Roadside assistance in Portland, ME
Dead battery, locked keys, a flat, an empty tank or a car in a snowbank: one call, any hour.
What does roadside assistance in Portland cover?
Roadside assistance covers what stops a healthy car where it stands: a dead battery, locked-in keys, a flat tire, an empty tank, or wheels stuck in snow or a ditch. We handle all five around the clock, from Munjoy Hill and the West End to North Deering and Stroudwater.
Our emergency roadside service starts with the basics: what the car is, where it is and what it is doing. Then you get the price, before a truck is sent. We are a Portland, Maine towing company too, so a call that turns into a tow does not start over: one number covers Portland towing and roadside help of every kind.
Jump starts
We bring a jump pack to the car and start it, then check that it is charging, because a battery that dies again in the next lot has not been fixed.
Car lockouts
Keys on the seat or in the trunk: we open the car with tools made for the job, working carefully around the seal and glass, then ask you to show us it is yours.
Flat tire changes
We put on your spare with our own jack and tools. We need a usable spare and, for locking lug nuts, their key; with no spare or two flats, it is a tow.
Gas delivery
We bring enough gas or diesel to reach a station; tell us which the car takes. An electric car out of charge needs a flatbed to a charger instead.
Winch-outs
A car stuck in a snowbank, a ditch or soft ground can often be winched back onto firm road and driven off. Portland's normal snowfall is 68.7 inches a year by National Weather Service figures, so we expect these calls all winter.
We cover Portland and these nearby towns:
What are the most common roadside assistance calls?
Dead batteries, flat tires and lockouts. In 2014, AAA answered more than 29 million roadside calls, and 17 million of them were for one of those three problems.
The pattern has held: AAA reported the same three as its top requests for 2015, the year it rescued a record 32 million drivers, and named them again in its Independence Day 2024 forecast.
Closer to home, AAA Northern New England, which covers Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, answered more than half a million service calls in 2019, and more than 117,000 of them were about batteries. That is why, whatever the call, we also ask whether the car cranks, where the keys are and whether there is a spare.
When is a tow truck the better call than roadside help?
When the car is broken rather than stuck. Roadside help gets a healthy car going again; a car that is not safe to drive should ride on a tow truck from the start.
- Warning lights, steam or a hot smell. A flashing check-engine light, low oil pressure or an overheating engine means stop, not jump.
- A battery that dies again soon after a jump. That points at the charging system.
- No spare, two flats or a bent wheel. The car goes to a tire shop on a tow truck.
- An electric car out of charge. It cannot be refueled, and Tesla recommends a flatbed to transport its Model 3 and Model Y.
- A lost key. Opening the door will not start a car whose key is gone, so it usually goes to a dealer.
In each case we quote the tow on the same call and send the truck the job needs. See our towing services for what happens next, and what goes into a towing quote for what moves the price.
Will the Turnpike or I-295 safety patrol help for free?
Sometimes, at set hours. The Maine Turnpike Authority's Safety Patrol costs nothing: it changes flat tires, jump-starts cars, helps with lockouts and moves disabled vehicles to the shoulder. Dial #999 or (207) 871-7701 from a cell phone to reach it.
Near Portland, the Turnpike lists weekday hours for the patrol: 7:00 to 10:30 a.m. between Exit 42 in Scarborough and Mile 57 in Cumberland, and 3:30 to 7:00 p.m. between Exit 48 in Portland and Exit 32 in Biddeford. Its description does not say the patrol tows a car to a garage. The (207) 871-7701 line is answered around the clock by the Turnpike's traffic center.
I-295 has its own MaineDOT patrol between Scarborough and Freeport at peak travel times. It can clear a disabled vehicle out of the travel lanes, towing it if needed, but MaineDOT lists no phone number for it, and off-season (the weekend after Indigenous Peoples' Day to the week before Memorial Day) it works weekdays, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
A car that cannot be driven still has to leave the highway, and on the Turnpike, Rule 3-B makes arranging its prompt removal the driver's job. That is where we come in; our guide to Turnpike and I-295 breakdowns has more on both roads.
Came back to a dead battery at the Portland Jetport?
Call us from the car and we bring the jump to it, anywhere at Portland International Jetport. A car left in the cold for days can come back to a battery that will not turn the engine over, and a garage level is no harder for a jump pack than a driveway.
The Jetport names its garage levels by color, from the Blue Lot on Level 1 through the Purple, Red and Orange Lots to the Yellow Lot on Level 5, and it also lists the Green Lot, the Pink Lot and Park-N-Jet. The lot, the level and any row or space marker near the car get us there without a search.
If it still will not start, the call becomes a tow, and the level matters again: garage headroom decides which truck can reach the car.
How do you stay safe while you wait for roadside help?
Get the car as far off the road as it will go, turn on the hazard lights, and keep everyone out of the travel lanes.
On the Turnpike, a disabled car belongs on the right shoulder (Turnpike Rule 3-B). On limited-access highways such as I-95 and I-295, Maine law bans stopping in a travel lane, a ramp lane, on a bridge or on the left shoulder unless the car is too disabled to avoid it (29-A M.R.S. §2068(1)).
If you can get out safely, use the door away from traffic and wait well back from the road, behind a guardrail if there is one. If you cannot, stay inside with your seat belt on, and if the car is stopped in a live lane, call 911.
Maine's move-over law helps. Since October 25, 2023, drivers passing any stopped vehicle that looks disabled or has its flashing lights on must move over a lane if they can, or slow down if they cannot, and the fine is at least $275 (29-A M.R.S. §2070(8)). Do not count on every driver doing it; wait where a car that ignores the law cannot reach you.
More on each roadside service
Jump Start
A dead battery started where the car sits, then checked for charging.
Learn moreVehicle Lockout
Keys locked in the car or the trunk, the door opened with care.
Learn moreFlat Tire Change
Your spare mounted at the roadside, or a tow if there is none.
Learn moreGas Delivery
Enough gas or diesel to reach the next station.
Learn moreWinch-Out
A car pulled out of snow, mud or a ditch.
Learn more
Frequently asked questions
Is there 24-hour roadside assistance near me in Portland, ME?
Yes. We dispatch roadside help and towing in Portland around the clock, every day of the year, and in the nearby towns from South Portland to Freeport. Call, tell us where the car is and what it is doing, and you get the price before a truck is sent.
What does roadside assistance include?
Jump starts, car lockouts, flat tire changes with your spare, gas or diesel delivery, and winch-outs from snow, mud or a ditch. If the car cannot be fixed where it is, we tow it, and we quote the tow first.
How much does roadside assistance cost in Portland?
It depends on the job, where the car is and how long the work takes. We give you the price on the call, before a truck is sent, and if the visit turns into a tow we quote that before we hook up the car.
Is the Maine Turnpike Safety Patrol free?
Yes. It changes flat tires, jump-starts cars, helps with lockouts and moves disabled vehicles to the shoulder at no charge; dial #999 or (207) 871-7701 from a cell phone. Near Portland it works set weekday hours, and under the Turnpike's rules, getting a car that cannot be driven removed is still up to the driver.
Should I call 911 or a tow truck?
Call 911 first if anyone is hurt, if the car is stopped in a live travel lane, or if a child or pet is locked inside. For a dead battery, a flat, an empty tank or keys locked in a car that is parked safely, call us.
Can you jump-start my car at the Portland Jetport?
Yes. Tell us the lot and the level, such as the Blue Lot on Level 1 of the garage or the Pink Lot, plus any row or space marker, and we bring the jump to the car. If it still will not start, we quote a tow before anything else.
Need roadside help in Portland right now?
Call, tell us what the car is doing and where it is, and get the price first.
- Where the car is - street and cross street, garage level or highway exit
- What it is doing - clicking, dead, flat, out of fuel or locked
- The year, make and model, and whether it runs on gas, diesel or electricity
- Whether you have a spare and the lug lock key