If your car won’t start, has a flat, or is locked with the keys inside at RDU Airport, call WTF Towing at (919) 230-4498 and tell us the lot name and row. We run jump starts, lockouts, tire changes, fuel delivery and tows out of the RDU parking lots 24 hours a day, and we’re based right next door in the Cary–Morrisville area.
This post covers what goes wrong with cars parked at the airport, what our driver does when the truck gets to you, what to have ready, and what decides the price. For the short version, see our RDU Airport towing page.
Why cars fail in airport parking
A car that ran fine on the way to the airport can be dead when you get back. Nothing dramatic happened. It just sat.
Modern cars draw a little power even when they’re off: the alarm, the keyless entry, computers that never fully sleep. A healthy battery handles a week or two of that. A tired one does not, and you usually don’t find out it was tired until you land.
- Dead battery. The most common airport call. A dome light, a door not quite latched, or simply an older battery and a long trip. Summer heat and winter cold both make it worse.
- Flat tire. A slow leak you’d never notice driving every day has all week to empty the tire.
- Lockout. Keys in the trunk with the luggage, or a fob with a dead battery.
- Out of fuel. The low-fuel light was already on when you parked.
- Won’t start, and it isn’t the battery. A starter, a fuel pump, or a warning light that means the car shouldn’t be driven. That one is a tow.
Where we work at RDU
We take calls across the airport: the ParkRDU lots and decks, the areas around Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, the cell phone waiting lot, the rental car area, and the hotels and office parks along Aviation Parkway and Airport Boulevard.
We also cover the roads you take to get there. If the car quits on I-40 or I-540 on the way to a flight, or on Aviation Parkway or John Brantley Boulevard inside the airport, that’s the same phone call. If it happens on the interstate, read our I-40 and I-440 breakdown checklist first; a highway shoulder is a different situation from a parking space.
The terminal curbs are for active loading and unloading only, and airport staff keep them moving. If your car dies at the curb, tell the nearest airport employee or officer right away, then call us. We’ll meet you wherever they direct the vehicle.
Jump start or tow? How to tell from the driver’s seat
You can often tell before we arrive, and it helps us send the right truck.
- Nothing at all, or rapid clicking, when you turn the key or press the button: almost always the battery. A jump start usually gets you home.
- The engine cranks strongly but won’t fire: probably fuel or ignition, not the battery. Expect a tow.
- It starts with a jump but dies as soon as the cables come off: the battery is finished or the charging system isn’t working. Tow it to a shop or to your driveway.
- A red oil-pressure or temperature light, or fluid on the ground under the engine: don’t keep trying. Tow it.
We wrote a full guide to that decision: jump start or new battery? It applies to an airport lot the same way it applies to a shopping center in Cary.
What to do when your car won’t start at RDU
- Stop cranking. Two or three tries is enough. More drains what’s left in the battery and can overheat the starter.
- Pin down where you are. Lot or deck name, level, row or section sign, nearest shuttle stop. “Somewhere in long-term” costs everyone time.
- Call (919) 230-4498. Tell us what the car does when you try to start it, the year, make and model, and whether it’s all-wheel drive or electric.
- Find your parking ticket or the card you entered with. Parking is still owed when the car leaves the lot, whether it drives out or rides out on a truck.
- Stay with the car, or tell us where you’ll be. If it’s late, hot or cold, wait in the locked car or at a lit shuttle shelter and keep your phone on.
- Decide where it goes if it has to be towed. Home, your regular shop, or a shop near the airport. Have the address ready.
The mistakes we see most: shutting the car off at the exit booth right after a jump (keep it running and drive), driving out of the lot on a flat (it can ruin the tire and damage the wheel), and taking a rideshare home to deal with it “tomorrow” while the parking charges keep adding up.
What our driver does when the truck gets to you
On a jump start, the driver checks the battery terminals first, because a loose or corroded connection looks exactly like a dead battery. Then the car gets a proper jump, and the driver watches what it does once it’s running. Details are on our jump start page.
On a lockout, the door is opened without damage to the lock, the glass or the weather seal. Have your ID ready. More on the lockout page.
On a flat, we put your spare on if you have a usable one. Many newer cars don’t carry a spare, and one that has sat in the trunk for years is often flat too. With no spare, the car is towed to a tire shop. See tire changes.
On a tow, the right truck matters. Our Ram 5500 wrecker with a Jerr-Dan wheel-lift is the quick hookup for most front- or rear-wheel-drive cars. All-wheel-drive vehicles, EVs, lowered cars and anything damaged underneath go on one of our two Isuzu NRR rollback carriers with 21-foot Jerr-Dan beds, all four wheels off the ground.
Airport parking adds a few wrinkles. Decks have posted height limits, so tell us the level and the clearance posted at the entrance; that decides which truck comes and how the car gets out to where it can be loaded. Rows are tight, so tell us if you’re nosed in against a wall or boxed in. And if the car is a rental, call the rental company first. It’s their vehicle and they have their own process.
Flying in to a car you don’t trust? Call before you land
If the battery was weak before you left, the car has been sitting for weeks, or it’s the first cold snap of the year, call us from the gate or from baggage claim. We can time the truck to your arrival so the waiting happens while you collect your bags, not in the lot afterward.
The same goes for the trip out. If the car acts up on the way to a flight you can’t miss, we can tow it home or to your shop while you’re in the air. And if you live out of town and the car needs to go home without you, that’s a long-distance tow on a rollback, quoted before the truck rolls.
What an airport call costs: the factors
We don’t publish a price list, because the honest answer depends on the job. You get the price on the phone before a truck is sent. What moves it:
- The service. A jump start, lockout, tire change or fuel delivery is a roadside call. A tow is a bigger job.
- How far the car is going. RDU to Morrisville is short. Cary, Apex, Raleigh and Durham are normal runs. Farther costs more.
- Which truck it needs. Wheel-lift or rollback, decided by the drivetrain and the condition of the car.
- Access. An open surface lot is simple. An upper deck level, a car pinned against a wall, or one that won’t shift out of Park takes more time and equipment.
Our post on what drives tow pricing in Cary goes through each factor in more detail.
Common questions
Do you come out to RDU in the middle of the night?
Yes. We answer the phone and run trucks 24 hours a day, every day, and late arrivals are a regular part of airport work. Call and you’ll get a real estimate based on where our trucks are at that moment.
My car is an EV or all-wheel drive. Can you tow it from the airport?
Yes. It goes on a rollback carrier with all four wheels off the ground, so tell us it’s an EV or AWD when you call. One note for EVs: a dead 12-volt battery can keep an electric car from powering on even when the main battery has plenty of charge, and that is often fixed with a jump.
Can you take my car from RDU to my house in Cary or to my shop?
Yes. RDU to anywhere in the Triangle is a routine run, including Cary, Morrisville, Apex, Holly Springs, Raleigh and Durham. Have the address ready, and let the shop know if the car will arrive after hours.
Do I have to be with the car?
For a jump start or a lockout, yes; we need you and your ID there. For a tow it’s best if you are, but if you’ve already left for a flight, call us and we’ll work out the keys and the details by phone.
When your car makes you say WTF, you call WTF Towing. For RDU Airport jump starts, lockouts and tows at any hour, call (919) 230-4498.
