Breakdown on the A6

From the Goldene Bremm border crossing eastward

The A6 begins as a four-lane motorway at the former Goldene Bremm border crossing on the southern edge of Saarbrücken, continuing the French Autoroute A320. The former border station was converted into a staffed service area after border checks ended. At the Saarbrücken triangle, the A620 ends, and the A6 switches onto the route of Saarbrücken's city motorway. Drivers heading the opposite way must leave the main carriageway. Because the triangle is built as a fork, there's a ramp at the Saarbrücken-Fechingen exit for changing direction. In a breakdown there, tell us whether you're heading towards Mannheim or towards France.

The Saarland and the Palatinate: valley bridges, Ramstein, Kaiserslautern

After that, the route takes on a low-mountain character, with a third lane per direction on some climbs. Past three larger valley bridges and past St. Ingbert, it crosses the A8 at the Neunkirchen interchange. Near Waldmohr the A6 crosses into Rhineland-Palatinate; at the Landstuhl-West interchange it crosses the A62. Past the Ramstein-Miesenbach exit, the motorway has six lanes but mostly no hard shoulder. Breaking down there means standing with no shoulder to pull onto. It then bypasses Ramstein Air Base in a wide arc, and west of Kaiserslautern it runs right past a barracks site. The town is bypassed to the north on a route laid out back in the 1930s.

The Palatinate Forest: the Platte, the Leininger Berg, the Laumersheimer Berg

Past Kaiserslautern, the A6 is four lanes again, but with extra lanes on climbs. It crosses the forested low mountains of the Palatinate Forest at its northern end, reaching the highest point between Saarbrücken and Mannheim at the Platte hill, over 420 metres above sea level. Near Wattenheim, a long, staged descent into the Upper Rhine lowlands follows. At the Leininger Berg comes a sharp combination of bends with a steep descent, right past Neuleiningen with its castle ruin; past Grünstadt, a second descent follows at the Laumersheimer Berg. On a descent in wet conditions, securing the scene matters especially, more in our guide Brakes failing.

Rhine-Neckar: Frankenthal, Mannheim, Hockenheim

At the Frankenthal interchange it crosses the A61, which together with the A6 forms a motorway ring around Mannheim and Ludwigshafen. It crosses the Rhine on the Theodor-Heuss-Brücke, which has a footpath for pedestrians in the central reservation. On the right bank of the Rhine, the A6 crosses into Baden-Württemberg and runs past Mannheim's northern districts to the Viernheim triangle, where the A67 ends. Shortly after, the Viernheim interchange follows with the A659, the first cross-link to the parallel A5. At the Mannheim interchange it crosses the A656, a second east-west connection. At the Hockenheim triangle the A61 ends, and the six-lane route runs right past the grandstands of the Hockenheimring through the Schwetzinger Hardt forest. At the Walldorf interchange, the parallel run with the A5 ends, see Breakdown on the A5 and Towing Service Mannheim.

The Kraichgau, Heilbronn, the Weinsberg interchange

Near Wiesloch it climbs into the Kraichgau, which separates the Odenwald to the north from the Black Forest to the south. Near Sinsheim, several leisure facilities sit right by the motorway; near Bad Rappenau there's a wide view into the Neckar basin. North of Heilbronn, the Neckar is crossed near a coal power station on a long bridge. Near Neckarsulm begin the vineyard-covered foothills of the Schwäbisch-Fränkische Waldberge. At the Weinsberg interchange, the six-lane main carriageway of the A6 continues onto the crossing A81 heading south; drivers wanting to stay on the A6 heading east must turn off. If you break down there, tell us whether you're on the A6 or the A81.

Hohenlohe, the Kochertal bridge, the Frankenhöhe

Past Bretzfeld, the Hohenlohe plain opens up, the route is six lanes again, and runs along the northern flank of the Schwäbischer Wald. Past Schwäbisch Hall, the Kocher river is crossed on the 185-metre-high Kochertal bridge, the highest bridge in Germany. Near Crailsheim follow the deeply cut valleys of the Jagst and Gronach; the A6 then crosses into Bavaria, where the border runs along the westernmost ridge of the Frankenhöhe, climbed with a fairly steep gradient. In the Wörnitz valley, the A6 crosses the A7 at the Feuchtwangen/Crailsheim interchange, more at Breakdown on the A7.

Nuremberg and the Upper Palatinate

Then follow Nuremberg-Süd, the Nuremberg-Ost interchange with the A9, and the Altdorf interchange with the A3, after which the A6 runs through the Upper Palatinate to the Czech border. More on the region at Towing Service Nuremberg.

What we do on the A6

You describe your location, vehicle and problem, and we organise the callout. Faster is based in Antwerp, Belgium; partners on the ground drive out on the A6. We don't give a fixed arrival time, since it depends on the section, traffic and weather.

How to describe your location on the A6

• Direction of travel: towards Mannheim, Nuremberg, or Saarbrücken/Waidhaus.
• Last or next interchange, triangle, or exit.
• Whether a hard shoulder is present (for example near Ramstein).
• The landscape or landmark: the Palatinate Forest, the Kochertal bridge, the Hockenheimring.

All motorway pages: Breakdown help on the motorway (German). General steps: Breaking down on the motorway.