The flared portion of the terminator fob on the retaining/retracting cable for the spare tire fractured and separated on my 1999 Ford Expedition eddie bauer (I am the original owner). As a result, the spare tire and the metal crosspiece retainer dropped onto the street pavement, and in front of oncoming vehicles, which swerved and avoided colliding with the loose spare tire. I am just glad, and fortunate, that the spare tire did not bounce into the air, or end up crashing through the windshield of an oncoming vehicle. There are numerous reports of similar, if not identical incidents of this spare tire cable breakage posted on the internet. According to the owners manual, the crank mechanism is driven using the jack handle, and it is supposed to "ratchet" when the spare tire becomes snug against the vehicle undercarriage, preventing over tension on the crank mechanism and cable. Upon inspection, there were no signs of rust, or corrosion, or attempted theft or tampering. A small collar portion of the terminator fob remained on the cable, while flared portion broke and slipped off of the end of the cable. There are not any additional safety devices on the vehicle that retain the spare tire in the event the cable fails. During the 2001 Firestone tire recall, the dealer replaced all five tires, which included the spare tire. Otherwise, the crank mechanism has not been used. I searched but failed to find a reported government recall of this cable at www.recalls.gov/search.html. to repair the cable end, I created my own terminator fob using an electrical split-bolt sized to the diameter of the cable. I fashioned a J shape in the cable to form a loop and placed a small screw through the loop to prevent pull-through, added a few drops of blue locktite to the threads of the split-bolt, and cinched up the split-bolt.

- Dallas, TX, USA

The spare tire cable snapped on Ford Expedition at high speed and almost caused several accidents. The tire crossed the median, after being narrowly missed by the person behind me, and went into opposing traffic. Thankfully, no one was hurt or injured but I was extremely lucky!

- Callahan, FL, USA

While consumer was driving on the expressway at 75 mph spare tire cable broke, and the tire flew off. There was no report of accident/injury.

- Columbus, MI, USA

While the vehicle was parked spare tire cable broke. This caused the tire to fall off from underneath the vehicle. Consumer drove the vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the spare tire cable assembly needed to be replaced.

- Rialto, CA, USA

I own a 1999 Ford Expedition. I was driving home when I heard a bump in the back of my vehicle. I looked in the rear view mirror to see my spare tire bouncing off another vehicle and rolling down the street. If I had been going at a faster rate of speed, someone could have been seriously injured if not killed. I stopped to retrieve the tire when I noticed that the cable holding the tire had just snapped. After a little research on the internet I have discovered that this is not an isolated incident. When I called the dealer to see if there had been a recall they said there had not, but they could sell me a replacement for $78. This is not just about money, it's about a known problem that Ford needs to fix. As I said before, "someone can be seriously injured by this problem". can you look into this problem? thanks.

- Manassas, VA, USA

Spare tire fell off vehicle. The cable holding the spare tire broke letting the spare tire fall from under the vehicle and bouncing around on the road.

- Beaverdam, VA, USA

Defective spare tire cable assembly.

- Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, USA

Traveling on highway left, rear tire blew. After tire was changed, full sized, brand new spare blew 300 miles later. (tiresize: P2657ur17)( dot number: Tire size: P2657ur17 )

- Wantagh, NY, USA