Spare Tire problems of the 2002 Nissan Xterra

2002 Nissan Xterra: the spare tire holder winch mechanism in ne regions rusts (from what I gather in on line research the problem is rampant) and freezes not allowing you to lower the tire to replace a flat. I had a flat on a very busy road. I could not lower the spare and bent the rod. Called aaa. Had to have flat tire taken off and repaired before I could move again. Very dangerous to not be able to repair flat. After I went to tire store. They were not able to release winch and indicated they see the issue very often in Nissan suvs. They said my only option was to cut off winch mechanism and keep spare in back of vehicle. After declining, I did research and found that this problem is very common. There has been no recalls that I could find on line and I still have not found a reasonable fix.