14 problems related to carrier/rack have been reported for the 1997 Ford F-150. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
While pulling into garage and without warning, consumer heard a noise. Ran over spare tire. Tire was held up by a wire which broke off and released the tire. Consumer adds the wire served as the spare tire rack assembly and was defective.
Spare tire fell off from under pickup bed, damaging trailer being towed. Fortunately, no accident was caused behind the vehicle when the tire fell off. I called Ford and they indicated it was 'not a safety issue'. Can this be true, given that a 60lb tire and rim are allowed to just fall off a vehicle at highway speeds? thank you. Gt.
While driving on a local road spare tire cable broke, and spare tire fell out. Consumer was concerned that this could had happen on highway and cause an accident.
Spare tire holder failed and spare tire fell off of the truck onto the highway and into traffic.
While driving about 30 mph spare tire fell off. It appears as though cable that holds the spare tire has rusted. Dealership was contacted about this problem. Problem has not been corrected. Please provide any further information.
Under moderate acceleration on I-29 on-ramp from gateway drive, swedge holding tire cradle piece to cable let go releasing tire cradle piece and spare tire from vehicle. Spare tire bounced to the left side of the on-ramp into the grass. Tire cradle piece fell to the right side of the traffic lane. Although there was no damage to other vehicles following at the time and no personal injuries, the potential existed for a catastrophic accident. If this had happened on the interstate highway at higher speeds, serious injury or death may have resulted from impact with the tire.
While backing out of the driveway, the cable holding the spare tire snapped allowing tire to fall from the carrier under the truck. The dealer was phoned about the problem. Problem will be corrected at owner's expense. Please provide any further information.
Spare tire wheel mount cable failed resulting in spare tire falling off of vehicle. Mjs.
While driving truck about 20-25 mph, cable that holds up the spare tire broke, causing the tire to come off. The incident did not cause a crash. Dealer will be notified about the problem.
The edges of the 4 u channels on the spare tire carrier cuts into the sidewall of tire. A dealer was notified about the problem. The problem has not been corrected.
The spare tire carrier under the truck rubs groves on the side of the spare tire. Owner guess is that the groves ar e 1/8 inch deep. The prolbem was reported to the manufacturer. The tire has been replaced by dealership. The spare tire carrier is being checked for the problem.
Spare tire carrier failed causing the tire to fall off. Yh.
The spare tire mount in the 1997-1999 model F-150s suffers damage from the crossframe mount. The frame cuts grooves into the tire sidewalls over a period of time and can cause the tire to fail if used. This can also result in a person being stranded if the tire fails completely, or can cause an accident if the damage was not noticed and the tire failed while in use. This affects all 1997 to 1999 model F-150s, and the damage worsens with time, usually becoming noticeable after 10-15k miles. Ford motor has received several complaints about the situation but has not fixed the problem. ( dot number: tire size: 255/70r16 ).
Consumer states while driving state speed limit without warning the spare tire fell off the wire assembly on to oncoming traffic notified manufacturer and was informed that vehicle is out of warranty. Consumer stated that the cable holding the tire assembly sheared off causing the spare tire to fail.