I am the original owner of a 2002 Chevy Silverado. This past July I lowered the spare tire for the first time to clean off mud and discovered that there were four locations on the side wall of tire that were worn away. This was caused by the bed of the truck. The tire was secure and had the proper tire inflation. I check the pressure about 4-5 times a year while it is still secured under the truck. I contacted GM and was told to bring the tire to my local dealer. Service manager saw the tire and stated he sees this all the time and believes it is a design flaw especially in the S-10 pick ups. He advised me not to use the tire. It is to dangerous. I purchased a new tire to replace the spare and now in the process of trying to get GM to repay that cost. They have denied all requests so far stating I did not rotate tires properly. In the service book there are 2 ways to rotate tires one includes the spare and the other does not. I did the one that showed the four tire rotation not five because the spare is a steel rim not aluminum like the other four drive wheels. I am lucky that I removed the spare during daylight hours just for cleaning and not at night when I had too. The damaged sidewall of tire is on the inside once on the truck and I would never had seen the damage had it been at night. I also pull a camper with this vehicle and the results of having the side wall blow out at highway speeds pulling a camper scared me. As I mentioned earlier, I have replaced the spare with new tire. But what will keep the damage from occurring again ? I guess I will have to keep moving the spare tire. GM should redesign the tire holder or provide some type of cushion between tire and bed of truck. I am sure that had I had a flat tire and used the spare earlier in the trucks life this would not have happened. I have the tire and can provide pictures upon request. Please feel free to contact me at anytime.

- Middletown, NY, USA