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Not one truck with one price — your job goes to the nearest of our 3,000 vetted drivers nationwide, so you get a keen price for your actual job, back in minutes.
Prefer to talk? Call 07301 118118
Get off the Medway Bridge crossing to the hard shoulder or Farthing Corner services if you can, then wait behind the barrier with your hazards on while a flatbed is sent out to you.
Broken Down on the M2 Between Strood and Faversham?
The M2 runs for around 26 miles between Strood at Junction 1 and Faversham at Junction 7, carrying Medway commuter traffic, Kent coast holiday traffic and freight heading on towards Dover via the A2. It crosses the River Medway on a high, wind-exposed bridge, tightens around Chatham and Gillingham at Junctions 3 and 4, and has a single service station for its entire length.
None of that matters once your car has actually stopped moving. What matters is getting everyone out safely and getting a truck sent that already knows this road, rather than one crossing the county to reach you.
📞 Call now: 07301 118118
Getting Off the Carriageway Safely
If you can coast onto the hard shoulder, do it, then leave the vehicle by the left-hand doors and stand well behind the barrier — not beside the car, and never with a warning triangle put out on the carriageway. If the breakdown happens on the Medway Bridge itself, where the crossing is high and exposed to crosswinds and there is little room to stand, get behind the barrier as quickly as you can and treat it as more urgent than a flat stretch of road.
Junction by Junction: Where M2 Breakdowns Happen
- Junction 1, Strood — the interchange with the A289 and the start of the motorway, often congested at commuter times.
- Junctions 3 and 4, Chatham and Gillingham — the busiest section, where Medway towns traffic joins and leaves in quick succession.
- Junction 5, Sittingbourne — a wide interchange where lorries for the industrial estates slow the inside lane.
- Junction 7, Faversham — where the M2 hands over to the A2 towards Canterbury and Dover.
Farthing Corner Services
Between Junctions 4 and 5, Farthing Corner is the only service station on the whole M2. If a warning light or a strange noise gives you enough notice, it is worth aiming for rather than pushing on — but do not gamble a failing gearbox or a smoking engine on reaching it. A car that cuts out completely is safer stopped on the hard shoulder than abandoned halfway across three lanes trying to reach the slip road.
What Gets Recovered Off the M2
K9 Recovery collects cars, vans, 4x4s, motorcycles, taxis, non-runners, prestige and classic cars, and caravans and motorhomes heading back from the Kent coast. Electric vehicles are always carried on a flatbed rather than towed, because dragging a driven wheel along the road risks the motor. Once the vehicle is loaded it can go on to a garage, a home address or anywhere else in the UK, not just the nearest yard.
How K9 Recovery Works on the M2
There is no membership to buy and no call-centre queue to sit in before someone picks up. A UK-wide network of 3,000 vetted drivers means the nearest available truck is sent to the Medway towns rather than one dispatched from further along the M20 or M25. The price is agreed on the phone before the truck leaves, the work is fully insured, and the whole operation runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including Christmas. Call 07301 118118 and give the junction number or a landmark such as the Medway Bridge.
Heading Home from the Coast Towed or Loaded
A lot of M2 breakdowns are not commuters but families heading back from Whitstable, Herne Bay or the Isle of Sheppey with a caravan or a roof box still loaded. If the tow vehicle fails rather than the caravan itself, the whole outfit can still be moved in one recovery rather than left split across a lay-by, and K9 Recovery’s drivers are used to handling that combination on a narrow motorway like this one.
Whatever end of the M2 you are on, or which junction you are closest to, help can reach you without a membership card or a long hold. For wider journeys beyond Kent, see the motorway breakdown recovery hub, and for local cover around the Medway towns see vehicle recovery in Chatham.
What our customers say
“Broke down on the M25 in the third lane with my wife and kids. Andrew pulled up and got us to safety fast. Cannot thank him enough.”
— Jonathan
“Great service, quick arrival within the hour and a good rate compared to most.”
— Ibrahim Suleman
“Excellent service from the emergency call to the lads who picked me up. Professional and respectful.”
— Andrew Chambers
M2 Breakdown Questions Answered
Is the Medway Bridge crossing dangerous to break down on?
It is more exposed than a flat stretch of motorway — the bridge is high, open to crosswinds and offers less room to stand well clear of traffic. Get behind the barrier as quickly as possible rather than staying near the vehicle, and call for recovery straight away.
What if I break down between Chatham and Gillingham in rush hour?
Junctions 3 and 4 carry the heaviest local traffic on the M2, so a stopped vehicle there causes queues quickly. Get off the carriageway if you can and call 07301 118118; the dispatcher will already know this is a priority stretch.
Is there a service station on the M2?
Yes, but only one — Farthing Corner, between Junctions 4 and 5. It is the only place to stop for fuel or a break on the whole 26-mile route, so plan around it rather than assuming another will follow.
Can you recover a caravan heading to the coast on the M2?
Yes. Caravans and motorhomes are recovered along with the tow vehicle where needed, and the outfit can be taken onward to a home address or campsite rather than just to the nearest safe stopping point.
Other Motorways Near the M2
Drivers using the M2 often continue onto the wider Kent and London network. See recovery guides for the M25, the M20 and the M11.