> **Quick Answer:** Towing from a remote interstate location typically costs $150 to $600 or more, depending on how far the nearest tow truck has to travel and how far your car needs to go. Hook-up fees run $50 to $100, plus $3 to $7 per mile. Rural calls often tack on a "rural response fee" of $50 to $150. If you have roadside assistance through your insurer or AAA, call them first.
## What to Do Right Now
1. **Get off the road completely.** Pull as far onto the right shoulder as you can. If there is a paved breakdown lane, use all of it. If you can reach an exit ramp or rest area, do it even if the car is sputtering. Distance from live traffic is your only priority in the first 60 seconds.
2. **Turn on your hazard lights immediately.** Keep them on the entire time you are stopped, day or night.
3. **Stay in the car or well away from it.** This is not a both-and situation. If the shoulder is wide and you are on a flat section with good visibility, stay inside with your seatbelt on. If the shoulder is narrow or you are on a curve, get out the passenger side and move up the embankment well away from the guardrail. A car getting rear-ended on a shoulder is a documented cause of fatalities. See [Car Died on Highway Shoulder: Is It Safe to Wait for a Tow?](/car-died-on-highway-shoulder-safe-to-wait-for-tow/) for the full breakdown on this decision.
4. **Call 911 if you feel unsafe.** On remote interstates, 911 dispatch can contact the state highway patrol to send a trooper. A cruiser parked behind you with its lights on changes everything about your safety profile.
5. **Find your exact location.** Check your phone's GPS coordinates, look for the nearest mile marker post on the right shoulder, or find the nearest highway sign. Tow companies need a precise location, not "somewhere on I-70."
6. **Call roadside assistance or a tow company.** If you have coverage through State Farm, Progressive, USAA, Farmers, or a similar provider, call the roadside number on your insurance card first. Check your policy's towing distance limit before you assume the whole haul is covered. [State Farm's towing distance limits](/state-farm-roadside-assistance-towing-distance-limits/) are a common point of confusion.
7. **If you have no coverage, search for the nearest town, not the nearest city.** A tow company based in a small town 15 miles away will charge far less than a company dispatched from a metro 60 miles out. Search "tow truck" plus the name of the nearest town you can identify.
8. **Do not accept the first price without asking one question:** "Is that the total, including mileage to the shop?" Get a dollar amount confirmed before the truck hooks up.
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*Photo: Pexels*
## What It Might Cost
Remote interstate towing is expensive. Here is why: the truck drives out empty, drives back with your car, and the driver's time costs the same either way.
| Scenario | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|
| 20-mile tow, small town company nearby | $120 to $220 |
| 50-mile tow, rural area, no competition | $250 to $450 |
| 100-mile tow to the nearest dealer | $400 to $750 |
| After-hours or weekend rural call | Add $75 to $150 |
If your problem is a fuel pump failure or another highway mechanical issue, [a fuel pump that dies on the highway](/fuel-pump-died-on-highway-need-tow-truck-now/) almost always requires a tow. Do not let anyone talk you into a roadside "fix" that just gets you 10 more miles.
If your car is drivable but questionable, and the issue involves transmission symptoms, read [Transmission Slipping on Highway: Safe to Drive or Tow?](/transmission-slipping-on-highway-safe-to-drive-or-tow/) before deciding whether to limp it to an exit.
No insurance and no membership? [Roadside assistance without insurance](/roadside-assistance-without-insurance-membership-cost/) options still exist and are worth knowing.
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*Photo: Pexels*
## Stay Safe
- Place road flares or a reflective triangle 100 to 300 feet behind your car if you have them.
- Crack a window if it is hot and you are staying inside. Heat builds fast in a stopped car.
- Keep your phone charged. A portable battery pack in your glovebox is worth more than a spare fuse kit on a remote highway.
- Do not stand between your car and traffic at any point.
- Tell someone your location before the tow truck arrives. Text a contact the mile marker and the tow company name.
- If a stranger stops and you feel uncertain, stay in your locked car, crack the window, and tell them help is already on the way.
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*Need roadside help? Visit [Tow With The Flow](https://towwiththeflow.com/car-broke-down-on-interstate-middle-of-nowhere-towing-cost/) for real answers when your car breaks down.*
Car Broke Down on Interstate in the Middle of Nowhere: Towing Cost and What to Do
Photo: Pexels