Subaru or Tesla in Boulder? The Case for a Flatbed Tow

Published 17 September 2026

Boulder Towing Company often hears the question: does a Subaru or a Tesla really have to go on the flatbed, or will our smaller wheel-lift tow truck do? The deck, every time. We did not invent that answer; Subaru's guide and Tesla's transporter instructions both give it, and AAA's comparison shows the mechanics.

Covered below: each manufacturer's position, the mechanics of a wheel-lift on an AWD or electric car, the points to raise on the call, and the math on a bargain quote.

The wheel-lift cradles one axle off the ground while the car rolls on the other. For a front-driver, AAA's guidance is to raise the front and let the rears turn freely, since a front-driver dragged on its front tires risks transmission damage. Driven axle up, idle axle down.

An AWD car has no idle axle. Its center differential links front and rear (a 4WD truck's transfer case plays that part), so rolling one end while the other hangs makes the road drive half the system while the other half is held still. AAA points AWD and 4WD owners to the flatbed, and it ends the problem: the car rides strapped by its tires, nothing below it turning.

The 2020 Legacy Getting Started Guide gives towing two sentences under the heading Towing Your All-Wheel Drive Subaru. In substance: Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive powers all four wheels, so towing the car the wrong way can damage the AWD system, and the car should go on a flatbed truck, handled by a Subaru retailer or a commercial towing service.

Apply that to a wheel-lift. Raise a Legacy's front axle and roll it on the rear wheels, and you have the wrong kind of towing the guide warns about: the rears spin the driveline while the fronts stay still. The warning concerns the drivetrain, not the model name, so the drivetrain is what to tell us.

Around Boulder the Subaru question tends to come in a snowstorm. A car winched from a Magnolia Road bank that cannot drive off afterward, with a bent wheel, a pull in the steering or a driveline noise, goes home on the deck.

Tesla's Model 3 manual carries a section aimed at tow operators, Instructions for Transporters, and it is stricter than Subaru's. A flatbed or similar carrier is its first choice. A warning in block capitals forbids transport with tires that can turn, citing serious damage and overheating.

One narrow exception exists. When a flatbed cannot be had, Tesla permits dollies under the unlifted axle behind a wheel-lift, capped at 35 miles and at the dollies' rated speed. With Nederland 17 miles up the canyon and Denver about 30 down US 36, that allowance fits a hop to a nearby shop and nothing longer.

Tow Mode matters too. It keeps the brake disengaged for the winch-up and lets the wheels creep, under 5 mph, for a stretch short of 30 feet, which is enough to reach the deck. That is why our dispatcher asks if the car still wakes up. And Tesla's warranty excludes harm done by a bad transport job.

Plenty of models sell in front-drive and AWD form with the same sheet metal. A Tesla with a dead screen is just a dark sedan. Only what you tell us on the phone fills that gap.

Those same details produce the price. Colorado caps only tows ordered by someone else, leaving yours to whatever total you accept; the Colorado tow cost guide walks through the state schedule. Tell us:

• The car and how it is driven. Year, make, model, and AWD, 4WD or electric, volunteered without being asked.
• Does the EV wake up? No power, no Tow Mode.
• Free to roll? Stuck in park and keyless, or sitting on a bent wheel, means dollies, and dollies mean more minutes on the quote.
• The pickup spot. A garage's low ceiling or a tight Flagstaff Road switchback may leave no room to drop the deck.
• The drop and its hours. A shop or charger that is closed on arrival changes the plan.

Hooking up a wheel-lift is quicker, so a company that sends one for a Subaru or a Tesla can undercut a flatbed quote a bit. It is betting that six miles on two wheels spares the center differential, or that twenty minutes of spinning tires overheats nothing on a Model 3. Lose that bet and you pay for a drivetrain repair and a second tow, with a warranty that Tesla's manual says will not pay for transport damage. The flatbed's extra cost is the smallest figure in that chain.

The Colorado PUC will not decide this for you. Under 4 CCR 723-6 it caps only nonconsensual tows, meaning private-property impounds and police-ordered tows, and has no schedule for tows you request. For yours, the state requires every rate and charge disclosed up front, so the quote ought to name the tow truck.

Ours names it. Boulder Towing Company runs flatbed tow trucks for AWD, 4WD, electric and hybrid vehicles and motorcycles, quoted as one price with the arrival window, day or night. Flatbed towing in Boulder covers loading, strapping and long hauls. In short: a car strapped to a deck turns nothing the makers warned about.