24/7 towing and roadside help
Towing and Roadside Help in New York
Broken down in New York? Call 1-888-TOW-1213. We lock your price by text, send the nearest available partner tow company and stay with you until help arrives.
If anyone is hurt or you're stopped in a live lane, call 911 first.
How it works in New York. Sentinel Towing is a network, not a tow company. A vetted local partner near you does the job. We stay with you by text and hold them to your locked price.
Towing by City in New York
- Buffalo, NYTowing in Buffalo, NY, on the 33, the Skyway and the 290.
- Rochester, NYTowing in Rochester, NY, from the Can of Worms to Charlotte.
Roadside guides for New York
- After Dark Near Rochester's "Can of Worms": What to Do When Your Car Quits at Night
- Rochester, NY Impound: Finding and Releasing a Towed Car
- Roadside Assistance in Rochester, NY: Getting Through a Lake-Effect Winter
- City of Buffalo Impound Lot: Has Your Car Been Towed?
- What to Do If You Break Down on Buffalo's I-190
Read this before you call anyone
On the Thruway, the Thruway's Garages Do the Work
The New York State Thruway mainline runs 496 miles, from the New York City line at Yonkers to the Pennsylvania line at Ripley. It follows I-87 north to Albany, then I-90 west past Syracuse and Buffalo. The Thruway Authority runs its own roadside system. Only its authorized garages may do minor repairs on the Thruway, meaning tire changes, battery boosts and fuel. Authorized garages also handle towing, and they cover the Niagara, New England and Berkshire sections and I-287 as well.
So if you break down on any part of it, we're not the right call. For an emergency, dial 911. Otherwise, use the Thruway's line for the nearest authorized garage. Get well off the road or to the next exit if you can, tie a white cloth to the left door handle or antenna, and stay with your car. Details are on the Thruway's roadside page.
Once you're off the Thruway system, on I-81, a state route or a city street, call us for a tow or a tire change.
Upstate winters
Lake-Effect Snow and the Long Road North
Upstate winters are long and cold. Heavy lake-effect snow hits the western part of the state, most of all early in the season before Lake Ontario ices over, and the Tug Hill region is known for it. In most winters, the northern highlands can expect lows of 13 below zero or colder. Lake-effect snow comes in narrow bands, so, as the National Weather Service puts it, heavy snow can fall in one spot while the sun shines a mile or two away.
I-81 is the main road north through the middle of the state. It runs 183.6 miles from the Pennsylvania line near Binghamton, through Syracuse and Watertown, to the Thousand Islands Bridge at the Canadian border. Cold snaps kill tired batteries, and squalls push cars into snowbanks. Those are the days for a jump start or a winch-out.
New York's move over law
Vehicle and Traffic Law 1144-a tells drivers to use due care around a tow truck with amber lights stopped on the shoulder or any part of the road. On parkways and controlled-access highways, they must move out of the lane next to the shoulder when it's safe. The same due care now reaches any vehicle stopped on the shoulder of those highways, yours included.
Check 511NY for closures and snow before you go.
New York Questions
Can you tow my car across the Peace Bridge into Canada?
No. Our tows never cross the border. A partner can take your car to a shop on the New York side, and you can sort out the rest from there.
My car died on the Thruway and I made it off at the exit. Now what?
Once you're down the ramp and on the local road, call us. Tell us the exit number and which way you turned, and we'll lock your price by text before a partner heads out.
Roadside help in New York
Towing and Roadside Services Across New York
Sentinel is a 24-hour towing and roadside assistance network across New York. Tell us where you are, and we send a vetted local towing company near you with a truck suited to the job: a tow truck for a car that can't be driven (a flatbed where the vehicle needs one), or a service truck for a jump start, lockout, flat tire, fuel delivery or winch-out.
Car towing
Cars, SUVs, minivans and light pickups. Price locked by text, photos before hookup.
Car towing
Jump starts
Clicks, dim dash lights or nothing at all? A dead battery jump, day or night.
Jump starts
Car lockouts
Keys locked inside, on the seat or in the trunk. A partner works to get you back in without damage.
Car lockouts
Flat tire changes
Got a spare but no safe way to put it on? A partner swaps it for you.
Flat tire changes
Fuel delivery
Ran out of gas? Enough fuel to get you to the nearest station.
Fuel delivery
Winch-outs
Stuck in snow, mud or a shallow ditch near the road? A partner can usually pull you out.
Winch-outsNew York
Stuck in New York? Call and We'll Stay With You.
Our line answers 24/7. Your price is locked by text before we send anyone.