24 Hour Car Recovery on the M25 from J17 to J21 with Guaranteed Attendance
From Maple Cross to the M1 at Chiswell Interchange, plus J21A at Bricket Wood, we recover cars, vans and 4x4s 24 hours a day. The price is agreed on the phone before we dispatch.
- No separate call-out fee
- Price agreed first
- Guaranteed attendance on confirmed jobs
- 24/7/365
If you cannot reach a place of safety and also cannot get out of your vehicle safely, stay in it with your seat belt and hazard lights on and call 999 first.
Send your details on WhatsApp once you are safe
Get to safety first and do not go back to the vehicle to check anything. Answer only from what you already know. If you cannot reach safety and also cannot get out safely, call 999 instead.
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We provide 24 hour car recovery on the M25 from J17 Maple Cross to J21, where the motorway meets the M1, and on to J21A at Bricket Wood, all in Hertfordshire. In between are J18 Chorleywood, J19 Chandlers Cross and J20 Kings Langley. We recover cars, vans and 4x4s. The price is agreed on the phone before we dispatch, with no separate call-out fee, and a motorway callout on the M25 runs from £250 to £750 depending on location. We guarantee attendance on every job we confirm.
Our attendance guarantee
Once we have confirmed your job with you and agreed the price, we guarantee to attend. We cannot give an arrival time, because it depends on where you are and, where the police or National Highways are managing the scene, on when they allow access. The price is agreed before we set off, with no separate call-out fee. The guarantee does not extend to the Dartford Crossing itself or its approach roads, where only a constable or traffic officer may move a vehicle.
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The M25 from J17 to J21: an overview
This stretch of the M25 starts at J17 Maple Cross, on the A412, just inside Hertfordshire: the county line lies between J16 and J17. It continues past J18 Chorleywood on the A404 and J19 at Chandlers Cross, which has an exit for clockwise traffic only, then reaches J20 Kings Langley on the A41. It ends at J21, the Chiswell Interchange with the M1, with J21A at Bricket Wood on the A405 just beyond. Measured different ways, J17 to J21A is roughly 8 to 9 miles.
Signs name Watford at J19 for clockwise traffic and at J20 and J21A for anticlockwise traffic. Hemel Hempstead and Aylesbury are along the A41 from J20, Luton is along the M1 north from J21, and St Albans is along the A405 from J21A. The M25 passes north of Abbots Langley and just south of Kings Langley village, where it crosses the Gade valley on a viaduct. It is mostly four lanes each way, narrowing to three through the Chiswell Interchange between J21 and J21A, and Department for Transport counts for 2025 put the mainline links at about 145,500 to 179,400 vehicles a day, both directions combined. It is a controlled motorway with variable speed limits.
Broken down on the M25? Get to safety first
If your vehicle breaks down, your safety comes before the car. The Highway Code (rule 277) says to leave the motorway at the next exit or pull into a service area if possible, and National Highways says not to stop in a live lane unless absolutely necessary. If you cannot leave the carriageway at the next exit or pull into a service area, follow the three steps below. A hard shoulder gives less protection than other places of relative safety (rule 275).
Step 1, go left. Move into the left lane. Pull into an emergency area or onto a hard shoulder if you can, and stop as far to the left as possible, leaving space to exit your vehicle, with your wheels turned to the left and your hazard lights on (use sidelights too if it is dark or visibility is poor). If you can, stop just beyond an emergency telephone.
Step 2, get safe. If it is safe and possible, exit the vehicle by the side furthest from traffic and make sure passengers do the same. Wait well away from the vehicle and moving traffic, behind the safety barrier where there is one, aware of unseen hazards such as sudden drops, uneven ground or debris. Do not stand where your vehicle could be forced into you. Do not return to the vehicle, even if it is raining, cold or dark, and do not attempt repairs or put a warning triangle on the carriageway.
Step 3, get help. Use the free emergency telephone and face the traffic while you speak. If you have not stopped near one, or you cannot get out of the vehicle, call 999 immediately and ask for the police, or press your vehicle's SOS button if it has one and ask for the police. Tell them if you are a vulnerable motorist, such as disabled, older or travelling alone. In an emergency area you must use the emergency telephone and follow the operator's advice before you leave (rule 278), because a lane may need to be closed so you can rejoin.
If you cannot reach a place of relative safety and cannot get out safely, stay in the vehicle with your seat belt and hazard lights on, and call 999 and ask for the police (or press your SOS button if your vehicle has one). Rule 279 gives the same advice if you have a disability that stops you following these steps. If you cannot use an emergency roadside telephone because of a speech or hearing impairment, National Highways takes texts for roadside assistance on 0738 028 3600.
Call us once you are somewhere safe: behind the safety barrier, well away from your vehicle and moving traffic, after you have spoken to National Highways or 999, or in a service area or off the motorway. Tell us your direction of travel (clockwise or anticlockwise), the last junction you passed, and the registration, make and model. Quote a marker post or driver location sign only if you can read it from where you are safely waiting. Do not go back to the vehicle to find details. Do not wait for us in or beside a live lane.
Junction by junction: M25 J17 to J21
J17 Maple Cross: the A412 roundabout
J17 is the Maple Cross interchange, a roundabout junction with the A412 (or add https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple_Cross to the sources list). Clockwise the exit is signed Rickmansworth and Maple Cross; anticlockwise it is signed Maple Cross. The A412 leads south towards Denham, where it meets the A40 and the M40, and north-east through Rickmansworth towards Watford.
For clockwise traffic this is the first junction in Hertfordshire, because the county line lies between J16 and J17. The driver location signs here read about 110.5 km, with the letter A on the clockwise carriageway and B on the anticlockwise.
J18 Chorleywood: where the A404 crosses the motorway
J18 is a non-standard interchange where the A404 crosses the M25. Clockwise the exit is signed Amersham and Chorleywood; anticlockwise the sign also names Rickmansworth. East, the A404 runs into Rickmansworth. West, it crosses into Buckinghamshire towards Little Chalfont and Amersham. There is an exit on both carriageways.
Between J17 and J18 the M25 crosses the Metropolitan line and crosses a deep valley at Chorleywood on the Berry Lane Viaduct, which was altered to allow the 2009 to 2012 widening. The driver location signs at J18 read about 112.5 km.
J19 Chandlers Cross: a clockwise-only exit to the A41
J19 has an exit for clockwise traffic only. Clockwise, the exit is signed Watford (A41) and leads along a spur of about 1.2 miles, which Department for Transport traffic data lists as part of the M25, to the Hunton Bridge roundabout, where the A41 and the A411 for Watford meet. From that roundabout the A41 runs south-east towards Watford and London, and north-west towards J20.
Anticlockwise there is no exit at J19, so drivers leave at J20 instead. The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London at Leavesden gives its visitors the same rule: clockwise leave at J19, anticlockwise leave at J20. Your direction of travel therefore decides which junction applies. J19 is at about 116.4 km on the driver location signs.
J20 Kings Langley: the A41 and A4251 roundabout
J20 is a roundabout interchange with the A41 and the A4251. Clockwise the exit is signed Aylesbury and Hemel Hempstead; anticlockwise it also names Watford, because this is where anticlockwise traffic for Watford leaves when J19 has no exit. The A41 runs north-west as the Kings Langley bypass towards Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring and Aylesbury, and south-east past Hunton Bridge towards Watford. The A4251 is the old A41 route through Kings Langley village.
The motorway passes north of Abbots Langley and just south of Kings Langley village here. North of the roundabout the A41 is a dual carriageway built almost to motorway standard, with no hard shoulder but frequent lay-bys. J20 is at about 118.2 km on the driver location signs.
J21 Chiswell Interchange: M1 north only
J21 is the M25 side of Chiswell Interchange, which is also junction 6A of the M1. Only half of the possible links between the two motorways have been built. Both M25 carriageways have slip roads to the M1 northbound, signed The North and Luton, and the M1 southbound joins both M25 carriageways. There is no slip road from the M25 to the M1 southbound and none from the M1 northbound to the M25.
Those missing moves go through J21A instead: along under a mile of the A405 to M1 J6 at Waterdale, and back. On the one-mile link between J21 and J21A, roads.org.uk shows three lanes rather than four. The driver location signs at J21 read about 122.8 km.
J21A Bricket Wood: the A405 North Orbital Road
J21A is a roundabout junction with the A405 North Orbital Road. Both carriageways are signed M1 South, St Albans and London, and the anticlockwise sign also names Watford. West on the A405 are M1 J6 at Waterdale and Watford. East, it passes Chiswell Green and How Wood, and the Park Street roundabout (A414 and A5183) leads on to St Albans. Bricket Wood is the village that gives the junction its name.
This is the junction that supplies what J21 lacks: traffic from the M25 heading for the M1 southbound, or from the M1 northbound heading onto the M25, runs through here. Four lanes each way resume east of J21A, towards J22. J21A is at about 123.7 km on the driver location signs.
Hard shoulder and smart motorway status on J17 to J21
National Highways' smart motorway network map, reference CRE25_0085 and last updated on 21 January 2025, lists the M25 from J16 to J23 as a controlled motorway. That covers every junction from J17 to J21A. National Highways describes controlled motorways as smart motorways that have hard shoulders, and the speed limits on them vary. The map marks no all lane running or dynamic hard shoulder section on this stretch and shows no smart motorway scheme under construction on it; the nearest all lane running section starts at J23, on the next stretch of the M25.
The widening that gave this part of the M25 four lanes each way was complete by 2012, and controlled motorway operation began in March 2014, according to the Highways Agency's post-opening evaluation. Speed limits shown in a red circle on gantries or roadside signs are mandatory, and camera signs mark where speeds may be checked. Layouts, limits and roadworks change, so follow the signs and gantry displays on the day, and check National Highways for current works.
Motorway services on and around J17 to J21
There is no motorway service area anywhere on the M25 between J16 and J22, so none on the stretch from J17 to J21A. The whole M25 has four service areas: Clacket Lane, Cobham, South Mimms and Thurrock.
Of those, the nearest clockwise is South Mimms (Welcome Break), signed at J23, after J21A and J22. You enter it from the J23 roundabout, which is also junction 1 of the A1(M), rather than from the main carriageway. Anticlockwise, the nearest is Cobham, between J9 and J10 in Surrey, many junctions away. With no service area on this stretch, a tyre or wheel problem here is one to call us about rather than plan around services. (FAQ: replace 'Neither is close enough to plan around for a tyre or wheel problem, so call us.' with 'Neither is on this stretch, so for a tyre or wheel problem call us.')
Road features between Maple Cross and the M1
The M25 here is mostly four lanes each way, narrowing to three between J21 and J21A before four lanes resume towards J22. Between J17 and J18 it crosses the A412 and the Metropolitan line, with the Berry Lane Viaduct taking it over a valley at Chorleywood. The A404 crosses the motorway at J18, and there are no crossings at all between J19 and J20. Between J20 and J21 the Gade Valley Viaduct, a twin-deck steel box-girder structure of roughly 440 to 450 metres at Kings Langley, carries the road over the Grand Union Canal, the River Gade, the A41 and the Euston to Rugby railway line.
The Department for Transport's 2025 counts put the mainline links in this stretch at between about 145,500 vehicles a day (J19 to J20) and about 179,400 (J17 to J18), both directions combined, of which about 13,000 to 19,600 a day are HGVs, depending on the link. The J17 to J19 length began as the North Orbital Road extension, built to motorway standard and opened in 1976 as part of the A405; it became part of the M25 in 1985. J20, J21 and J21A opened in 1986.
How our M25 car recovery works on this stretch
We are based in Leyton, East London, and open 24 hours a day for cars, vans and 4x4s on the M25 between J17 and J21A. When you ring, give the junction, your direction (clockwise or anticlockwise), the driver location sign number if you can see one, the vehicle and the fault. Get to safety first, then call us, and call 999 first if you are in a live lane.
The price is agreed with you on the phone before we dispatch, with no separate call-out fee. A motorway callout on the M25 runs from £250 to £750 depending on location. We guarantee attendance on every job we confirm; where the police or National Highways are managing the scene, we attend as soon as they allow access. Depending on the fault we can supply and fit a replacement tyre, deal with locking wheel nuts and seized wheels, or arrange recovery. Our Google rating is 5.0 from 153 Google reviews.
Had a non-fault accident? Your recovery is free.
If another driver was at fault, we arrange your recovery free of charge through our sister claims service, CityGrip Claims. Start a claim there to see how your accident is handled.
M25 J17 to J21 car recovery FAQs
Do you cover the M25 from J17 to J21, and what does guaranteed attendance mean?
Yes. We cover the M25 from J17 Maple Cross to J21, where it meets the M1, and on to J21A at Bricket Wood, 24 hours a day, for cars, vans and 4x4s. Guaranteed attendance means we guarantee to attend every job we confirm. Where the police or National Highways are managing the scene, we attend as soon as they allow access. The only exception is the Dartford Crossing (A282) and its approach roads, which are not on this stretch.
What do I tell you when I ring about a problem between J17 and J21A?
Give the junction you are at or have just passed, say whether you are travelling clockwise or anticlockwise, and read out the number and letter on a driver location sign if one is already in view from where you are. On this stretch the signs run from about 110.5 km at J17 to about 123.7 km at J21A, with A for clockwise and B for anticlockwise. Then tell us whether it is a car, van or 4x4 and what has gone wrong.
How is the price set for a recovery on this part of the M25?
We agree the price with you on the phone before we dispatch, and there is no separate call-out fee. A motorway callout on the M25 runs from £250 to £750 depending on location, so have your junction and direction ready when you call. Give us the fault on the same call so the job and the price are agreed together.
Is the M25 between J17 and J21 a smart motorway with no hard shoulder?
No. National Highways' January 2025 smart motorway map lists the M25 from J16 to J23 as a controlled motorway, which means variable speed limits on a motorway that keeps its hard shoulder. The nearest all lane running section, where the hard shoulder is a running lane, starts at J23, beyond J21A and J22. Layouts and roadworks change, so follow the signs.
Are there motorway services between J17 and J21A?
No. There is no service area on the M25 between J16 and J22. Clockwise, the nearest on the M25 is South Mimms, signed at J23 and entered from the roundabout there rather than from the carriageway. Anticlockwise, the nearest is Cobham, between J9 and J10 in Surrey. Neither is close enough to plan around for a tyre or wheel problem, so call us.
Which road does J17 Maple Cross connect to?
J17 connects to the A412 Denham Way. Clockwise it is signed Rickmansworth and Maple Cross, and anticlockwise Maple Cross. The A412 leads south towards Denham, the A40 and the M40, and north-east through Rickmansworth towards Watford. It is a roundabout junction, and the first junction in Hertfordshire for clockwise traffic.
What does J18 Chorleywood connect to?
J18 is where the A404 crosses the M25. Clockwise it is signed Amersham and Chorleywood; anticlockwise it also shows Rickmansworth. East on the A404 is Rickmansworth. West, the road crosses into Buckinghamshire towards Little Chalfont and Amersham. There is an exit on both carriageways, and the Berry Lane Viaduct lies between J17 and J18.
Why can I only leave the M25 at J19 clockwise?
J19 has an exit for clockwise traffic only, signed Watford (A41), which leads by a spur of about 1.2 miles to the Hunton Bridge roundabout. Anticlockwise traffic has no exit there and leaves at J20 instead. The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London at Leavesden gives the same directions: clockwise, leave at J19; anticlockwise, leave at J20. Tell us your direction so we know which junction applies.
What is at J20 Kings Langley?
J20 is a roundabout interchange with the A41 and the A4251. The A41 runs north-west as the Kings Langley bypass towards Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring and Aylesbury, and south-east past Hunton Bridge to Watford. The A4251 is the old route through Kings Langley village. Anticlockwise traffic for Watford leaves here because J19 has no anticlockwise exit.
Can I get from the M25 to the M1 southbound at J21?
No. J21 is the M25 end of Chiswell Interchange, also M1 J6A, and only the north-facing links exist: both M25 carriageways to the M1 northbound, and the M1 southbound to both M25 carriageways. There is no slip road from the M25 to the M1 southbound, and none from the M1 northbound to the M25. Use J21A, under a mile of the A405 from M1 J6 at Waterdale.
Where does J21A Bricket Wood lead?
J21A is a roundabout on the A405 North Orbital Road, signed M1 South, St Albans and London, with Watford added on the anticlockwise sign. West, the A405 reaches M1 J6 and Watford. East, it passes Chiswell Green and How Wood, and the Park Street roundabout (A414 and A5183) leads to St Albans. It handles the M1 southbound and M1 northbound moves that J21 lacks.
Which county is this stretch of the M25 in?
Hertfordshire. The M25 enters the county between J16 and J17, so every junction from J17 Maple Cross to J21A Bricket Wood is in Hertfordshire. Buckinghamshire lies across the county line on the J16 side, and the A404 from J18 leads west into it, so give us the junction number as well as the nearest town.
Where the road details come from
Road details on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026.
Updated 19 October 2026. Written and maintained by CityGrip Recovery, Leyton. Open 24 hours. Once you are somewhere safe, call 07960 200253 for car recovery on the M25.
Broken down on the M25 between J17 and J21? Get to safety first, then call us.
Call 07960 200253, tell us your direction (clockwise or anticlockwise) and the last junction you passed, and we agree the price before anyone sets off.