The spare is in East Memphis and the car is locked in a Hickory Hill lot. A tow truck can often move a car without keys. What changes is the year, the drivetrain, the parking spot, and proof you control the vehicle, not a promise that one method always works.
The answer depends on the vehicle
Keys help because they let an operator shift, steer, and release a parking brake. Without them, the car may sit in Park with the steering locked and the brake set. That is a common locked-car tow in Memphis, not a rare one. City rotation tows already move unattended cars that way. Your private request is different. The truck still has to match the drivetrain.
A 2024 Honda Civic sedan is a useful front-wheel-drive example. Honda’s owner’s manual calls a flatbed the best transport method. It also describes a wheel lift under the front tires, with the rear tires on the road, as acceptable. The same section requires flatbed transport if the parking brake cannot be released. Lost keys often mean that brake stays on. Say that on the first call, before anyone assigns a wheel-lift truck.
A 2023 Subaru Outback is the other common metro case. Subaru’s getting-started guide says Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive sends power to all four wheels. Improper towing can damage that system. A flatbed is the preferred transport method. A 2020 Subaru Legacy guide says the same thing. If the car is AWD, say so. Do not assume the rear wheels can roll.
A 2024 Mazda MX-5 Miata is a rear-wheel-drive example. Mazda identifies the rear wheels as the drive wheels. A towed RWD vehicle should have those wheels off the ground. Mazda names wheel dollies when damage or another condition prevents that setup. It permits wheel-lift or flatbed equipment. It requires all four wheels raised if the parking brake cannot be released.
Those are model-year examples, not fleet-wide rules. Check the emergency-towing section for your exact year and trim. Recreational-towing notes in a pickup manual are not a substitute. A 2024 Ford F-150 has a Neutral Tow feature that only applies to that model’s recreational 4x4 procedure. Do not treat it as a plan for a locked, disabled truck.
Tell dispatch which wheels can move
This is the detail that changes the truck. Say whether the car is in Park. Say whether the steering wheel turns. Say whether a parking-brake light is on. Say whether the tires sit against a curb, a wheel stop, or a garage wall.
Wheel-lift towing raises one end so the other end can roll. That only works when those rolling tires are free and the drivetrain allows it. Honda’s Civic example shows the pattern: lift the front of a FWD car, keep the rears on the road, and only if the parking brake can release. If the drive wheels cannot roll, a simple wheel lift may not be the right first truck.
Flatbed towing loads all four wheels onto a bed. That is why it shows up in Subaru, Honda, and Mazda guidance as the safer default when the car cannot be shifted. A locked steering wheel still matters on a load. The operator has to line the car up with the bed. Tight Midtown alleys and stacked East Memphis garages make that line-up the whole job.
Give make, model, year, and drivetrain on the first call. Front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, and 4x4 are not interchangeable. A dead battery is worth mentioning too. Some electronic parking brakes will not release without power and a fob. We cannot confirm one rule for every brand. Your owner’s manual is the source for that car.
Hookup difficulty is one of the cost drivers. Distance, vehicle size, time of day, and truck type move the number too. Our standard light-duty hookup starts at $95. That is our published floor, not the operator’s full total. Ask for the total with mileage included before you agree. Ask what would change it if the car will not roll.
If you only need the cabin opened, that is a different request. A Memphis car lockout may get the keys first. Do not fish a modern door open. Do not drag a locked car onto a rented trailer. That is how transmissions and fascias get hurt.
Explain where the car is parked
A locked Civic in a wide Germantown driveway is one job. The same car nose-in on a Hickory Hill apartment pad is another. A stall under a Midtown garage beam is a third. Say the surface, the slope, and the overhead clearance. Say whether other cars block the approach. Say whether the operator will have to winch from the street.
On the interstates, the picture changes again. TDOT HELP patrols I-40 including the Hernando de Soto Bridge, I-55 from state line to state line, the full I-240 loop, and SR-385/Bill Morris Parkway. Those patrols run Monday through Sunday, 6:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. They handle flat changes, fuel delivery, minor mechanical help, and clearing blocking vehicles. They do not tow a locked car to a shop, a house, or a lot. Anything past lane clearance is a private tow.
If you are already on the shoulder of I-40 or I-55, stay in a safe place. Do not try to roll a locked car yourself. For live cameras and incident info, TDOT SmartWay is the public board.
Cross the state line and the rule set changes. A pickup in Southaven or Olive Branch is a Mississippi job. A car in West Memphis is an Arkansas job. Tennessee authorization rules do not travel with you. Name the city so the operator covering that zone gets the request.
Private lots around Lamar Avenue, Summer Avenue, and the airport hotels add paperwork. Tennessee still requires express written authorization before a non-consent tow or storage. That authorization comes from a law-enforcement officer, the vehicle’s owner, or the property owner or their authorized agent. If you are the owner asking for your own car, say that clearly.
Check the current manufacturer instructions
Open the glove box if you can. If you cannot, pull the PDF for your year on the manufacturer’s site. Look for emergency towing, not recreational towing. Those are different chapters.
Honda’s 2024 Civic sedan manual covers emergency towing at page 740. Subaru’s 2020 Legacy and 2023 Outback getting-started guides sit in Subaru’s STIS library. Mazda’s 2024 MX-5 page is under “Having the Vehicle Towed.” Chevrolet’s 2013 Corvette manual, page 10-79, says a disabled Corvette should travel with all four wheels off the ground and calls out low ground clearance. The 2014 Stingray manual, page 10-77, directs flatbed transport and says a wheel lift could damage the vehicle. Those Corvette notes apply only to those years.
Read the parking-brake line. Several manuals switch to a flatbed, or to all four wheels raised, when that brake cannot be released. Lost keys are how that line gets triggered. If the book says flatbed, tell dispatch before a wheel-lift truck is assigned. What to tell dispatch before a flatbed tow is the checklist for that call.
If the operator cannot meet the manual, they can refuse the job. That is allowed. Read can a tow company refuse to tow your car if you are stuck between a tight stall and a low-clearance sports car. Better a declined hookup than a scraped splitter on a 2014 Corvette.
Whether MPD will unlock a locked car for free could not be confirmed from the city’s published wrecker and storage pages. Do not wait on that as a plan. If you need the cabin opened, ask for lockout help. If you need the car moved closed, ask for a tow.
Prepare proof that you control the vehicle
A locked car is still someone’s property. If you own it, have the registration, title, or lease ready, plus a photo ID. Plate or VIN helps when the cabin is closed. If you do not own it, you need the owner’s express written authorization. A text from a roommate is not the same thing as a signed statement.
Tennessee’s current towing law is the MOTION Act, 2025 Public Chapter 457. In plain English, a vehicle must not be towed without the owner’s express written authorization unless a listed exception applies. Those exceptions cover certain posted lots, hazard and illegal-parking cases, private property where the owner authorized the tow, and a law-enforcement request. Your lost-keys request is an owner request. Treat it that way on the phone.
If the car is already at the city lot, that is not this job. MPD, Shelby County Sheriff, and Housing and Community Development tows all process through the MPD Vehicle Storage Lot at 465 Klinke Avenue. There is no online lookup. Call (901) 636-8200. Owner pickup needs proof of ownership, plate or VIN, and a valid photo ID. A licensed driver must drive it off, or a tow is arranged for an added fee.
Memphis wrecker rules also honor owner’s choice of towing company, with three exceptions decided by MPD: the company isn’t permitted, can’t respond in reasonable time, or the vehicle is an immediate traffic hazard. If you are standing with a locked car after a crash, say you have a company in mind.
Wrecker companies operating inside city limits must be approved by the Memphis Transportation Commission. Quick Tow Memphis is a referral service. We take the details and match you with a local operator. The operator performs the work and contracts with you. We do not own trucks or run a yard. The line takes calls 24/7 at (901) 557-8700. Calls are recorded, and a recording notice plays first.
When to call us
Call when the car has to move and the keys are lost, locked inside, or dead, and you should not roll it yourself. That includes a locked sedan in a garage stall, an AWD wagon that the manual puts on a flatbed, and a shoulder stop on I-240 after HELP has cleared the lane. Call us at (901) 557-8700.