Tow/Haul
General Information
Tow/Haul
If the vehicle must be towed, call a professional towing service. Never tow the vehicle using only a rope or chain, as this is extremely dangerous.


Emergency Towing
There are three common methods of towing a vehicle:
Flatbed: The operator loads the vehicle onto the truck bed. This is the best way to transport the vehicle.
Wheel lift: The tow truck uses two swivel arms that pass under the wheels of the drive axle and lift them off the ground. The other two wheels remain on the ground.
Hook and chain: The tow truck uses metal cables with hooks on the ends. These hooks engage parts of the frame or suspension, and the cables lift one end of the vehicle off the ground. The suspension and body can be seriously damaged when towing with this method.
If the vehicle cannot be transported on a flatbed, it should be towed with the drive axle wheels off the ground, and perform the following actions:
Manual transaxle
Release the parking brake.
Shift the transmission to the NEUTRAL position.
Automatic Transmission
Release the parking brake.
Start the engine.
Shift from [D] to [N].
Turn the engine off.
Test yourself
A quick Kia Rio YB quiz: every answer comes with an explanation and a link to the manual page.