Why an AWD Car Never Rides a Wheel-Lift in Thousand Oaks

Published 7 October 2026

At Thousand Oaks Tow Truck the second question we ask on most calls, after where the car is, is whether it is all-wheel drive. The answer decides which truck we send. A front-wheel-drive sedan can ride behind a wheel-lift with its back tires on the road. A Subaru, an AWD Nissan or an AWD Toyota cannot, and the people who say so are the companies that built them.

Nothing below is our opinion. Each point comes from an owner's manual published by the manufacturer, or from the California Vehicle Code, and the source is named beside it. Wording differs by model and year, so your own manual has the final say.

A wheel-lift truck cradles one pair of tires in a yoke, raises that end of the car and tows it with the other pair rolling on the pavement. For a car driven by one axle that works: lift the driven end and the free end follows like a trailer.

All-wheel drive removes the free end. Front and rear axles are joined through the drivetrain, so when one pair of tires is held still in the yoke and the other pair is turned by the road, the parts that connect them are made to absorb the difference for the whole trip. Subaru, Nissan and Toyota each describe the result in their own words, and none calls it harmless.

That is why an AWD call is usually answered with a flatbed for an all-wheel-drive car that cannot ride on two wheels. The other acceptable answer, where two of the manuals allow it, is a wheel-lift plus dollies under the remaining pair, so that all four tires are carried.

Subaru's 2018 Crosstrek owner's manual puts it under a warning heading in the towing section. AWD models are never to be towed with the front wheels raised and the rear wheels on the ground, or the reverse. The stated reason is that this will cause the vehicle to spin away due to the operation or deterioration of the center differential. Subaru's concern is not only wear - it is the car coming off the truck.

The same section ranks a flat-bed truck ahead of every other way to transport the vehicle. Towing with all four wheels on the ground is described as well, but with tight limits for CVT models: under 20 mph, and less than 31 miles. Past either figure, or after a transmission failure, the manual sends the car to a flat-bed.

It also covers how the car is held. Each safety chain is to be equally tightened, without pulling so hard that the suspension bottoms out, and suspension parts or other parts of the body are never to be used for towing or tie-down.

Nissan's 2024 Rogue owner's manual is shorter and blunter. For all-wheel-drive models it recommends towing dollies or a flat bed truck, and cautions never to tow an AWD model equipped with a CVT with any of the wheels on the ground, because this may cause serious and expensive damage to the transfer case and transmission.

The front-wheel-drive Rogue gets more room. Nissan recommends towing it with the front wheels off the ground or on a flat bed, and notes that the rear wheels may stay on the road only if the electronic parking brake has been released. If it has not, dollies are called for.

That leads to the catch. The manual notes that with a completely drained battery the transmission will not shift out of Park until the battery is charged or the car is jump started. A dead Rogue can therefore sit with locked wheels, which changes how it gets onto a deck. It is the same problem a Tesla with a flat low-voltage battery presents, and how a Tesla has to be loaded and tied down covers the tools used when wheels will not turn.

Toyota's 2022 RAV4 owner's manual is the most detailed of the three. It recommends a wheel-lift type truck or a flatbed, then splits the instructions by drivetrain. For AWD models towed with a wheel-lift, a towing dolly is required: under the rear wheels when lifting from the front, under the front wheels when lifting from the rear.

The warning beside it says to transport an AWD model with all four wheels raised off the ground, and that if it is towed with the tires contacting the ground the drivetrain or related parts may be damaged and the vehicle may fly off the truck. The dinghy towing page adds that an AWD model must never be towed with any of the wheels on the ground.

Two smaller rules matter on the day. The manual rules out a sling-type truck from either end, and on a flatbed it calls for tire strapping belts with the parking brake set and the engine switch off. It also lists two symptoms that mean a call to a dealer or towing service before anything is moved: the engine runs but the vehicle does not move, or the vehicle makes an abnormal sound.

Put the three manuals side by side and the working rule for our drivers is short: on an all-wheel-drive car, no tire turns on the road. How that is achieved depends on where the car sits. These are the questions that settle it:

Once those are answered we can say which method the job needs before the truck Thousand Oaks Tow Truck sends when you call pulls out. On the road the same law applies to every tow: under Vehicle Code 22406(a), a truck drawing another vehicle may not exceed 55 miles per hour, on the 101 or anywhere else.

• Is it all-wheel drive? A badge on the tailgate usually says so. If you are unsure, tell us the model and year and we treat it as AWD.
• Will it shift out of Park, and does the dash light up? A flat battery can leave the transmission locked in Park.
• Is it in a low-clearance garage or nose-in against a wall? A deck may not fit, and dollies under the second pair of wheels become the method.
• Does the engine run without the car moving? Toyota's manual treats that as a transmission warning sign.