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Jump Start & Battery Boost in Chicago and Suburbs
A dead battery is the most common call we take, and in Chicago it has a season. The first genuinely cold morning of the year — usually somewhere in late November — produces more no-start calls in twelve hours than a normal week. Cold thickens the oil the starter has to turn and cuts the current a battery can deliver at the same time, so a battery that was merely weak in October is simply finished in December.
- from $65 · Includes the boost and a charging-system check.
- 25–40 min city · 30–50 min suburbs
- Licensed & insured
We come to you, boost the vehicle, and then check whether the alternator is actually charging. That second step is the one most roadside services skip, and it is the difference between fixing your morning and repeating this conversation tomorrow.
Included as standard
What a boost call includes
A proper connection
Clamps to the correct terminals and a chassis earth, not a spark show across a corroded post. On vehicles with the battery in the boot or under a seat, we use the manufacturer's designated jump points.
A lithium jump pack, not another car
Packs deliver clean, controlled current. Cable-to-cable from a running vehicle is how modern electronics get damaged.
A charging-system test
With the engine running we check charging voltage. If the alternator is not delivering, you will die again as soon as you switch off — better to know now.
A straight answer
If the battery is beyond boosting we say so rather than getting you started and leaving. In that case a tow to a shop is credited against the boost you already paid for.
Know before you call
Is it the battery or something else?
- Nothing at all when you turn the key, no dash lights, no click — usually a flat battery or a corroded terminal.
- A rapid clicking from the engine bay and dim dash lights — classic low battery, and the most boostable case there is.
- One loud clunk and then nothing, with bright dash lights — more likely a starter than a battery. A boost will not fix it and we will tell you that on scene.
- The engine turns over strongly but does not fire — the battery is fine. This is fuel, spark or immobiliser, and it needs a shop.
- It started fine yesterday and is dead today, repeatedly — that is a parasitic drain or a failing alternator, not a battery you can keep boosting.
Step by step
How the call goes
- 1
Tell us the car and the symptom
Make, model, and what happens when you turn the key. That tells us whether to expect a boost or a tow.
- 2
Driver arrives with a pack
Typically 25–40 minutes in the city. No need for a second vehicle or a friendly stranger with cables.
- 3
Boost and test
Connected, started, charging voltage checked. Five to ten minutes on scene for a straightforward case.
- 4
You drive, or we tow
If it charges, drive it for at least twenty minutes before switching off. If it does not, we tow you and credit the boost fee.
Why Chicago is hard on batteries
Two local patterns account for most of our boost calls. The first is the car that sits: street-parked in Lincoln Park or Lakeview and driven once a fortnight, it never gets a full charge cycle, and sulphation does the rest. The second is the commuter car that sits in an exposed Metra or office-park lot in Arlington Heights or Schaumburg for ten hours at −10 °C and is then asked to start.
Garage-kept cars in the Loop and River North have their own version — warm all week, then one genuinely cold morning outside and it will not turn. If your battery is over four years old and you have needed a boost once this winter, you will need another. Getting it tested is a twenty-dollar problem now and a two-hundred-dollar one at the wrong moment.
Transparent rates
What a tow costs in Chicago and the suburbs
Starting rates for standard passenger vehicles. Your exact total is confirmed on the call, before a truck is dispatched. No after-hours, weekend or holiday surcharge.
| Service | Starting price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Local tow (hook-up) | $89 | First 5 miles, loading, strapping, unloading |
| Each additional mile | $4.50 | Charged pickup to drop-off only |
| Jump start | $65 | Boost + charging-system check |
| Lockout | $65 | Non-destructive entry, no damage |
| Tire change | $75 | Your spare fitted & torqued |
| Fuel delivery | $65 | Plus fuel at pump price, up to 3 gal |
| Winch-out / recovery | $110 | Single-line pull, up to 30 minutes |
| Heavy-duty | $350/hr | Portal to portal, 1-hour minimum |
Straight answers
Jump Start — your questions
How much is a jump start in Chicago?
$65, which includes the boost and the charging-system check, with no after-hours or weekend surcharge. If the car needs towing instead, the $65 is credited against the tow.
Can you jump-start a car inside a parking garage?
Yes. A boost only needs the driver and the pack, so garage clearance is irrelevant. Only a tow out of the deck needs a low truck.
Can you boost a hybrid or an EV?
Hybrids and EVs have a conventional 12-volt battery that runs the electronics, and it fails the same way any other does. We boost it at the manufacturer's designated jump points. What we cannot do is charge the traction battery — a flat drive battery needs a tow.
Do I need a new battery if you had to boost me?
Not necessarily, but if the car is over four years old on its original battery, or this is the second boost this season, treat it as a warning. Our charging-system check tells you whether the alternator is at fault, which is the more expensive possibility.
Related
Often needed at the same time
Coverage
Jump Start where you are
We run this service across the whole coverage area — Chicago and every suburb within about 40 miles of the Loop.
Need it now? Call and we roll.
Live dispatcher, honest ETA, price agreed before the truck leaves. 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.