Spare hanger broke, spare is gone! - Diesel Forum

GShelton · 11-20-2009, 04:27 PM

I wanted to get this story out to the public for a couple of reasons. First, so the world knows what I am currently going through with Ford. Second, to find out if anyone else has had this issue. And lastly, as a warning to all other Super Duty (and maybe other truck) owners to make sure to check this.

I recently purchased a backup camera to install on my 2008 Ford F-450 Super Duty. When I crawled under the rear to begin the installation, I found my spare tire missing. The winch for the spare is there, but there is no cable, no saddle, no tire. There is not even a little bit of cable sticking down. (I felt that had the tire been stolen, there would have been some cable sticking down.)

I took the truck to my local Ford dealership. (This is the one I use when needed. They are the ones that do my oil change and any other warranty work that is required if I am not traveling.) When I told the service advisor about my issue, almost immediately told me it would not be covered under warranty. They did not look at the truck at this point. I told her I was not going to let this go and I needed to know how to move on. She gave me the 800 number to Ford Customer Care. (Or the 1-800 who cares number as I like to call it.)

My first call into Customer Care was about 20 minutes after I left the dealership (11-19-2009) and I spoke with a very nice lady who told me that the parts may be covered under warranty, but the truck would need to be diagnosed by my local dealer. She said she logged it in the computer for the dealership.

I called back to the dealer and they told me I could bring it in right then and they would look at it. I returned to the dealer and they did put it up on the lift and look at it. They did not however do anything more than a visual inspection that returned the results of, "The tire is not there and we can not see the cable." This is what I told them to begin with. They did state that there was evidence of the tire being there at some point as there was rub marks underneath from where the tire was mounted. I was then told I would need to call back into the Customer Care line as they could not determine it was a faulty unit. (Nor did they determine it was not.)

I called into the Customer Care line as I was returning home and explained it all again. Customer Care told me I would need to return to my selling dealer. (90 miles from where I now live.) When I asked why I needed to return to that dealer, I was told it was so they could determine if the tire had been installed at the factory. When I explained that this had already been determined by the local dealer and I did not wish to drive 180 miles to have them state the same thing, she no longer had anything to help me with. I asked to speak to someone higher up as I was not going to let this die. I was told she was it. She actually said to me, "Sir, you are talking to Ford!" I then explained that I wanted to talk to someone higher up IN Ford. She told me her supervisor had no additional resources and that it would not change anything. I explained to her that I would take this all the way to the CEO of Ford if I needed to. She put me on hold, came back and explained that all the supervisors were currently busy and I could wait or have them call me back. I chose the call back.

A supervisor called me today (11-20-2009) about 3pm. I explained the situation again (3rd time) and told her I felt I was being treated unfairly. I felt that no one was taking the initiative to actual diagnose the issue. I explained that not only was I upset the tire was missing, but that if this is an issue, someone could be killed. A dually tire is not light and if it came out at road speed, someone could easy have been killed. She then said that I would have noticed it. I don't think that is true. As big as this truck is, as rough as it rides, I don't think I would have noticed anything. She put me on hold and called the local dealer again. They said they were willing to pull the winch down and open it up to see if they could determine what the issue was. (They will likely charge me a diagnostic fee however.) She also made a comment that if it was defective, they would replace the hanger, but not likely the tire. My comment to that is what if my leaf springs fail and my axle falls out? Will they cover the springs and not the axle?

So at this point I am awaiting a time to go back to the dealership again to get it diagnosed.

So that is the story to this point. Anyone else lose a tire on a Super Duty? I would also like this to be a warning for you all to drop the tire occasionally and check the condition of the cable. I only have 30K miles on the truck. Also, for the record, I seen the spare when the truck had 1200 miles on it as I was under the truck to install the 5th wheel hitch. The last time that I "know" the tire was under there was August of 2008 when I had the truck at a dealership in Augusta, GA. and had nitrogen put in the tires. I requested that the spare also be done. I would imagine (if they actually did the spare) that they would have told me it was not there. So it disappeared in the last year.

I hope this is an OK place to post this. This forum has helped me a ton since I purchased my truck

Please let me know if anyone has had this issue. This could turn into a safety recall!

DieselDeaf · 11-20-2009, 07:26 PM

Yeah it happens all the time. I've got a brand new F450 tire and wheel in my garage from some poor dude who hit a speed bump in front of the garage too fast and guess what fell off?

Lucky it happened going through the parking lot. Going down the highway it would have killed somebody, an F450 tire and wheel assembly is damn heavy.

The fella never looked back so that's why I still have it.

GShelton · 11-21-2009, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieselDeaf

Yeah it happens all the time. I've got a brand new F450 tire and wheel in my garage from some poor dude who hit a speed bump in front of the garage too fast and guess what fell off?

Lucky it happened going through the parking lot. Going down the highway it would have killed somebody, an F450 tire and wheel assembly is damn heavy.

The fella never looked back so that's why I still have it.

What to sell it cheap? LOL!

With as heavy as that tire is (under a dually) and as rough as the truck rides, I can not imagine this is an uncommon occurrence.

FMTRVT · 11-21-2009, 01:59 PM

SD's have a long history of this happening going back since '99. The cable was upgraded once, adding a spring on the end to absorb the shock loading to prevent cable breaking. Honestly, I surprised this has not become a NHTSA situation as it can not be fun to be behind an SD and suddenly have a very full size tires heading for you.

When you get a new one try to install a retaining cable or chain through around the tire/wheel section to the frame towards the front of the vehicle. If it ever breaks again it would still destroy the tire rubbing on the road but at least the won't be a loose tire on traffic, which would bring a legal issues that you would have to deal with as well (probably no judgment at you, but it's the system).

GShelton · 11-21-2009, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FMTRVT

SD's have a long history of this happening going back since '99. The cable was upgraded once, adding a spring on the end to absorb the shock loading to prevent cable breaking. Honestly, I surprised this has not become a NHTSA situation as it can not be fun to be behind an SD and suddenly have a very full size tires heading for you.

When you get a new one try to install a retaining cable or chain through around the tire/wheel section to the frame towards the front of the vehicle. If it ever breaks again it would still destroy the tire rubbing on the road but at least the won't be a loose tire on traffic, which would bring a legal issues that you would have to deal with as well (probably no judgment at you, but it's the system).

This is my point exactly! And yes, if I get a replacement (I may just put a fuel tank in there instead) I will surely add a backup restraint.

I wanted to make something clear here. I will say that some of this is about getting the parts replaced, but the most important thing here is that I want Ford to admit this might be a problem and a safety concern. This is what has really ticked me off about this is that the first thing out of their mouth was not "Oh my! I hope no one was hurt!" Instead, it was an instant, "Oh, that is not going to be covered under warranty!"

I think I am going to file a complaint with The Office of Defects Investigation at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Someone needs to look into this BEFORE someone is hurt or killed.

ZeroOne · 11-22-2009, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GShelton

This is my point exactly! And yes, if I get a replacement (I may just put a fuel tank in there instead) I will surely add a backup restraint.

I wanted to make something clear here. I will say that some of this is about getting the parts replaced, but the most important thing here is that I want Ford to admit this might be a problem and a safety concern. This is what has really ticked me off about this is that the first thing out of their mouth was not "Oh my! I hope no one was hurt!" Instead, it was an instant, "Oh, that is not going to be covered under warranty!"

I think I am going to file a complaint with The Office of Defects Investigation at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Someone needs to look into this BEFORE someone is hurt or killed.

Wow, I had no idea this was happening on these truck. Even though it sounds like a rare occurrence, the fact that it has been happening since '99 is pretty poor, on Ford's part... and then to deny it...

To put it bluntly, the only way for this to become concern to Ford is when people are killed. Not only that, but in a consistent trend. With the infrequency of this happening, it will be cheaper for them to settle a wrongful death lawsuit than to spend the money to fix the issue in trucks already produced.

HighwayPrisoner · 11-22-2009, 09:48 AM

This sure is nothing new. Ford is not the only one at fault. A friend's Dodge lost the spare tire, and damaged the new trailer he was pulling. He had less than 25K on the truck. I have used a cable on my trucks to secure the spare, in case the factory cable would break. I have replaced the factory cable assy twice in 844K miles. It was a good thing it was secured.

shark1955 · 11-23-2009, 05:30 PM

Spare tire thieves will over tighten the cable causing it to break in order to gain access to the spare.

ndmtnsledder · 11-24-2009, 12:03 AM

Goes back farther then that atleast as far as Ford is concerned I have personal experience with 3 1997 F150s loosing there spares to broken cables and you see a lot that don't have the spare underneath anymore.

timid1 · 11-24-2009, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shark1955

Spare tire thieves will over tighten the cable causing it to break in order to gain access to the spare.

I'd like to know how they do this if you need a special key to lower/raise the wheel to begin with.

At first I thought corrosion might be an issue, but we're talking about people who drive in states which don't see any snow whatsoever. These things don't just fall off. It's either a manufacturing defect, or it's something else. If it happens with enough frequency, you'd better believe Ford would be on it. But they're not. I'm not siding with them, just pointing it out. Some of the things being said in this thread are pretty far fetched.

FMTRVT · 11-24-2009, 08:27 AM

There are many non-passenger car vehicles that use the winch/cable system for spare tire retention. (Maybe retention is not the right word). All manufacturers have had issues with breaking, so it occurs but I don't think the frequency is so high that it has been considered a safety factor. IMO, it is because no one needs a 60lb bouncy object in front of them on a road.

Some of the breaks occur due to the shock loading of a slightly loose tire when you hit bumps. That's why the design change of having a spring on the end of the cables rather then just a swaged grommet. But part of the problem is also owner induced. How often do you check and re-inflate your spare tire? It's probably the most neglected item on a vehicle. Yet when the tire pressure is reduced from when the tire was first located at the assembly line, the cable relaxes. The G-force on that cable is quite high being outside of the wheelbase back there.

And over tensioning the unit has been a way that thieves get a $10 - $25 tire/wheel freebie to sell on Craigslist. Ford knows this too. So it's very easy for a dealer rep to be going in his head, "Was this a failure or did someone steal this persons tire?".