Roadside assistance in Detroit, MI.

Jump starts, battery replacement, flat tire changes, mobile tire plugs and patches, car lockouts, fuel delivery and winch-outs, done where the car sits. The goal is to get you driving again on the spot. If the car cannot be fixed at the roadside, dispatch says so on the call, before any truck is sent.

Most Detroit roadside calls are one of four things: a battery that died in the cold on a side street in Southwest, a tire opened up by a pothole on I-94 or the Lodge, keys sitting on the seat of a locked car in a lot off Eight Mile, or a tank that ran dry on I-75 past the Davison. Each of those is a fifteen-to-forty-minute fix with the right truck. What roadside does not cover is a car that will not run after a jump, a transmission that will not shift, or a wreck. Those need a tow, and this line does not run tow trucks. You will be told that on the call so you can call a tow company instead of waiting on a truck that cannot help.

Dispatch gives you an arrival window on the call, based on where you are, where the nearest truck is and the hour. Downtown, Midtown, Corktown and Southwest are fastest. Livonia, Canton and Taylor take longer at rush hour. You get an honest window, not a number picked to win the call.

Traffic decides more than distance. I-94 between the Lodge and I-75 crawls from mid-afternoon into the evening, and the I-96 and I-275 interchange backs up every weekday morning. A truck two exits away in traffic can take longer than one coming across town at 2 a.m. The window you hear is the dispatcher's real estimate from the truck's current position, and the driver calls when he is close so you know which set of amber lights is yours. If a window is longer than you want to wait, say so; nothing is charged until a truck is rolling.

Usually, yes. A jump, a tire change or a lockout in Detroit runs $50 to $120, while a local tow starts higher and still leaves the car at a shop. Roadside fixes the problem where you are, so you drive away instead of paying twice: once for the tow, once for the repair.

The exception is a problem roadside cannot fix. A car that jumps but dies again as soon as the cables come off has a charging problem, and a second jump will not help. A tire with a sidewall gash cannot be plugged. A lockout on a car with the key fob dead inside is still a lockout, but a car with a dead fob and a flat is two jobs. Dispatch asks a few questions before quoting so the truck that comes can actually finish the job. If the honest answer is that you need a tow, you hear it on the first call, not from a driver standing next to your car.

Get as far right as you can, turn on the hazards, and stay belted in on the sunken freeways where there is no shoulder to stand on. On surface streets, get out on the side away from traffic. Keep your phone charged and your location sent to dispatch.

The Lodge, I-94 through Midtown and the Chrysler Freeway run below grade with retaining walls and almost no shoulder, so the safest place is inside the car with the belt on. If you can limp to an exit, do it: Warren or Forest on the Lodge, Woodward or John R on I-94, Mack or Warren on I-75. On I-96 and I-275 the shoulders are wide and it is safer to wait behind the guardrail. In winter, run the engine for heat only if the exhaust is clear of snow. The driver calls when he is close, so keep the phone on and the ringer up. If you are on the Ambassador Bridge approach, tell dispatch which direction you are headed; the customs plaza changes how the truck gets to you.

Yes. A winch-out from a snow bank, a plowed-in parking spot or a ditch off a side street runs $85 to $200 per half hour on scene. Most Detroit snow calls are a car buried by the plow on a residential street or spun into a drift on an on-ramp. The truck pulls you clear and you drive on.

January and February bring the most calls of the year. Side streets in Detroit are plowed late or not at all, and a car parked on the curb for two days can be sealed in by a berm. Before calling, try rocking the car with the traction control off and the wheels straight; if it moves at all, keep going. If it digs in, stop, because spinning tires polish the ice under them. The truck carries straps and a snatch block, and a winch-out from a drift takes one pull. A car that has slid down an embankment or is hung on a curb takes longer and is quoted as recovery, not a quick pull. In either case, stay out of the road while the truck works.