than a single tow. If your car is new, check first: most manufacturers include roadside assistance during the warranty period, and paying for a second plan on top of it is wasted money.
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Does using roadside assistance raise my insurance rates?A call to an auto club like AAA never touches your insurance record. A roadside add-on through your insurer is different: some carriers log each service call as a claim on your claims history, and a pattern of claims can affect your renewal. If you expect to use the service more than rarely, that's a point in favor of a standalone club.
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What information do I need when I call for help?Your membership or policy number, your exact location, and your vehicle's year, make, model, and plate. The dispatcher may also ask whether you have a usable spare (for a flat) and what's wrong as best you can tell. Having the insurance card, policy number, and tire size on your phone — instead of in a crumpled glovebox — turns a 20-minute scramble into a 2-minute call.
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Does my new car already include roadside assistance?Almost certainly. Nearly every automaker bundles roadside assistance with the new-car warranty — commonly 3 to 5 years, sometimes longer for hybrids and EVs. Check your warranty booklet or the manufacturer's app before buying separate coverage, and note the expiration date so you know when it's time to pick up a plan of your own. The hotline table in this guide lists the 24/7 number for every major brand.
Put your car's vitals where the shoulder of the highway can't hide them — insurance card, policy number, tire size, and service history in one place.
Start your Glovebox