Spare tire won't lower

[ACJ]

My seems to bind all the time. Just like yours the tire will lower a little then stop. I push on the tire and work the crank back and forth. Something goes clunk and then the tire lowers.

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[Hacksaw]

that chain system is ultra reliable. been in use many decades on many models

In just this small sample on this thread we have several people experiencing it binding, so perhaps it was once reliable, or perhaps most people could go the whole life of the vehicle and never or seldom use it, or toyota changed vendors for some part of it, and they've certainly changed the design with this hook-end activation and pop-out plastic panel on recent models.

In my case, it did work when I tried it immediately after delivery, and now it hangs. There's no universe where that equates to it being reliable, no matter what some prior version of it might have been.

 

[Scrappopatamus]

All 3 of my current Toyotas have had their spares dropped to replace the wheel and or tires to match the upgrades installed on the vehicles. Otherwise it's doubtful they will ever be deployed going forward. I recently dropped and replaced the spare on my 180K + mile Ram 2500 because I figured it probably wasn't fit to run considering age. It had never been dropped in 7 years. I'm having a hard time understanding how so many have experienced repeatedly dropping their spare assemblies on new vehicles?

 

[IndistinctChatter]

Yours was getting stuck on the plastic funnel-shaped crank tool guide ?

Yes, sorry I should have explained. The plastic guide is held on with 2 tabs and one of those was broken so the whole piece was loose which made connecting the hook challenging, but it would also rotate which felt like resistance on the chain when trying to lower it. Don't know if I broke it when putting a full size spare under the truck or if it was broken during assembly, but I removed it and haven't been motivated to fix or replace. As others have said, the overall chain and gear assembly are pretty basic and reliable.

 

[ACJ]

My tire has been lowered three times. It has bound 2 of those 3. One of those was at discount tire. I was standing right there at discount tire. They gave me a blank stare, I got on the ground, gave it a kick, there was a pop and then they were able to lower the tire. I need to investigate more and will mention in another 500 miles when I get my 10,000 service. Note: I plan on doing 5 tire rotations.

 

[Hacksaw]

The good people at Discount Tire fixed it for me. IT'S THAT WHITE PLASTIC "FUNNEL" THAT IS THE PROBLEM. They needed a combination of a floor jack and several raisings and lowerings of the rod, as shards of plastic fell out, before they finally got it free. Pic below of what was left of that white plastic thing:

As you can see, it was busted to bits, including a bunch of smaller pieces that fell out during the raising and lowering process that I didn't pick up.

Without this white plastic "funnel" it's harder to keep the hook on the lowering tool in the slot as you twist the tool. I don't know whether to leave it off, or to take it to the dealer and ask them to replace it under warranty, so it can do the same thing again in the future?

I don't know whether the solution is they need to make this funnel piece out of aluminum, or whether its shape is the problem and it needs a re-design.

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