24/7 towing and roadside help
Towing in Kitchener and Waterloo Region, 24/7
Stuck in Kitchener? Call 1-888-TOW-1213. We lock your price by text, send the nearest available partner tow company and check on you until help arrives.
If anyone is hurt or you're stopped in a live lane, call 911 first.
- Check-ins until help arrives
- Driver card and truck tracking
- Price locked by text
- Photo-protected tow
How it works in Kitchener. Sentinel Towing is a network, not a tow company. A vetted local partner in the Kitchener area does the job. We stay with you by text and hold them to your locked price. Not in Kitchener? Find a tow truck near you.
Kitchener tow truck help
Towing in Kitchener: The Conestoga, the 8 and the 401
Kitchener's main expressway goes by one name and three highway numbers. The Conestoga Parkway is the local name for Highways 7, 8 and 85 as they loop across the south side of the city and north into Waterloo. If you break down on it, the number on the last sign you saw helps, but the nearest interchange helps more.
- The west leg. Highways 7 and 8 share the road from Trussler Road east to King Street. It widens to six lanes at Fischer-Hallman Road.
- The middle. At King Street, Highway 8 splits off south and the parkway grows to eight lanes as it passes over Weber Street.
- The north leg. Highway 7 leaves at Victoria Street for Guelph. From there, the parkway carries on as Highway 85 into Waterloo and toward St. Jacobs.
- The Freeport Diversion. This is Highway 8 between the Conestoga and the 401. It's eight lanes over the Grand River, then narrows to six, and later to four at Sportsworld Drive, before it merges into the 401.
- The 401. Kitchener has two 401 interchanges, at Highway 8 and at Homer Watson Boulevard. From Highway 8 east to Townline Road in Cambridge, the 401 is now at least ten lanes wide, so tell us your direction and the nearest interchange if you stall there.
Off the expressway
Five-Point Corners, Roundabouts and Train Tracks
Kitchener wasn't laid out on a grid. The first settlers built roads the way villages in Switzerland and southern Germany did, so diagonal streets cut across the older parts of the city. Five-point intersections are common in the older areas. If your car dies at one, name two of the streets that meet there.
Kitchener has roundabouts too. Its first two went in along Ira Needles Boulevard in 2006. If you stall inside one, turn on your hazards and stay put. Don't try to push the car out against traffic.
The ION light rail runs trains from Fairway station in south Kitchener, through downtown, to Conestoga station in north Waterloo. Stalled on the tracks? Get everyone out and well away before you call. The car can wait. A dead battery in the lot at Fairview Park Mall is a jump start. Keys locked inside at the Kitchener Market is a lockout. Neither one needs a tow.
Inland winter
Winter Hits Harder Up Here
Most of the area sits above 300 m in the Grand River valley, away from the Great Lakes. That's why Kitchener gets about 147 frost-free days a year, far fewer than cities on the lakes. Environment Canada's 1981 to 2010 normals, taken at the region's airport in Breslau, fill in the rest.
- About 160 cm of snowWinter weather usually runs from mid-December to mid-March. Slid into a snowbank but not damaged? A winch-out should get you out.
- About 10 days of freezing rainOntario's handbook says winter pavement should look gray-white. If it looks black and shiny, suspect black ice and slow down.
- About 9 days of blowing snowWhen it hides the road, the handbook says to slow down gradually, keep your low beams on and skip passing.
- Overnight parking, December to MarchParking on the street from 2:30 to 6 a.m. needs an exemption, and each plate gets five a season. A declared snow event cancels them, so move the car.
Parking rules from the City of Kitchener's overnight parking exemptions page.
Road Sense and Tow Rules Around Waterloo Region
- Buggies on the shoulder. Waterloo Region has Canada's largest Old Order Mennonite population, mostly around St. Jacobs and Elmira. Ontario's handbook says horse-drawn vehicles travel mainly on the shoulder and show an orange and red slow-moving sign. If you pull over on a rural road up there, keep your flashers on and watch behind you.
- Check the tow company. Ontario tow operators have to post their maximum rates at their business, on their website and at the storage yard. You can look up any operator's rates and certificate on the province's rates portal, linked from the towing rights page.
- No hidden referrals. A tow operator who sends you to a shop has to tell you if they have a stake in it.
- Heading to Toronto on the 401. From the Highway 6 South interchange east to James Snow Parkway, the 401 is a restricted tow zone. Only the province's contracted company can tow there. Call 911 from a live lane, or 511 from a safe shoulder.
The first sign of trouble
Ontario's handbook says to start pulling over at the first sign of trouble on a freeway. Don't wait for the car to stall in a lane. If you have to get out, use the door away from traffic. Otherwise, wait inside with the doors locked. We text you while the truck is on the way, and you can track your truck on a map.
Areas We Cover Around Kitchener
Kitchener
Downtown and Victoria Park, Westmount, Forest Heights, Stanley Park, Eastwood, Rockway, Vanier, Alpine, Bridgeport and Doon.
Waterloo
The whole city, along the Conestoga and King Street, up to Conestoga station.
Cambridge
Galt, Preston, Hespeler and Blair, along Highway 8, Highway 24 and the 401.
The townships
Breslau and the airport, St. Jacobs and Elmira to the north, and Baden, New Hamburg and Petersburg to the west.
Kitchener Towing Questions
I broke down on the Conestoga. Which highway am I on?
Between Trussler Road and King Street, it's Highways 7 and 8. From King to Victoria Street, it's Highway 7. North of Victoria, it's Highway 85. But just the nearest interchange is enough for us to send help.
Can you tow my car from Kitchener to a shop in Cambridge?
Yes. We text you the price before anyone is sent, and that's the most you'll pay. Before hookup, your driver photographs all 4 sides of the car. The Stay-With-You Promise has the details. If it needs to go farther, a tow works the same way.
The city called a snow event and a plow buried my car. What now?
Dig out the tailpipe before you start the engine. If the car still won't come free, call for a winch-out. If it's damaged, we'll send a tow instead.
My car quit on the 401 past Highway 6, on the way to Toronto. Can you come?
Not while it's in the restricted tow zone. Call 511 if you're safe on the shoulder, or 911 if you're in a live lane. Once the car is out of the zone, you can choose who tows it and where. Call us then.
Roadside help in Kitchener, ON
Tow Truck and Roadside Services in Kitchener
Sentinel is a 24-hour towing and roadside assistance network for Kitchener drivers. Tell us what happened, 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, like many all-wheel-drive cars), 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-outsThe Sentinel Stay-With-You Promise
Seven Promises on Every Kitchener Call
Read the fine print on the promise page.
We stay with you. From your call until the truck arrives, we check on you by text.
See your driver before they arrive. You get their name, photo and truck by text, and you can track your truck on a map.
Your family knows too. Give us one number, and we text them your location and arrival time.
Photo-protected tow. Before hookup, your driver photographs all 4 sides of your vehicle. We text you the photos.
Price locked by text. You get your price by text before we dispatch. That price is the most you pay for the job. If the job changes, we text a new price first and you decide.
Never stranded after. Ride along in the truck when it's safe and allowed, or we help you get a ride. We also point you to a good repair shop.
Free Sentinel Circle. After your first job, your vehicle is on file. Next time, just text "TOW" for priority dispatch.
How it works
From Your Call to Your Driver
- 01You call
Our 24/7 line answers
Call 1-888-TOW-1213. Tell us where you are, what you drive and what went wrong.
- 02We lock it in
Your price, by text
We text your price before anyone is sent. That's the most you'll pay for the job you described.
- 03A partner accepts
The nearest truck takes it
The nearest available partner tow company accepts your job. They're vetted for insurance and licensing.
- 04You see who's coming
Driver card and tracking
You get your driver's name, photo and truck, plus a link to track your truck. We check in until they arrive.
Nearby cities
Kitchener, ON
Stuck in Kitchener? Call and We'll Stay With You.
Our line answers 24/7. Your price is locked by text before we send anyone.