EV Breakdown Checklist: What to Do When Your Electric Car Stops

If your electric car breaks down, the drill is mostly the same as any car: hazard lights on, pull as far left as you safely can, get everyone behind the safety barrier (or stay belted inside if there’s nowhere safe to stand), and call your roadside assistance provider. If anyone is in danger, call 000 first. The two EV-specific rules: tell whoever’s coming that the car is electric so they bring the right equipment, and never let it be towed with its wheels on the road.

Step 1: Get yourself safe

This part has nothing to do with the car being electric.

1. Hazard lights on the moment you feel the car losing power.
2. Pull as far left as possible: an emergency stopping bay, the shoulder, or off the road entirely.
3. Put the park brake on and turn the wheels away from the traffic lane.
4. On a road where traffic is moving at 80 km/h or more, get everyone out through the passenger-side doors and behind the safety barrier, well away from the car. Never stand in front of or behind the vehicle.
5. If there’s genuinely no safe place to stand, stay in the car with seatbelts on and wait for help.
6. If you’re stopped in a live lane or feel at risk, call 000. On many motorways, traffic operations cameras will also spot you and dispatch help.

Step 2: Work out what kind of breakdown it is

A minute of diagnosis helps you give the right information on the phone.

• Out of charge. The car will have been warning you for a while, then reduces power before stopping. If that’s you, read what actually happens when an EV runs out of charge, because the recovery options are better than most people think.
• Car won’t wake up at all. Black screens, no door response, no start, even though the traction battery showed plenty of charge. That’s the classic symptom of a dead 12-volt battery, the most underrated cause of EV breakdowns.
• Warning message and reduced power. Note the exact wording or photograph the screen. It tells the patrol or the manufacturer’s hotline what they’re dealing with.
• Puncture. Most EVs carry a repair kit rather than a spare wheel, and the kits don’t handle sidewall damage. This is a common reason EV owners call roadside assistance.

Step 3: Call for help, and say it’s an EV

Call your roadside provider or use their app, which usually pinpoints your location automatically. Mention the car is electric up front. It changes what gets dispatched: clubs will send a high-voltage-trained patrol, and if the car needs to move, a tilt-tray rather than a conventional tow truck.

You may have more than one option. The motoring clubs (NRMA, RACV, RACQ and the other state clubs) all cover EVs under standard membership, most new EVs include several years of manufacturer roadside assistance, and some insurers bundle it too. Our complete guide to EV roadside assistance in Australia compares who offers what. If you’re out of charge, some patrols can now deliver a charge at the roadside: the NRMA runs mobile EV chargers in parts of its network and otherwise tows you to the nearest charger.

Step 4: If the car needs to move, insist on a flatbed

This is the one EV rule that surprises people. When an EV is towed with driven wheels rolling on the road, the spinning motor can generate current through the regenerative braking system even though the car is off, and that can damage the drivetrain. The NRMA’s guidance is blunt: the safe method is a flatbed (tilt-tray) truck with all four wheels off the ground, using dolly wheels to load it if needed.

If a conventional tow truck turns up, it’s reasonable to ask how they plan to load the car. Our EV towing guide explains the details, including the short-distance exceptions some manufacturers allow.

What not to do

• Don’t touch orange cabling or anything under the floor or bonnet marked high voltage. Orange means leave it alone. There’s no user-serviceable part of an EV’s high-voltage system.
• Don’t let anyone tow it on a rope or strap. Same drivetrain risk as above, with less control.
• Don’t attempt repairs beyond your manual. Jump-starting the 12V battery is usually fine if you follow the owner’s manual exactly, but if in doubt, wait for the patrol.
• After a crash, or with any smoke, hissing or burning smell: get everyone at least 30 metres away, call 000, and tell the operator the vehicle is electric. Don’t go back for belongings.

The quick checklist

1. Hazards on, pull far left, wheels turned away from traffic.
2. Everyone out the passenger side and behind the barrier, or belted in if there’s no safe spot.
3. 000 if at risk; otherwise roadside assistance. Say it’s an EV.
4. Diagnose in one line: out of charge, won’t wake (12V), warning message, or tyre.
5. Flatbed only if it needs to move.
6. Crash, smoke or burning smell: 30 metres back and call 000.

Print that, screenshot it, or just remember the first three lines. They’re the ones that keep you safe.