How to handle a rental car breakdown and roadside assistance

What should you do first if the rental car breaks down?

The order of events matters more than the paperwork. Work through these steps in sequence, whoever you rented from.

1. Get the vehicle out of the traffic flow if it will still roll — a hard shoulder, a lay-by, a car park entrance — and switch on the hazard lights. Leave the car where it is if moving it would put anyone in danger.
2. Call the emergency services before anything else if someone is injured, if the car has stopped in a live lane, or if there is fire, smoke or a fuel smell. See when to call emergency services instead below.
3. Once everyone is in a safe place, contact the rental company through the roadside number provided with the rental and wait for its instructions before you organise a tow, a jump start or a replacement car yourself.
4. Record what happened: the time, the location, the weather, what the car did before it stopped, and photographs of the dashboard warning lights and the position of the vehicle.
5. Keep your rental agreement to hand, since it records the products on your rental.

If the car is driveable and the problem is not safety-related, the same numbering applies: report it to the company first, then agree in writing what happens next. Changing the vehicle or extending the rental is a separate process from a breakdown call-out, covered in rental extension and vehicle swap.

How does rental company roadside assistance work?

At Avis, the customer service FAQ area groups questions under rental policies, protections and coverages, claims and accident, fees and taxes, equipment options and special requirements, and requirements for renting. [5] Avis also lists Extended Roadside Assistance as one of its rental add-ons, alongside long-term car rental and one-way rentals. [5]

At Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the Car Rental Frequently Asked Questions hub routes readers to topics including renter requirements, deposits and payments, reservations, products, insurance and protections, and tolls and receipts. [3] Its general topic covers what you need for a rental and how to pick up and return the vehicle. [3]

Both companies also separate their answers by market. Enterprise points travellers outside the United States to a full list of FAQs for other countries [3], and Avis says its rental FAQ content is shared across the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and invites readers to search one of the other country sites if an answer is missing. [5] A rule you read for one country is therefore not automatically the rule for your rental.

Before a trip, it is worth reading the protections and coverages section and the general rental section of whichever company you booked, so you know what is on your agreement before you need it. [3] [5] The pickup and return checklist takes you through the same documents at the counter.

What might you have to pay?

Roadside help is presented by Avis as a rental add-on, which means it appears as a product attached to the rental rather than only as an emergency number. [5] Enterprise publishes its rental coverage levels as a separate topic in its FAQ hub. [3]

Charges and taxes are documented as their own FAQ subject at Avis [5], and tolls and receipts as their own subject at Enterprise [3], so a bill that arrives after a breakdown is best checked against those sections and against the agreement you signed rather than against the roadside conversation.

Three practical points follow. First, confirm at the counter which protection products and add-ons are listed on your agreement. Second, ask the company to confirm any charge in writing before you authorise work on the car. Third, keep every receipt for fuel, taxi, parking or accommodation connected with the breakdown. Enterprise's TollPass help topic covers how to request rental receipts. [3]

When should you call emergency services instead?

Ring the emergency number for the country you are in, not the rental company, when any of the following applies:

• Anyone is injured or in danger, including passengers, other road users or pedestrians.
• The car has stopped in a live traffic lane, on a blind bend or inside a tunnel, and cannot be moved.
• There is fire, smoke, a fuel leak or a smell of burning.
• Another vehicle, a person or property has been hit.

An incident involving another vehicle or a person is a collision rather than a mechanical breakdown, and Avis treats claims and accident questions as a separate subject from rental policies. [5] Damage found at the counter is a different process again, set out in the damage inspection checklist. Once the emergency services have dealt with the scene, tell the rental company what happened. Avis lists claims and accident questions as a separate FAQ subject. [5]

Exceptions and limits

• Country. Avis shares rental FAQ content across four countries and points readers elsewhere when an answer is missing [5]; Enterprise keeps a separate list of FAQs for travellers outside the United States. [3] Procedures and charges described for one market do not carry across to another.
• Product, not promise. Extended Roadside Assistance appears at Avis as an add-on, listed apart from protections and coverages. [5] What a rental includes depends on what appears on that rental's agreement.
• Collision versus breakdown. Claims and accidents are a separate FAQ subject at Avis from rental policies and from protections and coverages. [5]
• Money matters. Fees and taxes are a separate FAQ subject at Avis [5] and tolls and receipts a separate subject at Enterprise [3], so a dispute about a breakdown charge is settled in those sections, not in the roadside call.
• Vehicle type. Enterprise's help hub separates ordinary car rental questions from truck rental questions, and lists exotic car rental as its own topic. [3]

Frequently asked questions

Is roadside assistance included in my rental rate?

Avis presents Extended Roadside Assistance as a rental add-on, listed separately from its protections and coverages. [5] Check the products listed on your own agreement to see what is on your rental.

Does the same procedure apply in every country?

No. Avis shares rental FAQ answers across the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and directs readers to the other country sites when an answer does not appear [5], and Enterprise maintains a separate Worldwide FAQs page for travellers outside the United States. [3]

Where do I look if I am charged after a breakdown?

Fees and taxes have their own section in Avis's FAQ area [5], and Enterprise handles tolls and receipts as a separate topic [3]. Check the charge against your rental agreement.

What if the car was hit rather than broken down?

Treat it as a collision and call the emergency services first if anyone is hurt. Avis files claims and accident questions separately from rental policies and from protections and coverages. [5]

Related pages

Hub: car rental. Guides: pickup and return checklist, damage inspection checklist, extension and vehicle swap. Definitions of rental and protection terms: glossary.

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. It covers the published help pages of Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Avis; other operators, including Hertz, Budget, Sixt, Europcar and Alamo, are not covered here, and neither are broker or third-party assistance schemes.

1. Enterprise Rent-A-Car — Car Rental Frequently Asked Questions, checked 18 October 2026
2. Avis — Car Rentals FAQs and customer service help, checked 18 October 2026