So on a 2000 Grand caravan, the spare was taken off once and then put back on, tightening it up until the winch clicked twice like the manual said to do. I can't get the tire to come down now; the cable will come out all the way but the tire will still be in mid-air like it was glued to the winch. I can push pull and pry but no go. Is it a bad winch?

 

Happened to our 2001, leaving us stranded on the side of the road with a flat tire. I wound up using a big screwdriver and prying the secondary latch back which was badly corroded. The secondary latch no longer works but at least I can access the spare if I need to.

 

Well the Dodge dealer told me that it should just come right down, which is what it did the first time, i.e. I didn't have to release a secondary latch, but if there is one I wonder why it didn't work the first time. So what did you do to fix it?

 

This happened on a 05 GC that I own and I had to take apart the piece that has the 2 flippers that go thru the centre of the rim. I was only taking the tire down to check it since I have never used it. You should see 2 c clips remove those and slide the pins out. Make sure that you have someone or something holding up the spare when you do this. Once the pins slide out the tire will drop down then you should be able to see the 2 locking tabs that you need to squeeze together to release the holder from the winch. Clean it up and lubricate and reassemble the flippers.

 

Checked this in the driveway on my 05 Caravan. Ran into the rusted latch problem. Glad i was not trying to fix this @ night on the interstate. Good info to pass along to fellow Dodge mechanics.

 

Sure thing... I just got a extra normal rim with one of my old tires put on it....

 

Had the same problem with my '03 even after I greased it. Ended up tying a string to the secondary latch so now I just pull on the string to release it and lower the spare. sounds crazy but it works

 

Haha yeah that would work... I really don't see any reason for the secondary latch tho... Our Dodge truck doesn't have it yet the spare stays up just fine,...

 

I would be worried that if the cable were to break you would lose the spare. And at highway speeds it would be disastrous

 

Never thought about that, but Dodge evidently thought on the Rams that a secondary latch was unecessary.