Stock Spare Tire carrier

First, I'll say that I have searched, and discovered the spare tire carrier recall, and will be contacting a dealership, but I'm curious what this is where one would expect to find the slot used to wind the spare up and down.



Inside the cylinder:




what is this? It sure caused me some problems trying to lower the spare because the cylinder spins freely in hand. I had to deflate the spare and use the stock jack to press the wheel against the bed, then pry/lever/ hammer the holder through the hole. I had an air tank and was able to inflate the spare afterwards. Is this some kind of lock?

Thanks in advance

 

Yeah its a "lock" of sorts. My tacos didn't come with those, but a few guys here have just pryed that thing off, some guys have even been able to wiggle it off by hand. Either way you can get that thing off then you can just use the hook end of your jack/spare tire rod and use the crank as normal.

 

As stated above, it is a lock. Similar to the locking lug nuts that Toyota/Lexus use.

You may have the "key" for it in your cab. It'll look like a little bell with a loop on top. Check the storage compartments as well as the bag that holds the crank.

 

I am having the same problem. If you remove that carrier free spooling thing, then is the slot exposed so it can work.

 

Thanks - still haven't found the key, but did get the thing off.

 

I got mine off too this weekend. What a huge pain in the ass it was. I will also be contacting a dealership about the recall.

 

It is a "dealer" installed lock for the spare tire. So it was up to the dealer if they wanted to put it on or not and charge you

Look for Toyota spare tire lock and you will find numerous comments, posts, and even a video on how to remove it. Pretty sure a crow bar can pop it off without much issue. That's also one of the reasons it was a pain is how easily it was defeated. And since they were all made from a few patterns if you cut the "key" portion and remove all but 2 slivers of the pattern it will work on all the locks. Yay for security...

When I took mine in for the recall I found this out. I have my "key" but no use for it now.

 

I hate that thing, didnt know you could pop it off.