Spare Tire problems of the 2004 Chevrolet Suburban

A tire blew out. Spare tire hoist was inoperable. Had to cut spare tire hoist off with a reciprocating saw. On the side of the road for 4 hours. Have heard of many with same problem. Poor design in a highly corrosive environment.

I was driving my vehicle and had a flat tire. I could not get my spare tire to come down as it was seized under th back of the vehicle. I had a repair shop fix it and they advised me this is common on all general motor vehicles that salt get inside them and rusts out the spare tire hoist unit making it impossible to get the tire down. I am concerned as it could have happened to my wife and kids on a cold night. After looking online this is a major problem that most people do not realize until they get stranded with a flat tire.

The contact owns a 2004 Chevrolet Suburban 1500. The contact stated that the spare tire housing unit was defective which made it impossible to remove the spare tire when he needed it. The dealer advised her to notify the manufacturer who stated that they would reimburse her for the repairs. The vehicle was repaired; however, the spare tire housing malfunction has reoccurred. The manufacterer stated that they would not reimburse her to have the housing unit repaired again. The failure mileage was 120,000.

I had a flat tire on a 2004 chevy Suburban. After about 1 hour of trying, I was not able to release the spare tire hoist on the vehicle. Since I could not access the spare tire, I had to call for a tow truck. The tow truck driver also could not get the spare tire to release from the vehicle. The vehicle had to be towed to the dealer. The dealer had to replace the "bad" hoist. This was the first time I tried to use the spare hoist since the vehicle was purchased. The dealer said that this is a common failure and the tow truck driver agreed. The dealer also said it was my fault for abusing the hoist (driving on dirt roads) and not properly servicing the hoist. No where in the owner's manual does it talk about spare tire hoist maintenance. The total cost for a flat tire was over $400 and 7 hours of my time.