Vehicle: 2000 Ford F150 w/123000 mi. As I was driving down the street I heard a noise from the back of the truck. I looked in the mirror and saw the spare tire, which was mounted under the bed, bouncing down the street. I stopped and retrieved it and the hardware. Luckily, no one else hit the tire and no damage was done. However, severe vehicle damage, serious injury, or even death could have occurred due to this incident. Upon further examination of the mount I found that the cable that secures the tire was snapped off. I had the vehicle for the 42,000 miles and had not once used the spare. Nowhere in any vehicle manual does it say to maintain or replace the cable after a certain number of miles. The cable is expected to last the entire life of the vehicle. This is a huge safety issue. I am afraid to follow behind any Ford trucks because at any moment another of these cables could snap. This is not a warranty issue. Ford refused to correct this problem as it is out of warranty. The cable simply should not break. The cost quoted by Ford was about $200 to fix this. Ford needs to take care of this at its own expense. This is a defective part that could cause damage, serious injury, or death to innocent motorists, not to mention mental anguish imposed upon the driver or owner of the defective vehicle. I have already dealt with my local Ford dealer, the Ford district manager, and Ford Motor Company's customer care department, and have received absolutely no help. This problem needs to be fixed before some one dies.

- Norco, CA, USA

I have a 2000 F150 and am concerned about the safety of the spare tire. I had a flat tire and had to change it out and put on the spare. The spare had indentations on the sidewalls that were caused from the spare tire mechanism ( the way the spare tire is held on). I wrote a letter to Ford and sent a picture of the tire. I questioned the integrity of the tire if I had to drive on it for a long period of time. Ford contacted me and told me to contact the tire manufacturer (general tire) because it is a tire defect. I again explained that the tire had indentations on the sidewalls caused from something in how the spare is held on under the truck. I asked how this could be caused from a defective tire? the Ford representative didn't care and gave me the number to general tire.

- Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA