AAA Answered 27 Million Roadside Calls in a Year. Two Problems Caused Most of Them

Statistics Updated August 24, 2026 Austin Mobile Mechanic · Austin, TX

The Number

AAA is not the whole market, but it is the largest single roadside network in the country, so its call mix is a reasonable proxy for what breaks. In 2024 the organization logged more than 27 million calls. About 13 million involved a tow and about 7 million involved a battery.

For historical comparison, AAA handled more than 32 million calls in 2019 and more than 29 million in 2014. In the 2014 breakdown, dead batteries, flat tires, and keys locked in the vehicle alone accounted for roughly 17 million calls.

Why the Towing Share Is the Interesting Part

Thirteen million tows a year is a striking figure, because a tow is not a repair. It is a decision to move the problem somewhere else, made at the roadside, usually by someone who has not diagnosed the vehicle.

Some of those tows are unavoidable. A seized engine, a failed transmission, a serious collision, or anything unsafe to drive belongs on a truck. But a meaningful share of roadside events are electrical or starting faults, and those are diagnosable on the spot with a scan tool and a multimeter.

That is the distinction worth drawing from this data. The question at the roadside is not always where to tow the car. Sometimes it is what is actually wrong with it, and the answer changes whether a tow is needed at all.

Batteries Are the Single Most Predictable Failure

Roughly 7 million battery calls in one year is not random. Batteries are consumable. They degrade on a curve, and that curve is steeper in hot climates. A battery that cranks slowly in July is telling you something months before it fails outright.

A load test takes a few minutes and costs nothing close to a tow. It is the highest-value preventive check available to a driver, and it is almost never performed until after the failure.

What This Means in Austin

Austin adds heat to the equation. Sustained high temperatures shorten battery life substantially, which pushes more of the local failure mix toward starting and charging problems than a cooler city would see.

If your car will not start, the useful first step is a diagnosis where the car sits, not a tow booked before anyone has looked at it. Many no-starts in this metro come down to a battery, a starter, an alternator, or a connection, and all four can be tested in a parking lot.

For an on-site diagnosis in the Austin area, call (505) 510-1409.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. AAA, AAA Urges Drivers to Stay Proactive on Auto Repair and Maintenance (April 2025).
2. AAA, Roadside Breakdowns Preventable with Proper Maintenance (October 2015).